Benny Lewis's Blog, page 88

Language Learners: 15 Useful Skills You Get from Speaking a Second Language

Learning a new language enriches your life in so many ways.

I didn’t start seriously learning another language – Spanish – until my early 20s. I had no idea what to expect, and I never imagined all of the ways my life would change as a result of learning a language.

A huge change has been all the skills I’ve picked up from the process of learning languages. These are skills I’ve applied to my life, my blog, my work and my travels.

If you’ve been learning languages for a while, you may be surprised by some of the skills you’ve been building without even realising it. And If you’re new to learning languages, discovering all the skills you’d develop on the way could add extra motivation to start your first language learning mission.

With that in mind, here are fifteen of the skills you’ll get from learning a language…

1. You’ll Discover Amazing Techniques for Boosting Your Memory

It will come as no surprise that learning a second language requires you to memorize new words and phrases. Two techniques in particular form the backbone of many a language learner’s study program, and are the ones I recommend and use myself: Mnemonics and Spaced Repetition Systems (SRS).

A mnemonic is a technique you use to retain information through association. For example the French word for apple is “pomme”. As an English speaker, this reminds me of pom poms. So to remember the French for apple, I could imagine a cheerleader dancing with apples in her hands instead of pompoms.

Some of us were lucky enough to get exposed to different types of mnemonics when we were young, although the potential is hugely untapped, with just a few examples. In school you might have learned “In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue” to remember an important date, “Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain” to memorise the first letters of the colours of the rainbow, or “30 Days Has September, April, June and November…” to remember how many days a given month has.

But these barely scratch the surface.

Spaced Repetition Systems are also powerful because they prompt you to recall information just prior to the point at which you’re likely to forget it. As a result the information is quickly committed to your long term memory.

If you check out the lists of publicly available SRS cards for popular programs such as Memrise and Anki, you’ll see it is by no means limited to language learning! You can use SRS to memorize the names of all the countries in the world, elements on the periodic table, medical terminology, dog breeds and many more things. Talk about handy!

2. You’ll Improve Your Listening Skills

Listening isn’t just for language learning. Having good listening skills is important no matter what language you are speaking, and can help you communicate more effectively with the people around you.

It turns out that all the time you spend listening to podcasts, dialogues or music actually builds up your listening skills. According to one study (Lapkin, et al 1990, Ratte 1968), foreign language learners have been found to have better listening skills and sharper memories than their monolingual peers.

Listening is not only one of the core skills for learning languages, but it is also a primary skill in life as well!

3. You’ll Be Better at Math(s)

At first glance you might think that Maths and languages don’t have too much in common, but there is actually a connection between the two.

According to one research study published in the University of Michigan’s Language Learning journal (Armstrong and Rogers, 1997), students who studied just one semester of a foreign language for just 90 minutes per week scored significantly higher in maths and language arts.

Not only that, based on a 2007 study in Massachusetts, The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages has stated that “children who study a foreign language, even when this second language study takes time away from the study of mathematics, outperform students who do not study a foreign language and have more mathematical instruction during the school day.”

And back to point #2, since seeing the power of mnemonics in language learning, when I was still a Mathematics teacher after learning a couple of languages, I even helped my students learn very complicated equations they needed to memorise, using quirky mnemonics that I picked up thanks to language learning.

That’s pretty amazing! But it doesn’t stop there. It turns out that maths isn’t the only subject you will be improving with the study of a second language.

4. You’ll Be Better at Studying Anything

Whatever subject you choose to learn, it seems your ability to study is enhanced by learning a second language.

The same 2007 study in Massachusetts went on to state that learning a second language “is an exercise in cognitive problem solving”, which is “directly transferrable” to other areas of learning.

When I was looking for ways to enhance my study of languages, I came across methods such as the Pomodoro Technique, which improved my ability to focus on the task at hand.

These skills can be used for more than just language learning and no matter what course of study you decide to pursue, the study skills you develop will serve you well.

5. You’ll Be Better at Tests

It seems logical that improving your memory skills and your ability to study will have an impact on test scores too.

In fact, I’ve come across such an extensive list of research papers and studies that show a connection between language learning and academic performance it’s almost ridiculous!

From language learners outperforming monolingual test takers on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in the U.S. (College Board 2003), to significant differences on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test, learners of foreign languages “consistently outperform control groups in core subject areas on standardized tests, often significantly” (Armstrong & Rogers 1997, Saunders 1998, Masciantonio 1977, Rafferty 1986, Andrade, Kretschmer & Kretschmer 1989).

Clearly learning a second language builds skills with test taking! But academics aside, what about skills in other areas? Does it affect “soft” social skills?

It turns out it does…

6. You’ll Learn How to Be More Outgoing and Sociable

When I started learning languages I quickly realised that a vital component to practising a language is to get out and meet new people.

I wrote about the importance of meeting new people in a previous post, and if you think about it, it makes sense that learning and practising a language will help you become more sociable.

To practice your language, you’ll need to speak with native speakers. Odds are, you don’t have a room full of close friends who are native speakers in your target language waiting to practise speaking with you. So you’ll have to get out and meet some new folk.

The process of meeting language conversation partners is basically the same as meeting anyone. The skills of being outgoing and sociable are directly transferable to other areas of your life.

According to the Center for Applied Linguistics, Americans fluent in other language improve global communication. I couldn’t agree more.

For me, meeting new people from around the world is one of the main reasons I study languages. It has had a direct, positive impact on my life.

7. You’ll be More Creative

Often, learning to communicate in a new language is as much an art as it is a science. When you don’t know the right word or phrase you often have to come up with creative ways to express what you want to say using alternative methods.

This type of “outside the box” thinking is great for stretching your creative brain muscles. In fact, several studies indicate that individuals who learn a second language are more creative than those who do not (Bamford & Mizokawa, 1991).

And one of the areas where creativity shines is in figuring out the ways to solve problems. It just so happens, that is the next skill that learning a second language will help you develop.

8. You’ll Get Better at Problem Solving

There are few situations more anxiety-inducing than trying to express something urgent in a new language when you don’t have the vocabulary to say what you need to say.

The creative thinking skills we just talked about works well when working to solve problems. In fact, I’ve found that learning a language is essentially an exercise in problem solving and coming up with solutions. I talk a lot about developing creative and unique “hacks” when studying languages, but isn’t “hack” just another way of saying “solution”?

According to one study, language learners show greater cognitive flexibility, better problem solving and higher order thinking skills (Hakuta 1986). So, the more you practise solving language problems, the more you’ll excel at solving other problems in your life.

Plus, as a bonus, you learn ways that other cultures and people solve their problems which gives you a whole new perspective!

That perspective is important, because it ties in with the next skill you develop, which is related to being tolerant of others.

9. You’ll Learn to Be Tolerant of People Who are Different

When you learn a new language or visit a new country, one of the things you have to adapt to is thinking of yourself as the “foreigner” in the room. Suddenly you are the person who is different, and it changes your perspective on what it means to not fit in.

Foreign language learners are demonstratably more tolerant of differences among people (Carpenter & Torney 1974). Another study states “The positive impact of cultural information is significantly enhanced when that information is experienced through foreign language and accompanied by experiences in culturally authentic situations” (Curtain & Dahlberg 2004).

By experiencing the challenges of being in a different environment surrounded by people you may not completely identify with, you learn to develop empathy for those who also experience those challenges.

10. You’ll Learn to See Things from Other People’s Point of View

Learning a language helps you step into the shoes of people different to yourself – and that gives you empathy.

By learning a new language, you discover how an entire population expresses themselves and their thoughts.

Tim Doner, a well known Polyglot from New York, stated that he learned Hebrew and Arabic so that he could better identify with those on either side of the conflicts in the Middle East. Understanding a language is the first step in understanding a culture, which allows you to begin seeing people from other people’s points of view.

11. You’ll Learn How to Blend in When You Travel

When I visited Egypt during my Arabic language mission, I found that people easily identified me as a foreigner, and would often only talk to me in English, even after I started speaking in Arabic. After a careful study of the behaviours and customs of local Egyptians, I emulated those behaviours in myself, even changing how I kept my hair and the shoes I wore. Soon enough I was getting treated less like a tourist and found it easier to converse and communicate for extended periods in Arabic.

Studying a new language may not turn you into you the super spy polyglot, but it does expose you to cultural nuances and behavioural cues that will help you blend in when travelling to that country.

12. You’ll Become More Perceptive

My experience of blending in while in Egypt, and many other places, was born from taking time to really observe the people around me and not just letting the surroundings wash over me.

When you study a language, and work to emulate cultural behaviours, you gain skills in perception and awareness. You pay attention.

I’ve found that exposure to other cultures and people make me more perceptive to the unique qualities of my own culture and how it has shaped my behaviours. I gain a higher appreciation both for where I’m visiting, but also where I’m from.

And this appreciation also extends to my native tongue…

13. You’ll Improve Your Native Language

Until I started actively studying other languages, I had only a passing awareness of the parts of my own language that I took for granted as a native speaker.

It is like only having seen the colour blue your whole life, and then discovering the colours red and yellow. Suddenly you can see the whole spectrum of colours and understand how they relate to each other.

By learning a new language, you gain a better understanding of your own language. According to the Impact of Second Language Education the study of a second language significantly increases first language skills with reading, vocabulary, grammar and communication.

14. You’ll Boost Your Nonverbal Intelligence

Nonverbal intelligence refers to your ability to recognise visual patterns, connections and sequences.

When you study a language you are creating connections between words, phrases and ideas, and it forces you to remember “visual sequences” when looking at new words or reviewing flashcards.

My theory is that when you are learning a language and trying to communicate, your brain is actively seeking out relationships between different sounds, words and ideas. And, in my experience, this type of activity forces me to exercise the parts of my brain related to developing visual awareness and nonverbal intelligence.

However you slice it, language learning is a serious boost to your brain!

15. You’ll Be Better at Lateral Thinking

Studying a language often forces you to come up with solutions that are not immediately obvious, and to solve problems in ways that aren’t necessarily “logical”.

It turns out this is the definition of lateral thinking — the ability to use creativity to solve problems in an indirect or “not obvious” way, outside of traditional step-by-step logical patterns.

According to one study at the University of Edinburgh, studying languages improves the “elasticity” of your brain, and its ability to perform complex and creative functions. In fact, this study goes on to state that knowing a second language can actually delay the onset of Alzheimer’s or dementia by up to 4 years.

It turns out that learning languages actually keeps your brain young. Talk about some serious benefits!

So… What Are You Waiting For?

The evidence in favour of learning a second language is pretty convincing.

You’ll have a better memory, be more creative, and have more social confidence. Plus, you’ll improve your empathy and ability to take other people’s point of view.

What are you waiting for? You have nothing to lose and 15 amazing skills to gain.

The post Language Learners: 15 Useful Skills You Get from Speaking a Second Language appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

The CIA is Wrong: It Doesn’t Take 1,000 Hours to Learn a Language

Does it really take up to 4,400 hours to learn a language? According to the US Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute, that’s how long it should take. Study for 20 hours a week, and that’s over four years! Reduce that to five hours a week – a more realistic amount for most of us – and you’re bridging two decades. Crazy!

Don’t get me wrong. Learning a language requires dedication, focus and commitment. Whichever method you choose to learn a language, it will take hundreds of hours to reach fluency.

But fluency doesn’t have to be as heart-crushingly distant as 20 years away…

In any case, I’ve said before that focusing on the number of hours you study is a much more important measurement than the years you learn a language.

