Most of the time “get to know” refers to becoming familiar with a person or a place. For example, an English-learning student may declare, “I really enjoy getting to know my Cambly tutor; she’s such an interesting person!”
In contrast, the term “learn” commonly applies to obtaining a skill or taking in information about a subject. Here are two examples:
-“Cambly students are learning to speak English” is an example where the verb “learn” indicates skill-building
-“My friend loves to learn about ancient history” is an example where “learn” refers to information gathering.
If I said, “I’m really getting to know the forests of California”, it most likely implies that I am in California, actively enjoying Californian forests in person. (For example, this might mean I am starting to memorize the different hiking trails or taking note of beautiful landmarks in the area.)
But, if I were to say, “I’m really learning a lot about the forests of California”, it would most likely mean that I am focusing more on the information about the forest (such as the different species of trees, the different kinds of wildlife, the optimal climate for plant growth, etc.).
However, both of these words have similar meanings that sometimes can be used interchangeably. It is important to pay attention to context clues in order to accurately decide which meaning or word is appropriate.
Author: Louise US, Cambly Tutor
If you’d like to keep this conversation going with Louise, give her a call on Cambly or make a reservation with her here: https://www.cambly.com/en/student/tutor/Louise%20US
That’s amazing!! Thanks for sharing