Phase 3: Pushing through
Well hello,
Look who made it more than half way through.
Now that you’re kind of in a routine, all you need to do is continue for 3 more weeks.
This is the most difficult phase. Or maybe you are already so comfortable that it’s effortless to continue for another three weeks. In that case hooray! 🎉
In the final phase 4 of this journey, you will notice that conversations feel natural, and speaking will become quite effortless. It’s this natural comfort with speaking that other methods cannot really give you.
Be yourself in a foreign language. Enjoy listening to table conversations. Be ready for a party with only native speakers, and help other tourists while traveling, and make real connections with other humans in another language.
That’s the feeling of freedom we want to share. But for that you need to go through a few more weeks of practicing, listening, and speaking.
Week 7: the Doggo (click to expand)
Dear learner, welcome to phase 3 !
Time for a little story and some philosophical blabla, feel free to skip to the bottom with things to do.
Do you believe our pets can feel sadness? As a kid, the only time when my cats would stop fighting was if I was crying. Also dogs seem to have strong empathy.
Language learning can also teach us empathy. We try to understand others with limited information. We depend on someone else. We need to read body language.
This natural process requires empathy. What the world would look like if everyone would learn another language this way. It’s teaching us humility and being fine with ambiguity. To listen, struggle and survive thanks to the help of others.
(Side note: sometimes I wonder if learning someone’s language has been like a gate-keeping mechanism. An honor because somebody thought it’s worth sitting down with this person and allow them to communicate freely.)
And it may last for the rest of your life.
For now, let’s be grateful to the people that help us learn.
What you need to do to complete this week:
✅ Practice all your phrases. Try to keep those available to 0.
✅ Go to the listening material and spend 30 minutes on watching material.
✅ *NEW* Try to find a movie or series in your target language. We think you might be ready for it. See how many words you already recognize.
✅ Have your fifth lesson and get around 30 recordings.
Have a great week and lesson!
Week 8: the Horse
You’re horsing around? You’re having fun?
When I was in Kyiv for New Years eve, I couldn’t imagine that two months later the war would break out. Back then, I was happy that I sometimes understand the topics native speakers were talking about. And I was able to keep someone company in the Russian language for more than an hour. And I was literally able to make jokes and make people laugh.
All that after just 12 lessons.
We learn languages for the people we’re with. For a special connection that we could otherwise not make. For little jokes and professional behavior. For trying to feel natural somewhere else. For comfort.
So don’t be afraid to fall off your horse sometimes. Know that you and your language will be able to travel together further than you by yourself.
What you need to do to complete this week:
✅ Spend 2x 30 minutes on watching content in the app.
✅ Have another lesson this week, and try to get at least 30 new phrases from your teacher.
✅ And as always, practice those phrases daily. Keep those routines running
Ride on, our little explorer !
Week 9: the Owl
Do you feel wiser? Four more weeks until conversational ability!
Do you notice how you’re understanding more and more?
Are you recognising words when listening? Can you say funny things already?
Is your mind formulating sentences randomly?
Are you looking forward to your next holiday?
Here’s what to do, as always:
✅ Practice all your available phrases in the app.
✅ Do at least 30 minutes of Listening-Reading. You’re pretty much ready to start watching movies or series now, if possible.
✅ Have your seventh lesson. What situations or topics haven’t you covered yet?
And then, drumroll, you’ve finished phase three. Congratulations! The next three weeks, you’ll notice a change. You’ll notice that you’ve become used to the language and that you can talk. Don’t forget from where you started, and don’t forget to pay it forward.
And then you have a new skill for life that no-one can take away from you.