But just how many hours does it really take to learn a language?

Before we dig into more numbers from “official” sources (including the college where CIA trainees go for language training), let’s take a closer look at what it really means to be fluent in a language.

What Does Fluency Really Mean?

When I learn a new language, I aim to reach a level where I speak confidently and comfortably in the language. I call this “social equivalency”. For me, that’s fluency.

Usually, I’m not trying to pass a specific test. In my view, language learning is not an academic pursuit; it’s a practical one. I aim to be able to use the language effectively in everyday conversation.

If you were to look at my goals in terms of pre-established levels, then on the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR) scale my goal is around a B2 level. This means I “can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.”

With this as my goal, the way I study languages is completely different to the systems used by many “official” language learning organizations.

Essentially, my goal is to communicate. Their goal is to help you pass a test.

So, how many hours do they say you need to pass a language test?

The “Official” Number of Hours It Takes to Learn a Language

I’m going to take a look at a few different official sources related to language learning. Each has a different estimate of how long it takes to learn a language. By looking at several sources, we’ll come to a common understanding.

Most of these organizations measure time based on classroom hours. But we don’t just learn in a classroom — we have to study on our own as well. The suggested ratio is 2 hours of personal study time for every 1 hour of classroom time. That makes one classroom hour into three study hours.

For the purpose of this article I’ll err on the conservative side and make one classroom hour into two study hours.

Let’s take a look at a few different sources.

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)

The CEFR is the system used by many language learning centres in Europe. They measure the amount of time it takes to learn a language in “GLH” or “Guided Learning Hours”. Essentially, these are hours in a classroom.

If we look at a typical language course of 2 hours a day, 5 days a week, that equates to 10 hours per week or 20 hours of total study time.

Using English as a baseline example the GLH required to reach a B2 level on the Cambridge English Exam is around 500 to 600 hours, which, when accounting for personal study time, equates to between 1,000 and 1,200 hours.

The American Council of Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL)

The American Council of Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL) recently created guidelines to help language students work out their proficiency.

The have 5 different levels — Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Superior and Distinguished — with the first 3 each having 3 sub-categories of low, mid and high. The equivalent level to what I work towards on my language missions is around the Advanced-Mid level.

So, how long do they say it takes to learn a language? Well, based on the ETS Oral Proficiency Testing Manual from Princeton University, it depends on the language. They have 4 “difficulty” categories for languages, from Group I (Spanish, French, Portuguese, among others) to Group IV (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean).

Their estimate to reach Advanced-Mid level ranges between 480 hours of classroom study for Group I and 1,320 hours of classroom study for Group IV. Double that to include personal study time, and you arrive at somewhere between 960 and 2,640 hours!

The Defense Language Institute (Where CIA Spies Study Languages)

The Defense Language Institute (“DLI”), located in Monterey, California, is where the CIA, members of the U.S. armed forces and various other government agencies go to learn foreign languages. This is the premier (and only) language school for military and government personnel.

They provide residential language learning programs and even encourage a total immersion environment. According to their course catalog, students attend class 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. That’s 30 hours a week, not including personal study time.

Students at the DLI are training to pass the DLPT, or the Defense Language Proficiency Test. This is basically the government equivalent of the ACTFL. The Advanced-Mid level on the ACTFL equates to a Level 2 on the DLPT, which is the requirement for graduates of the DLI.

Their course catalog also provides the number of hours to complete their course. For Group I languages like Spanish and French students study for 26 weeks, and for Group IV languages such as Arabic or Chinese, students study for 65 weeks.

At 30 hours a week of classroom time, this equates to between 780 and 1,950 hours to learn a language. Factor in personal study time, then it is at least twice that number: 1,560 to 3,900 hours!

Non-Official Estimates of How Long it Takes to Learn a Language

So far we’ve looked at “official” government estimates of how long it takes to learn a language. Non-official sources provide an even broader picture of how many hours it takes to reach fluency.

According to Huan Japes, the deputy chief executive of English UK, a trade body for language colleges, it should take around 360 hours to get to around a B1 level. Since there is a 25% to 60% increase in the time it takes to get from B1 to B2, you’re looking at around 450 to 720 hours. With personal study time that is 900 to 1,440 hours.

Meanwhile, a 1999 study by the US Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute, found that adult native English speakers took 600 classroom hours to achieve the DLPT level 3 (around a CEFR C1 or C2) for languages like Spanish or French, and 2,200 hours for Chinese or Arabic. If you factor in study time, then you’re up to around 1,200 to 4,400 hours!

Why These Numbers Are Misleading

As you can see, there is quite a range in estimates between the sources we’ve cited. They range from 900 to 4,400 hours.

If you were to study a language on your own for 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, for a total of 20 hours a week, these estimates mean it would take you somewhere between 45 weeks and 220 weeks to reach B2 level of your target language. That is between one and four years!

So, how do you account for hundreds of people around the world (including myself) who are able to reach a B2 level in a matter of months? Well, there are a few reasons why the “official” numbers are misleading.

Myth 1: Tests are What Really Matter

The schools and organizations that these figures come from are focused on helping students pass a specific test or reach a certain certification or degree.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with those who pursue an academic understanding of languages. Personally I think it is wonderful that there are those who have dedicated themselves to a scholarly pursuit of language theory and pedagogy.

My purpose for learning languages is quite different. I rarely study to meet the requirements of a specific test.

My test is real life. My aim is to use the language as quickly as possible, and so my focus is on a “real world” approach. In other words, I aim to use the language, as opposed to analyzing the language.

Myth 2: Classrooms are the Best Place to Learn a Language

If you are working to be able to communicate in the language with native speakers, then find the methods that are best for that specific purpose.

Most classroom environments have one person standing in front of several other people, disseminating information in one direction. Is that the best use of your time if your focus is on practising the language as much as possible?

The amount of time you get to speak during most language classes is pretty low. In a classroom with 20 students you might get called on to speak with the teacher just 4 or 5 times for a total of around 5 minutes all together.

I don’t know about you, but 5 minutes per hour is not the best use of my time.

Myth 3: Textbooks are the Best Way to Learn a Language

I’ve talked at great length that speaking is the best way to practise a language. And, of course, the best way to speak the language is one-on-one with a native speaker.

In one hour with a native speaker the entire time would be spent actively using the language. Even if you accounted for 50% of the time when you may be listening to the other person, that is still 30 minutes every hour where you are speaking the language.

That is at a 6x increase in the amount of practice you get over a classroom environment. Instead of spending 6 hours in a classroom, you could get the same amount of speaking practice in just 1 hour with a native speaker!

Myth 4: Your Teacher Knows Exactly What You Should Study

That materials you cover with a one-on-one native speaker are different than what you study in a classroom, for one very important reason: it is relevant to you!

In a classroom the teacher tells you what materials you should study and the words you need to learn. For example, you may have an entire week focused on different modes of transportations, when the only method you actually ever use in your own life is a bicycle. Do you really need to learn the word for “monorail” or “freight train” as a priority?

By comparison, your own study with a native speaker is 100% relevant to you and your life. The words you use when speaking are related to you, so not only are you able to speak more quickly with a larger number of useful words, but you have a better chance of remembering words about yourself.

Studying in the one-on-one, native speaker method means you are able to use the language much more quickly than when studying in a classroom.

How to Bust Language Myths and Become a Language Hacker

Most language teachers are focused on teaching you the language, but they spend very little time teaching you how to learn the language. This means you are stuck studying with ineffective methods like rote memorization or listen-and-repeat tactics.

You’ve seen above that one-on-one practice with a native speaker is more effective for learning to speak, but when you start to incorporate specific language learning “hacks” the effectiveness is increased even more.

Here are a few of the most powerful hacks I use myself to help with my language learning efficiency:

The Pomodoro Technique

Use this time-hacking method to increase your productive sprints. By alternating 25 minute work sessions with 5 minute rests, you allow your brain to get some breathing room and are able to get in more focused work. Check out my video where I share how I use this technique.

Why does this work? If you don’t time-box your study sessions, the more you study in a single session, the worse you get at retaining the information and staying fresh as you get deeper into that session. Take breaks and you’ll be much more fresh!

Mnemonics and Spaced Repetition Systems

These memory-boosting techniques are the cornerstone of my language learning missions and allow me to quickly build up my store of useful words and phrases in record time. You can read more detailed instructions on how to use mnemonics and Spaced Repeition Systems on the blog.

Use italki to Find Low-Cost Online Teachers

You don’t have to travel to a country to immerse yourself in a language. You can find teachers and language exchange partners online. That way, you can practice your language from the comfort of your own home without ever buying a plane ticket. Be sure to check out my posts on how to use italki to find a language partner, as well as how to use Skype to learn a language.

Stop Studying a Language; Live the Language!

Try to incorporate your new language into every aspect of your life. Listen to music in your target language. Watch movies in the language. Play computer games or use your phone in the language. Sing in the language.Heck, even think in the language. This constant exposure will enhance your ability to speak the language and recall vocabulary.

The Truth About How Many Hours It Takes to Become Fluent

So, just how long does it really take to learn a language?

Based on my experience I would put the total hours necessary to reach a B2 level in most languages is around 400 to 600 hours. Now, before I say anything else, let me explain a few key points:

First, the number of languages you have learned before will affect this number. If it is your first time learning a language (and the first time is almost always the most difficult) the number will be closer to 600 hours.

Second, I use the hacks I mentioned above, and those I share in Fluent in 3 Months Premium , so my efficiency is higher than most people who are studying using “traditional” methods of rote-memorization and listen-and-repeat tactics.

Finally, keep in mind the goal I mentioned before. The only test I’m trying to pass is real-life interactions. I don’t study the language, I live the language, and my focus is always on speaking from day 1.

So, let’s break the hours down.

First, let’s look at an intensive learning project.

If you’re studying 5 hours a day, 7 days a week (which is about what I do during my language learning missions) and use a combination of live one-on-one practice sessions with a native speaker and self-study, you will be accumulating 35 hours a week. Over the course of 12 weeks (3 months) that works out to around 420 hours. That falls right in line with my prediction on how many hours it takes.

What if you can’t be that intense in your language learning?

I know that not everyone can put 5 hours a day into learning a language. But anyone (that includes you!) can absolutely find 1-2 hours a day, no matter how busy they are.

When you have less intensive study times, you do need to account for catching up, because you’ll have less momentum. Even with 33% extra study time to account for this, you still only need 560 hours.

But don’t take my word for it. Let’s look at what some other “language hackers” have done.

Lauren’s Russian Mission

Lauren is a fairly new language learner, currently working on her first full language learning mission with Russian. In her 1 month update she noted that she had been studying for 2 hours a day for 30 days (or 60 hours total), and she’s reached around a high A1 or low A2 level.

Maneesh’s Language Learning Experience

My friend Maneesh Sethi is able to learn a language in 90 days, and if you look at his methods and recommendations, he suggests studying 4 to 8 hours a day (we’ll average it at 6), 7 days a week. That works out to 42 hours a week which, over 12 weeks, is 504 hours. That’s right inside my 400 to 600 hour range.

If You Only Take Away One Thing from This Article, Remember This

There are two big lessons that come from all this analysis.

The first is that the traditional way of looking at language acquisition has some problems, because it is based on two huge myths:

Classrooms are the best place to learn to speak a language. (They aren’t!)

The goal of every language learner is to pass a test. (It isn’t!)

