Become a Polyglot in 2024: How to learn a lot of languages fast
Summary
TLDRThe video script from the University of Doo's Innovation Center, featuring Melia, offers a comprehensive guide to fast-tracking language learning. It dispels common myths about language acquisition, emphasizing that age is not a barrier and that the process can be straightforward if approached correctly. The key components highlighted are learning vocabulary, understanding word meanings, pronunciation, and consistent practice. The script advocates for developing daily habits in reading, listening, and speaking, and suggests using podcasts for immersive listening practice. It also underscores the importance of learning in context and practicing speaking through various exercises like reading aloud, Q&A, and translation. For advanced learners, the script introduces techniques like language highs, mimicking native speakers, and presentation practice. The ultimate goal is to achieve fluency through consistent and disciplined daily practice across all these methods.
Takeaways
- 🚀 **Fast Language Learning**: You can learn a language quickly by doing the right things, contrary to traditional language school methods.
- 📚 **Three Essentials**: To learn a language, focus on vocabulary, understanding the meaning of words, and pronunciation to ensure mutual comprehension.
- 🎧 **Listening Habits**: Develop a habit of listening to the language you're learning for several hours a day during routine activities.
- 📖 **Reading for Context**: Learn vocabulary and grammar through context by reading simple texts in the target language and then in your native language to understand the meaning.
- 🗣️ **Speaking Practice**: Practice speaking by reading aloud, engaging in question and answer exercises, and eventually conversing with others once comfortable.
- ⏱️ **Consistency is Key**: Be consistent in your practice; daily practice of reading and listening will lead to rapid improvement.
- 📉 **80/20 Rule**: Focus on the most important 20% of the language that will give you 80% of the results, mastering key vocabulary and grammar.
- 🔄 **Translation Exercises**: Use translation between your native language and the target language to improve writing skills and identify areas for improvement.
- 🎓 **Speaking Confidence**: Build the ability to speak on your own before engaging with native speakers to prevent embarrassment and maintain motivation.
- 📈 **Progressive Learning**: Start with basic exercises and progressively incorporate more advanced techniques like presentations to improve fluency.
- 🤓 **Self-Correction**: Use self-correction during translation and speaking exercises to identify and fix mistakes, enhancing your language skills.
Q & A
What is the main message Melia conveys about language learning?
-Melia emphasizes that contrary to common beliefs, learning a language does not have to be a long and slow process. By doing the right things, one can learn a language quickly, and she suggests that the traditional methods taught in language schools are not the most efficient.
According to Melia, what are the three main components of learning a foreign language?
-The three main components are learning enough words, understanding the meaning of those words, and knowing how they sound so that one can be understood when speaking.
Why does Melia suggest not learning complex grammar rules?
-Melia believes that mastering complex grammar rules is not necessary for becoming fluent in a language. Instead, focusing on vocabulary, word meanings, and pronunciation is more effective for communication.
What is the significance of developing the right habits for language learning?
-Developing the right habits is crucial because it ensures consistent exposure to the language through reading, listening, and speaking. This consistent input is what helps in learning vocabulary and grammar effectively.
How does Melia recommend integrating listening practice into daily life?
-Melia suggests finding a podcast in the target language and listening to it during everyday activities such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, working out, commuting, or going for walks or runs. This allows for multiple hours of extra practice each day.
What is the role of reading in learning vocabulary and grammar?
-Reading, especially in context, is the single best way to learn vocabulary and grammar. It helps learners to understand the meaning of words and how they are used in sentences, which is essential for language acquisition.
How does Melia propose to use bilingual texts for language learning?
-Melia recommends using bilingual texts by first reading the text in the target language, then checking the translation to understand the meaning, and reading the target language text again with the newfound understanding. This process helps reinforce learning and improve speaking skills.
What is the 80/20 rule in the context of language learning?
-The 80/20 rule suggests that 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort. In language learning, this means focusing on the most important 20% of the language (vocabulary and grammar) that will allow for understanding and communication of the majority of everyday language use.
Why is speaking practice essential for language learning?
-Speaking practice is essential because it helps develop muscle memory and the ability to think and speak in the language quickly. It also allows learners to identify and correct their own mistakes, leading to more natural and fluent speech.
