0:01 I speak six languages and over the years
0:03 I tested countless methods to determine
0:05 which ones actually work for me. I came
0:07 up with a language learning blueprint I
0:09 always use no matter which language I
0:10 want to learn. Sometimes I have to
0:12 adjust them a little bit because some
0:13 languages need a slightly different
0:15 approach, but overall these are the
0:17 methods I swear by. They actually work
0:18 and they are going to make you learn
0:20 languages extremely fast. Don't forget
0:22 to like this video and subscribe. And
0:23 now if you're ready to take your
0:25 language skills to the next level, let's
0:27 get started. The first method I want to
0:28 share with you is called shadowing. This
0:30 is one of my favorite and most
0:31 frequently used methods, especially at
0:34 the beginning. Basically, what I do is I
0:36 choose a video and I try to mimic the
0:38 person speaking in that video. I try to
0:40 match their pronunciation, rhythm,
0:43 intonation, and at the beginning, I make
0:45 sure that the video is not too difficult
0:47 for me, that it's not too long. I love
0:49 this method, especially at the
0:50 beginning, because it helps me get
0:53 comfortable speaking without having to
0:56 think what to say. So, it's the perfect
0:58 middle ground between passive and active
1:00 learning. You speak and you get used to
1:03 speaking, but you don't have to think
1:05 about producing your own sentences,
1:07 which can be a bit challenging at the
1:08 beginning. But it's also great for
1:10 intermediate learners and even advanced
1:12 learners. As I approach the intermediate
1:14 level, I use it less and less because I
1:16 naturally get used to the language and
1:18 my pronunciation improves. But I still
1:20 use it from time to time. Especially if
1:23 I want to practice speaking faster and
1:25 sounding more natural or if I want to
1:27 work on a specific accent, then
1:29 shadowing is amazing for that. This
1:32 method is one that I swear by and I use
1:34 it with every single language. This is
1:36 what I love about this method because
1:39 sometimes, you know, certain languages
1:40 require a different approach, but
1:42 shadowing can be used for every single
1:45 language out there. So, it's amazing.
1:46 And if you haven't tried it already,
1:49 give it a try. The next method is the
1:51 birectional translation method created
1:54 by Luca Lampereelloo. And this method is
1:56 also one of my favorite methods. I'm
1:58 going to explain it really really fast,
2:00 but if you want more details, more
2:01 explanations, I'm going to link uh
2:04 Luca's channel and his video about his
2:06 method. But basically what this method
2:10 is is that you take a text in a language
2:12 that you're learning and you translate
2:15 it yourself into your native language or
2:17 a language that you know really well.
2:20 Then you wait a few hours or even a day
2:23 and then you translate it back into the
2:26 original language. And what I love about
2:29 this method is that it really forces you
2:33 to think and because you know you cannot
2:36 translate everything word for word. So
2:38 yeah, you have to think. It's it's a
2:41 good exercise for your brain. But also
2:44 when I use this method, I never have to
2:46 memorize new vocab. I never sit down
2:48 with a list of vocab and try to memorize
2:50 it. I don't really know the whole
2:52 science behind this method, but it's
2:54 amazing. I never have to memorize words.
2:55 And also you see grammar in context. So
2:58 personally I almost never do grammar
3:00 exercises anymore because I use this
3:02 method. I usually use this method all
3:04 the way up to intermediate so it stays
3:05 valuable for a good amount of time. You
3:08 can use this method with any text. I
3:10 usually like to use asimile because they
3:12 have so many dialogues. But you don't
3:14 have to use asimile. You can use any
3:17 text, any dialogue that you find or even
3:19 it could probably work with like a
3:22 podcast transcript or just a longer text
3:24 and article depending on your level. So,
3:26 you can really get creative and choose
3:28 any text that you want. It's a very
3:31 flexible method and it really stimulates
3:33 your brain which I love. So, again, if
3:34 you want the full explanation, I'm going
3:36 to link Luca's video in the description,
3:38 but I highly highly recommend this
3:40 method. The next thing I always do is I
3:42 always learn the most common verbs uh
3:45 slashwords, but not in isolation. I
3:47 always start with the most common words.
3:49 They're usually verbs and adjectives
3:51 because you can really say so much with
3:54 very little vocab. Verbs especially are
3:56 incredibly powerful because there's a
3:58 verb in every single sentence. So, if
4:00 you learn the most common verbs, let's
4:04 say 100, then not only is your um
4:06 ability to speak going to improve,
4:07 you're going to be able to talk about
4:09 more things, your listening
4:11 comprehension is also going to improve
4:12 because, you know, people use those
4:13 words all the time. Traditional
4:16 textbooks often give you very random
4:18 word lists, especially at the beginning.
4:20 I don't know about you, but I remember
4:22 um learning languages at school and they
4:25 would have us learn words like different
4:27 fruits and vegetables or clothing, which
4:29 do use them sometimes, right? But you
4:31 use verbs and adjectives a lot more
4:32 often. I remember when I was learning
4:35 French, I had already passed my C1 uh
4:38 exam, so I had this certificate, right?
4:41 And I was I had already moved to France.
4:43 I was at uni. And I remember going to
4:45 the canteen with my friends. And because
4:46 I skipped those words when I was
4:49 learning French, I remember being uh at
4:52 the canteen and holding up I think it
4:54 was like a fork or a knife. I'm I'm not
4:56 sure. But asking my friend like, "Wait,
4:58 what is this called again?" And I
5:00 literally had my C1 certification and I
5:02 was studying at a French university in
5:05 French. And that was the first time I've
5:07 ever had to use the word fork or knife.
