Get THE NEWEST HACKS
Zen Habits Reader, Thanks for Subscribing
Hey Zen Habits Reader! Thanks for subscribing to Hack The System!You’re going to learn exactly how to break away from your 9-5 lifestyle, and take advantage of the system.
The 5 part video series “How To Learn A Language in 3 Three Months
Introduction to Language Learning
The 3 Month Roadmap of Language Learning
A Walk Through the Garden of Language Learning — The Tools to Learning A Language
A Private Lesson with A Swedish Speaker – How to Conduct a Language Class
Conclusion
Last, here are some great articles from my site!:
-
How to Fly to Medellin, Colombia, Business Class, for $77.
-
How to Lose 23 Lbs in 28 Days (hint: it requires radical system hacking)
-
Passive Income 101: How to Travel The World Without Working
-
QUIT YOUR JOB And Work Online As A Location Independent Freelancer
-
Habits, Failure, and the Creative Process–How IDEO, the World’s Premier Design Firm, Succeeds by Expecting Failure
{ 63 comments… }
Thanks for these videos.
I cannot stand use some unscience methor to learn a language anymore….
Well,obviously my first chanllenge is that I have to try to learn how to study English with some English video.(Well!You saw mistakes in my word?Tell me!)
Why every time I watch the video “Introduction to Language Learning” , it stops at the 3rd second? Anyway I like these ideas, though maybe it is a little bit fast for me to listen to. English is not my mother tongue. Thanks for sharing.
I can afford to live outside my country,what can I do?
I want to learn Japanese and Frensh and also Italian…
I seems like a foooooooooooool.
Great vids thanks for showing us how you approach learning with a native that isn’t a teacher.
I’m planning on doing this when I’m in Thailand.
Keep up the good work.
I have no facebook so can’t help you out there but I do follow you now on Twitter.
Thanks
I’m a Chinese who is learning english now, and think have the ability to study who to study a languge in 3 months with you. Chinese is such a different language, i hope we can create a way to solve it and benifit others
Maneesh- the first language I’m going to use this on is HINDI. so when I meet you in person to thank you we can talk like old school brown men. thanks for the tips, you are the man. u just have to swear less. and oh yah u look like your brother.
You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear Pretty Lights in the background of all your videos 🙂
Hi Maneesh!
It’s always interesting for me, being a Swede, how people who speak 4+ languages tend to choose to learn Swedish rather than say Arabic or Mandarin Chinese, but it makes the persons so much more interesting. I myself are currently studying Chinese at a Swedish university (which is for free, in Sweden) and I’m currently on my 2nd semester. But since I started studying a new language, I’ve discovered tons of websites telling me how much I can reach in 90 days if I just put my effort into it. So that’s what I’ve finally decided to do. I’m still going to complete this semester, but I’m going to record a video of me speaking Chinese today and then make a new video just before New Year’s Eve (I know that’s 60 days, but I already have pretty decent knowledge in the language). After that, I’m off to China to see what happens …
It would be really interesting to have a chat with you, both in English and Swedish, and see how far you’ve come. Please let me know. I’m on Skype at “erik.blomqvist”.
By the way, when it comes to vocab and helping you to memorize it, I can’t recommend this website enough. http://www.memrise.com. I discovered it this summer and it uses very simple but very effective mnemonics techniques to help you remember new words quickly and through very few times of repetition.
Take care!
Love the tips, I keep coming back to this post to see if I missed something on my journey to master Spanish. I’ve never attempted to learn another language, so knowing what questions to ask a tutor in a 4-hour session is difficult for me. I had a private tutor but did not like the material she used. It would be great if you could further explain your tutoring sessions or show any blueprints you have for multiple language tutoring sessions. Regardless thanks for the information.
Be careful with saying “every” language has the same structure. Notice that you’ve only really studied European languages, more specifically Romance and Germanic languages.
Things can get far more freaky. You are correct that all languages do have certain things in common, but the differences will surprise you. Even something like Turkish will stir some beans. Native American languages can have even more foreign elements (such as noun classes, which is like gender, but “different”).
Hi Maneesh
I have been trying to learn Italian for years, and find I do ok when I focus on it, but as I have no-one to converse with regularly I forget what I have learned fairly quickly. How do you go about not forgetting a language if you haven’t used it for a while?
What’s your opinion on reading foreign language material as an aid to learning or remembering languages, say if one is out of practice? I find there can often be a wide variation in conversational language compared to more formal written language.
Thanks
Every time I go back to Italy, it takes 3 days or so before it comes back to a comfortable level. It’s all there—you just need a few days to get the practice back. You’ll notice you rarely forget your ability to understand.
Reading is great!
Thank you for the tips, make me feel so much calm about learnign german!
Hi Maneesh,
Good presentation. I tried to “Like” you on Facebook. Think it went through. I don’t do Twitter. I study languages also. Your method described above is very effective. Wish I had a pen like that.
Keep on keepen’ on,
Marcos
Thanks 🙂
Hey Maneesh!
