Exactly What To Do To Learn 1,500+ Words Every Month (I Just Did It)

Summary

In 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.