Break Language Barriers

If I started selling a new app or a course about my secrets to memorizing lots of new words quickly in more than 20 languages, a lot people would buy. Everybody is looking for a way to memorize lots of new words quickly. In my experience, there is no need for special techniques. The key is avoiding some basic mistakes most language learners make. For many, language learning is based on the assumption that the first and most important thing is that you learn as many new words as possible. This is like if you want to build lots of muscle mass and the only thing you do is swallowing big quantities of protein powder, without ever exercising. Here is some inconvenient truth: - The key in speaking a language is to learn how to correctly and flexibly combine words. You can express many things with relatively few words. On the other hand, knowing lots of words and not being able to combine them, you remain mute. - There is no problem with forgetting words. Our brain “forgets” for a r...

When they are unsatisfied with their progress in learning a foreign language, many wish for having more time to learn a language more intensely. On the contrary, I recommend to limit the time you spend learning a foreign language, but to practice every day for 5-10 minutes. Let me explain. Many think that the total number of words you know is an indicator of how well you know a language. And vocabulary is something easy to measure, especially with all kinds of apps. My definition of language expertise is how quickly and flexibly you can combine the words you already know into correct sentences. You don’t need to know 50 thousand words to be able to handle 99% of communication situations. The same applies to grammar rules. You need to know a limited number of rules, but to be a master in using them spontaneously. The focus here is on the ability to react to all kinds of situations quickly and to be creative in combining words. If you think about your native language, you wil...

In elementary school, a classmate told everybody that she spoke many languages. She had learned some basic expressions in all of them. As a communication coach, I am often asked how many languages I speak; which languages and how many of them perfectly. I always feel a bit awkward with the question. Often, I try to avoid an answer altogether. First, I have no clear answer for myself. Second, I want to avoid creating a boastful impression. (If I had a Ford Mustang – my favorite car, I probably would drive it only where nobody might recognize me). In writing this, I hope my answers can be helpful to you as you learn and improve foreign languages. It is no big deal. This again may sound arrogant. Just wait a second. I am a slow learner, especially in languages. It usually takes me years to be fluent in a language. That’s OK for me. I willingly adopt the “turtle method” of making small, but consistent steps every day. I am not in a speed contest with anybody. If people consider me ...