Great set of video’s on language learning. I currently speak french at a stage 3 level from 6-9 months in Québec. I am moving to Berlin, Germany in October. Never thought to use a private tutor, but it actually makes sense if you want to learn in less time with better results. Kudos to your Hack the System site, keep up the good work. Bill. 😀
Thanks man 🙂
Hi Maneesh,
I am going to learn French. I Live in the UK and they are a neighbour so it was either that or Gaelic!
It would be great if the page listed links to some of the resources you mentioned in the videos.
Steve
Thanks for these videos! I’ve been taking French classes for a year and a half in college and am only now working towards the stages of intermediate level. Over the next six months i’ll be using your method. It makes more sense and honestly would of cost me less than taking classes at college, even with the tutoring!
Hi Maneesh,
Thanks a lot for the videos and tips, I am language enthusiast and French private teacher. I can totally relate with SPEAKING being the aim of learning a language. I travelled a lot with my previous humanitarian job and learned English, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, Fijian, Tetun and Bahasa and a private tutor + making friends is the only combination. I also encourage my students to have “fun” in the language and do something they already enjoy (for some it’s cooking classes for others it’s watching videos ect…).
Is French one of the language you are learnt or plan to learn? I would be happy to help you! You are like a version of Tim Ferris with an email! awesome!
Looking forward to reading more of your stuff, and yes, I want to get that PEN!
Muriel
Awesome videos Maneesh,
I’m started to learn English, could you suggest me an English Grammar Book
hrm…not sure, but check amazon and look at the reviews.
I’m going to Ukraine (Krim) the entire august and learn Russian there; I guess i’m in stage 3 of your last video. I liked the “search for patterns” when varying one sentence into different tenses with and without conjunctive case… Cheers!
Hi Maneesh,
Great article and videos!! From Spain and learning English so your Blog, videos…. are a great help in so many ways!
Thank you!!
Pi.
Hi Maneesh,
Great article and videos!! From Spain andblearning English so your Blog, videos…. are a great help in so many ways!
Thank you!!
Pi.
Hey Maneesh,
Awesome tips, I love the idea of keeping track of the errors of my self-foreign-language conversations as I walk down the street. With my current schedule I don’t have the time to do the private tutor, but I will this fall. Hopefully, the Hindi Lonely Planet phrasebook (from your Portland vid) and the Genius app, will help get me jump started so by this fall I can start having conversations (if not sooner).
If you’re ever in the Bay area let’s grab a beer. I too, noticed the increase in my language skills while I was travelling in both China and Mexico. I think this could lead to a really fun research paper.
Thanks again!
Ravi
Awesome videos Maneesh,
I’m started using Pimsleur to learn Spanish but this will save me a lot of time. What are some Latin American countries you’d recommend living in for 3-6 months to learn? How’d you rank Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia?
colombia and argentina are my favorites!
Hi Maneesh, great videos and tips. Its really nice when someone shares their learning to the world so freely and in such detail.
I’ve been following a bunch of language/life hackers for some time now, john(sinosplice), benny, tim. I think a video showing you speak a few phrases in 5 languages at normal speed would be really great.
Keep it up!
Best,
Sagar
Hey Maneesh,
I am living in Austria and strugggggling to learn German and your video came just in time. And I was stoked to find out that you were the guy in the video that I watch a few years ago, who made $$ while sitting on a camel lol That was awesome!
Thanks and am looking forward to hear more from you!
Brian
Thank you for these videos, I can’t wait to give this a try. I want to learn Tagalog first and then Japanese.
Hi Maneesh,
First, thanks a lot for your videos.
I have a question about your tools to learning a langage : where can I find a pen with a camera and a microphone ? I live in Europa. And how much a pen like that cost ?
Thanks for your answer !
PS: My Sorry for my english (I am not a native english speaker).
Maneesh,
Great stuff. I learned Korean when I was in the military basically the way you show. But first I tried the “ol’ tried and true” but not very useful way I learned in high school: memorize dialogues…and did not get anywhere. You are right about instant friends when you speak someone’s language. They really appreciate that you are taking the time and effort to learn.
You also really clarified the need for a tutor. I can’t do the 4 hour/day thing (I have a job) but 30 minutes I can, I just have to adjust the expectation of when I will ‘know’ the language.
Great vid’s and information. Thanks.
I am learning lithuanian. I agree with you with most of the stuff, also with the pen spinning. I think spinning the pen between the fingers help to learn languages faster 🙂
Anyway, private tutoring is more effective then friends, cause it’s hard to practice with friends in the beginning. But isn’t there a better way to learn cheaper, without spending even 1dollar in the first month and still be able to learn the structure of the language?
Been in Korea for a few months. The hardest part has to be grinding it out for several hours a day.
I imagine thats half the reason to PAY for a tutor. If you’re dropping coin then you have serious motivation to be prepared and learn every day.
Next step: find a tutor
TIP! Its way easier and faster to learn phrases first, and then the words in the phrase. Also, this lets you understand where to place words when you create your own sentences.
