So, I heard you decided to start learning a new language.
I bet you're so excited and can’t wait for the moment when
you’ll actually be able to speak it.
But hold on a second! Learning a language from scratch is a big project and if you don’t
want to feel overwhelmed, you need to have a clear idea of all the things
you need to do to accomplish it.
Today I want to share MosaLingua co-founder Luca’s step-by-step process that you can
use to learn a language that you have little to no prior knowledge of.
I’m going to tell you about Luca’s step-by-step process for starting from zero language knowledge
to reaching a conversational level in any language.
Luca learned all of the foreign languages he speaks on his own, so he knows that independent
language learners face many traps and obstacles on the road to mastery.
Language learning is also a very personal journey.
So, you may need to adjust some of these steps as you go, but they’re a good starting point.
The very first step is to clarify why you want to learn a particular language.
There are about a million good answers to this question, but it’s important that you
write down your main whys because whenever you encounter an obstacle (and you will),
you'll have them to remind yourself why you started the journey.
In the introduction of this video I referred to learning a language as a project.
So like for any project, you need to have goals.
Do you want to survive your next trip abroad or are you really aiming for fluency?
As Luca said in his video about how long it takes to learn a language, the nature of your
goal can change everything, so this is a really important preliminary step.
My tip is to have several mini goals that you can check off in a short amount of time.
Luca’s favorite "micro-goal" when he starts learning a new language from scratch is to memorize the
300 most common words by learning just 10 new words a day.
This is what you’d call a SMART goal: it’s Small, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and
Time-sensitive.
There are plenty of possible tools that can help you to achieve your goals,
so you'll need to put together your language toolbox carefully.
We are all different, so different learners will choose different tools.
My suggestion is to pick tools that are:
Effective, so you’re sure to make the best use of your limited time.
And appealing to you, so that you'll actually enjoy the process.
After those preliminary but fundamental steps, you'll eventually get started on your foundation
by memorizing some words and phrases, which are really the building blocks of any language.
Luca has two tips for this step.
First, start with a small amount of the most common vocabulary,
that 20% you’ll need in 80% of situations.
And second: learn correct pronunciation from the very beginning
to avoid developing bad habits that can be hard to break.
The language you’ll be learning is like a stranger to you at first.
But it will become part of your life for months or even years.
So get familiar with it as soon as possible by listening to audio recordings, such as podcasts,
and watching movies and TV shows.
Even if you don't understand much, if anything, this initial exposure is important
for building your relationship with the language.
We're usually against what they call “passive listening,” but in the very early stages,
it can actually be quite useful.
Don’t just rely on your willpower to make yourself study a language.
Instead, build a habit by forcing yourself to study the language every single day
for at least 30 days in a row.
Even if it’s only for 10 minutes.
But be sure to never skip a day, especially at the very beginning.
Here’s a pro tip: plan your study sessions at the same time of day every day,
preferably in the morning, when your brain is well rested and fresh.
And book those time slots in your calendar so this feels more like a serious commitment.
You need thousands and thousands of hours of exposure to a language if you want to master it.
In his book “Outliers,” Malcom Gladwell talks about the famous 10,000-hour rule: that’s
how long it takes to master a specific skill and become an expert in a particular field.
But there is some good news.
If you don’t want to become an interpreter, or a language teacher, or achieve
a native-speaker level of pronunciation, it takes a lot fewer than 10,000 hours to reach
a conversational level that you can be proud of.
That being said, the magic words are: listen, listen and listen some more.
You should make sure you're exposed to the spoken language for at least 10 minutes a day,
but at the beginning we recommend more like 30
if you want to start making progress faster.
Try to plan some time throughout your day when you can really be immersed in the language.
The internet is your friend and you are lucky to have it.
So go ahead and use it!
Luca dedicated a whole video to the topic of choosing the right time to start
speaking the language you're learning.
Although it can differ based on your personality, goals and learning style, he doesn’t think
that you should wait too long.
For a language that is fairly similar to your native language, he recommends starting to have your
first basic conversions within the first three months of beginning to learn a language.
And of course, don’t just have one conversation and then stop.
Ideally, you'd be able to squeeze in at least one conversion per week with a tutor or language partner,
but if you can only fit in 2 per month, that’s just fine.
And last but not least, make sure you're having fun throughout the whole process.
You’ll need to review what you learn on a regular basis, and practice as much as possible.
And since the path to even a conversational level can be long, introducing fun activities is key
to keeping your motivation levels high and keeping language learning
from becoming tedious or boring.
Movies, TV shows, comic books, podcasts… you name it.
There is so much learning material out there that anyone and everyone can find
what they need to enjoy language practice.
So, there you have it: the exact process that Luca goes through
whenever he wants to learn a new language.
And it works!
He speaks 8 of them!
Feel free to modify any of the steps to better suit your goals, needs or learning style,
but try not to skip any of them completely if you want to learn a language from the ground up
in an organized and efficient way.
Thanks for watching and see you next time.
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