Accelerate Your Language Learning With This One Tip
Summary
TLDRIn this insightful discussion, the founder of Glassa shares his top five habits for rapidly learning languages. He emphasizes the importance of mastering basic sentence structures and manipulative verbs to form a variety of sentences. The conversation also touches on the challenges of building language learning habits and maintaining focus amidst a busy lifestyle. The founder advocates for a disciplined approach to phone usage, prioritizing productivity over mindless scrolling, and stresses the significance of preparing for contingencies to minimize disruptions.
Takeaways
- 📚 The speaker emphasizes the importance of focusing on important tasks and not getting distracted by unimportant things.
- 🌐 As the founder of Glassa, the speaker shares his philosophy that there are no emergencies, and one should prepare for every contingency.
- 💬 He suggests learning basic sentence structures and manipulative verbs as a fast way to acquire a new language.
- 🗣️ The speaker highlights the significance of practicing pronunciation and fluency through deliberate practice.
- 🧠 He talks about the mental approach of being open to discovering the differences in languages while learning.
- 🔄 The speaker admits to struggling with consistency due to his preference for variety and suggests finding what works best for each individual.
- 🌍 He mentions the benefits of learning in different environments and how it can aid memory retention.
- 📱 The speaker shares his habit of over-preparing language learning materials on his phone for use during travel.
- 🚫 He discusses the discipline of avoiding certain apps that can be time-draining and the importance of not being reactive to notifications.
- ⏰ The speaker advocates for a mindset shift where one questions the long-term importance of the tasks that demand immediate attention.
Q & A
What is the speaker's philosophy on handling disruptions and non-essential tasks?
-The speaker believes in preparing for every contingency to avoid emergencies and dislikes being disturbed by unimportant things. They manage their time and focus on important tasks, setting specific times to check messages and avoiding distractions like social media apps.
How does the speaker approach language learning in terms of habit formation?
-The speaker acknowledges the difficulty in forming habits, especially when they dislike doing the same thing every day. They suggest finding what works best for an individual, such as learning a language for a few months and then switching it up to maintain interest and avoid boredom.
What is the speaker's strategy for learning and practicing language on the go?
-The speaker prepares language learning materials in advance on their phone and practices during spare moments like waiting for a flight or in transit. They also avoid checking certain apps that can be time-consuming and distract from their learning goals.
What are the top five habits for learning any language fast according to the speaker?
-The speaker suggests starting with basic sentence structures and manipulative verbs that can be applied to various vocabulary words. They also emphasize the importance of deliberate practice for pronunciation and fluency, as well as memorizing vocabulary and applying it to sentence templates.
How does the speaker manage to learn multiple languages despite a busy and variable schedule?
-The speaker overprepares by loading language learning materials onto their phone and finds time to practice during travel or in between meetings. They also avoid getting caught up in reactive behaviors and focus on tasks that align with their long-term goals.
What is the speaker's view on the necessity of checking social media apps frequently?
-The speaker believes that frequent checking of social media apps like Instagram is often unnecessary and time-consuming. They have trained themselves to resist the urge to check these apps immediately and prioritize more productive activities.
How does the speaker handle the potential roadblocks in language learning?
-The speaker identifies roadblocks such as the struggle to form habits and the need for variety. They overcome these by adapting their learning to their lifestyle, preparing materials in advance, and focusing on long-term goals rather than immediate distractions.
What advice does the speaker give for those who find it hard to resist the urge to check their phones frequently?
-The speaker advises developing discipline and setting specific times to check messages and social media. They also suggest preparing for contingencies to reduce the need for constant phone checks and focusing on tasks that will be important in the long term.
How does the speaker's approach to language learning differ from traditional methods?
-The speaker advocates for a more flexible and individualized approach to language learning, focusing on practical sentence structures and vocabulary that can be applied immediately. They also emphasize the importance of finding a learning rhythm that suits one's lifestyle rather than strict daily routines.
What is the significance of the speaker's mention of 'manipulative verbs' in language learning?
-Manipulative verbs are significant because they can be used to form basic sentence structures that can be adapted with different vocabulary words. This strategy allows for rapid expansion of language capabilities at a foundational level.
Outlines
🌐 Language Learning Strategies
The speaker, Michael, founder of Glassa, shares his top five habits for quickly learning any language. He emphasizes the importance of learning basic sentence structures and manipulative verbs that can be applied across different contexts. He suggests that mastering a few verbs and applying them to various vocabulary can lead to constructing hundreds of sentences, which is a fast way to achieve basic language proficiency. He also talks about the need for deliberate practice to improve pronunciation and fluency, and he advises learners to be open to discovering the unique structures of each language rather than assuming they will be similar to English.
