How thinking on your feet can be taught

摘要

You live and learn, according to a saying that tends to suggest you learn by your mistakes. Of course you do, but there are other ways of learning. The ways in which we learn often conflict with each other; often complement each other and - even though it is somewhat surprising to learn - often complement and conflict at the same time. Take a foreign language, for instance. You can sit in a classroom while the teacher explains the distinction between the imperfect and past definite tenses of a French sentence, along with any other grammatical constructions that will be necessary for you to be fluent. Or you could sit in the sunshine at a Parisian pavement cafe chatting to the locals, learning by experience and learning by mistakes. By the time French children get to school age, they have got a pretty good working knowledge of the language already, for learning "your own" language has its beginnings in listening and copying.