Teach Yourself a Language in 15 Minutes a Day: Step-by-Step Demonstration

[@ProfASAr]

If you enjoy learning from my videos, then you might also enjoy learning by interacting with me in my virtual academy: www.alexanderarguelles.com/academy/ You can join me next week to follow the Path of the Polyglot; read French, German, or Spanish literature; learn to read Medieval languages; practice spoken Latin at various levels; participate in Great Books seminars; study the comparative history of religion; or get support for guided self-study of languages including Latin, Arabic, and Sanskrit. And you can keep up-to-date by subscribing to my monthly newsletter: www.alexanderarguelles.com/newsletter/

[@gumtreeterry9904]

Amazon reviews seem to say Assimil French is riddled with mistakes. Any thoughts on that?

[@faith9505]

We’ve Come to Worship Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him -Matthew 2:2 History tells us that King Herod was a paranoid tyrant. Because of his paranoia, he had his wife and three sons executed because he thought they were trying to steal his throne. He also gave the order that the most distinguished citizens of Israel were to be arrested on the day of his death to guarantee there would be mourning in the nation upon his death. Interestingly, Herod also liked to refer to himself as the king of the Jews. So when wise men arrived from the East and were asking about a child who had been born king of the Jews, it was the wrong thing to say to a man like Herod. The Bible tells us, “King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem” (Matthew 2:3) The word “disturbed” used here means “agitated,” “stirred up,” or “shaken up.” Herod was the king. He was the man in control. And whenever Herod was stressed out, everyone else was stressed out too. By bitter experience, the people knew that if Herod sensed a potential coup or a threat to his power, he would start having people killed. Thus, he tried to have the so-called king of the Jews put to death. Matthew tells us that Herod “sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance” (verse 16) There are a lot of people like Herod today. They won’t allow anyone or anything to interfere with their career, their lifestyle, their plans, or their ambitions. They don’t mind taking time off to commemorate the birth of Jesus, but that is the extent of it. Jesus is all right, as long as He stays in the manger as a baby. But they don’t like the idea of Jesus dying on a cross for them and rising from the dead. They don’t like the idea of Jesus saying they need turn from their sins and put their faith in Him. Like Herod, they see Jesus as a threat. A lot of people are okay with God if He stays out of their lives. They want God assisting them, someone to call in case of an emergency. But that is the extent of their faith. They wrongly believe they make their own luck, are the captains of their own ships, and the masters of their own destinies. The reality is they are none of those things. A nonbeliever, according to the Bible, is under the control of someone else, and that someone is known as Satan. (see 2 Timothy 2:25-26) Eventually we must start thinking for ourselves. We must recognize that nothing this world has to offer us will fill the void in our lives that was created to be filled by God Himself. No experience, no possession, and no accomplishment will fill it. Not even religion or morality will fill it. What we need is Jesus.

[@LionCall-yi3dl]

Wow feeling lucky to find you😍

[@ginabisaillon2894]

Support for self-study in Hebrew?

[@ginabisaillon2894]

@@gumtreeterry9904 which book are you referring to?

[@veo16]

This guy’s a character. Quirky mannerisms, eloquent speech, cat friend, piano in the backdrop of what looks like a personal library. I’m now enthralled and will watch this whole vlog because of it.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for the appreciation!

[@xrayban2]

You forgot the color pens !

[@joreenlei4699]

true

[@BasicUniversalEconomics]

hi

[@cherylevans23]

Don't bother

[@salx101]

Friend: "Why did you get a cat?" Me: "To learn French."

[@ProfASAr]

Excellent reason! And your feline assistant can help you not just with French, but with many other languages as well!

[@YogaBlissDance]

lol

[@___xyz___]

I have a friend who got to an advanced level in Japanese in less than 5 years. I always found that odd as we studied about the same amount. But he has a cat at home. I guess that must be it then.

[@sonbykedelion]

Cat is the power🙄🙄🙄

[@danni8791]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@AlejandroColeteMoya]

"You can do it without a cat if you don't have a cat available" A. Arguelles, 2022. Not sure if you can learn languages without a cat in your lap 😝 thank you very much for this video, I will defintely adapt this kind of training in my own language learning routine 😁

[@ProfASAr]

Glad to hear it! Consider adapting the training after adopting a cat!

[@TheDavidlloydjones]

@@ProfASAr 研究表明，猫可能会让学习法语的人满意。 对于任何强硬、勤奋的语言，例如中文，最好的动物是袋熊。 只需将袋熊靠在附近的书架上即可。 不时用火斧戳它，让它保持清醒。 它会奖励你，让你在学习期间保持清醒和警觉。

[@khadijajbali9658]

@@TheDavidlloydjones 其实，我现在学习中文，希望有天我可以说得跟中国人一样好。

[@elizabethakajewel]

Or a dog ☺️

[@kleocatra9675]

I have six cats so I should be able, to learn six times faster.

[@desmorgens3120]

Steps for learning a foreign language, in my own opinion, are: 1. learning the phonology, 2. learning the grammar, learning the vocabulary, 3. learning common expressions, 4. learning the socioculture of the foreign language learnt

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for sharing.

[@desmorgens3120]

My opinion above is based on my own experience in learning English, Dutch and German when I was thirteen in 1987...the knowledge of vowels, diphthongs and consonants come first as urgently needed. It also happens naturally when a human being was born: when being a toddler, he listens to his mother's voices, later trying to speak with many mistakes, and learning reading and writing after being seven years old. My pleasure, Sir.

