Exactly What To Do To Learn 1,500+ Words Every Month (I Just Did It)
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the speaker discusses the importance of vocabulary acquisition in language learning, sharing their personal experience of learning over 1,500 new words in a month across eight languages. They highlight their focus on Arabic and Spanish, using tools like Link, Migaku, and Chachi PT to create Anki flashcards for efficient learning and review. The speaker also emphasizes the use of spaced repetition and visual mnemonics to enhance memory retention, providing a practical example with the Arabic word 'ashat' to illustrate this technique.
Takeaways
- 📚 Learning a foreign language requires a vast vocabulary, with fluency often associated with knowing over 30,000 words.
- 🗓️ The speaker learned 1,500 new words in the last month, focusing on Arabic, Spanish, and Sanskrit.
- 🌐 The speaker studies eight languages daily, but devotes more time to some languages based on personal motivation and current classes.
- 📘 The speaker is particularly focused on improving Arabic to read higher-level literature and is currently studying a simplified version of 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'.
- 🛠️ The speaker uses several online tools and services for language learning, including Link, Migaku, Chachi, and Vocab Tracker.
- 🔍 Link is favored for its dictionary quality and ease of use, allowing the speaker to export words for study in Anki.
- 🎨 Migaku is appreciated for creating visually appealing Anki flashcards with color coding and audio features.
- 📝 Chachi is used for languages not supported by other tools, such as Sanskrit, due to its ability to create exportable files for Anki.
- 🔄 Anki is essential for spaced repetition, optimizing the review process by focusing on words that need more practice.
- 🔑 Creating 'hooks' or mnemonic devices is crucial for memorizing new words, with visual mnemonics being a personal favorite method.
- 🌅 An example of a visual mnemonic provided by Chat GPT for the Arabic word 'ashat' (meaning 'shown') involves imagining an ash-covered rock shining at sunrise.
Q & A
How many new words does the speaker estimate is necessary to achieve a high level of fluency in a foreign language?
-The speaker estimates that learning 30,000 words or more is necessary to achieve a high level of fluency in a foreign language.
How many new words did the speaker learn in the past month according to the script?
-The speaker learned approximately 1,500 new words in the past month.
What languages is the speaker currently studying?
-The speaker is currently studying Spanish, German, Japanese, Mandarin, Tuu (a Chinese language), Korean, Sanskrit, and Arabic.
Why is the speaker focusing more on Arabic at the moment?
-The speaker is focusing more on Arabic because they are in an Arabic class at Professor AR's Language Academy and want to improve their ability to read higher-level material.
What tools or services does the speaker use to learn new words?
-The speaker uses Link, Migaku, and Vocab Tracker to learn new words, and also mentions using Chat GPT to create visual mnemonics.
How does the speaker use Link to learn Arabic?
-The speaker uses Link to input text and click on words to learn their definitions, and then exports the unknown words into a file to import into Anki for spaced repetition study.
What feature of Migaku does the speaker find particularly useful for learning Spanish?
-The speaker finds Migaku's feature of creating Anki flashcards with audio and color-coding words (masculine in blue, feminine in red) particularly useful for learning Spanish.
Why did the speaker switch from Vocab Tracker to Link for Arabic?
-The speaker switched from Vocab Tracker to Link for Arabic because Vocab Tracker's dictionaries were not as good, and it required more administrative tasks like copying and pasting definitions, which the speaker prefers to avoid.
How does the speaker use Anki to review and remember new words?
-The speaker uses Anki's spaced repetition system to review words at optimal intervals, ensuring that the material they struggle with is shown more frequently than what they already know well.
What is the speaker's strategy for creating hooks to remember new words?
-The speaker uses visual mnemonics, often created with the help of AI like Chat GPT, to create memorable hooks for new words. They also mentions studying etymology and word origins as other methods.
How does the speaker feel about the importance of reviewing words after initial learning?
-The speaker emphasizes that reviewing words after initial learning is crucial and likely constitutes the bulk of the effort required to master vocabulary.