The number of hours that most “official” organization say it takes to learn a language is built upon these (at least in my case) incorrect assumptions.

To become a fluent speaker of a language, with a focus on communication, then the best way to improve your skills is to speak the language. I make this point so often that I should just rename the website to SpeakSpeakSpeak.com.

When your goal is connecting with real people through a new language, then the number one priority should be to figure out the most effective and efficient ways to speak as much as possible. And that is what my approach is all about.

If you want to learn the language to use the language, then the road ahead just got a lot shorter!

The post The CIA is Wrong: It Doesn’t Take 1,000 Hours to Learn a Language appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

How to Learn a Language While Studying Abroad

After I finished my university degree and moved to Spain, most of my initial friends there were not Spaniards but exchange students learning Spanish. Europe’s Erasmus programme brings together students who are interested in the cultural and language exchange options of spending one of their university years (usually the 3rd) in a foreign country. Similar programmes also exist outside Europe.

Since I spent so long with those friends, I almost feel as good as an “honorary Erasmus student” myself. But to be honest, I wish that I’d known about Erasmus and taken the chance to travel before graduation so I could experience life abroad for a semester or a year. The best part would have been that it wouldn’t have delayed my graduation date back home at all!

Today Winfried who blogs at The Wham is here to share his thoughts on how studying abroad works. If you are currently a student, or entering university soon, it’s well worth considering looking into this. Over to you Winfried!

In 2014 and 2015, I spent ten months in Norway as part of the University of Vienna program in Scandinavian Studies. This program was not even my main studying program, but it gave me the opportunity to get in touch with the Scandinavian world. These ten months in Oslo were some of the best times of my life. I made friends I’ll keep for life, I met my now girlfriend Alejandra (from Argentina), and I became conversationally fluent in Norwegian. Even now, back home in Austria, I get notifications on my phone from a Norwegian news channel, I watch TV-shows and movies in Norwegian, read Norwegian books from time to time, and chat with friends from Norway. Keeping the language alive motivates me to travel there again.

In this post, I’ll share the opportunities that are available for university students who’d like to study abroad. I’ll also go through the benefits of studying abroad, and (perhaps most important of all), show you how to avoid the English trap to ensure you have a full immersion experience.

Who is Eligible to Study Abroad?

If you are a student at any level (from high school to graduate school), then chances are you could study in a country of your choice for 6-12 months and learn a new language while you’re at it. This is true wherever you live. Most universities worldwide are already part of an exchange network. Even if there is no existing network at your university, it’s usually possible to make an arrangement to study abroad.

Erasmus provides a good framework between the institutes of different universities in the European region, initiated by the European Commission. They also offer some financial support to help with moving overseas. If you’re studying in Europe, you can find lists of all partner institutes in your home university

In the U.S., there are networks who can help you with an exchange, such as the University Studies Abroad Consortium. For other regions, you may ask your university administration, who may organise everything for you, or search online for websites such as studyabroad.com.

Instead of going through official programmes, you can also contact your favoured university directly and apply yourself. This is the most individual and flexible way to study abroad, although you may have to discuss this option with your professors or university administration before making an application.

In my case, I was studying Scandinavian Studies at the University of Vienna and I could choose between universities in Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Germany and Norway. I decided to study in Oslo for one year to become fluent in Norwegian.

In order to be part of the Erasmus exchange, I had to choose classes which fit into the curriculum of the University in Vienna. This was challenging on an organisational level, but in the end it worked out perfectly. Classes I ended up taking included Celtic and Old Norse Studies, Language Programming, and Media Theory.

What Are the Benefits of Learning a Language Abroad?

During my six years at university I spent in a total of three countries. I can now proficiently communicate in French, English, and Norwegian.

When you are abroad, it is fulfilling to communicate with local people in their own language. You understand their culture better and become a part of it. You begin to understand how big the world is, how many people and ideas and mind-sets and philosophies are out there. Your own understanding of the world also changes; it feels smaller and more interesting! The new language connects you to the place, you can read the ads, newspaper, local news and discuss issues pertaining to the area you are in.

Why Study Abroad? Why Not Just Stay at Home?

Culturally and academically, studying abroad is highly rewarding.

Staying at home is nothing new. It’s exciting to live in a new country for several months while learning a new language through immersion.

You’ll also have a lot of new experiences. Your exchange university will differ from your home university in many ways: Professor-student interactions; teaching and learning methods; how students interact with one another. This will make you realise the pros and cons of your own university.

You will also learn how to get by in a new country and become more independent.

How to Learn a Language When Studying Abroad

As you’re reading this blog, it’s likely you are wondering: how can I learn a language while studying abroad?

Let’s start from the beginning: either you learn the language before you move overseas, you already know the language, or you start learning when you’re in your host country.

1. Learn the Language Beforehand

Your home university may offer courses in your target language. This is how I learned Norwegian, and I studied for four semesters before moving to Oslo in Norway. If your university doesn’t offer language courses, you can look into other institutions that offer classes or learn through the abundant language-learning resources online such as italki and Duolingo.

Just because I’d studied beforehand didn’t making things easy. In the beginning, it was difficult for me to understand “real” Norwegian, with the dialects, fast talking speed, and complex vocabulary. It was also difficult to write academic papers. I was concerned my grades would suffer. That said, most people don’t expect to have the best grades when they study abroad. You study overseas to learn about a new culture and language, not for amazing grades. Anyway, in the end almost every single exchange student passes their classes. Also: when you hand in your first assignment about a really exciting topic in a new language (e.g. six pages about Celtic culture), you feel really accomplished.

If you already know the language to B1 level, you may be allowed to join classes in the local language and accelerate your progress. The guidelines of the host university decide whether this is possible, based on a language test or certificate. I had to take a placement test in Norwegian and was allowed into classes taught in Norwegian.

Most importantly, when you are in a class taught in your target language, you have the opportunity to get in touch with local students! They are the ones who know the language and will be happy to teach you. Making friends with the locals is the most crucial point in exchange semester. I’ll come back to that in a moment.

2. Learn the Language While Studying Abroad

Many students go abroad on short notice. It is not possible to prepare before they leave, so they either take an intense two-or-so week course or study once they’ve reached the host country.

If you do this, you’ll find yourself sharing a classroom mainly with international students. Teaching can be either in English or in the local language. As your language skills are unlikely to be good enough for joining regular classes, you’ll probably be encouraged to stick with classes taught in English. If you manage to learn the language during the first semester, you can join local language courses in the second semester.

Many friendships form in the language class or in the regular classes. Within my Erasmus exchanges, students liked to party, enjoy their time at the fjord, and travel together. All of these activities are mostly done in international groups with few or no locals involved. The language used is almost always English, which creates what I call the “English trap”.

Why Students Fall into the English Trap

English is the universal language, at least in Europe. If someone does not speak the local language, English is always used. Pretty much everyone speaks it.

Wherever you are, as a language learner, locals won’t always understand your attempts to speak their language and may switch to English if you look like you’re struggling. Of course, it depends on the English proficiency of the speaker, which varies in different countries. In France (I was there for a school exchange) locals struggle with English and are hesitant to speak it. In Scandinavian countries, most people are fluent in English, so English is their go-to language for foreigners.

I have met many exchange students who did not go to Norway to learn Norwegian, but English! Of course it is perfectly fine to train your English with other international students, in class, or even with the Norwegians.

The friendships formed in international groups are almost always English speaking. In other words it’s really simple to just speak English – and it is hard to arrive at the local level of the language.

How to Avoid the English Trap (Before It’s Too Late!)

What if you couldn’t learn the local language beforehand and are now stuck in classes taught in English? Don’t worry, there is still hope! It comes in the forms of the following:

Student Organisations

This depends highly on the organisation of the university. In Norway, for example, the university encourages students to join student societies. I found plenty of the following: hiking groups, interest groups (European Union, movies, gaming club, etc.), and volunteering at cafes/pubs in the basement of the faculties.

That is where I met most of my Norwegian friends. I helped out at the bar, served coffee in the afternoons, beer in the evenings, sat there to study and constantly met new people. You are guaranteed to meet locals, perhaps one fifth of them were exchange students, and all of them either spoke Norwegian or were learning it.

So go find a student organisation you’re interested in, and spend a large chunk of your free time there.

The Buddy System

The idea with a Buddy System is that students who know the university show new students how things work. This includes where the buildings are, where to go if you have a problem, and so on. During my first semester I was in a buddy group, and in the second one I was the buddy leader of another group. Mostly I was meeting international people (including my now girlfriend!) which was a really fun time. Other Norwegian buddy leaders helped me and organised activities, so I had opportunities to keep learning Norwegian.

Language Tandem

This is perfect for those who prefer a one-on-one arranged meet-up. Tandem partners speak a language you are learning, and they want to learn yours. So you teach for a bit, and then you are taught in the other language. It’s a win-win-situation. I taught German to two Norwegians, and talked in Norwegian with them.

Freetime Activities, Think like a Local!

You like to sing? Google will reveal which local choirs there are in your city. You can join a sport team, hiking group, skiing centre… anything you like! Chess, dancing…

Any hobby you have, there will be locals who want to do the same. Find them!

Most universities host a whole range of free time activities for international students, but then again, you’ll get caught in the English trap! At times you will have to put extra effort into avoiding the English trap, but it’s always worth it.

About the author: Winfried runs a travel blog with his girlfriend, Alejandra, at The Wham. He has lived in France, New Zealand, Norway, Austria and will soon move to Germany. He cannot talk highly enough of taking advantage of an opportunity to go abroad on a study programme.

The post How to Learn a Language While Studying Abroad appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

How I prepared for the French C1 exam

How can you master French? One way is to set yourself the goal of reaching C1 or C2 level. I’ll explain more about that in a moment.

So far on this blog I’ve usually written about how to get started in language learning. Getting started is one of the biggest hurdles for many language learners, which is why I’ve maintained this focus.

However, in this post – and in future articles – I’ll start exploring how to reach advanced levels of speaking a language. These posts will be targeted at people who have already reached an intermediate level in their language learning – but will no doubt interest beginners too. In this post I’ll show you how I passed the C1 French exam. No language learners left behind!

On the European Common Framework (CEFR), C1 means you know a language to an advanced level. Reaching C1 means you can understand long, demanding texts, speak fluently without searching for expressions, and understand implicit meanings. You can also use the language for business and academic purposes. Beyond that, this is a fun level to reach as a language learner, since at this stage you can understand sly or subtle jokes, and you’ll know most of the colourful expressions in the language. The only level above C1 is C2 – complete mastery.

French is the first language that I sat a formal exam in, back in 2005, when I tried out the DELF B2 level exam. B2 is an upper intermediate level (what I usually call “fluent”), directly below C1.

At the time I took this exam, I had no idea what each level meant. I worked very hard on my French for over three months. As it turned out, I was more than capable of communicating at B2 level and passed the exam very safely. After this, I lived in another French speaking region and worked as a professional translator in French for several years. This involved reading many technical documents and necessarily ensuring a mastery level in the language.

Ever since I mastered French, I’ve meant to come back to it and take a formal CEFR exam. Over the past decade, I’ve sat the Spanish C2 exam and German C2 exam, so I’ve got a much greater understanding of what the different CEFR levels mean.

Yet 10 years passed and I kept putting off formal French exams… Until now!

Why I Decided to Focus on C1 French before C2

My chaotic travel itinerary over the last couple of years (never in the same place for more than a few weeks) has made it difficult to arrange to sit a genuine certification exam. As such I decided to do a “mock” exam, which would be marked and corrected by a professional French teacher – and native French speaker – and sat under similar circumstances as the real thing.

