Professional Documents
Culture Documents
But first, allow me to share my story with you, this is my own personal
polyglot beginning.
MY STORY
This book is about beginning a journey into learning a language, for me
personally this was also the beginning of getting my life on track.
In the end of 2013 I was stuck. Feeling depressed and finding myself doing a
university degree I couldn't care less about. I only did the bare minimum to
avoid being kicked out.
Then something changed. I had previously come across the Internet
polyglots but the idea of learning languages as a hobby, and perhaps even
many of them seemed quite unrealistic for me.
I didn't have a job, so I relied entirely on the grants provided by the Danish
government. Now I'm never going to complain about free studying and
getting paid to do it, but were not talking huge fortunes after rent is paid.
On a cold January evening I was browsing randomly, as I did so often and I
came across Benny Lewis Fluent in 3 Months blog. I spent the entire night
reading the website from start to finish. Were talking hundreds of posts.
I was drawn to his story because some 10 years prior, he had simply left
Ireland, speaking nothing but English and now he lived in a new country
every 3 months as well as speaking some 12 languages to varying extents.
This was exciting to me. Here I was depressed, isolated and without any
apparent future ambitions.
Reading Bennys posts gave me the empowerment to believe that if he could
do it, so he could I.
Before I dove head first into being a full-time language learner I took some
time to work the idea around in my mind. Two short months after, Actual
Fluency was born as a way to keep myself accountable.
I was a serial quitter and I wanted to give myself added incentive to keep
going when things got tough (as they invariably do.)
I was following a few other language bloggers and one thing I was noticing
was that podcasting was very unexplored in the niche. I figured it would be a
great excuse to ask some of the brightest language learners any question a
new language learner might have.
That is how the Actual Fluency Podcast came about. As of writing this book
I've published more than 50 interviews that is guaranteed to motivate,
inspire and answer all the questions that arise when talking about foreign
language learning.
You can check out all the episodes on
AFPODCAST.COM
A year after I started my journey I could successfully converse in two new
languages.
Had I learned Russian and Esperanto to fluency?
Far from it. But I now had 1 hour talks with my Russian tutor entirely in
Russian, and I took part in a whole weekend of nothing but Esperanto in
Berlin.
I know some people are more talented, maybe even faster, at learning
languages that I am. To me that doesn't matter.
I didn't know any Russian a year prior, and now I could speak in it,
understand news articles and even follow along in Russian sitcoms.
That was an amazing feeling.
I found a job through the language learning network and quit my dead-end
university degree I was pursuing just for the government support, uprooted
from Denmark and moved to Budapest, Hungary.
All this was made possible by becoming a language learner.
I'm not saying language learning is some kind of miracle cure for depression.
I'm not a doctor either so this is simply what worked for me.
What I can say though is that becoming a language learner literally
transformed my life and I'm confident it can change yours for the better too.
For instance, going to Denmark you might find that Danish people are very
cold and not very welcoming towards strangers. However, once you start to
get to know them and take part in their "hygge" - that's the untranslatable
word of extreme cosiness, like the feeling of curling up in front of a fireplace
with a cup of hot chocolate - You'll discover that beneath the veneer of cold
lies a beautiful culture waiting to be explored.
As far as I'm aware, learning the language is the only way to truly get into a
country or region's culture.
Sometimes it starts the other way around. Many people get fascinated about
manga for example, the Japanese comics and then decide to study Japanese
to enjoy the comics in their original language.
However it is also very possibly somebody decided to learn Japanese for a
different reason (well look into that more later) and then stumbled upon the
manga, and used it to stay motivated and focused in their learning.
The point is that its very easy to be quite oblivious about how other
cultures, countries and languages work and operate. By learning a foreign
language you get tuned into not only how the culture works, but also how
the people think and express themselves.
2. Exercise your brain and delay brain degeneration and dementia.
A recent study published in the academic magazine "Neurology" came out
with the following conclusion based on a study of 648 people:
"Overall, bilingual patients developed dementia 4.5 years later than the
monolingual ones" Source:
Neurology.org
That's pretty significant. So the brain gymnastics aspect of language
learning is definitely not to be ignored.
