Schooling systems around the world get education all wrong. This is not a hot take, as most educators agree with this sentiment. The problem is that trying to change the system can make things worse, and teachers and schools are struggling for funding. It doesn’t help that kids don’t love learning, and discipline has to be a major part of the school day.
When you want to learn something new as an adult, the natural urge is to take a course. You get learning materials from a college or website and do assignments. After all, that’s how you were taught to learn in school. However, you do not have to be tied to this old way of learning. Chances are that if you try learning this way, you will want to give up at some point.
If you ask teachers what is missing from most school syllabuses, they will mention experiential learning. This is learning that comes from actually engaging with the subject matter on a concrete level. Instead of learning how to solve for ‘X’, experiential teaching would demonstrate the use of math equations in practice.
So, if you are interested in learning a new skill, the following apps show that the most effective form of learning is experiential.
Lingopie: Learn languages from TV
Most schools and courses teach language in classes. Lingopie turns that on its head by letting you learn languages with TV. Sounds too good to be true? When you look at traditional language learning, you see why it’s actually a necessary change in approach.
Traditionally, you would learn languages by learning sentence structure, grammar, and vocabulary. But this leaves you unprepared for how the language is spoken in real life. You are able to read and write, but will struggle in conversation.
The best alternative is to actually have conversations with native speakers of the language. However, the chances of finding a native speaker with the time and patience to help you learn the language are low, especially if you are living in an English-speaking region.
Watching TV series gives you real insight into how the language sounds, with intonations, slang words, and rhythm. It also helps to watch regional shows, as languages are spoken differently in different parts of the world. So, if you want to learn to speak Spanish to Mexican people, you will benefit most from seeing it spoken with a Mexican accent and dialect.
With Lingopie, you learn by watching and interacting with the subtitles, getting to understand a language through experiential means.
Melodic: Learn music theory
Learning to play an instrument has to be experiential. However, it is when learning music theory that people get bogged down by information. Instead of having fun trying different things with a piano or guitar, you end up trying to cram concepts like the Circle of Fifths, time signatures, modes, and more.
Melodics takes a different approach entirely. Melodics is an app that helps you learn to play MIDI keyboard, MIDI drums, or electric drums. It tests your skills as you play along to a range of different songs.
But it does not just train you to play the instrument. Rather, it incorporates music theory in each lesson. To teach you about how rhythms work, you actually learn to play the rhythms. To teach you about modes, it gives you content to work with in different modes.
Most music teachers go about it very differently. They teach you about the theory with the intention that you start seeing it in different songs and incorporate it at some vague later date. Melodics shows that all music learning should be experiential, even the theory which can come across as dry when taught out of context.
Skillshare
Finally, Skillshare has become one of the most popular platforms for learning skills. It provides the basis to learn animation, design, photography, writing, and more. It allows you to dig deep into these skills on an experiential level, and that is why it has many dedicated users.
The idea is that you learn as you create, rather than learning in order to create. There is a lot of content to engage with while you start building your own animations, designs, and other creations.
Experiential learning would be ideal in any context, especially in schooling. However, as an adult, you can make the choice for yourself. Rather than trying to learn using the same methods you hated when you were young, start engaging with the content. Before you know it, you’ll have a brand new skill.