This way I could take the exam at a time convenient for me, and it wouldn’t involve me travelling to an official examination centre, since the whole exam would be conducted over Skype or offline in a limited time. Obviously, I wouldn’t be awarded any actual certificate, but as this was a personal rather than professional goal, sitting a mock exam seemed infinitely more convenient.

If you’re in a similar situation to me, where you’d like the challenge of taking an exam but can’t necessarily afford the cost or travel to the exam site, I highly suggest you consider taking a mock exam instead!

Since I assessed my ability as somewhere between C1 and C2, I decided to take it one step at a time and focus on getting a solid C1.

I saw the mock exam as a solid milestone. Once I’d passed it, I planned to take a formal C2 exam after I’d settled down from all my travelling.

How to Do a Mock Exam

I grew up in Ireland where “mock exams” are part of every high school student’s life. In these mock exams, the results weren’t the main focus. Rather, the exams acted as gauges for how the real exam would look and feel.

I found my mock exams incredibly helpful in figuring out how to best approach exams. I learned to make sure I was giving each section of the exam enough time – which is a very common problem for test-takers. The mock exams also helped to highlight my weaknesses, and revealed the grade I could expect from the real exam if I did no further work.

Because of my high school experience with mock exams, I now advise all language learners to attempt their own mock exams. This is especially relevant if you’re planning to get a certificate in language proficiency. Many exam boards allow you to download previous exam papers from their website. Here is the one that I sat for French.

If you need help finding an exam paper, ask your language tutor. I find most of my teachers on italki. (If you’re curious, here’s how I select my teachers). While “Informal tutoring” is fine most of the time for general language practice, you really need to get one of their “professional teachers” to help you with an exam, since they tend to be certified and are likely to be familiar with the very exam you’ll be taking. They may even have experience of marking exam papers.

My teacher, Léa, is part of a small network of French teachers on the website Frenchkiff. She helped me through the entire process of the mock exam, as well as pointing out what I had to work on to reach C2 level.

My Experience of Speaking, Reading and Writing Advanced French

Even with mock exams, it’s important to prepare properly. So even if you see it as a simple preparation for the “real” exam, you still need to prepare for the preparation!

For each part of the mock exam – listening, reading, writing and speaking – I tried to get ready as best as I could in advance.

French C1 Oral Comprehension

To practice for the oral comprehension section, I listened to French news casters and YouTube videos together with my teacher, Léa. Then Léa would ask me complex questions about what I’d just heard. This is exactly how the comprehension section works on C-level tests, whereas the A and even B level audio comprehension tests could simply involve picking a word out of what you heard.

Once, for instance, Léa showed me a YouTube video of a bunch of teenage girls arguing and yelling at each other all at the same time. She then asked me to “simply” summarize the video in my own words. It was a brain-melting task because they were using lots of slang, speaking very fast and talking over one another. But sometimes these brain-melting tasks are just what you need to level up your language skills.

Since I focus so much on speaking in the early stages of my language learning, my listening comprehension tends to be weaker. In the exam, I could easily get the gist of the audio, but the questions asked at C1 level require you to fully understand every aspect of what’s being said. I didn’t do well in this section, so even though I “passed” the rest of the exam, I wouldn’t have passed the full exam because I would have failed this section. This meant I had to sit a second mock version of this section.

As we were not doing the entire exam at once, but one section at a time until I had it right, I did another oral comprehension test and this time remained focused. I took careful notes on everything that was said, and just about passed.

I also had a problem with audio comprehension in my German C2 exam. This tells me that I need to give a much bigger proportion of my time to listening comprehension and tuning my ear when I want to reach a C1 or C2 level.

Unfortunately I am a little hard of hearing, so that doesn’t help. Nevertheless, I’ll continue to work on my listening comprehension in all my languages. To get ready for the C2 French exam, I’ll be spending a lot of time listening to the higher levels of the Frenchpod101 lessons.

French C1 Reading Comprehension

Once again, at the C-levels this starts to get really tricky as you need to understand the subtle cues that the author is giving you. The questions are very far from being asked to find a simple fact that you can search for in the text. Even the multiple choice options leave you wondering how the article explicitly says any of the options.

The best way by far to do well here is through lots of reading. In recent years, I’ve finally had the time to embrace reading in my best languages and have been enjoying Jules Verne novels in their original French. Proud as I was about this fact, you can imagine how I felt when I saw them marked as B1 level books in Gibert Jeune in Paris!

This means that I have to up my game a lot. I have a subscription to Le Monde that I read as often as I can, but it’s not as engaging as I like. Léa introduced me to Le Gorafi, which is Verlan for “Figaro” (a major newspaper) and essentially the French equivalent of the Onion, and I enjoy reading this for fun.

I’ve recognised that I need to use a reading tool like LWT or Readlang and properly note hard words. I could also use C1/C2 level exercise books that ask questions after the text to test my true comprehension.

Realising this was very interesting, and I look forward to continuing to improve my reading skills in French (and other languages) to be truly in the solid C levels. I barely got enough points in this section, and need to improve it dramatically if a C2 level reading comprehension exam is on the horizon.

French C1 Speaking and Writing

In the CEFR exams, speaking and writing are called “oral and written production”.

My language learning approach always favours interaction with people, so this is the section of the exam where I always shine. In the mock exams I got 88% for written production and 90% for oral production.

I love practising my speaking skills, and I when I’m practising I make sure that the conversation goes towards complex discussions. Léa and I have had many interesting debates on a wide variety of topics. I’ve also given her the inside view on the technical workings of my business and website. What’s more, when I was in France my computer broke down. I had to work with a tech support guy to figure out which part of my computer wasn’t working and check each input, and explain what I was seeing over the phone. I don’t shy away from chances to use the language in varied ways, and I’ll make sure to keep that up!

For the written production section, I received one important piece of critical feedback: my sentences tended to be a little short. While I did well in most other aspects, to help me get used to potentially longer sentences we spent a few days looking at Fondements de la métaphysique des mœurs by Immanuel Kant, since the things he describes involve very complex sentences with nested commas that span huge paragraphs. It would have originally been written in German, which is more suited to such a convoluted sentence structure, but despite the long sentences you may not usually expect in French, in this document the way they are translated is genuinely the best way to express the original thoughts.

As we worked on my French writing skills, Léa got me to answer questions on Kant in written form, using sentences that would go on but not become nonsensical. It was one hell of a task, considering I wouldn’t even attempt to say or write such things in English!

What made this work particularly funny is that I am well known for telling beginner language learners that you don’t have to be able to “discuss Kantian epistemology” whenever you aim for fluency in a language. This is very true, but the day came when I had to do it to bring myself up to that C2 level. Oh the irony!

Wrapping it All Up

I hope you’ve found this account of my journey to reaching French C1 level interesting. I always figured that my French was around C1 or C2 level. Now I see that when it comes to speaking and writing, I may be ready to sit that C2 exam! But comprehension-wise I have a lot of work to do, as I’m borderline C1 for reading and listening. Now that I know my strengths and weaknesses, I can work on them.

Make sure to share your thoughts in the comments!

The post How I prepared for the French C1 exam appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

Busted: 6 Common Myths About Polyglots and Language Learners

There are plenty of language learning myths, especially about people who speak multiple languages (also known as polyglots).

You’re probably familiar with the romanticised image of the polyglot. It goes something like this:

A polyglot is a carefree genius with a perfect memory who, without any social obligations or financial limitations, travels the world with a backpack and an endless supply of airline tickets, effortlessly making friends while he sits in a cafe in Rome (or in a noodle shop in Hong Kong, or on the beaches of Brazil) with nary a care in the world and only endless adventures on the horizon.

After attending the recent polyglot conference in Berlin, I can tell you that I didn’t meet a single person who comes close to that description (although I’m sure many of us wouldn’t mind it).

It’s true that some polyglots have a few small things in common with the romanticised image of a polyglot. Unfortunately, these qualities end up becoming exaggerated and congeal into a single archetype. It’s as if the most interesting aspects of all polyglots were merged together, given a magic serum, and a mythical polyglot came out the other end.

The mythical, romanticized ideal of the polyglot is incredibly unhelpful to language learners. You can end up feeling that you’ll never reach the ideal, so why bother trying?

Today, I’m going to run through six of the most common myths about polyglots. I’ll explain why they exist, then reveal the real, messy, behind-the-scenes truth about what it means to be a polyglot.

Myth 1: Polyglots Are Naturally Gifted at Languages and Pick Them up with Ease

This is the myth I hear the most. The idea that polyglots have a unique, “genius level” mental gift, or are genetically predisposed with a “language gene” is incredibly common.

I believe the reason this myth is so pervasive is because most people are afraid of learning a language. This myth, more than any others, gives people a handy excuse for why they can’t learn a new language.

After all, if you are “genetically predisposed” to not be good at something, then naturally it makes sense that you can’t achieve it, right?

Wrong! Language learning is not like the colour of your eyes or how tall you can grow. It is a skill, and like any skill, it can be learned.

Essentially, “I’m not gifted at learning languages” is the fear-translation for “I’m afraid of failing at learning languages”.

The Truth: Polyglots Have Discovered Specific Hacks for Learning Languages, Which You Can Also Use

Polyglots are no more unique and genetically gifted to learn languages than anyone else. The only difference is that they have committed to take the actions necessary to learn a language, and faced their fears of speaking and making mistakes.

I’ve said before that the first language I learned (Spanish) was the hardest, not because of the grammar rules or vocabulary or pronunciation, but because it was first.

Learning languages is a skill, so the first time you try to develop a skill it is challenging. But, just like playing music or skiing, each time you work on the skill, you will improve and it will become easier.

The only difference between polyglots and failed language learners is that the polyglot kept pushing through and didn’t stop learning. As a result, they picked up tools and methods necessary to help them learn languages. The good news is these tools and methods are available to anyone. Once you learn how to learn a language, then the act of doing it becomes easier and easier with each new language.

Myth 2: Polyglots Have Incredible Memories

When someone can speak 3, 4 or even ten languages, many people assume that they have a photographic memory or are able to store thousands of bits of information in their brains at will.

Learning thousands and thousands of words must require a special ability or talent, right?

Not necessarily. It’s true that if you tried to memorize anything using standard rote memorization — repeating the same thing over and over in the hopes that it gets “stuck” in the brain — you would have a hard time retaining information. Now that I think of it, If I had used learning by rote with my languages I probably would have given up out of frustration a long time ago.

I believe this myth came about because most people never learned memory techniques when they were in school. If teachers taught the same memory techniques that many polyglots use to pick up vocabulary, then the mystique of a strong memory would be dispelled.

The Truth: Polyglots Have Learned Incredible Memory Hacks That You Can Learn Too

Thanks to memorization techniques like mnemonics (a technique you use to retain information through association) and Spaced Repetition Systems (a system that ingrains information in your memory quickly by prompting you to recall it just prior to the moment you’re likely to forget it) polyglots have been able to learn thousands of new words and phrases in a relatively short period of time.

This is a case of having the right tool for the job.

If I asked you to paint a house and gave you a can of paint and a toothbrush, you would probably lose patience with the work and give up. But If I gave you a nice big roller brush or a paint sprayer, the job could get done in no time at all.

The key to a polyglot’s memory isn’t the brain they were born with, but is a result of the memorization techniques and methods they have learned.