Outlines
📚 Learning Vocabulary in Multiple Languages
The speaker discusses the importance of vocabulary acquisition in learning a foreign language, emphasizing the need to learn thousands of words to achieve fluency. They share their personal experience of learning 1,500 new words in the past month across eight languages, with a focus on Arabic, Spanish, and Sanskrit. The speaker is particularly invested in improving their Arabic skills at Professor AR's Language Academy and uses various online tools and services, such as Link, Migaku, and Vocab Tracker, to facilitate their learning process. They also mention their use of Anki for spaced repetition and review, highlighting the efficiency of this method over traditional review techniques.
🌐 Utilizing Language Learning Tools and Techniques
This paragraph delves into the specific tools the speaker uses for language learning, such as Link for Arabic, Migaku for Spanish, and Chachi PPT for Sanskrit, due to the lack of support for these languages in other tools. The speaker appreciates the features of these tools, like color-coding and audio integration in Migaku, and the comprehensive language support in Link. They also discuss the significance of reviewing learned words and the benefits of using Anki's spaced repetition system, which optimizes the review process by focusing on the most challenging material. Additionally, the speaker touches on the use of visual mnemonics to create memorable 'hooks' for new words, even leveraging AI to generate these mnemonics when necessary.
🌅 Creative Mnemonics and Language Learning Insights
The speaker concludes by sharing a personal mnemonic strategy for memorizing the Arabic word 'ashat', which means 'shown'. They use a visual mnemonic created by Chachi PPT, involving an ash-covered rock shining at sunrise, to remember the word's meaning and grammatical ending. The paragraph reflects on the speaker's theory that familiarity with a foreign language's sounds and patterns can make word memorization easier over time. They admit to not using mnemonics for every word, reserving this technique for particularly challenging ones or new languages. The speaker also provides links to the mentioned tools for interested viewers and expresses gratitude for a new microphone gifted by a friend, hoping it improves audio quality in their videos.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Vocabulary
💡Fluency
💡Spaced Repetition
💡Anki
💡Language Learning Tools
💡Visual Mnemonics
💡Chat GPT
💡Migaku
💡Chachi PT
💡Language Motivation
💡Literature
Highlights
Learning a foreign language requires mastering a vast vocabulary, with fluency often associated with knowing 30,000 words or more.
The speaker learned approximately 1,500 new words in the last month, focusing on Arabic, Spanish, and Sanskrit.
Arabic was the primary focus with 1,222 words learned, followed by Spanish with 251 words, and Sanskrit with 107 words.
The speaker studies eight languages daily, including Spanish, German, Japanese, Mandarin, Tuu, Korean, Sanskrit, and Arabic.
Korean and Tuu receive less study time due to a lack of strong motivation, while Arabic is prioritized for improvement.
The speaker is enrolled in an Arabic class at Professor AR's Language Academy, aiming to read higher-level materials.
The speaker uses tools like Link, Migaku, and Vocab Tracker to learn and review vocabulary effectively.
Link, created by Steve Kaufman, allows users to input text and click on unknown words for definitions and tracking.
Migaku is praised for creating visually appealing Anki flashcards with audio and color-coding features.
For Sanskrit, the speaker uses Chachi PT because it's the only tool that supports the language among the mentioned ones.
Anki's spaced repetition system is essential for reviewing and retaining newly learned words.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of creating 'hooks' or mnemonic devices to remember words more effectively.
Visual mnemonics, such as those created by Chat GPT, can aid in memorizing words that are difficult to remember.
The speaker demonstrates how to use a visual mnemonic for the Arabic word 'ashat' meaning 'shown'.
As language proficiency increases, it becomes easier to remember words due to familiarity with the language's sounds and patterns.
The speaker recommends Link, Migaku, Vocab Tracker, and Chat GPT for language learning, providing links in the description for further exploration.
The speaker thanks Mike for the new microphone, hoping it improves audio quality in the video.
A call to action for viewers to subscribe for more language learning tips and insights.
