How to Reach Your Conversational English Goals
in less time than you think!
Well, it turns out that there are fast-track ways to reach a conversational level in a language without putting in years of practice and being buried in complicated textbooks. ~ You can actually start having conversations in a new language way before reaching the B2 level.
First, we need to know what we're aiming towards. ~ This depends on how much time and effort you can put into learning. The main focus is on immersion without traveling, making it perfect for anyone who wants to hack language learning before going abroad, learn to speak to family and friends, or for anyone simply interested in learning to speak a new language fast. ~ You can speak a new language in real conversations. ~ Not when you've learned an entire dictionary and you've got perfect grammar. ~ Comprehensible input, output, and immersion. ~ In the webinar, Olly mentioned that "what most people don't realize is that if you are just reading those [simple] dialogues right at the beginning, they will contain the 100 or 200 most common words in the language which are used 50% of the time."
Learners should model their input resources on their preferred content types. If you love reading, or podcasts, or movies, or any other type of content, then use those same methods for your language input.
The language needs to connect with your journey and life. ~ What is adventure? All of these things are now a part of this word, and they make it so that the word is going to stick with you." As a result, when using flashcards for language learning, Gabriel chooses to replace the translated words with images that create a sense, an interaction, and a memory of the word instead of just a translation. Integrating a new language into our experience and practicing it in real-world settings, like with comprehensible input or in conversation, creates real memories and allows us to remember language easier. Once you learn simple dialogues that you can use in real conversations, you can begin talking in that language and creating real memories, which takes us to our next step. ~ The idea was to first "get the language out of his mouth" as he puts it.
A fun way to practice speaking a foreign language with someone who wants to learn yours.
Even before you feel you've reached conversational level in a new language, travelling to the place where it's spoken is one of the best ways to immerse yourself. ~ For the final month of your journey, you will want to start fully immersing yourself in the language, in pretty extreme ways!
Reading, speaking, writing, and listening almost entirely in your target language. For those that think this isn't possible from your own home, and that you either need to be in the country or have a partner speaking that language, then you're certainly wrong. These things help, but it's up to you to decide where you place your attention.
However, your likelihood of success in completing a challenge or learning a language in faster, in general, it really depends on your attitude. Before beginning, have your reasons to learn a language set in stone so that you can keep reminding yourself why you are putting in the hard work.