Myth 3: Polyglots Have Thousands of Dollars/Euro/Pounds to Spend on Travelling

Given that polyglots “spend all their time travelling the world” (a myth that I’ll discuss in just a moment), clearly they must have lots of disposable cash lying around to take these international language-learning treks.

I can understand why people might think this. Just look at the price of a “standard” ticket from New York to Paris, or the cost of a hotel room in a large city. Clearly anyone who travels a lot has some deep pockets!

Well, not really. What you need to realize is that polyglots are very resourceful and have learned “hacks” that help them reduce the costs of international travel.

The Truth: Polyglots Make Creative Sacrifices so They Can Travel

There are many different types of travel, so its important to realize that most polyglots who travel extensively, like myself, are not your typical “tourists”.

There are many ways to “hack” travel to reduce the costs of transportation, lodging and food. And some of these hacks require a bit of sacrifice.

For example, instead of staying in a nice hotel, I save money by staying in a hostel or renting an out-of-the-way apartment on airbnb.com. Or instead of taking a direct flight during the peak season,you can take multi-leg trips on budget airlines during the off season when prices are lower.

Want to save money on food? Do it the same way you would back home! Don’t eat out as much and cook for yourself buying food at the grocery store or local market where the costs are lower.

If you are willing to make some sacrifices with your comfort or convenience, you can save quite a bit on travel costs.

I’ve written up a post on how to travel the world on the cheap, and also be sure to check out Nomadic Matt’s travel site, where my good friend Matt shares amazing advice on hacking travel all around the planet.

Myth 4: Polyglots Have More Free Time Than “Normal” People

On one side of this myth is the idea that polyglots forgo all the enjoyable activities in their life — spending time with friends and family, going out to see a movie, or playing sports — to satisfy the extensive time requirements that learning a language requires.

On the other side is the idea that polyglots have nothing better to do with their time than spend it learning languages, having no responsibilities or obligations to anyone but their love of languages.

Clearly they can’t both be true! This is another myth brought about by fear — a fear of losing one of the most precious commodities people have: time.

As with all beliefs based on fear, the reality is not that bleak, and learning a language doesn’t mean giving up the things you love.

The Truth: Polyglots Focus Their Time and Energy in Smart Ways to Capitalize on Free Moments

For people who believe this myth, the first mindset shift they need to make is realizing that, for most polyglots, studying languages is something they love. They don’t see learning a language as taking away time from other things because language learning is their passion.

Of course, polyglots, like anyone, have other interests and hobbies, so they don’t spend every spare moment engrossed in flashcards and textbooks. Instead they have been able to develop efficient ways to use their time.

First, they have studied enough languages that they know which activities give them the biggest bang for their buck. For example, instead of spending countless hours memorizing vocabulary lists from a textbook, I create my own personalized vocabulary list, ensuring that I’ll learn the words that I’ll need to know first.

Second, they utilize methods for heightened productivity. For example, I use the Pomodoro Technique, a method where you create 25 minute focused work session with 5 minute breaks in between them.

You may also have read my post on the power of siestas which have been shown to improve productivity and effectiveness.

Third, polyglots combine things they love to do with learning a new language. For example, I took tango lessons while in Buenos Aires and got instructions in Portuguese on how to windsurf while in Brazil!

Studying a language doesn’t mean giving up the things you love to do. But it does mean being smart with your time. Time is just as precious to a polyglot as it is to anyone.

Myth 5: Polyglots Are Super Outgoing and Crave Attention

The image of the polyglot social butterfly, flitting around a party effortlessly transitioning between languages as they dazzle people with their charm and charisma is a common myth.

This is probably due to the fact that polyglots actively seek out opportunities to practise speaking languages. So it may appear that they have an innate ability to make friends when really they’re just trying to get in more speaking time (while meeting new and interesting people, of course).

The truth is, polyglots are no more outgoing than anyone else. Like any group, you’ll find some polyglots who are extroverted and some who are more introverted. But the one thing they generally have in common is a love of practising languages.

The Truth: Polyglots Love to Practise Languages and Learn about New Cultures

It is a love for practising languages that compels most polyglots to put themselves out there and meet new people.

Most polyglots don’t crave attention or want to show off (at least no more than anyone else). But this perception comes out because they tend to have a reduced fear of social engagements with strangers.

I’ve written before that the best way to learn a language is to open your mouth and start using it. Polyglots have learned this simple truth, and use it to their advantage. After all, if you want to learn something, and you’ve found the fastest way to learn it, even if it is a little uncomfortable, you’d probably prefer to use it than an “easy” but ineffective method. Often the “magic” happens far outside your comfort zone!

Myth 6: Polyglots Are Single and Can Spend Their Lives Travelling and Practising Languages

Another popular myth about polyglots is the idea that polyglots have no social obligations with families or children. They’re able to spend their lives wandering around the globe, with a romantic relationship in every port and all the time in the world to spend learning languages.

I may have unintentionally contributed to this myth, not because it is true, but because some people who visit this website and see that I have been travelling for over a decade may assume that all polyglots live a “vagabond” lifestyle.

The number of globe trotting, single polyglots is actually quite small, but since many of us are active online with blogs and video channels, we appear to be more common. It is a case of the vocal minority being louder than the silent majority.

Again, this is a myth that is perpetuated through fear. It is easier to say that something isn’t possible because your life situation isn’t “ideal”, than to find ways to work around your environment to fulfil your dreams.

The Truth: Polyglots Come in All Shapes and Sizes, and Some of Them Don’t Travel at All to Practice Their Languages.

Many of the polyglots I know are not single. In fact, having just got engaged myself I will soon be happily married!

Having a family and social roots doesn’t mean you give up the opportunity to learn languages. In fact, often having a good support system at home allows you to focus even more on your passion for languages.

And while travelling is a great way to practise a language, it is by no means necessary. As I showed with my mission to learn Arabic while living in Brazil, technology allows the opportunity to practice with native speakers no matter where you are.

Some well-known polyglots like Moses McCormick (a.k.a. Laoshu) in Columbus, Ohio, rarely travel, instead finding native speakers in their own home town to practice with.

A while back I went on a “Language Level Up” excursion with Moses and we ended up practising a dozen languages in the span of a few hours in the local shopping mall!

Don’t Let These Language Learning Myths Give You an Excuse!

Polyglots may seem like a rare breed of people, able to scale tall languages in a single bound, but the reality is far from the case.

As you’ve seen, polyglots are really no different than anyone else. We have just spent time focusing on a specific skill set and, as a result, improved those skills.

The interesting thing about learning languages is that it seems to come with it’s own set of fears, not present in other skill-based pursuits. For example, if I had told you I knew someone who could cook 10 different types of cuisine from around the world, would you think they were a genius? Or If I told you that I could play 5 different video games at a high level, would you think I was gifted?

Any skill can be learned, and language learning is no exception.

Here’s the hard truth: with all of these myths, you could just as easily replace the word “myth” with “excuse”, because that is essentially what they are.

Polyglots are gifted at languages = an excuse not to try because you think you’re already at a disadvantage.
Polyglots have incredible memories = an excuse not to take the effort to learn memory techniques that are accessible by everyone.
Polyglots have lots of money to spend on travelling = I don’t think I can afford to travel so why bother studying?
Polyglots have a lot of or not enough free time = I don’t want to learn how to find a way to make the time for something that is important to me.
Polyglots are super outgoing = I am afraid of putting myself out there, so I can’t learn languages.
Polyglots are single and spend all their time travelling = I have social obligations and can’t take the time to travel and learn languages.

Now you know that none of those myths are true you have zero excuses not to study a language.

There is only one requirement to becoming a language hacker and a polyglot, and it’s available to anyone: to become a polyglot you must love learning and have a passion for languages.

If you have that, then all the languages you want to learn are waiting for you just around the corner.

The post Busted: 6 Common Myths About Polyglots and Language Learners appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

We Asked, You Answered: Why Learn a Foreign Language?

Have you ever wondered “Why learn a foreign language?”

I recently asked members of the Fluent in 3 Months community their reasons for learning a new language. The response was amazing! Over 200 language learners chimed in with a startling variety of answers.

I thought it would be fun to take a look at what all of you said and explore your motivations to learn a foreign language. Check out some of these responses and see if your reasons match up with your fellow language learning enthusiasts!

Languages Help You Connect with a Culture

The most popular answer had to do with learning about cultures. As you might know, this is also my main motivation for learning languages. I truly believe that language and culture are intertwined. By studying a language you gain a deeper understandings of a culture and it’s people.

Here are some of the great responses that came in related to cultural learning

 

You Have a Love for Languages and an Urge to Study Them

For a lot of you, your studies are motivated by a deep love for learning languages. You just enjoy the whole process of studying and learning how other people communicate. Some of you even went so far as to say it was an undeniable urge!

For myself I don’t really have a love of studying languages (I know, it sounds weird, but for me it’s mainly a means to an end). But I can appreciate those who have a passion for it and have dedicated themselves to the study of a language.

Here are some of the great replies we got. You can really feel the passion and love for languages in these words!

 

Knowing a New Language Can Enhance Your Romantic Relationships

A fair number of you are looking for languages to help their love life.

Just to be clear, knowing lots of languages doesn’t guarantee a love connection. It does, however, increase your chances of meeting someone. The more people you can speak to, the more people you can meet, right?

But, most of you who responded are already in a relationship, usually with someone with a different native language. Naturally, to connect better with the family of your significant other, speaking their language can go a long way to getting to know them better (and letting them know you better too).

Here are some of the responses from those looking to enhance their relationships.

Studying a Language Helps You Connect with Family and Relatives

Some of you have a pretty diverse background! And naturally, with family members or ancestors from all over the world, the desire to know where you come from can create a strong impulse to study their language. It’s a great way to better understand your cultural roots.

It’s the reason I decided to study the Irish language and it has definitely helped me connect with who I am and where my family comes from.

 

Language Learning Helps You Make Friends

Even if you aren’t a social butterfly and suffer from a lot of shyness like I used to, learning a language can be a great way to connect with others and make new friends.

The best way to learn to speak a language is to just speak the language and naturally you need native speakers to help with that. Learning a language and meeting people who speak that language are two things that go hand-in-hand.

And, fortunately, it’s never as scary as you might think!

Languages Make Traveling the World and Living Abroad More Pleasurable

I don’t need to tell you that I love travelling. Exploring the world and it’s cultures is the whole reason I study languages in the first place. So when a bunch of you say that travel or relocating to another country is your impetus for learning a language, I totally get it!

Whether you’re planning a short trip and want to make the most of your journey, or you’re moving to another country and putting down some roots, learning to speak with native speakers will give you a leg up as soon as you hit the ground.

Here are some of your responses related to travel and relocation.

Studying Languages Can Exercise Your Brain

I mentioned in another post about the brain-boosting benefits of learning languages and some of you even state this as a primary reason for studying langauges.

Besides the many benefits listed in that post, such as being better at math, improved test scores, improved studying skills and increased creativity, studies at the University of Edinburgh show that studying languages improves the “elasticity” of your brain and keeps it young!

Languages Help You Explore Your Hobbies and Have Fun

For many of you, studying new languages helps you dive even deeper into your hobbies and interests.

Whether you’re learning Japanese to improve your Judo, or you’re exploring Spanish for salsa dancing tips, languages are a great way to enhance an appreciation of your interests.

I love to combine language learning with my hobbies because it can be a great way to both increase your enjoyment of the hobby, and develop a better command of the language.