How can translation exercises help improve writing skills in a foreign language?
-Translation exercises help by requiring learners to actively use and understand vocabulary and grammar in context. By translating from one language to another and then comparing the translation to the original, learners can identify and correct their mistakes, which improves their writing skills.
What is the presentation technique and how does it help in language learning?
-The presentation technique involves choosing a topic, setting a timer, and speaking on that topic in front of a mirror until the timer goes off. This technique is advanced and helps improve public speaking skills in the target language, as well as the ability to think and speak quickly and confidently.
Outlines
😀 Language Learning Myths Debunked
Melia from the University of Doo's Innovation Center introduces the concept of natural language learning, challenging common misconceptions about language acquisition. She emphasizes that learning a language does not have to be a slow process, nor is it limited to childhood. Melia suggests that with the right methods, one can learn a language quickly, contrasting traditional language school approaches. The key components of language learning are identified as vocabulary, understanding the meaning of words, pronunciation for comprehension, and speaking practice. The importance of practice and developing daily habits in reading, listening, and speaking are highlighted, with an optional fourth habit of translating for advanced learners. The paragraph also discourages focusing on complex grammar rules and instead promotes consistent daily practice for rapid improvement.
📚 Developing Language Learning Habits
The paragraph discusses how to effectively learn a language by developing habits in reading, listening, and speaking. It suggests finding time to listen to language podcasts during daily activities and emphasizes the importance of consistency. Melia provides examples of how to incorporate language learning into a daily routine and stresses the need to practice all three habits daily. The paragraph also introduces the concept of learning vocabulary and grammar in context through bilingual texts, which are read and re-read to understand the meaning and improve pronunciation. Additionally, Melia talks about recording oneself reading aloud to compare with native speakers and correct any mistakes, which is a game-changing technique for improving accent and speech.
🗣️ Mastering Vocabulary and Grammar
This section focuses on mastering vocabulary and grammar through context. It explains the 8020 rule in the context of language learning, suggesting that focusing on the most important 20% of the language can yield 80% of the desired results. Melia recommends using conversation scripts to learn about common topics and to quickly become proficient in speaking about everyday subjects. The technique of reading a text in the target language, checking the translation, and then reading aloud again is emphasized for its effectiveness in learning words quickly. Consistency in reading and listening daily is highlighted as crucial for improving comprehension and speaking skills.
✍️ Translation as a Learning Tool
The paragraph explores the use of translation as a powerful tool for language learning, a method dating back to the Middle Ages. It outlines a process where learners translate bilingual texts without looking at the original language version, then compare their translations to the original to identify and correct mistakes. This exercise is said to be effective for improving vocabulary and writing skills. Melia also recommends practicing translation daily for significant improvement in language proficiency, although it's noted that this method is more suitable for those aiming for a high level of language mastery.
💬 Speaking Practice and Language Fluency
This section emphasizes the necessity of speaking practice for language proficiency. It advises against engaging in conversations until one has built up a strong foundation in speaking. Melia suggests various techniques for self-practice, including reading aloud, language highs (memorizing and repeating important sentences), and mimicking native speakers using audio materials. She also recommends answering questions aloud to simulate conversation and practicing translations in speech. The paragraph concludes with the advice to practice speaking alone until one feels comfortable, after which real conversations can lead to more rewarding language experiences.
🏆 Advanced Speaking Techniques
The final paragraph introduces advanced speaking techniques for those who have reached a high level of language proficiency. It discusses the presentation technique, which involves continuous speaking on a topic until a timer goes off, akin to public speaking practice in the target language. The paragraph also suggests continuing to work on accent, fluidity, and the ability to think and speak quickly. It concludes by encouraging a disciplined and consistent approach to language learning, asserting that with daily practice, one can achieve fluency within three to six months. Melia invites viewers to apply these techniques and consider purchasing a course for a structured learning path.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Natural Language Learning
💡Habits
💡Vocabulary
💡Pronunciation
💡Speaking Practice
💡Context
💡80/20 Rule
💡Translation
💡Muscle Memory
💡Public Speaking
💡Consistency
Highlights
Learning a foreign language can be achieved quickly by doing the right things, contrary to traditional language school methods.