🚀 Overcoming Habit Formation Challenges
Michael discusses the challenges he faces with habit formation, particularly his dislike for doing the same thing every day, which can lead to boredom. He shares his approach to language learning by switching between languages every few months to maintain variety. As a frequent traveler, he uses his time in different locations to aid memory training, associating the places with the language material he's learning. He also mentions his strategy of preparing language learning materials on his phone in advance for times when he's on the go, such as in a taxi or waiting at an airport, and his tendency to over-prepare to ensure he always has content to study.
📱 Managing Distractions and Prioritizing Learning
The conversation turns to how Michael manages distractions on his phone, particularly social media apps like Instagram. He admits to blocking out such apps to prevent time loss and focuses on urgent tasks first, such as messages and emails. He then prioritizes learning and reading over leisurely scrolling. Michael also shares his philosophy of not being reactive to notifications and the importance of being proactive in managing one's time and attention. He believes in preparing for every contingency to minimize emergencies, which allows him to focus on his tasks without constant phone checks.
🔄 Reflecting on Productivity and Life Philosophy
In the final paragraph, Michael's conversation with the interviewer concludes with a reflection on his productivity and life philosophy. He reiterates his approach to handling interruptions and the importance of focusing on tasks that will have a significant impact in the long term. He suggests evaluating the importance of current distractions by considering their relevance in 20 years, which helps him stay focused on his goals and accomplishments. The conversation ends on a note about the importance of having a clear vision and priorities in life.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Habit
💡Language Learning
💡Manipulative Verbs
💡Pronunciation
💡Fluency
💡Vocabulary
💡Disruptions
💡Contingencies
💡Productivity
💡Mindset Shift
💡Digital Discipline
Highlights
The importance of not being disturbed by unimportant things for productivity.
The philosophy of preparing for every contingency to avoid emergencies.
Top five habits for learning any language fast, with a focus on sentence structure.
Learning manipulative verbs as a template for sentence structure in new languages.
The strategy of applying vocabulary to basic sentence patterns for quick language learning.
The necessity of practicing pronunciation and fluency through deliberate practice.
The challenge of building habits for language learning and finding what works best for an individual.
The struggle with consistency in language learning due to a preference for variety.
Utilizing travel and changing environments as a tool for memory training.
The approach of over-preparing language learning materials for trips.
The idea of using downtime, like waiting for coffee or in transit, for language learning.
The impact of avoiding certain apps to prevent time drain and maintain focus.
Discipline in not opening certain apps that can disrupt the day's productivity.
The mindset shift needed to prioritize productive activities over social media scrolling.
The concept of not checking the phone frequently by preparing for contingencies.
The approach of responding to social media interactions at a delayed pace.
The rule of evaluating the long-term importance of current distractions.
Transcripts
I've accomplished a lot in my life and
I'm probably going to accomplish a lot
more just because I have this habit of I
don't like to be disturbed by
unimportant things but I also work with
the philosophy that there are no
emergencies you prepare for every
contingency you
should so Michael you're the founder of
glassa you speak dozens of languages can
you share what are the top five habits
for learning any language fast okay so
kind of depends on how deep you want to
go here with your own goals with the
language so if your goal of um being
able to acquire the basic structures of
the language I would say a set of
sentences that have the basic structure
of most sentence structures where you
could basically use that as a template
to apply any of the other vocabulary
that you're learning in the language so
what we have in in language is basically
what I like to call are like
manipulative verbs so a verb that
applies an action to something else for
example I put a book somewhere or I hit
something like I hit the book or I put
the book on the table or I give the book
to you those are three different
structures so one is I I hit the book
you could apply that same sentence to I
close the door I open the door close and
open I turn on the light I turn off the
light you know a lot of these things are
going to be uh using the same verbs in
in in a lot of different languages so um
when you say I put the book somewhere
you're using a location you're using
some sort of a direction as well or I
give something to you so if you just
learn for example um do give take need
uh and uh give and put you know several
of these verbs and you learn how to
apply the other words that attach to
that verb in the sentence you could come
up with probably a way to speak 100 or
more sentences by just adding a few
vocabulary words and so that would
probably be like the the fastest way to
acquire a language at the basic level so
you could use that and apply it to your
travels um and maybe I just need to
learn just enough Vietnamese to be able
to communicate in um in a travel
situation MH you know and so I think
that this same skill applies to all of
your language learning so it doesn't
matter if you're going to go really deep
with the language you can start there
and starting with those basic sent
sentence patterns and so starting there
can actually take you very far the next
thing would be of course um you need to
do a lot of practice with your uh
pronunciation and we talked earlier
about you know accent reduction and
these other things um viewers can check
out the other videos we've um posted but
the the most important thing here is
that with the accent reduction is that
you're doing a lot of deliberate