Naturally we have some pretty funny responses among the 200+ people who chimed in, so I’ve included a few of these fun ones too.

 

Languages Support Your Education and Enhance Your Career

If you’re looking for an advantage with your career then learning a language can definitely provide a boost. One or two of you also stated that learning a language would help with your schooling, which is also great.

Of course, work or school shouldn’t be the only reason you learn a language, but it can definitely provide extra motivation.

What really matters is how you plan to use the language, so once you have that underlying motivation, it gives you that much more leverage to push through the challenging times.

 

Languages Help You Become an International Person of Mystery

I think this was my favourite category of answers. Apparently we have a lot of burgeoning international spies in our midsts! A surprising number of you looked at languages as a way of hiding or gathering information from the people around you.

I had my own experiences blending into the local environment in Egypt so I definitely know where you’re coming from. Whether you want to blend in like a local, or you want to know what the native speakers are saying without their knowledge, studying a language can help you enhance your covert skills.

Sneaky, sneaky!

5 Simple Research Proven Hacks to Stop Wasting Time and Start Learning Fast

Do you dream of learning a new language, but then find you rarely take action towards making your dream a reality?

I’ve said before that the biggest factor that holds people back from success is a lack of confidence. Fear of doing the “wrong thing” can cause you to not start in the first place.

This lack of confidence shows up in all kinds of ways. Maybe you find another project to occupy your time. Perhaps you watch television, play video games, or get sucked into YouTube videos.

In other words: you procrastinate.

You might think that an increase in technology would allow us to process information more quickly and get more done. But since the dawn of the Internet chronic procrastination has skyrocketed. According to a study at the University of Calgary, the proportion of us who chronically procrastinate has increased from 5% in 1978 to 26% in 2007. That’s some massive growth!

What if you could hold off on watching your favourite TV show and, instead, spend time focusing on studying a language? What could you get done with that extra time?

Those 60 minutes spent on an episode of TV adds up over time. A 60 minute episode of TV each day, over the 30 days in a month, could mean an extra 30 hours of studying! Imagine how much further you could be with your language learning project with that sort of increase in consistency.

But you don’t have to be a victim of procrastination. My team and I have researched five simple hacks you can use to stop wasting time, all of which have been proven to work by scientific research.

Strategy 1: Give Yourself Some Motivation Mojo with the 2-minute Rule

Procrastination comes from fear. Fear of taking that first step. Fear of yet-unknown challenges. Even fear of success can hold you back.

Fear helps your Instant Gratification Monkey shift attention away from your goals, delaying your ability to begin a task.

But what if you could get started without hesitation?

The 2-Minute Rule draws on “Newton’s First Law of Productivity”, which states that objects at rest tend to stay at rest until they’re acted upon.

When you come to a project or a task or a habit you want to build, if it will take 2 minutes or less to complete, then do it immediately. After all, 2 minutes is nothing and you’ll be done before you know it.

What if it’s a task that’s likely to take longer than two minutes to complete? Then spend two minutes getting started. Will you finish in two minutes? Of course not. But since it is the fear of starting that causes the procrastination to manifest in the first place, creating that forward inertia, even with just 2 minutes, makes things much easier to continue.

Researchers at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia suggest that taking small actions leads to increased motivation, which in turn lead to more action. Breaking tasks into steps brings up your motivation mojo, and provides the emotional leverage you need to keep going.

Pretty soon you’ll be saying to yourself “This isn’t as bad as I thought. Why not just keep going at it?” and before you know it, you’ll be done!

Strategy 2: Banish Attention-Hogs and Interruptions

A survey of 2,500 people in the U.K. by motivational aid site Webtrate found that over 60 percent of people working on a report or long writing task admitted to being distracted or losing their chain of thought due to email or social media.

Research by Gloria Mark, a leader in the new field of “interruption science” also finds that most “knowledge workers” (someone who deal with information during a task, like language learners) switch tasks an average of once every 3 minutes!

Now if you combine all that with Mark’s additional findings that a single interruption can delay your ability to restart a task by up to 30 minutes, then you’re looking at a lot of lost time!

If you’re going to sit down for a session of language learning, take a few moments to turn off all the electronic attention-hogs that surround you. Go away from your TV, turn off the wifi on your devices, and close down unnecessary applications or windows.

If you are studying via the Internet, then use a plugin like Leechblock for Firefox, StayFocusd for Chrome or Self Control for Chrome, to block Facebook and other sites that will distract you.

Putting these simple routines into place before you study can end up saving you from hours of distraction and non-productive activities.

Strategy 3: Repeat This Mantra: “Multitasking Makes Me Dumber”

Contrary to what some may believe, human beings are actually not set up for multitasking. In fact, we’re terrible at it! Not only that, but it makes us dumber!

A study by the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London showed that multitasking actually reduces your IQ more than losing a night’s sleep or smoking marijuana!

And research by Cifford Nass at Stanford University has shown that multitaskers are terrible at fundamental mental actions such as ignoring irrelevant information or keeping information in their head, and it even decreases high level mental tasks like analytic reasoning. All things that language learners need!

So, if multitasking makes us dumber, what is the answer?

Focus!

Do one thing at a time. Prioritize. Make a decision and stick with it. Single-task.

The more we multitask, the more we crave options, and the less we’re able to choose. Our ability to be effective in life deteriorates as we multitask, so focus on one thing at a time and you will get more of everything done.

Strategy 4: Create a No Excuses Deadline

Sharing your language learning goals is a great way to boost your motivation.

If you work without a system for accountability it can be tempting to let things go or get distracted. After all, who will know?

But creating those systems can help build the emotional leverage you need to push through resistance and start taking action.

According to a 2002 study out of M.I.T., deadlines help control procrastination. But on top of creating the deadline, you must be sure to announce it to someone who will keep you accountable (your boss, your client, a teacher, etc.).

This falls in line with what I’ve said about sharing your language learning projects with friends and family. It’s the reason I share my language learning missions with all of you and why I encourage you to do the same through the Fluent in 3 Months forums or Facebook group.

You can also create accountability by posting your deadline on social media or by joining a collaborative language learning group like the Add1Challenge.

Strategy 5: Try the Pomodoro Technique and Get into the Flow of Things

As we said above, breaking your work into smaller pieces can help you get over the hesitation of starting your projects and build your motivation mojo. But once you’re moving forward how do you organize your time?

Enter The Pomodoro technique. I use this all the time for my language study sessions

Essentially, the Pomodoro technique works because it improves your focus by breaking up sessions of work into 25 minute intervals, each separated by a 5 minute break. According to one study by researchers at New York University taking these breaks actually improves memory and recall. Nice!

You may have experienced a sensation where you start to get so engrossed in a task you start to enjoy it, and even lose track of time. This state is called “flow”) and it is the ultimate goal for increased productivity. Flow is not only a blissful feeling, but it’s usually when you do your best work. You can think of it like a mental version of a runner’s high.

While experiencing flow isn’t guaranteed every time you work, the more often you sit down with a task, the more likely you are to ease into this super-productive state.

Be Kind to Yourself

Procrastination essentially boils down to overcoming your fears. Whether you fear starting or you fear succeeding, fear causes a barrier to getting started that many find debilitating. Following these five steps can help you work past the fear that paralyzes your productivity.

Break your work into smaller pieces and, using the 2-Minute Rule, a task will be even easier to start. Just by taking initial action you’ll begin to build up your motivation mojo.

Shut down your distracting attention hogs and focus your energy on a single task.

Then, with accountability and a deadline you’ll gain emotional leverage to push yourself forward.

Before you know it you’ll be working in small, productive 25 minute intervals, well on your way to a state of super-productive, blissful flow.

And if you fall off the wagon and find yourself procrastinating? Believe it or not, research by Carleton University found that beating yourself up actually makes procrastination worse! The most important way to deal with a set back is to acknowledge the slight trespass, forgive yourself and move on.

Be kind to yourself and soon you’ll be smashing through your procrastination once and for all!

The post 5 Simple Research Proven Hacks to Stop Wasting Time and Start Learning Fast appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

My system for learning the Russian cases (with examples)

Today’s post is from Lauren, updating you on her plans for her Russian project, and discussing how she’s planning to start learning the Russian cases. 

Over to you, Lauren!

——

It’s been well over 3 months since I started the Russian project, so it’s time for me to regroup and reflect.

In the end, I was able to make 2 months worth of video updates before I got tied up attending the amazing polyglot gathering and then getting a really big surprise – both wonderful things! – And both cutting into my plans to regularly speak Russian on Skype.

With my 2 months of earnest work, I reached a solid A2 level, which you can see in action in my 2-month video from April below. I’m extremely proud of it. Especially since I started out such a nervous mess…

But now, I can keep a conversation flowing, I can conjugate my verbs, I can use the past and future tenses, and I can even talk about a range of topics (travel, work, even the Russian language itself) in Tarzan Russian!

But I haven’t reached level B1. And it’s mainly for two reasons (other than not having truly begun month three yet).

1) I still can’t comfortably cover a wide range of conversations (with a patient speaker) due to lack of vocabulary, and, 2) I still haven’t learned how to use the six Russian cases.

So now, I have a new goal

I’ve realized that I love learning Russian. It’s so much more than a project for the blog for me now. It’s a passion. And I want to stick with Russian for the long haul: I’m now aiming for fluency.

And from my experience over the past few months, I’m now absolutely 100% sure that I can reach that goal.

So… the Russian project continues!

I don’t want to hog up regular blogtime on Fluent in 3 Months, though, so I’ll be posting future progress updates mostly on Youtube from now on. To follow along with my progress, make sure you’re subscribed over there! Here’s a video from my month 2 point (recorded in New Zealand in April):

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGwhIb202DM

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What’s next: Here’s the new mini-mission I’ll be tackling next on my journey from A2 Russian to B2 Russian. And it’s a big one.

Learning the Russian Cases (And Why It Feels Like Such a Pain in the Ass)

The very first time I told someone I wanted to learn Russian, they grimaced and said “you know it has six cases, right?”

And I said yes, but that was a lie, and in fact I didn’t even know what cases were.

This has been the problem with learning Russian cases for me. I don’t speak “grammar-ese”. Learning cases is such a different beast from learning other Russian vocab and phrases, partly because you have to learn a whole subset of English terms first!

I cringe at overly technical wording, and learning cases means dealing with lots of it. Who can get excited about terms like Accusative, Nominative, or Indirect Object? The idea of sitting down to learn them seems so boring. It feels intimidating, confusing, and painful.

BUT, I finally bit the bullet and started to learn one of the Russian cases. And after feeling totally despondent for a few hours, I had an “aha” moment, and found a system that works for me and makes me feel excited and confident about getting through the “hardest part of learning Russian.”

So here’s the technique I’m using to learn the Russian cases.

In this post I’ll avoid thinking about it too technically, and I’ll lay it out for you in plain language the best I can, because that’s what works best for me.

As my example, I’m using the Prepositional Case (the one you use to talk about where you are), since that’s the case I’ve learned so far. But I plan to use this technique to learn all the other cases as well.

Here goes!

(By the way, if you haven’t already learned Cyrillic, make sure you tick off that box before you start learning the Russian cases.)

Don’t Memorize the Grammar Rules. First Learn Off Phrases So You Can See the Cases in Action

I’ve read articles that scared me away from cases by explaining it something like this:

“To form the accusative case, simply learn this long list of word endings. If a words ends in X, Y, or Z, change the ending to W.  If a words ends in X, Y, or Z, change the ending to W. Now remember this long list of exceptions. Repeat this process five more times for the other cases, with a totally different set of rules, and exceptions for word endings for each. Now you know the Russian cases!”