Three essential components for language learning are vocabulary, understanding the meaning of words, and pronunciation.
Complex grammar rules are not necessary; instead, focus on consistent practice and context.
Developing the right habits in reading, listening, and speaking is crucial for language acquisition.
Listening to a language for several hours a day can significantly enhance language comprehension.
Reading bilingual texts and understanding the context is a powerful method for learning vocabulary and grammar.
Recording oneself reading aloud and comparing it with native speakers can improve pronunciation and speaking skills.
The 80/20 rule can be applied to language learning to focus on the most important 20% of the language for faster progress.
Consistency in daily reading and listening exercises is key to improving language comprehension and speaking ability.
Translation exercises are an effective way to improve grammar and writing skills in a foreign language.
Practicing speaking by oneself using questions and answers can be as effective as having a conversational partner.
Breathing and muscle memory exercises can help in speaking the language more fluently.
Language learning should be enjoyable and not limited by traditional beliefs about the time and effort required.
Using the presentation technique can help in public speaking and thinking quickly in the language being learned.
Combining different exercises like reading aloud, questions and answers, and translation can lead to a well-rounded language learning experience.
It is recommended to practice speaking on one's own before engaging in conversations with native speakers to build confidence.
Consistent daily practice with the outlined techniques can lead to fluency in a language within three to six months.
Transcripts
welcome to natural language learning
this is the University of Doo this is
the Innovation Center I'm Melia I'm here
to teach you the natural language
learning system you
probably think learn languages takes a
long time that's a slow
process and that uh you have to start as
a child and a bunch of other limited
beliefs that's all not true
you can learn a language fast if you do
all the right things which uh the
complete opposite of the what they will
teach you in a language school so if you
want to learn language really quickly
you came to the right place let's get
going learning a foreign language is a
relatively straightforward process it's
not that complicated you need to learn
three things you need to learn enough
words the meaning of those words you
need to learn what those words sound
like uh so that you understand them and
you can be understood when you say them
and this is important and then you need
to keep practicing until you're good at
speaking and that's all you don't need
to learn complex grammar rules uh lists
of uh
Advanced uh whatever no that's the only
thing you need to do so
basically we
need uh
words meaning of the
words what they sound
like and I could use terms like
vocabulary and pronunciation and so but
I'm going to keep this as simple as
possible for all those who are not uh
exper languages and so what what they
sound like
and
then speaking practice now how do we
learn many well as
possible what it sound like
and get to speaking practice well you'll
say well will we can study a list of
vocabulary and uh learn five words a day
or something like but it'll take you
years to learn enough words to
understand the language well if you
learn five 10 words a day like some
people do don't do that let's let's do
it much easier much more enjoyable so
the way we can do
this is by developing habits right
habits
so uh in order to learn vocabulary and
grammar which is not that different from
vocabulary it's just learning the
meaning of other words right uh it's
basically input is all you need so you
should develop the right habits and this
should include first
reading
then
listening
then
speaking and a fourth form could
be
[Music]
translating if you want to get really
really good if you get rid of all of
your most or all of your mistakes you
should add this one as well but we'll
get that later if you want to get if you
want to get fluent fast and you want to
understand the language well and
speaking well this three are what you
should focus on so you should de develop
the habit of doing all this three daily
how well this one is very easy the only
thing you need to do is find a podcast
in the language that you're
learning uh find some time could be
while doing something at home could be
like cooking or cleaning or doing some
like can go shopping while listening to
something you can work out while
listening to
something commuting driving going for
walks going for runs and so on you can
if you get creative with it you can find
time to listen to the language that
you're learning two three hours a day
easy and that's a lot of extra practice
if you don't do anything else
it's likely that it will all sound like
noise to you but if you do the rest of
the
exercises and you keep listening to the
language consistently for an hour 2
hours 3 hours a day in a few weeks
you'll understand a lot yeah but you
need to do all of them you shouldn't
skip any of them
because uh yeah well this one I don't
really like it no for this to work you
need to do everything you can do it
casually half an hour of actual practice
time plus half an hour of listening a
day could do an hour and an hour that
that that would
be significantly faster or you could do
3 hours of practice time and 3 four