Eventually, if you keep giving your self-discipline tasks during the day it will
snap and regaining productivity is like climbing mount Everest.
Some people are able to bounce back, but most people need a reset, usually
sleep to repair the band.
Just like real muscles, if a ligament is torn enough times, eventually it will
not be able to grow back. This is when we give up on our new routine all
together.
There are good news, however. If we apply the right thinking and mindset to
our new routines, we can learn to make the band stronger and most
importantly realize when we are tensing it too hard and just take it easy.
Heres the secret to learning a language: If you keep learning, no matter the
method, you will eventually learn the language. This means that our number
one priority is to put ourselves in a position where we keep going no matter
how tough or hard it feels.
Later I will get into ways on how we can start a language learning routine
without fail. There are some simple steps you can take.
For now, simply understand that the challenge of learning a language is all in
your head. Approach the learning with a yes I CAN! attitude, and stay
positive. This will pay huge dividends in the long run.
"Why" is the most powerful word in the world. Its the word that explains
every action of every human being. The reason its important in language
learning is that without a strong why, its really hard to keep going.
Again going back to weight loss (you can see how language learning theory
can apply to multiple areas of life) if you dont have any reason for losing
weight, be it a partner, family, health or anything then its going to be really
hard to put in the time on the treadmill.
This doesn't apply to everyone though. I've met plenty of people who
wanted to learn languages, but they weren't really sure why. Sometimes the
why can also come after you started learning the language.
So how do you come up with a strong why, when its not apparent what it
might be?
You could of course start a blog like I did. People, myself included, love to
read about other language learners. Be warned though, it's a lot of work to
stay consistent and while it is definitely rewarding you need to make sure
you're ready to commit to it before you go into it.
The other way is to visualise yourself speaking your target language. REALLY
imagine yourself speaking the language. Think of the happy feelings and
emotions that come with suddenly speaking a completely new language.
If you know anyone who speaks the target language natively, you can also
visualise talking to them and the look on their face as you now communicate
in their language.
Ideally write your whys down on a piece of paper. The act of committing it to
physical paper will enhance the emotion attached to it. After you've done
that be sure to frequently revisit it when youre feeling like giving up.
Many people who start learning a language dont even consider why. Just by
considering this before you begin, youre miles ahead of the curve.
other words, there were plenty of ways to combine my hobby for the game
with a new language.
But EVEN then I think my why, as we talked about in the last chapter,
wasn't as strong as it could be because I started on a bit of a whim.
If I had sat down and spent the time on the action steps, then I think I
would have done better with Russian.
If you are still unsure, here are some questions that can help you on your
way.
USEFUL QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
language followings?
movies?
Consider learning the language to enjoy the works in their original language.
This is particularly popular for Japanese, where people get into Manga or
Anime first and then want to learn the language to watch or read in
Japanese.
Consider also picking a language with someone else. The partnership will
keep you both more motivated and be a constant reminder of your why.
You can also consider learning Esperanto first, if you only speak one
language at the moment. Many studies have shown that learning Esperanto
before a foreign language can highly improve the rate of which the foreign
language is learnt.
In one study, French students in the UK were split into two groups. One
group would do 2 years of French and the second group would do 1 year of
Esperanto followed by a year of French. After the two years the second
group outperformed the first by a significant margin.
Why is this?
Esperanto is a very regular language, which means that its super easy to
learn and pick up. This boosts confidence and faith, which are crucial
elements to success.
Furthermore Esperanto also introduces a minimal amount of grammar, so
students will be quicker to understand grammar in foreign languages
because they can parallel to Esperanto.
Whether or not to learn Esperanto is your decision, but be informed that if
you do decide to learn it, you also gain access to a huge social network,
meet-ups and events, couch-surfing (Esperanto has had its own
couch-surfing since the 60s!)
