Posted on Oct 18, 2017
CPT Christopher Coker
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SGT Daniel Hagerty
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Depends on what I'm doing if it's a skill I like a course with a hands on portion. If it's building on existing information video or webinars can work, but for me there is nothing like physical interaction.
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SFC Dennis A.
SFC Dennis A.
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Me too
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Lt Col Jim Coe
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I learn best by doing. Reading and similar activities such as computer or web-based learning programs are second.
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PO2 Hospital Corpsman
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I think military veterans are masters at this skill of 'OJT' or learning by doing. I don't think their exists a finer force that employs such personnel who can master almost any trade without little or no education. That's the American war-fighter!
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Maj John Bell
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When it comes to skills working with my hands, I go to junk yards and garage sales buy things and take them apart, then put them together again, repeatedly. Necessity is the mother of invention and repetition is the father of all progress.

I am learning Romanian. I started with listening to Romanian music until I could distinguish words, then a Romanian friend of mine started lending me Romanian dubbed copies of familiar movies. I play them when I am working in my shop. I am not conversant, but when we join them for dinner, I get the gist of what his in-laws (who do not speak English) are saying, and I can roughly communicate back. Whenever I meet someone who is going to be around my life for the foreseeable future, that speaks a foreign language, I do the same. So far I've done the same with French, Portuguese, Italian, and Arabic, not by any means fluent, but I can communicate. Hindi has totally eluded me, but I love Bollywood movies.
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CPT Christopher Coker
CPT Christopher Coker
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This makes me think of the concept of educational immersion. Sounds like a bit of a life hack. Thanks for the post.
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Maj John Bell
Maj John Bell
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CPT Christopher Coker - My daughter picked up the technique and we have four Grandkids that are fluent in Spanish for their age level (ages 9, 8, 6 an 3). I am the only Spanish speaker in their lives until they got to school. She started when the oldest was 4 or 5.

They are only allowed to watch kids shows in English once on Netflix. If they want to watch again, they must choose a foreign language dub. She emphasizes Spanish, but exposes them to other languages.

On a recent trip to the zoo in Grand Rapids, the two middle kids were stumbling through Korean with some tourists they met. We had no idea. The 8 year old is a natural, he is fully conversant with Amish neighbors when they speak Pennsylvania Dutch, which I don't think is an option on Netflix. He is also sweet on the 8 year old daughter of one of my farm customers that speak Hindi and the two of them ramble on in Hindi whenever they meet. Her Dad says he speaks at about the level of a 4-5 year old native speaker with near perfect accent for the Mumbai region of India.
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