hours of listening time if you want to
improve really really fast I've had
clients who've done eight hours a day of
uh Spanish learning and they've improved
a lot in a month so it it really depends
on how fast you want to improve but you
should be as consistent as possible and
try to do it every single day each one
of them so like I was saying listening
find the podcast that you like uh you
can simply go to Spotify you
type Spanish if you uh learn Spanish for
example with podcast find find a bunch
of them uh choose one that you like and
you listen to it over and over again
and you should should probably listen to
the same episode twice so you understand
way more the second time anyway that's
already enough about listening let's
talk about this
one uh the single best way to learn
vocabulary and grammar is in
context and you can start by reading
simple
texts uh first in your language and then
in excuse me first in the language that
you learning then in your language to
understand the context the meaning and
then again in the language that you're
learn yeah so let's say you Lear Spanish
you get the bilingual text which we
offer here and we've got a lot of them
in natural language learning you have it
in Spanish you have it in English you
read the Spanish part try to understand
what it means try to figure it out you
then read the English part
you uh BL what it means and then you
read the Spanish but again now knowing
what it means and you read a lot this
time
and you should record
yourself I know a lot of people don't
feel comfortable with that but trust me
this is going to be a game changer you
recall yourself reading aloud 5 minutes
10 minutes a
day and then you listen to it every day
together with the listening practice
that you're doing so you're listening to
Native voices so if you want to sound
Mexican you should read alloud in
Spanish every day and listen to it right
before right
after native Mexican podcast or YouTube
videos or whatever you're listening to
so you will start the difference will be
very obvious in the
beginning but if you keep doing it like
that you'll start fixing your accent and
sound more and more like them because
you'll notice where your mistakes are
mistakes or like what your accent
differs from the
original um that's for
read uh for speaking that different
things you can do uh we've got a lot of
different speaking
exercises but to start with reading
aloud is uh enough if you read aloud
every day you will develop muscle memory
and you'll get faster and faster at
thinking and speaking in the
language but the second of main exercise
that we use is questions and answers you
get a list of questions you try to
answer them in speaking
you have your own answers already in
text so you first you can
practice reading the answers aloud but
then once you get enough practice and
you're comfortable with that you get the
questions without the answers about
different topics your work or your
hobbies or whatever and you try to
answer those questions on your own in
speaking speaking
aloud uh that will allow you to get a as
much practice as you want in the
language that you're learning without
needing a partner and that's it that's
all you need we'll we'll get into this
later but for now let's focus on the
phase three thank you let's let's get
going with this okay let's start with
reading for vocabulary and
grammar uh you probably heard of the
8020 rule which means 80% of your
results come from 20% of your effort and
that applies to basically everything so
uh in language learning we can use this
rule to figure
out what's what's the 80% uh what what
the 20% of the language that will get us
the results we want so if we focus on
the most important parts you will be
will be able to understand and speak
most of the language very quickly if we
Master the 80% most important vocabulary
and grammar and again uh don't even
think of grammar grammar is just words
uh it's just words that look slightly
different so don't don't worry too much
about that if you keep seeing it in
context you endling what it means and
that's the big secret here reading so
again you get a text in Spanish let's
say you learn Spanish or Portuguese or
German we've got different CES here you
uh it's translation in English you read
it first in the language you're
learning you try to figure out what it
means you check the translation if to
see if you are right if you knew what he
meant or if you didn't know anything
then now you get to know what he meant
and then you read it again now knowing
what he meant so it all makes sense to
you and you read it aloud and you recall
yourself that's for the speaking uh
practice for later
but this will allow you if you keep
doing this this will allow you to learn
a lot of words very quickly and if
they're the right words so the thing is
if um the scripts we use it because we
use scripts conversation scripts and we
talk about all the usual stuff people
normally talk about your job your uh
family Hobbies things you the things you
normally talk about if we get good at
speaking about those first you learn all
the vocabulary so you get good at
something and then you get good at
speaking of those you can have a lot of
conversations very quickly yeah so
that's the idea for reading we should
do reading in the language try to figure
out reading the read the translation now
know what it means then read again this
time alow and you keep repeating this
process this combined with uh listening
will help you learn learn hundreds of
words in a few days if you are super
