Originally published
as articles in a major Japanese newspaper, this translation allows English-speakers
to learn about LEX Language Project's (formerly Hippo Family Club) unique
approach to language. These clubs were formed in Japan in 1981 as part
of LEX: the Institute for Language Experience, Experiment and Exchange,
an organization that continues to do groundbreaking research into the
process of language acquisition.
Anyone who has struggled
to learn languages in a classroom, tried in vain to memorize verb conjugations
or felt at the mercy of a foreign language dictionary will welcome the
revolutionary new approach to language acquisition described in Anyone
Can Speak 7 Languages!.
In the past, language
has served as a barrier, separating people from different lands. LEX
views language as a dynamic network that exists so that all human beings
can communicate with each other. With the hope of overcoming language
obstacles and building bridges between nations, LEX has developed an
enjoyable way to acquire several languages, more akin to the way we
learned our first languages.
As these authors
immerse their families into a sea of language, they describe how their
attitudes towards so-called "foreign" languages are transformed.
Along this journey, they regain their childlike sense of wonder lost
during years of traditional classroom learning, and discover the fundamental
similarities shared by all languages and human beings.