Many people love it and some people hate it, either way the effects of
language learning is not disputable. If youre ready to learn Esperanto I've
collected a few resources that helped me, along with a few tips on:
http://actualfluency.com/learn-esperanto
Once you've picked your language its time to move onto learning it, but
before we get into the juicy details lets talk a little bit more about the
mindset of a good language learner.
GOAL-SETTING
I promised in the last section that I would get into the practical lessons of
learning a language that I have learned from interviewing over 50 polyglots
in this section. I will very shortly, but first I need to once again help you
establish a healthy mindset for when you get started.
Theres a huge risk that you after having read or listened to a ton of
motivational and inspirational material want to jump straight into the game
of learning languages. This is totally fine, but the risk with this is you start
way too enthusiastic and then burn out. Its frequently called the
honeymoon feeling. Analogous to coming back from a honeymoon to real
life.
What I suggest is, and this is the sentiment thats been backed up by almost
anyone I've interviewed so far is that its way better to set conservative
goals in the beginning. If your goals are too easy and you outperform them
every day you feel great, but if your goals are too ambitious you will fail and
the act of failing will really hurt your progress.
Learning a language, particularly on your own, requires a long consistent
effort so be sure you start on the right foot.
Before we can begin learning a new foreign language we need to set some
goals that we can follow and refer to if we feel lost or unmotivated.
Setting goals is a science in itself. There have been countless books written
on the subject and people seem to be always interested in how to achieve
their goals.
Commonly books will tell you what a good goal is, but Id like to present you
for the what a bad goal is. When I first started Russian I set very bad goals,
so I feel like an undisputed expert on this topic.
Bad goals
This is what characterises bad goals:
Unrealistic
: My first Russian mission had the ultimate goal of me
speaking in 3 months. LOL. If your goal is too unrealistic you will burn
out and abandon language learning all together. Avoid.
Shallow
: If youre not fully emotionally committed to the goal, it
wont have any effect on your studies. This also happens when your
goal is too ambitious or easy - you simply disregard the goal as
impossible or easy peasy and dont leverage the motivational effects of
the act of setting goals.
Vague
: Take my goal from the previous sentence: Learn Russian
Untimely
: I want to learn German When do you want to do
So it goes without saying, without a deadline you never have any pressure
or reason to actually work towards your goals.
progressing towards your goal if you have not set goals that allow
measuring? For instance if your goal is to be fluent in German, how do
you actually measure fluency?
A word on the phrasing of goals
Studies have shown that the brain is very susceptible to persuasive thinking.
This means that for greater effect, we should avoid using hypothetical
language like:
Id like
I would
I could
I WILL
I AM
I SPEAK
Fake it until you make it. If you keep telling your brain you speak German,
eventually it will believe you and you will gain a ton of confidence, that can
carry you until your saying actually becomes the truth.
To help you set good goals in the beginning you can use the S.M.A.R.T
criteria. I wont go into much detail about these but they are:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely
Heres for example my last goal for French: I will have a 15 minute natural
conversation with a native speaker after 3 months. By the time of the
conversation I have finished 100 out of 100 Assimil lessons, All the Michel
Thomas tapes and The French tree on Duolingo and I would have learned
1000 new words as well as completed 20 tutoring lessons.
It might seem a bit verbose, but all the components are specific,
measurable, realistic, attainable and timed by the 3 months goal. There can
be no question if progress has been made towards this goal.
What this allows is to also make logical sub-goals as you get started. Now I
have my 3 month goals it would make sense to break that down into
monthly and then weekly goals for all elements of the goal.
Weekly goals
90 new words 9 Assimil Lessons 2 Tutoring lessons 15 Duolingo Lessons 7
Michel Thomas lessons
This might seem like a lot, so be sure to make goals that suits you
personally. Overly conservative is usually better than overly ambitious in the
long run.
of vocabulary training. I'll also list my favourite ways to do that, but bear in
mind you don't have to use digital flashcards. Many people rely on
handwritten wordlist-type systems that also show great results.
Ultimately it comes down to you as the learner.
Incidentally that's also where this starting-guide leaves you. I hope you've
found it helpful for your new language learning studies.