Um, no! No I don’t know them! And now I’m questioning all my life choices!

But luckily, words don’t exist and shouldn’t exist in a vacuum. You can learn all of the many word-ending changes required for cases… but please don’t start by trying to memorize lists that will have little to no concrete meaning for you.

Try this instead:

Think about what each of the cases does – what it allows you to talk about in Russian. Then list some example words or phrases for each of those talking points that you know you’ll want to use when you’re speaking Russian. After you’ve looked at a few phrases that use the case in action, you’ll get a feel for how the words change without having to memorize. Once that happens, then take a closer look at the rules, after you already have a good understanding of feel of each case.

Here’s an example of what that looks like.

Step 1: Create a few phrases in English that use the words you’re looking for

The case I’m looking at here is the “Location Case” (formally known as the Prepositional) case, and it is used to talk about location: where you are, where something is, etc. So you’ll need to use words like “in” (в) and “at/on” (на). It’s also used to describe what you’re talking or thinking “about”, (о/об/обо).

To get started, you can find sample phrases with a quick Google search, but I recommend you create your own list. That way, you’re likely to use them in conversation and you can practice them often to build muscle memory! Then, to translate the phrases to English, I use Google Translate or ask my Russian teacher.

Here’s my list of phrases:

On the website – на сайте

In the blog – в блоге

In the room – в комнате

On the street (outside) – на улице

At university – в университете

In class – в классе

At the store – в магазине

In the city – в городе

In a group – в группе

In Australia – в Австралии

In America – в Америке

About my family – о своей семье

About travels – о путешествиях

About grammar – о грамматике

About Russia – о России

So this is what the Prepositional Case looks like in action… but to really understand it, you need to look at how exactly using the case has changed the words inside the phrase.

Step 2: Look up the regular or “dictionary form” of all your nouns and compare them to how they look in your phrases

Russian cases are all about changing the endings of the words, but memorizing a list of the rules for when to change what won’t do you any good if you don’t already know what the basic form of the words look like!

So take a look at my list now:

Blog – блог                                  In the blog – в блоге

Website – сайт                           On the website – на сайте

Room – комната                        In the room – в комнате

Street – улица                            On the street (outside) – на улице

University- университет        At university – в университете

Class – класс                                In class – в классе

Store – магазин                          At the store – в магазине

City – город                                  In the city – В городе

Group – группа                          In a group – в группе

America – Америка                  In America – в Америке

Australia – Австралия              In Australia – в Австралии

Family – семья                            About my family – о своей семье

Travels – путешествия              About travels – о путешествиях

Grammar – грамматика            About grammar – о грамматике

Russia – Россиия                          About Russia – о России

This Russian case involves changing the ending of thing you’re talking about. This means we’re looking at the nouns in this list and how they change.

From a quick glance, you’ll notice that most of the nouns end in -e, (but not all of them). This is pretty much the gist of the Prepositional Case!

But to really understand it, take a look at Step 3 to figure out when you should end the noun in e, and when you should end it in something else.

Step 3: Now is the time to take a look at those rules.

When the first thing you do to learn the Russian cases is look at a long list of “when a word ends in X, change the ending to Y,” it creates a lot of questions in your mind, and it’s super overwhelming.

But now that we’re working with a concrete list of words we want to use, we can ask more concrete questions like “Why does “блог” change to an е ending, whereas “Россиия” changes to an ии ending?”

Taking a look at the rules governing the case will answer your question.

So now, review the rules for the Prepositional Case, and then look back up at the list above to see them in action.

To form this case…

For most masculine nouns (ending in a consonant, й, or а), change the ending to е.

For masculine nouns ending in ий, change the ending to и.

For most neuter nouns (ending in о or е), change the ending to е.

For neuter nouns ending in ие, change the ending to и.

For most feminine nouns (ending in а or я),  change the ending to е.

For feminine nouns ending in ь or ие, change the ending to и.

For feminine nouns ending in -ия, change the ending to ии.

Plural nouns take the endings ах or ях (see more here.)

So that’s why most of the words end in е, because most of the rules require the word endings to change to this form. And this also answers the question of why words like Russia, Australia, and travels don’t conform to the others.

Makes sense, yes?

Step 4: Create a list of verbs (action words) that correspond to the case

Do you feel like you fully know how to use the Prepositional Case now? Of course not! Because understanding the rules is one thing, but being confident in being able to use them requires practice.

So now we’ll get you using that new case so that you’ve really learned how to use it, not just “learned the rules.”

Certain cases lend themselves to using particular verbs over and over again.

For example:

Live in
Sit on
Talk about
Think about

So I like to start my practice by making a list of verbs I’m likely to use with this case. Then I combine them with the nouns I also know I’ll want to use.

I’ve found this is a great way to get my brain and my mouth used to forming the cases in full sentences when I’m speaking.

Here’s my list of verbs for the Prepositional Case:

To live (in) – жить

To stand (on/in) – стоять

To sit (on/in) – сидеть

To study (at/in) – учиться

To buy (at) – покупать

To lay (on/in) – лежать

To write (on/in) – писать

To hang (on/in) – висеть

To talk (about) – говорить

To think (about) – думать

And now that you have your list of verbs….

Step 4: Practice using your verbs and new-found knowledge of the case to form and practice your own sentences!

I love this method because it really gives me the opportunity to apply my knowledge of the way the case is formed rather than just memorizing rules. And this technique also gives you practice in conjugating those Russian verbs. A double whammy!

Here’s an example of some sentences I built using my list of verbs to form the Prepositional Case.

I live in New York – Я живу в Нью-Йорке

The book is (sits) on the shelf – Книга стоит на полке

I write about travel – Я пишу о путешествиях.

I want to talk about my family. – Я хочу поговорить о своей семье.

Tell me about Russia. – Расскажи мне о России.

I’m reading about Russian culture. – Я читаю о русской культуре.

And that’s it!

There’s a lot you can do with this system. You can take your first list of phrases and add them to your Anki decks, or you can create Anki decks using the full sentences you created. The possibilities are endless!

I realize this sounds like a lot of work. And that’s because learning the Russian cases is a lot of work. But I think it helps a lot to have a process, a place to start and an idea of where you’ll want to go from there.

So here’s the process I’ve conjured up. I hope it serves you well!

—

Are any of you procrastinating on learning the Russian cases? What’s the hardest part for you? Please tell me your thoughts over in the comments!

The post My system for learning the Russian cases (with examples) appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

10 Ways to Bounce Back from Quitting a Language

I love to encourage language learners here on Fluent in 3 Months, but language learning isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Life inevitably gets in the way and prevents you from reaching your language goals.

This has happened to me more times than I care to remember!

My Czech project (the first one I ever blogged about) had to stop a few weeks in because I ran out of money and had to start working 80-hours a week. My Japanese project came to a halt after 2 months because I had to get ready for my book launch and tour. Shortly after I had started my Turkish project, I got ill and then actually just felt down in the dumps, both of which sapped all my energy.

But there have been many times when I’ve bounced back stronger than ever and successfully reached my goals, even when challenges threatened to throw me off course. There is a way to get yourself to bounce back when life throws you a curve ball. That’s why I was pleased to see some thoughts on the matter from Elijah from The Two Week Linguist. Over to you Elijah!

Have you ever started learning a language, only to drop it a week or two later? Maybe you didn’t have enough time for it, or something came up that bumped you off track.

Life happens to all of us, so it’s understandable that things don’t always go to plan.

The problem comes when the language you give up becomes an itch that won’t go away. When you leave something behind or quit something that’s really important to you, you can end up feeling like an incomplete puzzle. You have all the pieces, but you can’t put it together. Why does this happen?

No matter your reason for quitting language learning, you can always pick up right where you left off. I know, because I’ve done it myself, and I’ve seen so many other people do it.

If you’ve got a language itch that you need to scratch, take a look at these ten ways to bounce back into learning a language – so you can stop quitting for good.

1. Ask Yourself: “Do I Really Care About Learning This Language?”

Your answer to this question will make or break your journey through learning a new language.

Is the language you’ve chosen really right for you? This question holds so much value because if you aren’t passionate about the language you’re learning, then you’ll always struggle with it. Harsh but true.

How does this help you bounce back into language learning? You bounce back by either picking your language up again because you strongly believe it’s what you want, or you drop it and find a language you’re better suited to.

2. Write Down the Reasons to Quit Learning a Language

What’s going on in your life right now? You may have so much on your plate that now isn’t the best time for learning a language.

If you’re trying for a double-major and you have two kids at home, I would stick with just waiting. Does this mean dropping your language completely? No, not at all! There is no such thing as a perfect time, but ask yourself if you can handle the journey of learning a new language in your present situation.

How to Make That List:

Get a pen and a piece of paper
Write down reasons why you should put your language on pause for a bit
Next, write down the reasons you have keep the language going and remind yourself why you fell in love with it in the first place
Make a decision

Be honest with yourself. Remember, honesty is the best policy.

3. Keep a Journal – and Read it!

I recommend using a journal to record your language learning progress, and to practice writing in your target language. If you consistently contribute to that leather-bound book of blank pages, you’ll do two things:

Improve Your Writing Skills

Every time that you write in your journal you are producing your language in it’s purest form. You’ll end up sorting out your thoughts and at the same time really implant the words you use in your metaphorical bank of vocabulary in your head.

Create an Investment

Every page written in that book, whether it be a small snippet of your day or just your thoughts on a recent movie you saw, is a small investment. When you fall out of your language learning, cash in that investment and read your journal. See how much progress you’ve made and use that as motivation to spark your studies back to life. I couldn’t tell you how many times this has saved me.

4. Change Your Focus

Were you studying vocabulary and grammar rules for hours on end on? Well, change it up. Listen to some news or music. Take your eyes off the road and enjoy the scenery around you. Sometimes you can find motivation in places you wouldn’t normally look.

One of my favorite things I do when I’m tired of learning is to watch a quick couple matches of chess in Farsi. Afterwards I feel relaxed and refreshed and ready to return to my studies.

5. Take a Step Back from Language Learning

In some cases it’s best to take a step back and review what you’ve been doing. That way, you can find out what went wrong, and fix it.

I was a computer science major when I went to university. I remember sitting in my Java final where I was stuck on a problem near the very end of the test. The code would just not work. Out of frustration and hanging on by a thread, I stood up. I was done. I quit. The problem had defeated me. When I stood up and took a step back, I saw the big picture. I saw everything at once on that screen instead of shoving my nose into one area that I thought was wrong. Immediately I saw the issue and ended up getting an A!

If you’ve slipped out of your language and you don’t know what to do next, take a deep breath and take a step back. Fix that one problem area and dive back in!

6. Take a Break from Language Learning

If you feel exhausted and you don’t feel any other method is getting you results, then just press pause and wait a bit.

For a week or two, tell your language learning to “talk to the hand”. Don’t listen to any music or read any articles or pick up a single flash card! Just take a break. You’ll feel relaxed and refreshed, and you’ll return to your language learning with renewed energy.

7. Watch a Movie in Your Target Language

Right before leaving for Winter Break from my schooling I made a promise to continue my studies outside of the classroom in order to not lose my groove in the language. No hiccups, I told myself. That did not happen. As soon as I got off the plane, I forgot I was even studying Farsi.

