Learning vs Acquiring Skills

Introduction

When we set out to learn new skills, we approach it in two general ways: we either learn or acquire the skills. In this post, we will discuss the difference between the two, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. This is very individual and what works best for me might not be the best for you, it’s important to figure out what way you best understand and what helps you learn new things. There is no right or wrong in this question and in fact, you can employ both approaches to acquire new skills. First, let’s discuss the differences between the two.

Learning here means theoretical knowledge. It includes studying, following rules and tried and true methods as a way to approach understanding and acquiring new skills. This is the most common method for teaching and most school systems in the world are largely based on this approach, with some exceptions and some that try to incorporate both learning and acquiring skills. 

Acquiring means immersing oneself in the skill as a way to learn. It includes experimenting and being exposed directly to the skill and its practice. This is a more practical approach to learning that typically has the student directly doing what they’re aiming to learn. This is a very natural way that we engage with the world as children, constantly testing and doing. It’s the first approach that comes to us and it lays the foundation for allowing us to learn, after all, it’s our introduction to language. 

A great example of these two methods of learning is language. In school, you might have learned English, but like many of us, you might also have acquired it by engaging with English culture through: the internet, music, movies etc. When acquiring a language by engaging constantly with it, even if just passively you may find that you eventually understand it, but you don’t know any of the rules or grammar of the language. This is one of the potential downsides of acquiring a skill and one of the advantages of learning. 

Learning

There are many ways to learn theoretical knowledge, it includes memorising, learning rules and studying. In the example of learning a new language, we can be expected to learn and memorise vocabulary, grammar and other relevant things. Learning means putting active effort into studying the language as a subject. It means understanding the rules, knowing the exceptions and the secondary meanings, the proverbs, the idioms and much more. All of this and more should be memorised and studied. This knowledge can become very dense and it can be difficult for a lot of people to first remember it and also use it. 

Because in reality when speaking a language it’s only in reflection you can dissect what grammatical rules were applied and if they were wrongly applied. Speaking is too active and you can’t stop to think about what the correct form is for the next word you’re about to speak. But when listening, or reading a text you can almost immediately spot mistakes because you’re reflecting and taking it in. 

Learning is as stated more common in schools and to a great detriment of people who learn better by acquiring and doing. I think theoretical knowledge will only ever get you so far. There’s a hard limit which you reach much sooner than you ever would by experimentation and immersion. I think learning also runs the risk of being boring, and this stops people from putting in the required effort that it takes to learn something new. Consider your language classes in school - how many of them did you feel meaningfully engaged in? Now on the other hand think about the times when you’ve had to use a new language with a person, your use of the language might not be perfect but I guarantee in most cases those experiences were more meaningful to you. Learning can be boring and rigid if you’re not exceptionally passionate about the knowledge itself. 

An advantage to learning is that it relies on pre-existing knowledge and sets of rules that have been tried before. This can guarantee better results if the rules and knowledge are applied correctly as instructed. This is best illustrated in art or music theory where the theoretical knowledge can be applied to instantly generate “generally pleasing” results. But then as stated you reach this limit pretty soon and if you haven’t cultivated your creativity you might get stuck making things that are limited by these rules. Learning can be limited by this within-the-box thinking and it can hinder you from exploring and experimenting, not because of the things you learn but because it’s simply easy to fall back on things that work, instead of having to go through the hardships of making bad stuff. 

It can be good to learn and the biggest advantage and the reason we see this method of learning in schools is because of the single biggest advantage it has: communication. When you acquire a skill you forge your own way and you develop your own reasoning and rules for how you use that skill, and it becomes its own language in a way. You don’t know the rules of grammar or why you say this instead of that, instead, you develop an intuition for it and it “just feels right”. This can make it tough to try and teach someone else your methods or to even communicate them. Without music theory, you may be able to string up beautiful and extravagant melodies but it can be tough communicating it to your bandmates. A lot of theoretical knowledge is a communication of that skill, it’s broken down to be able to be expressed and uniformed so that anyone who has learned that skill can freely discuss it amongst themselves. It’s not always necessary but it can help, but is learning a skill as long-lasting as acquiring one? 

Acquiring

To acquire a skill one must intertwine with it, and this is done through immersion. This isn’t done by memorising vocabulary or rules but rather by being subjected to them to the point where you get accustomed to them and understand the language. This is how we learn our very first language as toddlers. We’re not told to memorise words but we are constantly exposed to the language of our parents and we are completely immersed in it. We try to mimic and we constantly make mistakes until it begins to stick. From that first exposure and learning, we can then go on to learn theoretical knowledge about it, like through learning how to read. Once again we’re not only learning about reading but we are thrown into the waters by our parents who sit with us and help us navigate it - this is a bit of both approaches. Acquiring a skill takes a lot of effort and time but it doesn’t feel like it because it’s so natural.