[@ДанилоФлоренцо]

@@desmorgens3120 toddlers do not learn grammar. We don't need grammar rules to acquire our very first language. Please check out this video about story learning. kzbin.info/www/bejne/moHUiIFomdGmeMk

[@brayansanma679]

Isn’t this what private schools teach?

[@aguilarrojasoctavio4402]

@@brayansanma679 I am a private teacher and I my students follow these steps

[@TLOH7]

Not going to lie. I came for the language learning advices…but, I stayed for the cat.

[@ProfASAr]

For a pure virtual Merlin experience, go here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHqWlqKPnJibjrc

[@INDIOcomvoce1]

Same!

[@rezphilosophy]

the friends i spend the longest visiting time with are the ones with cats

[@whimzycloud]

Instructions unclear. I now have three cats , one for each language

[@ProfASAr]

Success! My real goal was to find homes for homeless cats.

[@E.G2492]

😂❤

[@mischief5905]

@@ProfASArThe only joke I’ve found to be funny and wholesome so far.

[@speggeri90]

An American, French and a Chinese cat walk into a bar. Then they asked nothing from the bartender as cats don’t speak. Then the American cat said “wanna go shoot darts?”.

[@Mary-qj9zd]

I have 5 😂 and one dog 😂

[@shibakaneki555]

When I started using shadowing for learning Japanese, I really improved a lot in a short time. I really recommend this technique!

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for the validation!

[@yishihara55527]

Sorry to break this to you, but it only creates the illusion of improvement.

[@SamBarrass]

@@yishihara55527 How so?

[@___dh__dh__]

What source to you use to do that with Japanese? (I'm learning now as well).

[@stenionet]

@@yishihara55527 Can you explain, my friend from Japan?

[@jackfernandes473]

As follows is Jack F's step-by-step summary of Dr. Arguelle's method: L1 = the language you already know (native language) L2= the language you are learning "shadow" = "repeat each line of the Assimil lesson out loud while the audio is playing" 1. Shadow L2 audio without text - Listen and repeat along with the Assimil lesson for the day. Dr. Arguelles says your comprehension, as a new learner, may be around 50%. 2. Shadow L2 audio while reading along with L1 text. For example, speak French, listen to French, but read English) - Dr. Arguelles says your comprehension should now be closer to 70-90%. 3. Shadow French while tracking both texts simultaneously, looking from French to English whenever you don’t understand a word. Dr. Arguelles says this should take your comprehension very high, perhaps 90-100%, by scanning the words you don’t know. We will have now shadowed the text three times. First, with L2 audio and no text. Second with L2 audio and L1 text. Third, with L2 audio, scanning between L2 and L1 text. 4. Next, read through the text without the audio. This is where we are really “learning” the lesson and it is the step that will take the longest. Dr. Arguelles reads aloud while following both L1 and L2 while noting to himself when he matches a word that he didn’t know- for example… “Ahh, plomb matches to lead in my language, so plomb must mean lead." The goal here is to take your comprehension close to 100% while understanding the notes in the lesson as well. 5. Dr. Arguelles completes the exercises 6. Read the lesson trying not to look at the translation this time. See how much you understand. 7. Try to ‘blind shadow’ one more time. This means listen to the audio without the text while you repeat each line of dialogue out loud. Congratulations, you have just completed an Assimil lesson using the same method that Dr. Arguelles has been using for decades!

[@ProfASAr]

Well done! Thank you so much for this! I am sure many will find it very helpful.

[@jackfernandes473]

@@ProfASAr My pleasure- just finished my daily Assimil using your clear and efficient protocol! Thanks Dr. Arguelles for sharing your love of learning languages with so many of us, across the world.

[@dramaqueen4934]

Thank you a lot ,I got really confused at first ,then I found your comment ,now I got it ,txt 👍

[@siryaso2967]

إليك خطوات جاك إف في تلخيص طريقة الدكتور أرغويليس: L1 = اللغة التي تعرفها بالفعل (اللغة الأم) L2 = اللغة التي تتعلمها "الظل" = "كرر كل سطر من درس أسيميل بصوت عالٍ أثناء تشغيل الصوت" كرر الصوت L2 بدون نص - استمع وكرر مع درس أسيميل لليوم. يقول الدكتور أرغويليس أن فهمك، كمتعلم جديد، قد يكون حوالي 50%. كرر الصوت L2 أثناء القراءة مع نص L1. على سبيل المثال، تحدث الفرنسية، استمع إلى الفرنسية، لكن اقرأ الإنجليزية) - يقول الدكتور أرغويليس أن فهمك الآن يجب أن يكون أقرب إلى 70-90%. كرر الفرنسية مع تتبع النصوص الاثنين معًا، نظرًا من الفرنسية إلى الإنجليزية كلما لم تفهم كلمة. يقول الدكتور أرغويليس أن هذا يجب أن يرفع فهمك إلى مستوى عالٍ جدًا، ربما 90-100%، من خلال مسح الكلمات التي لا تعرفها. لقد قمنا الآن بتكرار النص ثلاث مرات. أولاً، مع صوت L2 وبدون نص. ثانياً مع صوت L2 ونص L1. ثالثًا، مع صوت L2، والتمرير بين نص L2 وL1. بعد ذلك، اقرأ النص بدون الصوت. هنا حيث نحن حقًا "نتعلم" الدرس وهو الخطوة التي ستستغرق وقتًا أطول. يقرأ الدكتور أرغويليس بصوت عالٍ مع متابعة كل من L1 و L2 مع ملاحظة لنفسه عندما يتطابق كلمة لم يكن يعرفها - على سبيل المثال ... "آه، يتطابق الرصاص باللغتي، لذا يجب أن يعني الرصاص plomb." يكمل الدكتور أرغويليس التمارين اقرأ الدرس محاولًا عدم النظر إلى الترجمة هذه المرة. انظر كم تفهم. حاول أن تكون 'ظل الأعمى' مرة أخرى. هذا يعني الاستماع إلى الصوت بدون النص بينما تكرر كل سطر من الحوار بصوت عالٍ. تهانينا، لقد أكملت للتو درس أسيميل باستخدام نفس الطريقة التي كان الدكتور أرغويليس يستخدمها منذ عقود!

