How I Got Fluent In French In 30 Days (Full 8-Hour Daily Routine)

Summary

The video details an eight-hour daily routine designed to enhance French speaking skills. The routine is divided into two parts: four hours focused on speaking exercises and four hours split among accent improvement, conversation practice, vocabulary recall, and listening comprehension. The speaker uses apps like DeepL and Anki, incorporates techniques like the Pomodoro method, and engages in various speaking activities. Additionally, they emphasize the importance of regular practice with language partners, reviewing new vocabulary, and watching media with subtitles to boost conversational understanding. The goal is to achieve fluency by developing the ability to recall and use words effortlessly.

Takeaways

• 📝 The speaker spends four hours daily on speaking exercises aimed at improving fluency in a foreign language.
• 🕒 The eight-hour routine is divided into speaking and supplementary exercises, each taking up four hours.
• 🎓 The ultimate goal is to transition from a poor to a fluent speaking ability.
• 🗣️ Speaking exercises are varied, including free speech, storytelling, summarizing articles, and discussing videos.
• 🔍 The speaker uses two apps, DeepL for translation and Anki for flashcards, to aid in learning new words and phrases.
• 📚 After each speaking session, the speaker reviews recordings to identify and study unknown words and sentence structures.
• 🏆 A reward system similar to the Pomodoro Technique is used to maintain focus and productivity during long study sessions.
• 🗣️ Accent improvement is achieved by reading articles aloud, using Google Translate for pronunciation, and mimicking native speakers.
• 💬 Conversation practice involves speaking with language partners three days a week to naturally incorporate new vocabulary.
• 📑 Vocabulary is reinforced through Anki flashcards, studying both new and known words to quicken recall in conversations.
• 🎞️ Listening exercises involve watching TV shows and movies with subtitles to understand conversational French and informal pronunciation.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the speaker's daily routine?

The main focus of the speaker's daily routine is on improving their speaking ability, specifically targeting fluency in French.

How many hours does the speaker dedicate to the most important exercise in their routine?

The speaker dedicates four hours of their eight-hour routine to the most important exercise, which is speaking.

What is the purpose of dividing the eight-hour period into two parts?

The purpose of dividing the eight-hour period into two parts is to allocate four hours to speaking and the remaining four hours to four different exercises that support the speaking exercise.

What are the four exercises that supplement the main speaking exercise?

The four exercises that supplement the main speaking exercise are accent improvement, conversation skill enhancement, word recall, and understanding conversational French.

How does the speaker use technology to aid in their learning process?

The speaker uses two free apps, DeepL for translation and Anki for flashcards, to record and analyze their speaking, translate unknown words and sentences, and study them later.

What is the speaker's method for recording and analyzing their speaking sessions?

The speaker records themselves speaking for 30 minutes, eight times a day, and after each session, they watch the video and write down unknown words and sentence structures to study later.

What are the four variations of the speaking exercise that the speaker performs?

The four variations are: speaking freely about any subject, telling life-related stories, reading an article and verbally summarizing it after every two paragraphs, and watching a video and discussing it from notes taken.

How does the speaker incorporate a reward system into their routine?

The speaker uses a reward system similar to the Pomodoro technique, where they do two back-to-back 30-minute sessions and then take a 20-minute break with a choice of rewards such as a walk, watching an anime episode, or eating a snack and listening to music.

What is the speaker's approach to accent improvement?

The speaker reads an article with the best possible accent, uses Google Translate for pronunciation of unknown words, and listens to native speakers to refresh their accent and have a model to strive for.

How often does the speaker engage in live conversation exercises?

The speaker engages in live conversation exercises three days a week, talking to one of their two language partners for an hour or two.

What is the speaker's method for vocabulary learning and retention?

The speaker adds new words to their Anki deck and studies them for an hour, going over the words selected by Anki and reviewing entire decks as needed to help recall words quickly in conversations.

How does the speaker practice listening comprehension?

The speaker watches TV shows and movies in French with subtitles on to practice comprehension and catch informal pronunciation and speech patterns.

Outlines

00:00

🗣️ Intensive Speaking Exercise for Fluency

The speaker dedicates the majority of their routine to a speaking exercise aimed at transforming their speaking ability from poor to fluent. They spend four hours each day on this, divided into eight 30-minute sessions, using two apps: DeepL for translation and Anki for flashcards. The speaker records themselves, reviews the recordings, and notes down unfamiliar words and sentence structures. These are then translated and studied for future reference. The exercise includes four variations: free speaking, storytelling, summarizing articles, and discussing videos. A reward system inspired by the Pomodoro technique is used to maintain focus and productivity.

05:06

📚 Accent Refinement and Conversation Practice

The speaker focuses on accent improvement by reading articles and using Google Translate to learn pronunciation of unknown words. They also listen to native speakers to refine their accent. Conversation practice is done three days a week with language partners, allowing for natural incorporation of new vocabulary and correction of speaking habits. The speaker compiles a list of new words from their exercises to add to their Anki deck for vocabulary reinforcement. The speaker emphasizes the importance of recalling words quickly in conversations and internalizing them over time.