Transcripts
perhaps the biggest part of learning a
foreign language is learning
vocabulary you have to learn thousands
of new words in my opinion you have to
learn maybe 30,000 words or more to be
considered at a very high level or a
fluence level or a level where you can
read books and be able to understand uh
most if not all of the words so this
past month
I counted up how many new words I
learned and I came out to about
1,500 words in the last month it's
probably a been more than that but I
just looked at the languages that I'm
focusing more
on so I I found that I studied 1,222
words in Arabic 251 words in Spanish and
107 words in Sanskrit now the
interesting thing about this is I
actually study eight languages each and
every day and those are Spanish German
Japanese Mandarin tuu which is a Chinese
language Korean Sanskrit and Arabic so
as you can see I spend more time on some
of the languages than others for example
at the moment Korean and tuu don't get a
lot of study time just because I don't
have a very strong motivation to learn
those languag is at this time uh I'm
spending a lot of time in Arabic because
I want to improve my Arabic because I'm
in the Arabic class at Professor AR's
Language Academy and I want to be able
to read material and stories which are
at a higher level right now we're
learning uh we're reading Alibaba and
the 40 thieves but it's a children's
version so it's simpler and I want be
able to go through these children's
stories and eventually make it up to
real literature in Arabic I mean that is
real literature but I mean literature
for adults so I also continue my studies
I learned some Spanish Sanskrit as well
I'm taking a class at The Language
Academy but it's not as uh the pace is
not as fast so I don't learn as many
words per week so how do I learn this
may words
in a
month so there are three maybe four
sites or services that I use they are
link migaku Chachi and vocab tracker and
I use Link right now for Arabic link is
a site created by Steve Kaufman and
basically what it is is you can put a
text into it and then you can click on
the words it'll tell you you the
definition but it'll also record the
words that you click on that you don't
know so that later you can export them
and then I like to put the export into
chat GPT and chat GPT creates a file for
me that I can then import into Ani so
that I can study the words in Ani and
Anki will keep track of the reviews and
show me the flash cards at the right
intervals to review them properly
I used to use vocab tracker vocab
tracker.com for Arabic but the problem
with vocab tracker is that although it's
free although it's free the dictionaries
they use are not very good and I found
that I had to use chat GPT to look up
the words and then copy and paste the
definition or the translation of the
word into vocab tracker and that kind of
annoyed me because I'm not into
administrative tasks I want to spend all
my time or as much time as possible
learning the language and going through
foreign language material I don't want
to spend as much time doing
administrative tasks like copying and
pasting or uh looking up words and that
kind of thing so although vocab tracker
the benefit is that allows you to use
closed deletion flashcards in ankey I
did switch over the link just because uh
the definitions or the translations are
right there they use good dictionaries
and it's very clean it's very quick that
way for Spanish I used to use vocab
tracker as well but now I use migaku
migaku is great because it creates
beautiful ankey
flashcards uh it can creates audio in
the flashcards as well as color code the
words so that in the case of Spanish uh
masculine words are colorcoded I think
in blue and feminine words are in red
with other languages like German they
also have neuter in Gray and Japanese
they have it colorcoded by the pitch
accent Mandarin Chinese they have it
colorcoded by the tones so that's very
useful and I like that a lot um for
Sanskrit though I just use straight
Chachi P because link doesn't have
Arabic migaku doesn't have um Arabic by
the way which is why another reason why
I use Link Link has Arabic I should say
migaku uh has Spanish but not Arabic and
then Chachi PT I use for Sanskrit
because none of these not even vocab
tracker has
[Music]
Sanskrit so that's the reason why I use
Link now I highly recommend it because
it has a lot of languages it probably
has the language you're studying but if
you don't see your language in link or
migaku then you can always use Chachi P
PT to uh create a file which you can
export and then import into
Ani so the important thing to say here
is that even though I learned 1,500 plus
words in the last month uh learning is
just the first step probably the bulk of
the effort comes in reviewing the words
after you've learned them for the first
time so what that involves for me at
least is use saying Anki because Anki is
a spaced repetition system with an
algorithm that shows you the material
that you have the most trouble with more
often than the material that you already
know very easily and that's a real
benefit over just reviewing by reading a
book or going over your notes because if
you just read a book you are just uh
reviewing the material almost at random
and it's not optimized to show you the
material that you need the most help
with more often so that's why I like to
use eny plus eny just keeps everything
in order and keeps track of everything
and you don't have to figure out where
your notes are which material you want
to review you just open eny and it's