5:09 So yeah, they're really not that
5:11 important. And I cannot wait for someone
5:13 to comment, "You weren't really at C1
5:14 level if you didn't know how to say
5:16 fork." Anyway, um what I like to do is I
5:19 like to print a list of those words and
5:21 keep it on my desk. I never memorize
5:23 them. As I said, I never memorize word
5:25 lists. I like to keep them on my desk
5:27 and anytime I do a speaking exercise or
5:30 I want to journal or anything, I can
5:32 just look at that list and get
5:34 inspiration and over time they just kind
5:37 of stick and you memorize them naturally
5:40 without having to sit down and repeat
5:42 them over and over again. This method is
5:44 perfect if your goal is communication
5:46 and not necessarily perfection from the
5:48 very beginning because those words let
5:51 you communicate very very early on. So
5:52 give it a try and I promise you you'll
5:54 be very surprised how much you can say
5:57 and understand with a really small set
5:59 of highfrequency words. Method number
6:02 four is immersion/comprehensible
6:04 input. Comprehensible input basically
6:06 means watching something or listening to
6:07 something that is a little bit above
6:09 your current level. A good guideline is
6:11 that you should understand at least
6:14 60ish% and then the rest should be new.
6:16 It's not a strict rule, but it's a
6:18 useful benchmark. And I use immersion
6:20 from the very beginning. Of course, when
6:23 I am just starting out, I choose
6:25 materials that are easy for me to
6:27 understand. And then as I progress, I
6:29 choose things that are more and more
6:30 difficult. Once I reach the intermediate
6:32 level, immersion becomes the foundation
6:34 of everything I do. At this level, I
6:36 kind of tend to ditch my textbooks and
6:38 instead focus on listening and reading.
6:40 And then my speaking and writing
6:42 exercises are based on what I read and
6:43 what I listen to. And also at
6:46 intermediate, I try to mix in some
6:48 native content. So I still listen to
6:50 things that are made for language
6:52 learners. But from time to time, I will
6:53 listen to something or watch something
6:55 that is made for native speakers. Then
6:57 at advanced, I switch almost completely
7:00 to native content. I'd say that 95% of
7:03 what I consume is native content. The
7:05 only time I really use learner specific
7:07 content is when I want to review a
7:09 grammar rule or something like that. Um,
7:11 then I will watch a video made for
7:13 language learners. But other than that,
7:17 most of the things I consume are things
7:18 made for native speakers. So like
7:22 movies, TV shows, podcasts, um,
7:24 articles, books, stuff like that. This
7:26 method is great because it works across
7:28 all levels, but I find that it becomes
7:30 especially powerful once you reach
7:32 intermediate. The last thing I do is I
7:34 train my active skills. So speaking and
7:36 writing and it's always built on top of
7:38 immersion. After I listen to or read
7:40 something, I often summarize it or give
7:42 a review or just my opinion. If I am
7:45 preparing for an exam, I will practice
7:47 exam specific formats like essays,
7:50 articles. I also give myself prompts to
7:52 talk or write about specific topics that
7:54 I'm interested in. I really like to
7:55 record myself. Again, I talked about
7:57 this method countless times on my
7:59 channel, so I'm going to go over it
8:01 very, very quickly. But basically, what
8:04 I do is I pick a prompt, I hit record on
8:08 my phone, then talk about that topic for
8:10 a certain amount of time. I usually
8:12 start with like two to three minutes,
8:15 and then slowly build up to 10 or 15.
8:18 Then I listen to the recording, catch
8:19 any mistakes that I made, any awkward
8:22 pauses, and then I re-record that same
8:24 prompt. What I also like to do is I like
8:26 to use the same prompt in the span of a
8:29 few weeks because it lets me see my
8:31 progress and it's incredibly motivating
8:33 when you listen to the first recording
8:36 from a few weeks ago and you can hear
8:38 that you made like a few mistakes and
8:40 there there were awkward pauses or you
8:42 mispronounced something and then you
8:44 listen to the more recent recording and
8:46 you can see that there are no more
8:47 awkward pauses that you pronounce
8:49 everything correctly and it's incredibly
8:51 motivating. So, I highly highly
8:53 encourage you to give it a try. I also
8:55 do writing exercises, but I'll be
8:57 honest, I do them less often. I am not a
8:59 huge fan of writing, and if I don't have
9:02 to do it, I'm not going to. Um, unless
9:05 I'm in a huge writing mood, um, then I
9:06 might do some writing, but I'm usually
9:09 not a fan of writing very long texts. I
9:11 might do some journaling because I like
9:14 to journal. Or what I also like to do is
9:16 I like to write gratitude lists. So,
9:18 that's a good exercise to try if you are
9:19 like me and you're not very into
9:21 writing, but you still want to practice
9:22 a little bit. All right, that's it for
9:24 today's video. I really hope you enjoyed
9:25 it. Let me know if you would like a part
9:27 two because now that I think about it,
9:28 there are a few methods that I didn't
9:30 talk about in this video. If you want
9:31 more content from me, you can follow me
9:33 on Instagram. The link is always in the
9:34 description, but I'm also going to leave
9:36 it in the comment down below. I'm active
9:38 on there every single day. Let me know
9:40 in the comments which method you are
9:42 going to try first. Don't forget to like
9:44 this video and subscribe, and I'll see