[@hoekitchew1458]

Great summary - detailed and concise 👍 Thanks for taking the time 👏

[@nana-yj9eg]

I’m from Egypt and now i started learning Norwegian and Brazilian Portuguese. I learned a lot from every minute of this video ,Thank you 💓

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for letting me know that it was helpful.

[@johnfelix503]

Boa sorte!

[@nana-yj9eg]

@@johnfelix503 Obrigada!💓

[@SabrinaCochak]

I'm Brazilian learning norwegian, wanna practice together?

[@JoaoAlves-mg2gx]

Boa sorte aprendendo a lingua mais bonita do planeta kkkkkkkkkk

[@e-genieclimatique]

In brief: The video provides a detailed guide on how to effectively learn a language by dedicating 15 minutes each day to systematic study. - Arguelles introduces the video as a follow-up to a previous one where he mentioned the possibility of learning a language by studying 15 minutes a day. - He emphasizes the importance of having the right materials and a quiet, focused place for study. - He begins a 15-minute lesson, ensuring he has all necessary items, including a book, a pencil, audio on a player, and a glass of water. - He mentions the use of the Assimil method for language learning and demonstrates how to embark upon a 15-minute lesson. - Arguelles demonstrates a lesson in French, acting as if he is a beginner. - He starts with "blind shadowing," trying to speak along with the audio without having seen the text before. - He repeats the text while looking at the English translation to get a global understanding. - He shadows the text a third time while reading the French and referring to the English when unsure. - He then reads through the French text, referring to the English text and notes to ensure understanding. - Arguelles continues to review the French text and notes, ensuring he understands the lesson thoroughly. - He discusses the process of reviewing previous lessons and the structure of the Assimil courses. - He reviews lesson 28, noting down important points and areas of confusion for further review. - He emphasizes the importance of continuous review to ensure understanding and retention. - Arguelles reviews lesson 27, reading through the text to ensure understanding. - He checks his understanding by shadowing the text again. - He emphasizes the importance of time management in the 15-minute lesson, ensuring there is time for both learning new material and reviewing old material. - Arguelles concludes the demonstration, summarizing the process of learning a new lesson and reviewing previous lessons within 15 minutes. - He discusses the pace of learning and the goal of internalizing the language without striving to memorize it. - He recommends moving to a more intensive shadowing phase in the spring and summer, followed by a scriptorium phase in the autumn where learners write out the language by hand. - Arguelles concludes by emphasizing the possibility of teaching oneself a language in a year by spending 15 concentrated minutes every day in systematic study. In essence, the video provides a practical and systematic approach to language learning, emphasizing the importance of consistent daily study, review, and various methods of engagement with the language material.

[@kevinelezi7089]

gpt

[@Almightservant]

Wow! Great job, mate! You gave us a lesson apart on how to well summarize a video, which can be applyed to a written text.

[@metternyx]

it made AI,but i don't mind)@@Almightservant

[@dohnjanaher913]

Reads like gpt

[@americo9999]

what about the cat in your lap?

[@lemonqvartz]

oh my god, finally, a step by step demo? literally any studying, productivity, or journaling youtuber NEVER does this. thank god

[@ProfASAr]

I am so glad it was helpful and I will be pleased to do more step-by-step demonstrations as well.

[@toner01]

"Ideally if you want to succeed, get a cat" GIGACHAD

[@ProfASAr]

Watch this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHqWlqKPnJibjrc

[@run2fire]

Totally agree about using a physical book as opposed to a screen

[@juliusjohnson5967]

Bado nina kompyuta yangu ninaposoma kitabu cha lugha ya kigeni.

[@ProfASAr]

Good to hear!

[@leahcimolrac1477]

I was enjoying a kindle for awhile because the screen is easy on the eyes and storing a ton of books on one device was convenient. I think you’re right, though. I seem to absorb way less of what I’m reading with digital text and don’t get the same immersion as when I read a paper book.

[@PatrickHansen]

I really appreciate how practical and straightforward this study plan is. It's not like these crazy youtubers that say you can learn a language in 24 hours or 2 weeks or somethign crazy. It took me two years to learn Russian living in a Russian speaking country with an hour of practice everyday. This is simply hard work, dedication, and commitment. I love it!

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you so much for the appreciation and the understanding. Yes, it is simple application, commitment, and increasing amounts of time spent studying as you get more and more advanced.

[@Pteromandias]

What, were you in a solitary cell in a Soviet prison? How did you manage to only do one hour in a total immersion environment?

[@akteschmitke]

супер! вы молодец!