Three days later, it hit me. I had to do something. So, I change my promise. Every other day, I enjoyed either a quick episode of my favorite Farsi TV program or watched a movie. I didn’t focus on translating everything or straining myself to understand every word. I just sat back and enjoyed it.

This created a whole new level of motivation for my language learning. If you’ve quit your language, watch a movie in your target language – preferably without subtitles.

8. Push Yourself Harder

Sometimes it just takes a little kick to get re-started.

If you feel scared or intimidated by your language, then give yourself a push and dive back in!

Follow these steps to give yourself a little push

Take a deep breath.
Look in the mirror.
Tell yourself, sternly, that you’re going to study your language tonight.
Watch a movie in your target language.

It works, I promise.

Push yourself, and you’ll only have yourself to thank after it gets you going again!

9. Put Up a Safety Net to Stop Yourself Quitting Again

Maybe you haven’t quit your language yet, but you’ve done so in the past.

Does this sound like you? You decide to skip vocabulary study for a night. When the next night comes, you skip it again. That’s the downward slope that we want to avoid!

So, make a little safety net out. Create this net so you spot the signs you’re about to quit.

Look out for subtle things that begin to add up. Perhaps you continually skipping out on any routines you have when learning your language. Or maybe you find yourself getting mad and quitting any studying during the middle of it.

Here’s what to do in three steps:

Arm yourself with this safety net as an “In case of emergency, break glass” strategy.
Know what to look for you feel yourself slipping down that slope
Break that metaphorical glass and catch yourself before you quit

10. Try a New Language Learning Method

Everyone has different learning styles. Don’t force yourself to stick with a learning approach that makes you giddy to do. It’s not suddenly going to become magic!

I advocate you try out different methods for learning a language until you find something that fits your style like a glove.

There are plenty of different methods that have been reviewed on Fluent in 3 Months:

Pimsleur
DuoLingo
italki
HelloTalk

You might also like to check out the Fluent in 3 Months Conversation Countdown course, which shows you how to have a conversation in your target language in just seven days.

Pick one. Use it. Get back on that horse. The end goal is worth the ride.

About the Author: Elijah Lawson is founder of The Two Week Linguist and author of The Linguist’s Handbook.

The post 10 Ways to Bounce Back from Quitting a Language appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

A Powerful and Underrated Beginner Language Goal

Why is language learning all about the intermediate or advanced levels?

When you start learning a new language, it’s easy to get carried away with huge, unrealistic goals.  Maybe you dream of having deep conversations in your target language language, or of reading advanced novels, or making play-on-word jokes. You may even want to talk about technical subjects for your work.

To do those things, you’d need to reach what’s often called a C2 level, also known as “mastery”. The C2 level is based on the awkwardly titled Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The CEFR levels are:

A1 Beginner
A2 Upper Beginner
B1 Lower intermediate
B2 Upper intermediate
C1 Advanced
C2 Mastery

The C2 or Mastery level in a language is a wonderful thing to reach one day. The only problem is that it’s an extreme reach barrier. It’s so far from where you’re at now, it can feel like it’s pointless to learn anything. That’s really demotivating.

Language learners have realised this, and lots of learners (including many in the Fluent in 3 Months community) start by aiming for the B-levels.

Sounds sensible, right?

Well… maybe. But by aiming for a B-Level goal, there’s an entire language-learning level you skip over.

So why do so many language learners jump over the A-levels when setting goals? Are they that meaningless? If you speak A2 level Spanish, doesn’t that mean you’re simply a beginner?

No and no!

The A levels (“beginner” levels) are severely underrated. I think they should actually be the most common serious milestones for beginners to think about, long before they start worrying about advanced skills in their target language.

With this approach, you’ll have a much easier-to-achieve milestone system, that may indeed lead to mastery later. But for now, let’s have fun with the beginner levels!

Why Level A2 Is Underrated and Overlooked

As you’ve seen, with the CEFR system, the A-level are the beginner levels. The B-levels are intermediate. The C’s are advanced. Within each one you have 1 (lower) and 2 (upper). So that would make A2 an “upper beginner”.

…And this can terminology can be seriously misleading.

You hear the term beginner levels and it feels like you’re no better off at the A2 stage than you were the very first time you ever opened a language learning book.

If you’re a beginner the first time you ever uttered your first tone in Chinese or butchered your first word in German, and you’re still a “beginner” weeks or months later when you’ve reached the A2 level… then what gives?

The truth is that levels A1 and A2 are completely distinct phases in your language learning journey. You can do things at level A1 that you could only dream about on Day 1. And when you’ve hit level A2, you’ve already covered serious ground, and can even begin to have conversations!

Each of these levels is a big milestone. Each time you reach one, you can safely say that you’ve gained a totally new set of skills in new language. Don’t overlook these stages. Celebrate them!

Why You Should Consider Making A2 Your First Language Goal

I like the idea of setting an A-level target because it’s attainable in the short-term.

When reaching your goal is many months or even years away, it’s so easy to drag your feet, to make slower progress than you need to, or to lose interest or motivation entirely. This happens all too often in language learning.

But you can reach level A2 relatively quickly, and that feeling of success will give you an immense boost. Don’t underestimate the buzz you’ll get from reaching this goal, and how much motivation-mojo that can give you to keep on learning the language.

Even if you choose to stop at A2, you’ll find that what you’ve learned is really useful. Far from being a simpleton who can only talk about the weather, the A2 level is your window to being able to get to know new people, tell them about yourself and learn about them. At level A2, you can make friends. You can enjoy comics and cartoons. And you can laugh and even feel at ease in the language.

There will of course be a lot of things you still can’t do. You may not be able to talk with a random in-a-hurry native speaker, but you can absolutely find patient speakers who love talking to learners and will be very friendly and helpful, and you will feel yourself having real conversations with them.

Once you’ve hit A2, you can now truly communicate your thoughts, questions, or ideas to a whole new world of people. How cool is that? Very worthy as a project in and of itself!

How Do You Know What Level You’re At?

This is a hotly debated topic, and you’ll never find a perfect consensus for what any of the levels on the European Common Framework look like. That said, if you look at the various definitions, you can find some common threads.

To me, A2 is the level where a conversation can finally happen, as long as you accept that it will be slow, and you will have to use “crutches”.

As a total beginner, you know next to nothing. You have what seems to be a mountain of vocab and phrases and grammar rules ahead of you. But then, before you know it, you’re at A1. Here you can introduce yourself, and you can ask and answer direct questions (but you’ll start to get lost at any conversation past that).

Enter level A2. This is where your conversational flow begins.

Here, you can have (messy and imperfect, but effective!) exchanges with people that last several minutes, even if you’re still turning to your dictionary now and again. The other person will need to be patient with you, but they will get the gist.

I asked the team behind Fluent in 3 Months their thoughts on level A2, and here’s another point of view I got on this:

I’d say at A2 you’d need to be able to get by, but I don’t think you should be able to cover lengthy discussions, even in basic form. To me, that starts at B1. Of course you can have exchanges as Benny put it, but the key here is that the other person needs to be VERY patient with you, this is why it’s key to pick a great partner.

And of course, there’s the official definition of the A2 level:

-Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).

-Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters.

-Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

With all of this, you can start to get a good idea of what this level truly means (as well as what it doesn’t). At the end of the day, there is so much more to being an “advanced beginner” than meets the eye!

Here’s Your Simple Roadmap for Reaching Level A2

How can you reach level A2, if you’re starting from scratch as a total beginner?

I like to break my language projects into mini-missions. And I get a lot of questions about how exactly I do that. How do I decide which mini-mission to take on next? Which mini-missions are good to start with?

In light of that, here’s a cheat sheet you can use on your own quest towards A2 level in your next language project. Starting from zero, complete each of these “mini-missions”, practice them often with your language teacher or partner, and you’ll be well on your way.

This is the exact same system that Lauren has been using in her Russian project (which is now back on track after her big surprise). You can see her implementing some of these steps in her Week 8 Russian update video coming in a few days on our Youtube channel.

Mini-Missions from 0 – A1

Learn a you-specific intro by heart. Use that as the answer when your teacher or language exchange partner asks you to talk about yourself.
Listen to the absolute beginner and A1 level podcasts (the Innovative Language series is my favourite) to get listening comprehension, and to get used to the very basic questions you’re likely to be asked at this level.
Have a quick exchange on the HelloTalk app. These are low-pressure chats where you can stop to look things up in a dictionary. This is your first (very important) experience in actually using the new language!
Study basic vocabulary decks on Anki, and find fun mnemonics on Memrise, so I have specific words at the ready.
Prepare your cheat-sheet for everything you may want to say for a basic introduction conversation, and have it handy. Read through it so you are relatively confident about pronunciation, and paste words you don’t know into Forvo.
Cram as much as you can and have a live conversation with a native speaker (30 minutes max!) on italki, so you can use what you know in real life. Rely on a dictionary to help move the conversation forward (see how I did this with Polish here).

What you CAN’T do yet (and shouldn’t expect from yourself) at this level

Have exchanges that last more than 20 or so seconds
Pronounce most words correctly
Understand most of what that the other person says to you, beyond questions you may be ready for. That’s what Google Translate is there for!
Form your own sentences (use your ready-made scripts for now)
Talk about the other person or many things about your environment beyond very quick (prepared) descriptions

Mini-Missions from A1 – A2

Learn vocabulary specific to your environment or what you do everyday. For me, here I start to learn vocab about travel or work on my blog. For Lauren, she started learning how to talk about Russian and ask questions about Russian in Russian (check it out in her Week 8 Russian update video![link]) Start turning things around in conversations so that you’re able to ask basic questions of your teacher or conversation partner and understand as many likely replies as possible.
Listen to A2 level podcasts so your listening comprehension is brought up to this level.
Try to expand your decks on Anki to cover more subjects, while still limiting them to things you’d be more likely to talk about often. Spend lots of time absorbing vocabulary.
Flick through a grammar book, and look only at parts that feel non-intimidating and can help you express a point that has been making the language seem hard. Don’t actually study it (that’s for B levels). I suggest you look into verb conjugation and possibly past or future tense at this stage.
Since there are many things you’ll want to say, but you’ll feel limited by grammar issues, learn conversational connectors to help your chats flow better. Try to use your words to form sentences that are comprehensible (grammatically correct isn’t important yet).
Every single day, or every other day, get on Skype through italki and chat with a native speaker. Cram what you can before each session, but after each one make notes of what your biggest issues are, and create a new mini-mission to try to solve that problem. Repeat!

What you CAN’T do yet (and shouldn’t expect from yourself) at this level

Understand half of what the other person says to you. At this point, you’ll likely recognize about 1 out of every 3 words.
Pronounce new words correctly on the first try.

Have a conversation with anyone – you will be ready to talk to patient natives who are used to conversing with foreigners for now
Have a conversation about anything – like I said at the start, this level means so much more than always talking about the weather, but you can still talk about many topics. The trick is that you have to be prepared to talk about that, and study the vocabulary in advance. Conversations about random topics come later.
Have perfect conversations. They will be messy right now, but you will be able to convey a lot of ideas.
Produce grammatically correct sentences. Our goal at the A2 level is communication, and this requires some “Tarzan” sentences. I’d recommend tidying up your grammar at the B levels, not before.
Understand the radio or news. You can start to enjoy cartoons or material made for learners.

Well, have I convinced you? Are you considering starting a language learning project with an A-level goal? Let me know what you think over in the comments!

The post A Powerful and Underrated Beginner Language Goal appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.