Title: Fluent in 3 months
Author: Benny Lewis
Date started & finished: September 2018 read within 1 week
Notes written on: 3 April 2019
Why I choose this book:
I want to speak 2 language that I can only babble in.
Book theme/ message:
Shifting your mindset in order to learn quicker how to speak the languages.
Personal connection: How does the book relate to me to me or my experiences?
Including my highlights passages and or quote.
I learned one language in school for 7 years, yet I do not speak it with ease at all. I can get around when I visit the country, I understand basic and I can be understood. The other language is closer to one I already know, so reading it is easy ish. Speaking it is ok, should I not mind making mistake I can be understood too. Listening is another thing as it feels too quick to be understood for the moment.
Both of these I have been practising on duolingo 5 minutes daily and that help me with being more at ease with both languages. I want to pick it up so that I can at least converse in both for basic topics.
HIGHLIGHTED PASSAGES:
“I can get lazy and make very slow progress unless I make that language a true part of my life.”
“Adult language learners also have the advantage of already having been exposed to years of context in universal human interaction, which indicates when someone is angry, shouting, or asking a question, or the many other aspects of international body language, intonation, and speech volume. One study at the University of California, Los Angeles, actually found that an incredible 93 percent of communication of emotions is non verbal. And a majority of nonverbal communication is universal. A laugh is a laugh, across the world.”
“The trick is the keep trying until you find a way that produces real results for you. It’s never you who’s broken, but your current approach. Fix the approach, discard what doesn’t work, and you will be much more successful.”
“One thing that, to this day, still boggles my mind is that we learn many facts in school, but we never really learn how to learn.”
“Spaced repetition: Another great way to build vocabulary quickly”
“Using music to learn phrases
While learning words is certainly very important, I recommend you start with phrases or full sentences, which allows you to communicate real ideas from the start. Focusing on set phrases like ‘Where is the bathroom?’ and ‘How much does that cost?’ lets you communicate in grammatically-correct forms without having to master the grammar.”
“Mini-scripts are incredibly useful because we all tend to have similar conversations the first time we meet someone as beginning language learners: ‘Who are you?’ ‘Where are you from?’ “What do you do for a living?’ ‘Why are you learning this language?’ These phrases are used so frequently, in fact, you might as well just memorise the script so you can get through it more quickly and easily, as well as force yourself to move to the next stage in language-learning.”
QUOTE
It is not important to be better than someone else, but to be better than yesterday.
Jigoro Kano, creator of Judo
“The trick, then, is finding native speakers who will give you that wonderful language exchange practice.”
“With any language, I suggest learning the following modal verbs:
can (able to)
should
Would like to
must / have to
want to”
“Pronunciation or Intonation?
At first glance, it can seem that the differences between a native accent and a foreign accent are all in the pronunciation, but intonation takes a much more critical role.”
QUOTE
When a person has an accent, it means he can speak one more language than you.
Fernando Lamas
What impact or impression has this book made on me?
Instead of making excuses for not learning a language it changes the mind shift from I can’t do this, to I could do this.
It has also made me want to pursue speaking more languages.
A language is not meant to be learned, it is meant to be lived.
How can I use this?
I can the learning whole sentences to be able to use them daily.
Why must I use this?
Using the language daily will make me more at ease with it, and therefore I will want to speak it more.
When will I use this?
Every day with a native speaker.
My recommendation of this book: [low 1 … 10 high]
Enjoyment: 10
Learning: 10
Easy to read: 10
Why: You want to learn a new language, this book will motivate you to do so.
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Happy Learning