[@faith9505]

We’ve Come to Worship Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him -Matthew 2:2 History tells us that King Herod was a paranoid tyrant. Because of his paranoia, he had his wife and three sons executed because he thought they were trying to steal his throne. He also gave the order that the most distinguished citizens of Israel were to be arrested on the day of his death to guarantee there would be mourning in the nation upon his death. Interestingly, Herod also liked to refer to himself as the king of the Jews. So when wise men arrived from the East and were asking about a child who had been born king of the Jews, it was the wrong thing to say to a man like Herod. The Bible tells us, “King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem” (Matthew 2:3) The word “disturbed” used here means “agitated,” “stirred up,” or “shaken up.” Herod was the king. He was the man in control. And whenever Herod was stressed out, everyone else was stressed out too. By bitter experience, the people knew that if Herod sensed a potential coup or a threat to his power, he would start having people killed. Thus, he tried to have the so-called king of the Jews put to death. Matthew tells us that Herod “sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance” (verse 16) There are a lot of people like Herod today. They won’t allow anyone or anything to interfere with their career, their lifestyle, their plans, or their ambitions. They don’t mind taking time off to commemorate the birth of Jesus, but that is the extent of it. Jesus is all right, as long as He stays in the manger as a baby. But they don’t like the idea of Jesus dying on a cross for them and rising from the dead. They don’t like the idea of Jesus saying they need turn from their sins and put their faith in Him. Like Herod, they see Jesus as a threat. A lot of people are okay with God if He stays out of their lives. They want God assisting them, someone to call in case of an emergency. But that is the extent of their faith. They wrongly believe they make their own luck, are the captains of their own ships, and the masters of their own destinies. The reality is they are none of those things. A nonbeliever, according to the Bible, is under the control of someone else, and that someone is known as Satan. (see 2 Timothy 2:25-26) Eventually we must start thinking for ourselves. We must recognize that nothing this world has to offer us will fill the void in our lives that was created to be filled by God Himself. No experience, no possession, and no accomplishment will fill it. Not even religion or morality will fill it. What we need is Jesus.

[@andreytrener]

Сейчас учу английский и даже не представляю, как трудно для носителей английского языка выучить русский. В английском все структурировано, а в русском можно устроить бардак в словах 😊

[@SabbaticalTommy]

I can confirm a cat supercharges your language learning. This video popped up on my feed and I had to click on it, because a long time ago you inspired me to learn as many languages as I could. You used to post on this old forum under the name “Ardaschir” or something like that, and I took your advice pretty seriously. I tried both the FSI and Assimil courses, as you’re showing here. I found that I prefer to speak languages rather than read them, but everyone is different. What I learned from you and others on that forum was that you don’t have to be superhuman to learn different languages, you just have to have the discipline to keep studying. Once you master that, the studying itself becomes fun, and everything else falls into place. Thanks for being you, Professor.

[@strongcurrents2488]

Sabbatical you're a boss

[@RuiNewman]

Eyyyy

[@marcinlukasiewicz2452]

how do you learn by speaking? who do you speak to? what method?

[@Zenfiren]

Hi Tommy, I would also love to hear about your language learning story and techniques in the future video. I started learning spanish two years ago, after that I will pick up french, russian or china. Greetings from Finland ❤️🔥

[@primehunter45]

Jambo Tommy!

[@dg7438]

"Blind shadowing" - While listening, repeat ("shadow") the L2 audio as soon as possible; While hearing and repeating the L2, read the translation (L1); Holding the book, put your thumbs under corresponding sentences of both texts. Shadow the audio, read L1 and take a quick look at L2; Reverse the last step. Shadow the audio, read L2 and glance at L1; Shadow and read L2 simultaneously; Analyse the text and read notes; do the exercises Read the L2 text aloud (multiple times if required); Use the scriptorium method on the L2 text; Type the lesson out; Correct the lesson that you have typed out; Read the text silently (multiple times if required); Listen to the audio. (In the future, use the audio as immersion/comprehensible input. Active and/or passive listening.)

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for summarizing nicely.

[@YouGotProblemz]

what does L stand for?

[@tedc9619]

@@YouGotProblemz language

[@Drvenjola]

What means shadowing?

[@tristan2037]

@@Drvenjolait is literally explained in the comment you’re responding to.

[@Anticlericanaille]

I'm impressed. The way you talk actually reminds me of some French actors of the 50-70s (they used to speak a very pleasant and refined French back then).

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you kindly.

[@PetiteLicorne]

Oui le français raffiné, c'est bien fini !

[@cj5273]

I finished Assimil German with Ease over the course of 6 months while spending at least 1 hour per day on it. It was quite hard work but it gave me a really good foundation in German.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for confirming the efficacy of the method.

[@cultofpunktionality3302]

Kannstu sprechen ohne Pause ?

[@RamKumar-yi6wn]

@@cultofpunktionality3302 Kannst du ohne Pause sprechen ?

[@rigelr5345]

I grew up without a father and became the only academic in my family more or less. I love my family still, but sometimes I really wish I had had a father like you to discuss academic topics like science and language learning with, my family is just not interested in that at all and it makes me feel a little estranged and lonely sometimes. Anyway your video comforted me, I felt like I finally quelled a little of that missing experience. I hope to get my own cat and/or dog in the future, graduating this summer with a master's degree in neuroscience and am still learning Japanese, I plan on learning Korean and Chinese after that. Thanks for the inspiration

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you kindly for this note. I do have two sons of my own (19 and almost 17) so I may be able to exude something paternal in my teachings. I am glad that you found that and that you are balancing both hard science and East Asian languages. Best of luck to you in your studies!

[@rigelr5345]

@@ProfASAr They are two lucky sons, then :) Thank you and all the best to you too

[@kitgusto2390]

@@ProfASAr How interested are your sons in languages?

[@IOwnKazakhstan]

I feel somewhat similar. My father isn't dead and he's by no means dumb but he's not academic at all and the only person I know really is my grandfather who doesn't really share any common interests with me lol.

