The Ten Minute Rule:: Learn a Language in Ten Minutes A Day:: Learn a Language

In my previous Ten Minute Rule Hub, I explained some applications of the Ten Minute Rule and it occurred to me and to others, that there might be a reason to write a series of hubs to go along with that idea.

In essence, I learned The Ten Minute Rule as a means to break a bad habit. The idea is that if you have a bad habit and delay the performance of the habit, you have changed it from an unconscious habit to a conscious action. If you bite your nails, and the next time you put your finger in your mouth you decide not to bite your nails for ten minutes. "I will bite my nails all I want in ten minutes, I just won't bite them right now." You have taken control.

The application may then be set in motion to form a new good habit. Instead of biting my nails I will write poetry for ten minutes, or crochet... The point is that if you can break a bad habit by delaying it, you can create a good habit by scheduling it in place of the old bad habit.

German is another language that is relatively easy for you to learn if you already speak English. English is an Anglo-Saxon language which makes it one of the Western Germanic Languages. Since many of the words that we use every day have roots in the German language, some find it to be one of the easiest languages to learn.

German is much more complex than Spanish, yet less complex in its rules than English.

With German in 10 Minutes a Day you will find yourself gaining fluency with the language very quickly and easily.

There are many reasons to learn a second language. With the economy the way it is, a second language can mean the difference between getting that job, or not getting it. Many companies feel it is essential that their employees speak a second language.

I know this is the USA and the most common language is English, but believe it or not, that is not our Official National Language. In spite of the fact that the consensus of many "Americans" is that if you live here you should speak English and so should everyone else, that's just not the case. People visiting our country as tourists should be afforded the courtesy of having someone here who can communicate with them, just the same way as when Americans visit other countries as tourists, many people speak English.

Language programs such as Rosetta Stone can make learning a new language relatively simple. I have tried their demo CDs and was amazed at what I could learn in just a short time! The Demo CD is to help you decide which program you would like to try.

While the cost of Rosetta Stone is much higher than the 10 Minutes a Day series, I believe the Rosetta Stone is more comprehensive. For instance, if I wanted to visit Germany, I would go for 10 minutes a day, but if I planned to relocate to Germany, Rosetta Stone would be my choice.

The other, possibly most important reason to learn another language is the enrichment it provides. When you learn another language it opens u different neurotransmitters in the brain. You actually get smarter and your brain gets younger. In this day and age, when science is always coming up with ways to help us feel younger, we know that the way to become younger is to become healthier.

That being said, there is nothing healthier than a body whose brain is kicking up the production of new brain cells. After the age of 20 most people begin to lose approximately 100,000 neurons per day, losing 30% of our brain's neurons between 20 and 80 years of age. Aging does not contribute to this loss. (referenced New Horizons.org)

The only factors contributing to this loss then are diet, and education. After we leave home our diet usually suffers, and all too often the indulgences of our youth while a lot of fun, kill off brain cells.

Many of us do not go on to learn new things, content with our lives and trying just to "get on with our lives" by keeping a job, paying our bills, raising our families. When women give birth they actually "dumb down" for a while and only function at the level required by their infant. When the child starts to school the mother's production of new brain cells increases, as she is now helping her child to learn.

This evidence is why newer studies recommend higher learning throughout your life. Whether you decide to learn a new language, or a new skill, learning throughout your life is as essential as diet and exercise.