Can you learn a language while you sleep? You are taking language classes, you work full time, study full time, and have other responsibilities. You have no free time? There is this add that says you can learn the language you want while you sleep. Does it sound too good to be true? Well, maybe. Here's the results from a couple people who tried it.
When two students showed up in my EFL class from English programs where they were supposed to learn while they slept, naturally I was very curious and asked them about their experience.
The program consisted of a lot of work—There were vocabulary lists, daily lessons, to be done for 15 minutes in the morning first thing upon getting up, and another 15 minutes in the evening before bed; and weekly quizzes to be passed or else the student had to repeat the lessons all over again the following week. I bet anyone who spends 15 minutes twice a day practicing anything is bound to learn something.
Additionally, both told me that after several weeks they were able to recognize the sounds of English words, and they had rather good accents, but they did not necessarily understand when people talked to them. They were missing “grammar” as they put it, so they signed up for the more traditional language program I teach in.
Apparently, there is no magic or subliminal learning that can replace old-fashioned wide-awake mental work like memorizing, reasoning and practice. However, there is one good thing I learned from the learn-while-you-sleep method. Now I insist my students do their homework for 15 minutes in the evening before going to sleep and 15 minutes in the morning when they awake. Those students who follow this advice do much better than the rest, I promise. Time spent studying is never wasted.