Does Hypnosis Work for Learning a Language?

If you think we’re going to be talking about looking at a swinging watch and being completely unconscious, I’d like to forewarn you… not at all!

Anatomy of a language lesson under hypnosis

A language lesson under hypnosis strongly resembles a classic language lesson: a teacher readfs a text, once, twice, thrice, then comes back to the key expressions and the grammar to be remembered in the text. Finally, during the last minutes, the teacher the teacher is entirely at the disposal to answer any of the student’s question. So, how s a language lesson under hypnosis different?

The difference is with the students: they aren’t simply sat on a chair, rather on a relaxation sofa, with relaxing background music or in their sonore ou sur les oreilles. And when they’re listening to the lesson, they are in a state of decontraction, of relaxation,  in other words, of hypnosis. Some might even take advantage of it by taking a nap. But no need to worry, according toRichard Grandisson, professor and hypnotherapist at the Collège de Paris “the brain continuously registers, even when sleeping“.

 

What;s the interest of being under hypnosis for learning a language?

First of all, we have to point out that it’s not the actual hypnosis that allows the learning, it’s the teacher (hypnotherapist). The hypnosis is simply used to plonger the students in a state of relaxation which facilitates learning.  état de relaxation qui faciliterait l’apprentissag. It is especially by being relaxed that students can be freed: they aren’t ashamed ot simply going for it and/or making mistakes. They are thus more apt for learning.

Another important point: during a hypnosis session, students aren’t unconscious. They are totally conscious they they are participating a language lesson. Contrarily, when hypnotized, we often talk about hyper conscience or of hyper vigilance. What happens is that students are completely and uniquely focused on what the teacher is saying. Their mind is focused on the lesson, and it doesn’t get distracted about other things such as not forgetting about buying bread on the way back home or about what to cook for the children later on. They are completely concentrated on what they’re hearing, forgetting everything else. And that’s how they learn… How?

 

 

Hypnosis or reeducation of the audio camp

What has to be said is that the hypnotherapist teachers, Richard Grandisson or Pascal Dilly, psychotherapist, rarely talk about learning, rather about reeducation of the audio camp.

Indeed, from the age of 7, our ear se fige and closes titself to any tonality it doesn’t recognize. Our ear thus refuses to listen to French, Portuguese or Chinese. The idea of learning a language under hypnosis is especially to make our ear used to listen to new tones once again. To stimulate it in order that it may distinguish new tones and frequencies it isn’t used to hearing.

Basically, hypnotherapists teach languages the same way parents teach their children their maternal language(s). During a hypnosis lesson, students s’imprègne des sons… more than the wotds or their meaning they are trying so hard to understand. What’s more important is to hear. That’s why listening is key to learning under hypnosis. It is only later, after the lecture that students have a look at the grammar and expressions used in the foreign language being studied (out of hypnosis).

 

Pour résumer, hypnosis is but a learning tool: it allows us to listen, relax and concentrate on a single thing, the teacher. It’s thus not the hypnosis itself which allows us to learn a language, but being attentive to the teacher. Like this, we learn the sounds, the tones, and only then do we learn the words and the grammar.
Does it really work?

It’s not the aim of this article to answer this question because we haven’t tried it out. Although we are skeptical, this subject does seem interesting!
Actually, we are currently working on a new secret function which will allow the users of our apps to exploit moments of relaxation in order to continue to learn and improve themselves… Stay with us to learn more about it!