practice you're doing a lot of reps on
getting those sentences to sound fluent
and doing the your your fluency training
and so that doesn't have to take a lot
of time I mean you could you could do uh
a bunch of fluency training in a matter
of a few hours and over a few hours over
a week or so I mean you could get um
pretty good accent reduction and then
from there it's just memorizing a lot of
vocabulary and then applying the
vocabulary into the structure into the
template of the of the sentences that
you want to say so remember that like
all all the languages in the world they
have different uh sentence structure so
if you're asking a question in English
you're going to say do you do something
or does he do something and this word
does not exist in other languages you
don't ask except for maybe like polish I
guess polish has something similar to
English but you know other than English
and polish there aren't very many
languages that say do or does uh when
you're asking a question so um for a
Polish P person learning English they
would say oh that's just like polish
saying do you and does he you know um
but um for other languages they would be
learning English like why does English
have to add a do or does and so you have
to also think like whatever English does
don't assume that another language does
it so when I find that another language
does something that is similar to
English I'm always surprised oh it's
just like English I'm surprised that's
cool I always expect it to be different
in some way and so I think if you keep
the um the attitude of like I'm I want
to discover how this language is
different and then you find out oh it's
similar you're actually even um
pleasantly surprised that oh this is
going to be easier than I thought right
but if you always keep the attitude of
like oh it's going to be different you
want to discover what that difference is
then you're always going to find that
you're you have a great attitude and a
great motivation to learn more about the
language so over over the years learning
many different languages what were the
habits that you struggled with what were
the kind of the roadblocks uh that you
had to overcome before you could start
collect this more and more
languages some of the the roadblocks the
obstacles yeah like for example did you
have to put um Pro schedule language
learning time in your in your day every
day or what how did you over what were
some of the um let me just read this
what habits did you struggle with most
at first and how did you overcome them
the habits I I think that I I still
struggle with habits because for example
um I the kind of person who doesn't like
doing the same thing every every single
day MH and so I tend to like to look for
variety in my life and and and I try to
do different things on a daily basis so
building a habit where I'm doing the
exact same thing every single day tends
for me makes my life a little bit boring
so if I happen to be learning the same
language for a very long time I'll get
bored very quickly so I like to kind of
switch things up a bit so um I'll
typically learn a language for like
three months and I'll have to switch it
up a bit
and so you know the other thing is that
because I don't have um I travel a lot
now that the um the uh we're no longer
in in shutdown or anything around the
world I can I I tend to be um flying
around between Europe and Asia quite a
lot so
um I mean it we're we're only a couple
months into the year and I've already
been to like half a dozen countries M um
and so it it's I I spend a I like
sometimes I just like to wake up in a
different place and I think actually for
memory training it's actually good if
you if you are working on some skills
that you're working on and you're in a
different place you're in a different
environment because every time I think
back to the thing that I learned in that
particular place I can remember where I
was so those are often times good memory
cues and
so people like to say it's good to be
consistent and do the same things every
day and I think that every person is
built differently because I'm not that
kind of a person
so I think you have to find what works
in your life and what works best for you
so if you are the kind of person who has
that habit you're going to do great and
if you don't you just need to like what
I do is I I just keep in in the back of
my
mind I got to work on that language I'm
learning I got to find time today I'm
busy I'm running around these different
places I got to meet with this person I
got to meet with that person maybe I'll
do it when I'm in the taxi maybe I'll do
it on the way to the airport maybe I'll
do it when I'm waiting for the
airplane you just I I like to prepare
all my stuff in my cell phone in advance
before I leave the house or I'm going to
be away for a week in Thailand or I'm
going to be in Malaysia or I'm going to
prepare a bunch of stuff on the phone
that I'll do for the next week and a lot
of times I end up overpreparing and I
put more stuff in the phone I have like
these um note taking uh apps and stuff
like that and I'll just throw everything
in there I have my gloss app as well
that I'll I'll use but I'll I'll I'll
throw a bunch of stuff in there maybe
stuff that I want to read maybe stuff I
want to work on just throw everything in
there and often times I come back from
my trip and I didn't even get to all of
it mhm so I I tend to over prepare for
those trips and um just get everything
that I want to learn you know in there
well that's interesting cuz I think a
lot of people can relate to that where
it's really hard to form a new habit and
I think language learning is hard for
people because we we seem to think that
we have to De develop a habit and we're
so busy and we don't have time for that
um but what you're doing is you're
actually just putting it all on your
phone and when you're waiting at
Starbucks for your coffee you know you
you check it yeah and then I think overd
doing that even on the glosa app I can
just pull it pull it out and do like
five reps I don't have to do like the
sound and everything because I'll
disrupt other people but I you know I
don't wear headphones much so you know
it's just when wherever wherever I am
I'll I'll pull it out and I'll do it
