I am lead to believe that the reason young children are good at learning languages is not only the wonderful plasticity of their young brains but also that they dont mind making fools of themselves. On the other hand adults have a built in embarrassment interrupter gear that works to prevent us looking like peanuts. This has some interesting implications. It acts to hold us back from undertaking new tasks that are outside the realm of our existing core competencies. We seem to forget that everyone, even experts were once a beginner. This desire not to embarrass ourselves limits what we might try and what we might achieve. There are no instant experts – something we forget.
It also has a wider implication in that you cannot advertise an event or a course as being suitable for beginners because no one like to consider themselves a beginner, even if they have never undertaken the task before. FIGJAM is alive and well, even to the detriment of those who want to learn or do something new.