I found it interesting when you talked about languages having a similar grammar structure to a certain degree. I imagine that you are learning languages that come from a similar base, I’m not sure about Swedish, but certainly English and German are quite closely related. How would you go about learning a language that is radically different? I can’t really think of any that I would call radically different, but certainly Mandarin or Korean are probably a lot different. Also, I notice you ask your tutor to use English pronunciation for characters, again, how would this translate to a language that doesn’t use a similar alphabet? Do you think it would impact learning to, for example, learn “konnichiwa” as opposed to “こんにちわ”? I read you suggested to think in the language, but the disconnect between the characters and the words seems a little jarring.
Great article, great videos, I learnt a lot!
Swedish is SUPER similar to english—way more so than German. The easiest grammar I’ve ever seen.
For other languages, just jump in and learn it. A good tutor will take you a long way.
Maneesh, great stuff you’ve posted above. I’m polish guy, know english very well and now I’m learning spanish (around B1 level legally speaking). Looking for somebody via The Mixxer but it comes with troubles. Any ides, language friendo? Big up! 🙂
what’s the problem with mixxer?
No match in my category. Exchange polish for spanish. Any ideas, where to look for?
You could always try a technique called language laddering where you use a second language you already speak competently to study a third language. For example, you speak Polish and want to learn Spanish. It seems to me like you also speak English quite well. Find someone who speaks native Spanish and wants to practice English. They can teach you Spanish by trying to explain concepts in English. This has the added advantage of allowing you to maintain and refine your second language while learning a third.
Great idea! Thanking you 🙂
livemocha.com
Great article and video series. Lots of useful strategies and info.
The area that I would like to see a bit more ‘meat on the bone’ is the how to plan you sessions with a tutor. You created a 15 mini video with a sample of how one of your lessons went but it still feels kind of random and I would like to plan it out a bit more. The plan would be different for everyone since people have different purpose with their language learning. But some general advice of how do I plan out my first 20 lessons to make them as constructive as possible would be great.
In you resource box you only mentioned apps for computers. There are great vocabulary/phrase apps for ipad/iphone/android depending on the language you are learning. The great thing about them is that you can practice in many different ways. From native language to new language and the reverse, by reading or listening (useful when learning a new alphabet), and some apps let you record your voice and compare to native voice. WordUp is an app that I find useful for Thai and they have many different languages but they will vary from language to language so a bit of research is required to find the best apps for the language being studied. There is also a new dictionary app called iTranslate which is surprisingly good at listening to a word/phrase in one language and then say/show the word in the new language. The great thing with apps for ipad/iphone/android is that they are more accessible than a computer and I think they will have a big impact on language learning in the future.
I don’t plan sessions. I like that they go freeform and I use it to create a general understanding of the language—although keep in mind, this is the 6th language I’m learning.
Thanks for the resources!
Hey Maneesh,
As a fellow lifehacker/language learner, I really enjoyed the article. Keep exploring and sharing, sir!
Bill
Thanks man!
I’m looking forward to working with your system. I know it’s possible, I just have to do it! For many years, I have been an admirer of Heinrich Schliemann, not so much for his archeological findings, but for his linguistic abilities. Over the course of his lifetime, he was able to teach himself 14 languages. Amazing! During my travels, I met people who spoke as many as six languages, but never 14! Thank you for offering these videos to your viewers and fans. BTW, I have no problem with “liking” you on FB, but I refuse to do Twitter. Besides, I forgot my password there, and they have been unable to help me … happily.
You just gotta try!
These videos were fun! I hope at some point to learn Spanish and German.
Hi Maneesh,
Thank you so much for sharing your techniques. I have been trying to learn spanish with Rosetta Stone, with little success. I see that Genius does not have an IOS App available. Any suggestions? One of the big problems I ran into with RS,… lack of mobility = lack of use = lack of learning
Thanks again, Jennifer
try any flashcard app
Impressed by your article sent to me
Thanks!
hello maneesh,
firstly thank you for the article and videos about learning a new language on fast speed, i am myself a devoted linguist and your advices helped me getting out of the ‘rosetta stone’ rut. i was wondering, since you seem to have good tips about pretty much…everything, what is your take on university studies. see i would like to resume my studies and change path from law to psychology, i come from france where education is free, however i have lived and worked abroad way too long to cope with french education anymore, and obviously i would rather go for a degree thought in english, primarily, yet i am seriously appalled at the amount one has to pay to get a certificate online that teaches you…absolutely nothing. why are university studies so bloody expensive…it’s a total scam !
I dropped out of university (stanford, actually). I find that it is useful for some jobs, like you can’t really be a doctor without university–but for other things, like programming, or liberal arts, it just isn’t worth it. My university was $50,000 a year. I’m glad I don’t have debt, but my friends are stuck for years now, because of the studies they took.
But you can always learn online, for free!
Preach it, brother! Excellent point, Maneesh. So many people burden themselves with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt because that’s what society expects them to do. Great website and I hope you reach many people in the name of system hacking. I’m a fan, for sure.
Sounds too good to be true.
what’s too good to be true?
too good NOT to be true!
I am looking forward to learning Spanish.
Thank you for your great in-site,
Ginger
You’re very welcome!