David1917 wrote:Two emphases I think should be added: One is that a successful learner might only display some of these traits, if any, and the second is that while orientation, gender, birth order, etc. are not conscious choices; others such as forming good study habits, having a strong/obsessive drive (which is characterized by Prof A as "OCD" using the pop culture definition of the term), being a good student and seeking higher ed are all choices one can make to be more prepared to undertake the study of multiple languages.
One thing that I see recurring in Prof A's writing/videos over the years is the need for the world to recognize that polyglottery is a high achievement but not due to any sort of luck or hidden talent; rather due to a deliberate effort, focus and discipline. I think he only gives credit to good accents as a function of talent (I wonder if musicality is tied to this?) and everything else to just be a result of dedication. I think it's nice to see that a handful of conscious choice traits showed strong correlation here in addition to some other innate ones.
Very well said! This is indeed a key point he's making with the video. I wasn't quite sure how to summarize it... What threw me off was that in the list of traits you can develop, he included ambidexterity (which he'd already counted as a fixed trait) and OCD (using the term loosely). I guess ambidexterity does fit in both categories, since you can be naturally ambidextrous or consciously practice using both sides. What he says about OCD at the end is: "Don't develop OCD so that you can't function, but if you have an inclination, channel these tendencies and just learn to be more organized and systematic and you'll be more like a polyglot." I can't tell if he's saying that if you have these tendencies and they're truly compulsive, you can channel them productively, or if he's saying that anyone can learn to be more organized and systematic, or if he's maybe saying both. In any case, I expect he's right that many traits of successful polyglots can be consciously developed.
Do you happen to remember where he talked about being good with accents perhaps being more of a talent? I find that interesting, because I found pronunciation difficult early on, but immersion and especially studying phonetics has helped a lot, so just based on my own experience I tend to regard it as something that can be learned.