[@spiritblood1100]

wow i feel exactly the same, except i’m planning a masters in maths and a German learner! my vote is on the dog, they really do fuel my academic interest (mostly by forcing those mental health walks…) good luck with the future! languages are a wonderful hobby

[@sackclothandashes1342]

What a blessing. Professor Argulles is probably the most prolific language learner of this generation. So glad he is releasing videos again.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you so much for your kind words of appreciation.

[@sackclothandashes1342]

@Alexander Arguelles thank you, Dr. I am reaquainting myself with your videos and wonder can I be so bold as to suggest that to promote your new website, you do one of the videos that showcases the languages you speak. I believe this may not be something you are interested in as you have always been a very humble man despite your great achievements. But, many polyglots have had great success with these types of videos in the past. Moses McCormick, who I know you have had interaction with, had great success in these kinds of videos before his passing. People are hungry for this kind of content and I don't know of any polyglot who has the depth of language in the languages they have studied that could come close to yourself. I think a way to look at it is to show the people who are really interested in languages what is possible when one dedicates their entire life to the pursuit of language acquisition.

[@ProfASAr]

Hello everyone! Thank you for the warm reception you have given all my videos, and especially this one. I have been uploading two videos a week (Tuesdays and Saturdays) since I began broadcasting again in late September, so you may have come to expect that schedule. This is to let you know, then, that I need to cut back to one video per week, for a while at least, so that I can work on my new website, setting up my virtual academy, answering the many comments that come it to the videos, and so on. For the foreseeable future, I will aim to publish videos on Saturdays. Thanks for your understanding and support!

[@kishanchali8752]

I don't understand how you pronounce the same words in the same manner while listening. Do you assume how they are pronounced? Otherwise, how do you pronounce them when you don't hear them clearly?

[@MasterBrain182]

You are great Alex!!! And your content is awesome. Thumbs Up from Brazil 😄😁😆

[@stedated]

I admire people like you that really dig deep into real informative stuff.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you kindly for that note of appreciation!

[@Ja-jt1ym]

Assimil is marvelous yes. Thanks to Assimil, I know German, Arabic and soon I will know Russian.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for confirming their quality.

[@KumsalObuz]

Cat is essential. You've got to have a cat.

[@ProfASAr]

For a pure virtual Merlin experience, go here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHqWlqKPnJibjrc

[@PetiteLicorne]

Merlin le bien nommé !

[@raoufmrbt7728]

such a respectfull man and i'll use your method to improve my english .merci monsieur 🇩🇿🇩🇿🇩🇿✌🎩

[@dowolo]

Just dropping by to say that this method works particularly well. I've been working through "Le Nouvel Italien sans peine" for about 60 days and my Italian has improved quite a lot in that time frame.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you, Chairman Xi, for dropping by with this update. It is good for people to get confirmation from those working according to these steps that they do lead to progress. Keep it up!

[@Sleepewalker]

I forgot the steps sooo now I'm going to write them down 1. Only listen to the lesson 2. Listen the audio and follow along the reading that is on your goal language 3. Listen again but now following the english text 4. Read through the goal language text and reference with the english one 5. Review past lessons それで全部です、頑張ってみんな!

[@ProfASAr]

Good summary!

[@reddwarfhead]

ありがとうございます! 頑張りましょう！

[@Yan_Alkovic]

When I hear "Feline assistant" I instantly think back to the lecture where you thanked the Gentleman in a Tuxedo for helping you demonstrate your point! Great to see you make such detailed guides to your techniques! Definitely going to recommend this to anyone looking to get into languages!

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you, Yan, I will pass this on to Merlin.

[@alanharscoet]

I'm a french, i will try this méthod with thé assimil for learning russian, thanks.

[@ProfASAr]

Good luck with it!

[@Reedaroo]

I loved this video so much. Not only did it remind me why I love language learning, but it also reminded me of how my grandparents used to teach me stuff like this back in the day. The feeling of nostalgia almost made me cry in the best way possible. Thank you so much ❤️

[@ProfASAr]

You are so very welcome. I hope the information is of lasting value to you.

[@miles6120]

I’ll give this a shot. I really want to get my linguistics game up but learning a new language is pretty overwhelming. I took French back in high school for 3 years but being a dumb kid and always just copying I never truly retained any of that precious knowledge I was given on a silver platter. It’s tough , I retained very basic informal French but that’s about it. But this “shadowing” technique seems very appealing and more… “responsive” learning. Thanks for this video sir

[@ProfASAr]

You are very welcome. If, while giving this a serious stab, you have any questions, please reach out and I'll get back to you.

[@zachz699]

This seems like an excellent way to really integrate a language quickly without having a friend to actually speak it with. Thanks :)

[@ProfASAr]

It is - you are welcome!

[@drmartas71]

Although using Assimil course is definitely preferred, I tried this set up with a different resource (with a transcript and an audio) and I found it not only effective but also surprisingly enjoyable - and I did not even have a cat:-). Thanks for sharing Alexander.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for sharing! Certainly this can be done with other materials.

[@kidsandus8061]

You should try next with a cat to boost your productivity.

[@kaylableier9067]

What did you use? I like the assimil set up, but my French isn’t nearly good enough to study Cantonese or mandarin etc. as I would like

[@drmartas71]

@@kaylableier9067 There is Assimil Chinese with Ease (for English speakers), two volume course. This one is excellent in my opinion... Although I generally follow Alexander's system it takes me 45-50 min to go through one lesson...

[@jorgesalcedo4449]

I'm going to apply this. He knows what he's talking about....one take!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you kindly, and may it serve you well.

[@the_flushjackson]

Professor Arguelles, I consider you one of my mentors. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[@ProfASAr]

You are very welcome. I am glad to share my knowledge and experience with those who want it and can profit from it!