there plus eny also has an app for the
phone so I'm able to review words even
when I'm out and about if I have a
really busy day I can review words even
when I'm waiting for dinner or I'm in a
line or something something like
this so there are many ways to learn a
word uh but for me the most important
thing is that you have a hook a hook
that you can attach the word onto which
will help you remember it and people do
this in various ways some people study
the emology of the words so they see uh
uh maybe they look at similar
words um like in English we might have
politician but we also have politics we
also have policy so you kind of group
the words together see how they're
similar the similar meanings you can
also study where the words came from
what the original words were my personal
favorite way of creating a hook to learn
the word is to use visual neonics which
is something I've talked about in my
other videos but I'm just going to give
one example today because the other
videos really give a better uh sample of
them so go watch those videos if you
want to know more but I decided to pull
a word from my Arabic deck this is a
real word that I'm studying and I put it
through chat GPT and I asked chat GPT to
create the visual pneumonic just to show
you that you don't even need an
imagination anymore to come up with a
nemonic you can just have ai do it for
you so the Arabic word is ashat ashat
and this means shown like the past tense
of shine I think the phrase that
disappeared in was
as which means the shown the sun the sun
shown um but we're going to just try to
remember ashat which means shown and the
ponic that Chachi BT came up with
was
visualize an ash covered rock so that's
where we get ashra
uh and so you want to really picture Ash
on a rock to get
Ash and you want to imagine it suddenly
shining or suddenly shown brightly when
the sun came up with the sunrise so the
sunrise will help you remember that the
meaning is shown because the sun shines
and then you want to remember Ash
covered rock for
ashrock now the last part the full word
is
ashat but the at at the end is just the
feminine singular third person ending
for a verb so that you can just remember
for because you have to use it for every
verb uh I guess the masculine version
would be Ash without the T at the ends
but this we have ashat because Shi the
sun in Arabic is a feminine noun so it
came up as ashat but the important thing
is you just have to remember Ash
ashra to remember shown because the
grammatical part the at at the end
you'll just remember when you learn
Arabic because you have to do this for
every verb to get the singular third
person feminine ending so that's how I
remember or how I would remember that
the word for shown in Arabic is ashat I
just imagine an ash covered rock with
maybe uh like light shining beneath the
Ash and that the ash covered rocks
suddenly shown brightly with the
sunrise so that's basically how I do it
I will say I don't do pneumonics for
every word that I
learn some words you just get like that
you just know them right away so you
don't need to use visual pneumonics also
so my theory is that the more that you
study a foreign language the more used
to or more accustomed you get to the
sounds and the configuration of the
Sounds in the language and that makes it
much more easy makes it easier to
remember the words just because there
are certain patterns to The Sounds in
the foreign language that you only get a
real um instinctive memory or sense for
as you remember more and more and more
words in the foreign language so for
that reason I don't need to use visual
neonics for every word that I come
across some I just know right away some
I just get a sense of because I've sted
so many words before however if it's a
new language or if it's a word that I
really have difficulty remembering uh
then I use the visual neonics and either
I'll use my imagination to come up with
it or if that fails me just go to chat
gbt and I ask chat gbt to make a visual
nemonic for me and that works pretty
well so that's how I do it that's how I
learn 1,500 plus words in the last month
and I think I've been learning around
1,000 new words every month uh you can
check out another video I made where I
said I learned I think 21, 56 words in 2
years and that goes over some material
you can check out but that's how I do it
uh by the way if you also want to use
Link or migaku or vocab tracker even or
chat GPT uh I'm going to put links in
the description below so you can go
check out those services and maybe
you'll find them useful I will say link
is more geared towards a reading whereas
migaku is more geared I think they're
trying to make it more for videos like
watching YouTube videos videos and then
finding the words from uh the Clos
captions of the V YouTube videos but
they do have a version for reading you
just have to use the Legacy version of
migaku to get to the Reading part but I
do highly recommend it because they make
great flashcards for an so if you're
interested look for the links in the
description below and by the way if you
haven't noticed I have this new mic that
my friend Mike gave me and so I'm hoping
that the audio was better on this video
we'll see but thank you Mike for being
so kind as to get this mic for me I
really appreciate that anyway if you're
not subscribed already consider
subscribing because hey it's free and
you might learn something that gets you
to fluency faster thank you so much and
we'll talk again soon
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