consistent with this I can't emphasize
how enough how important this is so
consistency reading and listening every
single day you do these two things and
you'll improve your comprehension will
improve very quickly and your speaking
will follow yeah so let's start
reading let's talk about
translations and translating as a tool
for language learning this is not
something I
invented this is something people have
been doing
since I think the Middle Ages the Romans
the Greeks and so on because it's really
effective and it's the easiest way to
learn to write well in a foreign
language
and it's very simple as well so
basically all you need is a Val lingual
text and I'm giving you a lot of those
in the courses you you get hundreds of
bilingual texts there with different
topics plus you can create your owns
your owns your
own animal text um with the language
Island like I explained earlier
so basically you
get a text in the language that you
learning let's say learn Portuguese
Portuguese here
English and you get
sentences and you also get senten same
sentences
so hi how you doing and you go in
Portuguese you go in in
English and you've been reading then
figuring out what it means reading in
loud and so on and so forth and
listening to it now if you want to get
really good at
this you cover
this in fact I give you only the English
version so you can do this exercise this
is a blank slate later on in the
course um and so basically without
looking at this you can do it with your
own text that you find and you create
but I I give you a lot of those already
pre-made uh translation exercise
text so without looking at this you
translate this
into into Portuguese
yeah so how how you do how how you doing
and H blah
blah uh you write all the sentences yeah
I'm going to
work it in
Portuguese and once you're done you look
at the
original
take so let's
say you write the translation
here write the translation here
uh so you look at the original you look
at the
translation and
you fix all the mistakes use red you fix
all the mistakes you made and you go on
to the next uh text it's
a slow and tiring
exercise but I promise you if you do
this daily you get really really really
good at
vocabulary you because it allows you to
to see which words you know and which
what which ones you don't know because
this is not like having a conversation
and that you can't just Mumble and no if
you don't know a word you you won't be
able to write that word so you you have
a blank in the text or if you're making
a lot of
mistakes uh grammar's wrong or your
Spelling's wrong
whatever immediately notice and you fix
it yourself and then you maybe in a week
or two go back to the same text but I
recommend you doing different text on a
daily
basis again it's boring it's sing it's
long it takes
time this is only if you want to get
really really good X see1 it's level you
do this all the time for three months
you get really good if you only want to
speak have conversations understand and
even if you make
mistakes make yourself understood this
is not necessary but if you want to get
really high level really important Yeah
so basically this is all you need to do
uh to get good at Grammar and Writing
you translate into the language and then
you correct yourself and you keep
trying this is all you need to Lear gra
again okay finally let's talk about
speaking in order to speak a language
well you need to speak it a lot no
matter how much studying you do and how
many grammar rules and how many exams
you pass and so on I know people who
have passed a C1 exam in English Spanish
people who can't speak at all it's
embarrassing so anyway I'm not going to
go on around here in order to speak well
you need to practice speaking and you're
going to tell me yeah I don't have
anyone to speak with you can find
someone you can go to ity for example
and find someone to speak to
but you can do it by yourself really
efficiently and once you get my
recommendation is that you do all these
techniques and once you are comfortable
enough and you're able to speak a lot on
your own then you start speaking to
people it's always going to be
much uh it's always going to be
rewarding to talk to people once you're
able to say a lot of things because they
be like oh you speak Russian and that's
nice and and then you'll be like yeah
but if you start talking to them when
you can't even say your name then it's
going to be embarrassing it's going to
be uncomfortable it's just it's going to
be a mess and it's going
to uh make you lose motivation and you
don't want that so what uh I suggest is
you try all these exercises you do them
regularly after or while you also do the
reading and listening to learn all the
vocabulary and improve your
comprehension and once you can speak on
your own a lot then you startle with
people yeah so yeah let's
go this is a short list actually I think
I forgot
one
so
yeah first one breathing a lot super
easy take the text try to read a lot and
for maximum effect like I said you
record yourself you can send it to an N
speaker that's good if you want them to
give you some feedback you should
probably do that but also record it and
listen to it together
with native speaker material yeah
podcast speak speaking you hear s talk
you start noticing the differences but
you should read L all the time you build
muscle memory you get used to speaking
faster and faster in the
language second one language highs like
I said you prepare language is you read
them a lot daily you drill them you
should get really good at saying those