[@ProfASAr]

Beginning in May of 2022, I will offer virtual options for working with me to improve your skills in reading French, German, Latin, or Spanish literatures, to engage in Great Books discussions, and to provide support for the self-study of foreign languages. If these might interest you, please fill out the application form on my website at alexanderarguelles.com/academy/ If this is not for you, but you know someone whom it might interest, please pass this information on to them.

[@flashgordon6510]

I have three cats, but never used them during my language studies. I can't imagine how much further along I could have been in my studies had I correctly applied a cat! Kicking myself now. I'll try it tonight. Thanks for the advice! P.S.: I love your kitty! So patient!

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting. If any of your kitties need patience lessons from mine, here is a training video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHqWlqKPnJibjrc

[@mmmirele]

Upvoted for tuxedo kitty.

[@ProfASAr]

Merlin says thank you!

[@minuterecipes8978]

I grew up with a french teacher that easily spoke more than twenty languages for real. I still have hope to join her in conversation! This is brilliant!!

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you kindly!

[@russiangrammar]

When I started working on Irish I was intimidated by the spelling, so I experimented on myself by listening to audio many times (audio passages from Ó Siadhial's "Learning Irish"), first listening, then pausing & repeating, then shadowing (often while pacing around the room), and only then allowing myself to look at the text. It seemed easier to go from sound to text, rather than puzzling out the spelling. It's fascinating to see how you structure this type of practice; I may try this with Hawaiian, my latest linguistic crush. Thank you for sharing!

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for the appreciation. I hope it works well for you!

[@AlexFGFootball98]

Conas a bhfuil do Gaeilge anois?

[@kingofcelts]

As someone with a good grasp of Irish I have to commend you. Irish isn't the easiest language and with a VSO structure, multiple mutations etc, you must be a diligent lover of languages..

[@russiangrammar]

@@AlexFGFootball98 Rinne mé cursa do dhaoine fasta cúpla bliain ó shin agus bhí se go híontach - ach níl mo chuid Gaeilge go maith anois. Bím ag eisteacht le Raidió na Gaeltachta ach ní thuigim mórán. I'd love to get back for another course when this pandemic finally subsides...

[@russiangrammar]

@@kingofcelts I found it easier than Russian (that may not be saying much!), and for purely subjective reasons I love the sound of it (especially Connemara Irish), which is also a nice motivation. :)

[@UnderSky_onk24]

Currently I am learning a new language, I have been learning German for 60+days now (with Duolingo and I found it really helpful), my KZbin recommendation has been filled with many youtubers learning other language, which is good. I've found your video interesting, and I watched the whole 30 minutes +, it is helpful, and this is my first-time hearing about Assimil, which is quite interesting but sadly the German for A1-A2 is sold out :') and unfortunately its quite pricy for me who's from Indonesia but getting introduced to your learning method is a unique and great method to try.

[@mehdihamdi9367]

i can send you the pdf version of the book and i have also the audio file if you want it ?

[@UnderSky_onk24]

@@mehdihamdi9367 really?? wow that would be great if you don't mind, and I would appreciate it.

[@ProfASAr]

Glad you found it!

[@AndresGonzalez-qn2kv]

Este video debe ser añadido a una capsula de youtube por su importancia para la humanidad, es uno de esos videos que valen su peso en oro por el conocimiento de este hombre en su area especifica, 10 años de experiencia pueden ser resumidos en 10hs de lecturas y 10hs de lecturas resumidos en este video!!! increible, ya descargue el video hablo 3 idiomas guarani, español e ingles busco aprender mi 4to idioma Aleman y luego portugues(practicamente ya lo entiendo por la similitud con el español y el ingles) luego frances y por ultimo japones

[@ProfASAr]

Muchissimas gracias!

[@mikeq5807]

Thank you for your very interesting demonstration! I studied French in grammar school, then in high school, then at the university, got my degree in it, and then went on to study French literature, graduate program. I have also studied Spanish, 4 semesters, and German, 3 semesters. So, I am obviously one who loves languages. My approach is similar to yours in that I am very focused, but I am not so regimented. I may do proverbs and idioms, then peruse explanations about grammar, then watch a video, may or may not take notes, talk to myself in the target language. In short, it's intense and spontaneous. I think the key is practice, and to make it not only daily but also all day long, as much as possible. Listening to songs, very helpful. I keep thinking, for example, of the lady of decades ago who sang, "J'ai la mémoire qui flanche." Such an easy way to remember words and expressions, not to mention colloquial and slang words.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for the substantive comments. I hope others will read them and find them useful as a less regimented means of learning.

[@rrrrye45123]

Which one is easiest spanich or german ?

[@ruwansabry352]

Could you please help me in learning Spanish? I'm in the first year in the faculty of languages but i think it depends so much on self study so i wanna find a way to study the language myself So how can i start this?

[@mikeq5807]

@@ruwansabry352 Hi Ruwan, the trick is exposure (passive learning) and practice (proactive learning)! Take notes. Use videos and books that correspond to your level. Use the library. If you can, try to find others at your approximate level. Visit colleges, universities in order to meet other Spanish students or native speakers. Post-its are good. Which languages do you already speak? Buena suerte (good luck,) Ruwan! Don't give up, and make it FUN!

[@MsCankersore]

Learning though songs I find to be the worse way to go about learning, for me. I never get anything from the song without looking up the lyrics

[@amberj-r3f]

Love the clarity and simplicity🙏🏾

[@GreenLevi-ec6pz]

What a legend. I'm glad that you are still making videos!

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you kindly.