Thank you + a quick favour
Before I introduce my list of favourite resources, I'd just like to thank you for
picking up this guide. I've been working on it for a while and seeing it in it's
full form is really amazing.
Before you go and learn your next foreign language, which I have no doubt
you will, faster than you ever imagined, I'd just like to ask you one quick
favour.
Would you share this free guide with your friends and family who are
interested in learning languages? It would really mean a lot to me.
You can find all the sharing options on this page:
http://actualfluency.com/beginning
RESOURCES
I'm going to list only resources that I have personally worked with. There's
too much low quality crap going around, so it's essential that the
recommendations you see in this list are genuine. If I'm not a fan of
something, you won't see it here.
By extension I'm naturally limited in the languages I can recommend
resources to. Luckily some resources are available in a ton of languages so
even if you're not learning Russian, Esperanto or Hungarian (As I was by the
time of writing this) then there are still good things for you in this list.
The list is split into 5 main categories. They are labelled conveniently.
I've added a few META-resources as well. Any of these would be a great
continuation of this beginning guide to help you become a better learner in
general.
Like Abraham Lincoln said: "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will
spend the first four sharpening the axe"
In other words, learning to be a better learner improves your learning
tremendously upfront.
META
Fluent in 3 Months Premium
: Benny Lewis runs the world's most visited
language learning blog, is a best-selling author and speaker of 10+
languages. In this premium area of his website, he shares a large selection
of resources to help you, including two of his previous courses, video
tutorials, sentence packages and much more. Updated for 2015!
IWillTeachYouALanguage Foundations Course
: Olly Richards has taught
himself 7+ languages and runs the popular blog: I Will Teach You A
language where he inspires and teaches people how to learn a language.
This course is a perfect next step after this book.
Add 1 Challenge
: The Add1Challenge is a community of language learners
that go together to form unbeatable motivation and accountability so you
can learn to have a 15 minute conversation in just 90 days.
TUTORING
Italki
: The biggest and best tutoring directory on the planet. Learn or Teach
here, end of story.
AUDIO-BASED
LanguagePod101
: Available in 31 languages the format follows a native
speaker and a learner who teaches you everything from the very basics to
advanced levels of the language. Also tons of extra content. You can
download their entire library for $1 by following
this guide
.
Glossika
: You know spaced repetition for text, Glossika is spaced repetition
for Audio. You learn natural sentences from a native speaker and thus learn
vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar.
Pimsleur
: Although I have struggled at times with Pimsleur and it comes at a
relatively high price tag, the fact that you can borrow it for free in many
libraries makes this a valuable resources in many languages. Focuses a lot of
pronunciation and conversation.
Michel Thomas
: By far the best introductory audio course. Michel teaches a
style where you make tremendous progress in very little time. Only
downside is that it caps out at a relatively low level and is not available in
too many languages.
Forvo
: Look up the pronunciation of words. Tons and tons of languages.
Rhinospike
: Request a text to be spoken by a native speaker.
BOOKS
Colloquial Series
: I'm not a huge text-book person, but I do enjoy the
colloquial series and the fact they offer all their audios online for free make it
a great choice.
Penguin Russian Course
: I found this book GREAT for Russian, it contains
upwards of 2000 words of vocabulary and introduces most of the grammar
concepts in a good pace.
TEXT
Readlang
: Input any foreign language text and get in-line translation. Also
available as a Chrome Plugin so you can hover over words on ANY website.
Duolingo
: Although heavily criticised I think DuoLingo is fun and a great way
to learn languages on the go using their app. Gamification is a great
motivator.
Lang-8
: Send in foreign language text to be corrected by native speakers.
By helping others you get priority for your own texts.
VOCABULARY
Memrise
: The largest collection of online flashcard courses. Also my
favourite due to it's ease of use and excellent mobile apps. You can also
make your own.
Anki
: The old-school rival of Memrise. A bit more rudimentary, but gets the
job done.
LearnWithOliver
: Pre-made advanced flashcards with lots of functionality and
games to teach you the words better.