Language Learning

Agenda:

● Glossary
● My Routine

Glossary
Sentence mining – This is my favorite technique to start off in a language. Often our
goal with learning a language is to speak. Sentence mining is the act of taking full
sentences that are ideally useful, applicable content and learning those. With this we
obviously learn vocabulary, but we do it in a way that introduces us to how those words
are actually used in context. We also learn grammar by noticing how the different
forms of conjugation are used in different contexts. Also, sentence mining puts us in a
position to use some of the phrases we know when opportunities arise, which fuels our
motivation to continue learning the language.

Resources: Mango Languages is my preferred platform to start. This app utilizes the
sentence mining technique in their structured programming. Some other apps
focused on sentence mining are Fluent Forever and Babbel.

Spaced Repetition – This is a learning technique that involves studying flashcards at

specific intervals. The more difficult the card is, the more often we see it. As we
continue to memorize the content, the frequency of reviewing that specific card
becomes less often until it is committed to our long-term memory. This, in conjunction
with sentence mining, is a powerful method to get past the beginning stages of
learning a new language.

Resources: Mango Languages, fluent forever and babbel have an integrated spaced
repetition program that they use. However, once you progress to comprehensible input
(info below) I recommend switching to a platform called Anki. This allows for
complete customization of the phrase and allows you to pull straight from the
comprehensible input.
Acronym: SRS (Spaced Repetition System)

Comprehensible input – After I have spent some time with the above two methods, I
then begin to explore the world of comprehensible input. This is when we listen to
content (preferably from native speakers) and essentially study specific blocks. For
example, I may take a 5-minute video which covers a topic I am interested in, read
through the transcript (there are many tools for getting a transcript which I can cover
later) and listen to that audio many times and often over a few days until I
understand 90-100% of what is being said.

I’m a firm believer that simply listening to our target language will not help us reach
our goals, it must be comprehensible. If we don’t have a clue what is being said or
understand any of the vocabulary being used, we lose the ability to pick up new words
through context and improve our level of comprehension.

I prefer to start with content in which I understand around 50- 60% from the start. This
means in the beginning stages the content needs to be relatively easy and more suited
for beginners in the language. As we continue to grow our vocabulary (staying up with
our SRS and sentence mining while adding in comprehensible input), we develop the
ability to listen to more complex information and really start to learn new things
through the language. This is when it becomes fun.

Resources: I enjoy listening to podcasts for this. In the beginning, it must be a

podcast that uploads accurate transcripts with each episode. I currently use “How to
Spanish” for learning Spanish. Each week they come out with a new episode so when
they do, I upload the transcript into a platform called LingQ. This platform simply
streamlines the translation process. It enables me to quickly read through the
transcript and save words/phrases I want to add to my Anki deck.

Shadowing – The next step in the process is speaking as much as possible. But how
do we do this if we don’t know native speakers we can converse with on a regular
basis? I will get to actual speaking training in just a minute but when first starting to
speak, I really enjoy incorporating some shadowing.

This is essentially where we mimic the speech of a native speaker. I typically do this in
the car while driving so I don’t look like an absolute psycho, but the important thing is
to get our tongues used to speaking that language out loud. I try to copy the pace,
intonation, and rhythm of the native speaker. We likely have a good idea of how to
pronounce the individual words by this point but now we are starting to develop our
pacing and accent. We are putting everything together.

Speaking – The most fun and rewarding but also intimidating steps of the process. For
this, I like to start off by using paid tutoring via iTalki. Tutor sessions vary in price
(depending on the language) but this is a great opportunity to speak with a native
speaker who is genuinely helping you improve your ability to speak. You will notice that
in the beginning stages, when you meet native speakers of your target language that
also speak English, they will reply to you in English telling you how great of a job you
are doing. They may not be interested in guiding us to fluency which is why I like to
save time and use paid tutoring.

There are also language exchange programs which are filled with people wanting to
learn English or whatever your native language is, in exchange for helping you reach
your language goals. When it comes to speaking, we just want to do it as much as
possible and put all the words and phrases that we continue to learn into action.

Resources: Italki, Tandem, Hellotalk

My Routine

1. I start by using Mango Languages. This is an easy app to use and will get us
introduced to the language without feeling overwhelmed. It also provides us with
conversational content which we can immediately apply to opportunities. I recommend
spending at least 6 weeks using Mango for 30-60 minutes per day.

Note: While I prefer this platform, any platform that resonates with you will suffice in
establishing a foundation in the language. Here are some others: DuoLingo, Babbel,
Fluent Forever, Pimsleur.

2. Introduction into comprehensible input. This is when I start listening to longer form
content. LingQ is my preferred app and they have short stories for the majority of
languages on the platform. These stories are designed for beginners and use simple
speech while exposing us to the authentic spoken language.

[Link] – After I have spent 4-6 weeks getting exposure to longer form content
through the stories or beginner speech, I now start using Podcasts. There are many
Podcasts for virtually every language that upload transcripts and are established for
teaching the language.

a. At the beginning of the week I upload the transcript into LingQ. Throughout
the next session or two I read through the transcript and save all words (In their
original phrase) and add that to my Anki deck. This gives me long term
exposure to the words and a deeper understanding.
b. I then simply listen to the same episode every day throughout the week. I
also study the provided flashcards (using an SRS) each morning. By the end of
the week I understand 90-100% of what is being said in the podcast.

4. As I begin to improve my comprehension of the language, I start introducing

shadowing with the podcasts. This helps my pronunciation, intonation and
comfortability with the language.

5. Lastly, speak a lot. Ultimately, our goal is to speak, so at this point with the
foundation we have, we can focus on developing our ability to converse in the
language. The reason I like to focus on comprehension first is because we can
express ourselves in creative ways, but we will never maintain a conversation if we
don’t understand what the person is saying to us.