[@zyphos9444]

Glad to see I use my Assimil book very similarly to you. I'm actually using the exact same one at the moment! I personally spend 30 minutes on each lesson to make sure I understand thoroughly, and I take some time each day to shadow the previous few lessons for revision. I've been writing out the answers to the exercises but I may have a go at simply doing them orally like this to save time/get more shadowing in.

[@karolakkolo123]

Which edition of the French is this (from what year)?

[@zyphos9444]

@@karolakkolo123 Mine says 1998 on it but it may have been first published earlier/republished later.

[@karolakkolo123]

@@zyphos9444 alright, thank you!

[@ProfASAr]

If you have the time to do a 30 minute lesson and can stay focused the whole period, go for it!

[@artiste335]

Where did you purchase the Assimil book? How much was it?

[@thomasrobertson2225]

This is the first time I've seen a language learning guide like this! It interested me. Thanks for the interesting video!

[@ProfASAr]

I am glad it was helpful. Many do seem to be enjoying a full-scale step-by-step demonstration, so I will consider doing this with other materials.

[@jrdking1]

This is one of my favorite video of all times, would have been even more amazing 10 years ago but, better late than never👍🏼. I still managed to learn 4 foreign languages over the last 10 years thank to the inspiration from your earlier video outlining how to learn 4 languages sequentially and how to maintain them simultaneously. Appreciate the demonstration and quality content!

[@ProfASAr]

You are very welcome. I am glad that I was able to help you in the past, and that I am still able to do so. I am also pleased that many have the patience to watch and value a full demonstration. Shall I make more? Of what?

[@jrdking1]

@@ProfASAr Appreciate taking the time to respond. I believe there is value with creating content for the A0-B2 phase of language learning. I’m personally very interested in a demonstration of your new routine to maintain languages.

[@brunodominick4931]

.

[@CassieSchmidt-bz7vu]

awwww and you Sir you are a great teacher in the french language as well. I really did enjoy your presentation sure did. :) Merci encore .

[@keizan5132]

As someone who has already mastered French, I see this as an absolute win.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@Alexandra-bk5pi]

I couldn’t help but smile when you learned the word “voiture”…just saw it on the last lesson. I’ve been learning French for a long time now. For about 5 to 6 years now and you speak wonderfully. But also to be a better speaker we need to remain students. Good luck Alexander. And thanks for the video 😉

[@ProfASAr]

You are welcome - thanks for commenting.

[@nunyabidness6820]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🎯 *This video demonstrates learning a language in 15 minutes a day using the Assimil method.* 02:35 📚 *Assimil, a French company, offers language books for about 60 languages, all originally in French.* 03:21 🕰️ *The speaker, with 50 years of French learning experience, starts a 15-minute lesson in French from Lesson 29.* 04:57 🗣️ *Blind shadowing involves speaking along with the French text without prior study.* 06:33 📖 *After the initial blind shadowing, the speaker repeats the process, reading the English text while shadowing the French.* 08:39 🤔 *The speaker then shadows the French text while referring to both the French and English texts, ensuring understanding.* 10:12 📚 *Detailed notes, including grammar explanations, are reviewed to reinforce understanding.* 16:29 🔄 *The lesson is reviewed by blind shadowing again to solidify comprehension.* 20:10 🔄 *The total time for learning the new lesson and reviewing previous lessons is about 20 minutes.* 28:59 📅 *The speaker suggests a systematic approach, predicting completion of the Assimil book in about four months with consistent daily practice.* 30:53 📝 *Progression involves transitioning from initial learning and reviewing to more intensive shadowing and scriptorium phases.*

[@ProfASAr]

Human or ChatGPT?

[@azhivago2296]

Thank you again, Professor! It's always such a pleasure to hear you speak about foreign languages.

[@ProfASAr]

You are very welcome.

[@giorgioblume7755]

I am so happy to see you again, Mr. Alexander, my HERO. Greetings from Warsaw :-).

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you so much for your kind words of appreciation.

[@peterstrianus1790]

I came here after finishing my book in Norwegian. By any means, someone becomes fluent with this system but it gives you an intense introduction and knowledge of the language, particularly in written form. I still can read a newspaper in Norwegian and get a lot of words and sentences. The spoken language is different, but I personally hired an Italki tutor. Assimil is pretty satisfactory and cheap compared to a language course. It depends on what you want to do with the language. I am primarily interested in reading and this gives you a good starting point.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for the confirmation.

[@ohkeydokeythen]

This was the most helpful language learning video i have ever watched, thank you so much for making it.

[@ProfASAr]

I am so glad to hear this. You are very welcome. Please put it into practice knowing that you can do with with any Assimil manual or similar book, not just the French volume I am using as a sample. Best of luck to you in your studies!

[@local_bred3652]

Taught myself to juggle by practicing 15mins a day and did my first 100 on the sixth day.In all it took an hour and a half to do when i add the six days together but if i wanted to learn to do 100 in an hour and a half it would take me way much longer to learn it.So i used that same method and I'm currently teaching myself the French language and I'm understanding very easily without too much pressure unto myself but one must remain consistent.✌🏾

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting and confirming the necessity of consistency.

[@kaylableier9067]

This was such a wonderful way to describe the importance and effects of small repetition. Definitely great advice and reason to keep going 😊

[@ProfASAr]

@@kaylableier9067 As Kevon confirms, consistency is the key. The whole idea behind small chunks of time is "slow and steady wins the race," which means you must never stop, i.e., each and every single day.