A serious advantage to acquiring skills is the flow of it. It’s more natural and way less forced, we do so because we genuinely want to, not because we have to. We’re excited about the process of the skill itself rather than the end result. We speak a language we might not be fluent in because it appeals to us and because the experiences are meaningful, not because we want to be able to fluently speak it. This way the process is in fact the end result we want to achieve and we’re already there. This can also remove stress factors from it and overall often is a more pleasant experience for us to learn. However, there’s one downside to acquiring which is also present but not to the same extent in the other approach and that is failure.

Because of the nature of experimentation, there is no guarantee for the result. There is no beaten path to follow, and this means whatever you’re learning you will make mistakes along the way. This can be disheartening to some and that’s why they prep up on theoretical knowledge before attempting anything new in their life, but theory will only prepare you so much for real life and if there’s one thing I’ve learned is that regardless of the time you spend studying something, inevitably something will come up that you’re not prepared for and you will have to improvise and adapt. If you can deal with failure on your path towards learning then acquiring a skill is definitely worthwhile, as by immersing yourself in it you will gain a different and unique understanding of it.

In the example of learning a new language, by subjecting yourself to it through culture and interacting with other people who speak it you get a unique and useful vocabulary. Reading a long list of words in school will give you a lot of words you might never use, and so you easily forget them. But when you speak and actively engage with the language you find new words you like and you connect with them on another level, so their meaning is bound to stay with you. You also develop a more natural and informal language with the peers you engage with and build a closer bond to the language and you end up learning words that are actually of use to you. You will treasure every new word you learn instead of forgetting it and adding it to a pile of unused words in the back of your head. English is now more prevalent in the world than it ever was and this is largely because of the internet but also because people acquire it as a language, more than just learning it. 

This means that words they use in their jargon become a part of their day-to-day language, maybe even as untranslatable terms in their own language. Ever found yourself looking for a word in your mother tongue that you cannot find but an English one pops up immediately? You might not even know exactly the meaning of the English one but you know where and how it’s used, and understanding its context you in some way intuitively understand the word as well without having learned about it. This is the way acquiring something works, you don’t get it from a textbook but you get it by experimenting with its building blocks. Think of it like Lego, you can follow the manual for a house and build it, or you can just build whatever you want with the blocks. Acquiring is the latter and it requires doing until you understand how it works. At first, your house might not look as nice as the manual, but as you keep building houses you will eventually find that you’ve outdone the original, or found so many different ways to build houses. 

For most people acquiring a skill lasts longer because they put more effort and care into it, and this emotional bond to the skill is very important in maintaining that knowledge. It’s also more likely that they will keep their knowledge of that skill if they actively keep engaging with it. You can take as many courses as you want in a new language but if you never speak or engage with the language after those courses you will inevitably forget and lose some of that skill. It seems to me that we are more likely to keep engaging with something we’re interested in and passionate about, and we’re more likely to acquire skills that we are passionate about, because if we truly love something we don’t only want to learn about it but we want to dive head first into it.

Final Words

There are pros and cons to both acquiring and learning, and it’s going to be very individual what works for you the best. Both methods can damage your journey towards acquiring new skills or aid you. Figure out what works best for you and don’t be afraid to try. 

Don’t be afraid to acquire skills by doing and immersing yourself fully by subjecting yourself to the skill directly. Don’t fear failure, instead view it as an important stepping stone. If you choose to pursue fully what you are passionate about you will find this knowledge to be easy to bear. You will be eager to learn, and even more eager to do. It will widen your perspective and you will develop several skills in one. Acquiring a skill allows for more self-improvement and life skills than just theoretical learning, as it teaches you to deal with yourself and your reaction to immediate feedback. You might find it difficult to articulate your ideas when working with others, as you carve out your own language and understanding of any skill.

Learning has fewer risks, following rules and tried-and-true methods you will get results that are of higher quality usually, but you might find yourself limited in your self-expression, and there is much less room for individual thought and experimentation. Your understanding may be deeper and more complex than any skill and you will find it easier to communicate with your peers. You might even step into the endless cycle of teaching. 

I think the best way to use the approaches is by acquiring first and then learning. Get yourself familiar with the process, speak the language and engage fully with the art. If you like it and it’s rewarding go for it and immerse yourself deeper in the rhetorical and dense knowledge. I think schools often fail because they have this reversed. You’re expected to memorise all this dense knowledge and then start applying it and doing the skill. Then when you fail, it makes you feel like it’s your fault because you’ve been given all this theoretical knowledge, which means you’re supposed to know how it works but that’s not true. Knowledge can be so physical as well and until you’ve done it not only with your mind but also your hands and body you won’t know or understand it. When you engage fully and completely with something then you start to really learn.