🎓 Vocabulary and Listening Comprehension Exercises

The speaker's vocabulary exercise involves creating and reviewing Anki cards for newly learned words to enhance quick recall during conversations. They spend an hour on this, studying decks until completed or focusing on specific decks as needed. The listening exercise aims to understand conversational French through watching TV shows and movies with subtitles, which helps in catching informal pronunciation and speech patterns. The speaker encourages viewers to like and subscribe for more content and provides links to a time-lapse of their progress and a detailed speaking exercise guide.

Keywords

💡Speaking Exercise

Speaking Exercise is the central activity in the video's routine, designed to enhance fluency in a foreign language. It involves dedicating significant time to practice speaking, with a focus on recalling words and structuring sentences naturally. The script mentions spending four hours on this exercise, which is divided into 30-minute sessions with subsequent review of mistakes and vocabulary acquisition.

💡Fluency

Fluency in this context refers to the ability to speak a language smoothly and effortlessly, without having to consciously think about the words or grammar. The video's theme revolves around achieving fluency, as the speaker aims to transition from a 'terrible' to a 'fluent' speaker by practicing speaking exercises and using tools like Anki for vocabulary retention.

💡Accent

Accent in the script pertains to the pronunciation and intonation patterns native to a particular language or region. The speaker's goal includes developing an accurate accent by reading articles and using tools like Google Translate to learn correct pronunciations, which is crucial for speaking like a native and being understood by others.

💡Conversation

Conversation is an interactive verbal exchange between individuals. The script describes improving conversational skills as one of the key exercises, where the speaker engages in natural dialogues with language partners to practice using new vocabulary and sentence structures in a real-life context.

💡Vocabulary

Vocabulary encompasses the set of words that a person knows and can use in a language. The script highlights the importance of expanding one's vocabulary through exercises like using Anki flashcards and recording new words encountered during speaking and accent exercises, which aids in quick recall during conversations.

💡Listening Exercise

Listening Exercise is aimed at improving the speaker's comprehension of spoken language. The script describes watching TV shows and movies with subtitles as a method to practice understanding conversational French, which helps in catching informal pronunciations and speech patterns.

💡Anki

Anki is a flashcard application used for memorization and learning. In the script, it is utilized to create and review vocabulary flashcards, allowing the speaker to study and retain new words effectively. Anki's spaced repetition system is beneficial for long-term memory retention.

💡Google Translate

Google Translate is an online language translation service that the speaker uses to translate words and sentences they do not know how to say in French. It is a tool for immediate translation needs during the speaking exercise, helping the speaker to learn pronunciation and meanings of new words.

💡Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method used to maintain focus and productivity. The speaker adapts this technique by doing two back-to-back 30-minute sessions followed by a 20-minute break with a choice of rewards, which helps in staying concentrated during the lengthy speaking exercises.

💡Language Partners

Language Partners are individuals with whom one practices speaking a language. In the script, the speaker has two language partners with whom they converse three days a week, which is an essential part of practicing conversational skills and absorbing natural speech patterns.

💡Comprehension

Comprehension in the script refers to the understanding of spoken or written language. The listening exercise is specifically designed to improve the speaker's ability to understand conversational French, which is a key aspect of becoming fluent in a language.

Highlights

Spends 4 of 8 hours daily on speaking exercise to improve fluency.

Routine designed to take speaking ability from terrible to fluent.

Uses two free apps - DeepL translator and Anki flashcard app.

Records 30-minute speaking sessions 8 times a day for a total of 4 hours.

Reviews video clips to identify unknown French words and sentences.

Translates unknown words and sentences using DeepL and organizes them in Anki and Google Sheets.

Four variations of speaking exercise to progressively increase difficulty.

Uses a reward system similar to Pomodoro Technique to stay focused.

Splits second half of study time between accent, vocabulary, conversation, and listening practice.

Focuses on speaking with an accurate accent by eliminating the need to come up with what to say.

Chooses an article to read with the best accent possible, using Google Translate for pronunciation.

Listens to native speakers to refresh accent and have a model to strive for.

Has conversation exercises three days a week with language partners.

Incorporates new words and sentence structures naturally during conversations.

Uses Anki to review and recall new vocabulary quickly.

Studies Anki cards for an hour, going over new and known words to internalize them.

Final exercise involves watching TV shows and movies to understand conversational French.

Uses subtitles to catch informal pronunciation and speech patterns.

Aims to reach 1,000 subscribers by the end of the next month.

Provides a detailed video on how to do the speaking exercise.