things all those sentences that are the
most relevant the most important
sentences for you you memorize them so
whenever you're in conversation and if
you're running out of things to say
having a couple
of groups of sentences that you can just
have you ever talked about my my native
uh language and you start talking about
it like I mean don't make it so
artificial and natural but you can
always try to direct the conversation
where you're strongest and if the more
language is you prepare
the
more areas you'll have the more strong
points you'll have so you can always
jump to one of the one of the islands
and keep the conversation flowing
right then this is for
pronunciation take a list of sentences
with audio and you listen to a
sentence you repeat after you listen to
it again you repeat after and try to
send as close as as possible to native
speakers you can do this with uh there's
lots of content out there you can use
for this there they really good
materials like asml
gloss
uh uh link as well the stuff you'll find
in natural language learning as well and
also YouTube YouTube is free and you can
find anything in fact your favorite
scenes from films from series are
perfect for this so if you want to
improve
your German
accent go watch some German
films uh and you end up sounding like uh
one of those actors you listen to All of
T Sha's uh lines and you repeat after
them in each one of his films and you
you end up something like him for
example don't just still TR as a as as
someone you in
German or do I mean what do I questions
and answers you get lots of those here
in natural language
learning long list of
questions on any
topic uh you try to answer them in
speaking it's as simple as that so what
hobbies do you have uh I like ski I like
h
I like
whatever and you you speak as much as
you can in each one of them yeah what do
you do for a Liv and you try to talk
about your job should be spontaneous as
if you were talking to people but you do
it in front of a paper or your screen
but
you try to do it as if you were in
conversation yeah this is really sounds
stupid maybe your neighbors going to are
going to think you're crazy but if you
speak to yourself with this questions
and an answers exercise you'll improve a
lot very quickly you should combine them
by the way you this is the easiest one
this is also the EAS this is basically
the same exercise but with your own
sentences you should do this a lot in
the beginning this later when you're
starting
to be able to say things and you want to
improve the way you say them this when
you want to get better at like
Thinking Fast and and speaking fast and
responding quick response then this is
the translation exercise that we talked
about in writing it's just the same
thing
in in uh speaking form so you take the
text in we used Portuguese as an example
ear I think we use the text in in German
the text in English you hide the text in
German look at the text in
English
uh and you go sentence by sentence you
read the English part and you try to say
it in German look it up if you got it
right perfect if you got it wrong you
read it aloud from the German second
sentence you same thing you you read the
English you try to say it in
German check if you said it
correctly if you didn't you said you
read lot keep doing
that simp
and the last one is the
presentation this one is Advanced it's
the most advanced of the techniques it
should only be done uh when you're
already at a relatively high
level and and it's also simple you just
choose a
topic put a timer
on topic that probably interesting and
relevant interesting and or relevant or
necessary
um uh set a timer you get in front of
the mirror and you speak in front of the
mirror
until the timer goes off yeah you keep
talking no matter
what that's the presentation technique
that's really good for when you have to
I mean you can do it with real
presentations you you have to do public
speaking it's basically public speaking
training but in the language that you
learn so basically this if you do all
these things
let's if you do this first three for a
month daily then you do this two for a
month daily
again and then for the last one you do
this
daily and you should probably the second
one you should do this to but also keep
doing this and then in the last one you
should do this but also keep doing this
regularly because they all complimentary
right uh you should work on your accent
but also on your fluidity and the
ability to think and speak fast with
this one and uh this also is muscle
memory and you get used to saying more
complex sentences that you read you
you're always going to use more complex
sentences reading out than when you're
creating your own sentences when you're
thinking of your own sentences that's
normal so they're all complimentary so
you should do all of them but in three
months if you start with history then
add this two and then finally at the
last one you can get really good at
speaking it's
just it's effort it's effort you need
discipline and you need hard work but if
you do this daily you get really good at
any language in three
months and I think that's all thanks for
watching and if you want to start
applying all this I mean you can take
the techniques go do it on your
own by higher recommend buying one of
the courses and you'll use these
techniques I go everything ready and
you'll get fluent in 3 months six if
you're lazy but you as long as you're
relatively consistent you'll get good
really quickly thanks for watching
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