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