In this video, we're going to look at five language learning techniques that are scientifically proven to help you become fluent. If you give them a try, they can transform your English skills and increase your confidence while speaking. The first language learning technique we're going to talk about today is the spaced repetition system.
SRS. Usually language learners use this method to memorize new words, but sometimes actually you can memorize grammar rules this way, you can memorize pronunciation aspects this way. This is what I do and it works great for me. The key idea is that you review things right before you're about to forget them. This way you keep reinforcing your memory right when it needs it, making learning more efficient and long lasting.
Instead of opening your textbook and thinking Okay, these are the words I need to revise today. What you do is you just open an app that is based on the spaced repetition system, like Anki, for example, or Memrise. I heard that Memrise is also based on this system. And you go through the words that you already saved there. So instead of going through the entire stack of cards every single day, SRS helps you focus on the cards that you need to focus on.
On the ones that you have problems with, but the ones that you already know, you know, you're gonna see them in like a few months, in a year, in two years. The next language learning technique is called immersion. Immersion is all about surrounding yourself with your target language in your real life. Mimicking the way children learn their first language.
They learn the language because they live in the country because the parents speak to them in this language. So you're basically doing the exact same thing. If you want to watch a show, you watch it in your target language. If you want to Google something, you Google it in your target language.
If you want to listen to music, you listen to music in your target language only. And that's actually what I did a lot when I started taking English learning more seriously. When I was in high school and in college, I just started immersing myself in the language nonstop.
Everything, like my computer, my phone, everything in my house was literally in English. Like everything I could make in English was in English because I lived in Russia back then. And so I would Google stuff in English.
I would only watch American You. I refused to follow people in my native language on Instagram. I would only follow people who spoke English.
I'm dead serious right now. And I think it really paid off. And I'm really proud of myself that I was able to create this. English speaking environment when I lived in Russia and I honestly had no one to practice English with.
If you're looking for a platform that will help you learn a language with this immersion method in mind I highly recommend Lingoda. On Lingoda you can learn English, business English, French, Spanish, German and Italian. I've been using Lingoda for the past three years now learning English and Spanish and I can confidently say that it has become the perfect language partner for me. I love that Lingoda truly understands that everyone learns differently. The curriculum on their platform was created by language experts, and I love how flexible I can be with my schedule.
This way language learning fits into my personal goals and lifestyle in a better way. There are people, for example, who prefer to take classes late at night or early in the morning, and Lingoda can help you with that. On their platform, I can practice in small group classes where I receive personalized feedback from native speaking teachers and i also get to interact with other students the feedback from a real teacher helps me a lot because it's often in depth and it's connected to the real language that people use in that country The teachers on Lingoda come from all over the world and offer insights about real local language, like interesting vocabulary, accents, and cultural nuances.
I can also practice independently by using their self-learning tools, like lesson materials, flashcards, and vocabulary trainer. This environment that Lingoda creates during classes keeps me motivated and excited to keep on learning the language. If you want to learn with Lingoda and tailor your learning path to your goals, make sure to click my link to save 20 euros when signing up.
The next proven language learning technique is shadowing. Shadowing is a technique where you repeat or shadow a native speaker as closely as possible while listening to the recording. It really helps with your pronunciation and with your intonation and of course with your accent. This technique was developed by Alexander R. Gales and I really hope I'm pronouncing his name correctly. In his videos he basically walks briskly while listening to something and then repeating that almost instantly.
Because this way, I guess, you engage both your mind and your body in learning. If you don't understand everything the native speaker is saying, of course you can use transverse for clarity, because it's important to understand what you're actually shadowing. The idea behind walking while you shadow is that you challenge your brain to process and automate new linguistic input.
which eventually improves your fluency through repetition and multitasking. The next amazing language learning technique is Task-Based Language Learning or TBLT. It focuses on introducing yourself to authentic language by doing certain tasks.
And it can really help you practically because you're doing real life things instead of just focusing on grammar or vocabulary. Let's say you're planning a trip and you want to go to France this summer and you are learning French. So instead of doing all of this in English, if English is your native language, you instead do all of this in French.
And you learn the language because you have a specific task. to plan your trip to France. You learn the language naturally, just like you would in real life, and you focus on practical and relevant things.
And so because of this approach, you get this hands-on experience with the language, not just the one you get inside the classroom, but something that you can see yourself using later in life, like when you actually go to France, it's going to be extremely beneficial. Let's say your friend's birthday party is coming up and you're thinking, what can I do? And maybe you decide to move to the US, or you can go to the US, or you can go to the US, or you can make a chocolate cake because you really like baking. So instead of doing that in your native language, you can do it in English if you're learning English. You go online and you find this best chocolate cake recipe ever.
You scroll down, I mean you can read all of that, you read the ingredients list. Let's say you get interested in the word unsweetened, you're like wow. I wouldn't be able to say this word myself, you know, in a conversation, so maybe I should memorize it. Then you go down, you see step-by-step instructions, you see the word preheat. Wow, that's an interesting word.
You see the word oven, you make sure you know how to pronounce it correctly because a lot of people say something like oven or oven, but not oven. So you see my point. Because you already have this task, like you kind of have to make this chocolate cake, why not do it in the language you're learning instead, instead of your native language? You're doing something that you already have to do. and you're practicing the language.
And finally, mnemonics can become an amazing language learning technique for you. Mnemonics are basically memory aids. They use associations, patterns, and images to help you remember information. And they work especially great for visual learners. If it's easier for you to look at something and then memorize it.
They also help you remember some complex things because you associate them with something easier or funnier or more relatable. So all you have to do to create a mnemonic is this. You have to link new information to something that you already know. You have to create this vivid image to go with the word you're trying to remember.
You can use rhymes or acronyms or stories to help you remember it better. Let's say that I want to memorize the word meek in English. If you're just like, Veronica, my imagination is not great. You can use chat GPT. So I created this prompt, create a mnemonic to memorize the word meek in English.
And here is the example we have. My elephant eats kale. Meek. You can visualize a gentle, mild-mannered elephant quietly eating kale, which aligns with the meaning of meek as someone who is gentle, humble, or submissive. I mean, I love this mnemonic, honestly.
My elephant eats kale. Meek. You can use this picture too.
I added this picture so that just everything falls together. And now every single time I think of the word meek, I think of these two cute elephants eating kale. I mean, probably it's not kale, but you know, for the sake of our prom here, they're eating kale. To be honest, guys, there are a lot of other amazing techniques like comprehensible input, chunking.
storytelling, and contextual learning that can really help you master a language more successfully. If you want me to make part two to this video, please let me know in the comments. Don't forget that Lingoda can become an amazing tool for you on your language learning journey.
If you like this video, don't forget to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my YouTube channel. If you're thinking about what to watch next, I highly recommend checking out this video, where I share what method I use to memorize new words, new vocabulary in foreign languages. So click right here and keep on watching.