Learning how to learn
Teaching yourself, and others, how to speak a new language
Welcome, aspiring polyglot!
Something to listen to when you have time
One of the things that differentiates good learners from others is that good learners are always thinking about how they can fill their time. When they have time to listen to something, they listen to something that increases their knowledge base. Whether that is a documentary, a skills class, or music in a foreign language, the one thing that remains consistent is that it is always on their mind.
With that in mind, one thing you can listen to when you have time and want to learn some new strategies for approaching your target language, check out this recording from an X spaces we had last night!
This is a summary of much of what I view as the best method for language acquisition in conjunction with questions from the community. If you are teaching your children a new language or learning one yourself, there is a lot in there that you will hopefully find useful. When you have more time to spend increasing your competencies, you should spend it reading.
A reading assignment, if you will
Over the last year and a half I have published over 150 articles on this website that total well over 100k words. If you wanted to read it start to finish, it would probably take a month or two. Fortunately, you do not have to do that. Over the past few months I took all of the most important components and distilled them into a single book.
The components of the book are the same components and Second Language Strategies (roll credits) that I use to take people from Zero to Conversational in 90 days. You can check out the reviews of my private classes and how those strategies play out in real time below:
If that sounds like something you are interested in, you can pick up my book from Amazon using this link:
It is crucial that as you read through it, though, you doing the exercises and assignments within the book. You cannot learn a language through consumption. In order to truly acquire a new language, you must create.
Entering creation mode
As a celebration for so much successful language acquisition in the community, I made a few extra guides FREE for everyone. You can find them by going to the page below:
Hopefully you will be able to use these to facilitate your own language acquisition and jumpstart or reignite your love for languages. Make sure to bookmark the page and check back from time to time as I am always adding new material both free and paid to that page.
The general idea behind these documents is to help you reach the point where you feel confident enough to begin creating in your target language. At the end of the day, your goal is to think in the new language, so starting now and learning how to do things that work best for you is paramount. My guides will show you exactly how I go about doing things, but that does not mean everything in them is best for you. Play around with different approaches and develop a framework that works for you.
The power of a good instructor
Building a framework is incredibly difficult, especially if you have never had to do it before. That is where a good instructor can make a huge difference. I have written extensively on how you can develop a framework for yourself, and I encourage you to do that. However, if you have tried and feel like you have reached your ceiling, it may be time to start working with an instructor who can channel all of your energy and effort into something incredible. Check out the reviews and, if you are interested in working with me, fill out this form and I will reach out.
Conclusion
Irrespective of which path forward you choose, all that matters is that you start. A year and a half ago when I started this, if you had told me there would be dozens and dozens of people learning a new language using the methods and strategies I’ve written about, I would have laughed at you. Now, I very much understand that we are all here, as a community, to change language acquisition around the world.
I am honored to be a part of it and so proud of every single person who has put effort into learning their target language. It is not easy, but you can do difficult things, and have, so continue to do difficult things and be great. I look forward to cheering you all on in every endeavor.
Eager for more Second Language Strategies?
For more content find me on Twitter or Instagram. I look forward to seeing everyone’s progress in the months and years to come. Be sure to check out the YouTube channel as well!
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