Language Lessons Learned from Splash

Yes, I mean the 80s mermaid movie with Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah. Madison (Hannah) learns to speak English in one day. That's even faster that Benny, the Irish polyglot.

How'd she do it?

1. She was highly motivated to communicate with her soul mate. (That's referred to as "learning on the pillow" in some cultures.)
2. She involves her whole body in the learning process - Total Physical Response.
3. The input in the target language is apparently entertaining and comprehensible.

Alan's (Hanks) brother, Freddie, played by John Candy, is also gifted in second language acquisition. He says that after watching certain movies 400 - 500 times "the stuff starts to sink in." (I think that's Khatz's theory, too.)

Here's a youtube link where Madison learns English (more than 3 minutes into the 9:27 minute clip) and one where Freddie explains speaking Swedish. You have to check out the previous clip in the youtube series to see what he says.

The movie also begins with Wooly Bully, which is a bilingual (English/Spanish) song, right?