yeah so yeah that I think that's very
inspiring because that means anyone can
do that yeah um rather than Doom
scrolling on Instagram you could
actually be pulling out your phone um
looking at Glasco or another yeah and
just learn a whole new language yeah
it's funny you mentioned Instagram
because um I have a a habit now of I
have basically apps on my phone that I I
basically have blocked out of my out of
my psyche it's just like there's the
Instagram app and I don't want to hit
that button cuz I knew it's it's as soon
as I hit it like an hour disappears yeah
cuz there's so much stuff that's going
on in there and it's stuff that I like
that I'm interested in cuz i' I followed
but I know that as soon as I hit it it's
going to be a time drain right so unless
I have like you know I'm I'm getting on
a a transportation device like an
airplane or I'm and I have five minutes
before I get there I might open it cuz
like oh I know in 5 minutes I'm going to
be closing this thing yeah um or if I'm
starting a a meeting in a couple minutes
I'm in in the taxi cab I might look at
something if I'm really that bored
actually I'm not ever that bored so yeah
like um usually Instagram like usually I
have messages I need to respond to I
have emails I need to read and those are
urgent things that I need to take care
first and then I'll move on to like my
learning and my reading stuff and if I
don't have anything there left to do
then maybe I'll open up a LinkedIn or an
Instagram but usually those are like the
last resort so would you say while
everyone or most people are scrolling
let's say I think my average screen time
was like 3 hours last time I checked
While most people are scrolling per day
per day um While most people are
scrolling three hours a day I can help
you with that you are you're actually
learning languages for that time yeah um
and so either that or I'm I'm reading up
on on other stuff that I find
interesting and I want to I want to be
able to read up on so yeah so why is it
so hard for most people to resist um
what's the mindset Shi mindset shift
that needs to happen for people to put
away all their apps and do something
more productive on their phone well
first of all I don't like uh disruptions
so my my cell phone is designed where I
can't take phone calls and I and even if
I get messages that come in I actually
have a specific time of day where I'll
open my messages and I'll check them so
it's not like like sometimes I'll
respond to a message and that person
responds to me right away but I don't
see it for a couple hours because I've
just I closed the message app and I have
I don't let those things come in and
disrupt me because I'm I'm doing my
thing and I'm busy with my thing or my
schedule or I'm filming with you and I
don't allow other things to disrupt me
while I'm focused on doing this thing
yeah today so um that's the first thing
the second thing there are apps that I
just don't want to open because I know
that they're going to
affect me for the rest of the day and
affect all of the things that I need to
get done so it's having a little bit of
discipline in that respect and the third
thing is
um uh since I do run a company I know
that there are people that are looking
for me and they have questions they need
to ask me and I and I need to be able I
need to keep in the back of my mind I
need to open up my apps to check with
those people on a regular basis during
work hours to make sure that everything
is is going okay because even their
messages I'm not going to receive them
right away right but I also work with
the philosophy that there are no
emergencies in life mhm you you prepare
for for
every every uh contingency right you
should prepare for every contingency in
life so there really shouldn't be
emergencies mhm and if there are I mean
we we learn from it and we work to
prevent those emergencies from happening
again in the future but when you get
older and older in life it's just like
you've built a lot of contingencies for
a lot of things to happen so so having
built those contingen
means that you know there won't be any
emergencies which means that should be
there shouldn't be which means that you
could actually not even look at your
phone for a long time because you've
already prepared for any anything that
might happen yeah whereas I feel like a
lot of people are very reactive to
things and that's why they're checking
their phone all the time well I think
that there are um they influencers on
websites like Instagram and and x and
whatever else
YouTube and they're they always need to
be you know they get a notification it
comes in they need open it and they need
to respond right away right right but um
I'll notice that like I'll watch a video
for example and I'll leave a
comment and then I'll I'll come back to
that video's com like somebody will
respond to my comment and I'll see it
six weeks later mhm and then I'll
respond to that person oh yeah yeah yeah
but it's been like 6 weeks right it's
like what's the rush I'm not in any Rush
are you in a rush I'm not in a rush but
I'll continue the conversation with them
but it just might take me some time yeah
just like dude I'm busy I got stuff to
do and that video whatever I responded
to was you know I'll probably see it
someday but it's just not it's not
really high on my priority list and so
even if I don't respond if I never
respond so be it it's just like you know
I got stuff to do in my life and I've
accomplished a lot in my life and I'm
probably going to accomplish a lot more
just because I have this habit of I
don't like to be disturbed by
unimportant things if you think about it
I there's a rule that I kind of work
with is
like the thing that's disturbing that
that wants your attention right now is
that thing going to be important to you
in 20
years you going to think in 20 years was
that thing like really important for
example my business has an issue that I
need to take care of today and in is
that going to affect my business's
outcome in 20 years or 10 years or 5
years if yes then I probably need to put
a lot of attention on it so that's kind
of My Philosophy with how I work with
things habits all these other things
yeah okay that's great
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