Transcripts

um

[Music]

after breakfast i go straight into my

most important exercise my speaking

exercise

and i'll spend four of the eight hours

of my routine on this one exercise

let me explain how this whole routine

works the exercises i've chosen for this

routine

and the time i spend on each exercise

were determined by my ultimate goal

taking my speaking ability from terrible

to fluent

so since my goal is based on increasing

my speaking level i spend the majority

of my time doing a speaking exercise

this routine divides the eight hour time

period in half and devotes four hours to

speaking

and four hours split between four

exercises that all supplement this

speaking exercise

the first exercise is for my accent the

second is to improve my skill in

conversation

the third helps me recall words i know

quickly and the last improves my ability

to understand conversational french

[Music]

the goal of this exercise is to develop

fluency which is the ability to recall

the words that you know without having

to think about it

and use them to express ideas that make

sense to someone else

i used two free apps for this exercise

deep l which is a very good translator

and anki which is a flash card app what

happens is i spend 30 minutes

speaking in front of my computer and i

record myself

i do this 30 minute session eight times

for a total of four hours

every day after each 30 minute session

i watch clips from the video and write

down any words that i didn't know how to

say in french

and any sentences that i didn't know how

to structure

i translate these words and sentences in

deep ill i put the words in an anki deck

and the sentences in the google sheet

that allows me to study them later on

during my vocabulary session

in four hours i do four variations of

this exercise in the first

i speak freely about any subject at all

in the second i tell stories that are

related to my life

in the third i read an article and after

every two paragraphs i verbally

summarize what i read

and in the fourth i watch a video and

then discuss what it was about from the

notes that i took

these variations get progressively more

difficult

i made an entire video that details step

by step exactly how to do this whole

exercise

and i'll link it in the top right of

this video our goal is to reach a

thousand subscribers by the end of next

month so please like and subscribe for

more content geared toward helping you

speak fluently faster

because this portion of the day is so

long i use a reward system similar to

the pomodoro technique

to increase my productivity and stay

focused during each 30

minute session i do two back to back 30

minute sessions

and then i take a 20 minute break where

i have a choice between three rewards

the first is taking a 20 minute walk the

second is watching a 20 minute anime

episode

and the third is eating a snack and

listening to music this makes it much

easier to focus during the back to back

30 minute sessions

because while i'm studying i have

something to look forward to

these breaks are optional so if i feel

like i want to go directly to the next

session

i do the speaking exercise was 50

of my study time now i'll split the

second half between accent

vocab conversation and listening

practice

[Music]

the goal of this exercise is to help me

focus on speaking with an accurate

accent

by eliminating the part where i have to

come up with what to say

the exercise is simple i choose an

article to read i read it with the best

accent possible

and when i come to a word that i don't

know how to pronounce i put it in google

translate

and i try to match the pronunciation

[Music]

if it's a common word that i use often i

also add the word to a list of words to

practice later

after every three paragraphs i listen to

a video clip of someone who has the

exact accent that i want to have in my

target language

for about two minutes then i continue

reading my article out loud

this refreshes my accent and gives me a

model to strive for

this exercise works because it allows me

to focus 100

on speaking with a good accent over time

pronouncing the words well becomes

automatic

so when i have conversations i can pay

100 attention to what i want to say

and not lose my accent

premiere conversation is easily my

favorite exercise of the day

i don't do live conversations every day

but three days a week

i talk to one of my two language

partners for an hour or two

voila

during this exercise i don't consciously

try to use new words that i've learned

i let the words that i use come

naturally and very often i see that i've

already started to incorporate new words

and sentence structures

from my articles and speaking exercises

as you speak to natives

you naturally start to absorb their

speech patterns the words they use

and their slang during this exercise i

also give feedback that corrects the

speaking habits i develop

during the speaking exercises that i do

while i'm alone

throughout the day i've written down all

the new words that i've encountered

during my speaking and accent exercises

now i have a list of new words that i'll

add to my anki deck

the goal of my vocab exercise is simply

to go over the new words that i've

learned which will help me recall these

words quickly in conversations with

others

happiness prevent or warm

sydney stingy stand out

highlight during this exercise

i create my new anki cards and go over

the words that anki has selected for me

to study today

i study anki cars for an hour if i

finish all the words that anki has

placed at the top of each deck

i click on the deck that i feel that i

need to go over and i study the entire

deck

and then i move on to the next deck i do

this until the hour is over

this exercise works because going over

the new words that i've learned

and even the words that i've known for a

while helps me to be able to recall them

quickly when i need them

over time i internalize them and have

fewer instances where i have to

consciously try to recall a word that i

know

it also helps me to incorporate new

words into my conversations

by keeping them top of mind

my final exercise of the day is another

fun one it's my listening exercise

the goal of my listening exercise is to

help me understand conversational french

so i try to find tv shows and movies

that allow me to practice comprehension

at a high level

anytime i watch something in a foreign

language i watch what the subtitles on

whether i need them or not

that way i catch things that i might

otherwise miss often people pronounce

words a bit differently when they speak

informally

than they do when they speak formally

because informal conversation is usually

spoken a lot faster and with poor

enunciation

watching what the subtitle is on helps

me to catch these words and learn the

informal pronunciation

please like and subscribe if this was

helpful to the left is a time lapse of

the 30 days where i took my friends from

terrible to fluent and to the right is

the video that details exactly how to do

the speaking exercise from this video

check them both out and i'll catch you

next time on language sports