[@kaylableier9067]

@@ProfASAr Thank you! I'm so touched and impressed that you replied :) Do you have any English-based programs similar to Assimil? I have a version for myself (currently learning Korean), but it's a collage, and I like systems from one place at a time. Regardless, thank you for your fantastic video, and I can't wait to take the time to look through your previous content

[@ProfASAr]

@@kaylableier9067 I am glad to have inspired you. First of all, Assimil does have a good number of courses with an English language base. Secondly, you can do something very similar with the courses from the Linguaphone institute. Best of luck to you in your studies!

[@marcelina12able]

Thanks so much Professor, happy I just discovered you. This is a massive help.

[@ProfASAr]

I am very glad to hear it! May it serve you well!

[@JDsWrld]

That's it i'm learning french, thank you for this video sir will help a lot !

[@ProfASAr]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ToumannaBoulssane]

He response to everyone, i just love that man❤❤

[@ProfASAr]

You are very welcome!

[@ajc4762]

I love this short approach. With 15 minute study sessions, I'd love to know your throughs on studying multiple languages at once in short increments.

[@ProfASAr]

That is exactly why I developed this - so that I could study multiple languages simultaneously.

[@FutureBoy.]

What a great little book, and what a great study plan it contains. I'm gonna hunt down a copy. I also love this entire video, so thank you for making it. If only you could go through all 100 lessons in exactly the same way!

[@ProfASAr]

I am glad this inspired you to learn. Please know that they have similar books for lots of languages, not just French.

[@scarletharlot69]

All the best with study of French. Hope your learning style works for you.

[@ProfASAr]

It does!

[@PetiteLicorne]

I think it does, because he is teaching French I think.

[@shiyoutarocurva1910]

consistency is really the key, I will learn Spanish language, starting from March 1, 2022. wish me all luck!

[@ProfASAr]

Indeed, I have always relished the 1st of every other month almost as much as the 1st of January as a time for new resolutions. Best of luck to you!

[@Axelrod14]

How'd this go? Tu habla espanol now?

[@KHaqqi]

Dr arguilles, I'm trying to learn English at the moment, and I'm really pleased that I have been able to find your channel,it helps me to improve my English thanks a lot for sharing your skills with us🙏🙏

[@ProfASAr]

You are very welcome.

[@alexisoviedo7524]

This is great. Thanks for making a video like this! It's really enjoyable.

[@ProfASAr]

You are very welcome. I hope it is helpful for you.

[@karolsantos6233]

I really love it, thank you so much for sharing this with us here in KZbin. English is not my first language, i gonna try this with other language and English too. I heard a breath many times during the video but sometimes i believe it was far tweets 😂, i don't but i like a lot the lessons thank you again!

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for your appreciation. May the method serve you well!

[@فريدةمحمد-و5م]

5 mins into the video and i am emotionaly attached to this man

[@LuluBowenTarot]

Just purchased the system, and super excited to start. Was struggling to understand the practical process, so this video has been extremely helpful, thank you!

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you so much for the substantive comment. Let me know if you have problems or difficulties implementing the procedure.

[@oumaroudia]

That is quite interesting! I must say that of all the language teaching methods Assimil is by far the best I have come across. And God knows I have seen a lot of them. Your advice and tips are valuable indeed. I will try to offer suggestions especially on learning French some other time as this all the time I have now. Cheers !

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you so much - I hope my advice proves valuable when you put it into practice.

[@blsi4037]

Para mi hay mas valor cuando se lee un libro en vez de usar una maquina, pero solamente es mi preferencia.

[@ProfASAr]

La máquina es para aprender la pronunciación; después es mejor leer.

[@blsi4037]

@@ProfASAr ¿Entonces, opina usted que la pronunciación es primera para prepararse leer?

[@ProfASAr]

@@blsi4037 Sí, así es.

[@jsibley0369]

I have just started watching. I want to learn a language and you're cat is why I will wait until the end.

[@ProfASAr]

For a pure virtual Merlin experience, go here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHqWlqKPnJibjrc

[@andjelohalilovic1587]

Thank you profesore !

[@ProfASAr]

You are very welcome.

[@AmerikancaEnglish]

Thank you for that very detailed demonstration Video. Almost 6 years ago this is also how i start to dive into the english language. Its really great to see such video. Language learning is all about building strong daily habits. And this include all at once 💯❤️😊

[@ProfASAr]

Glad it was helpful!

[@aria5295]

Thanks for such a useful demonstration, professor. However, I am very curious to know how you would structure those same 15 min a day using a different source other than Assimil. Once you´ve gone past the upper beginner stage, what materials do you move on to and how do you study from them in the same time frame?

[@ProfASAr]

Perhaps I will make another video like that soon.

[@ProfASAr]

I have made that video and will post it later today.

[@PetiteLicorne]

I did this shadowing technique intuitively, I didn't know it was a thing. And yes, so much better than passive repetions.

[@ProfASAr]

It is indeed intuitive - many 2-year-olds do this when learning to speak their mother language, then are told to stop "mimicking" others because it is not polite.

[@lowbudgetgamer7242]

I really appreciate the way that you are sharing your experience however sir everyone has their own way to learn the language I'm just sharing that based on my knowledge in my experience much appreciation for you sir🎉❤

[@mmmtmp1]

Thank you! There is only one thing that I still don't understand. How have you convinced Merlin to stay on your lap for such a long time? My cat can't stay like this for more than a couple of seconds. 😂

[@ProfASAr]

That's just his nature.

[@phrogtesem9410]

Reading a few things from this book while watching felt like i learned a lot. Great video

[@ProfASAr]

I am glad it was helpful. If you learned just from watching the video, then I hope you will find it a useful technique to practice.

[@sonderexpeditions]

As a polyglot, ima say you'll need ALOT more than 15 minutes a day (unless this is a 10-20 year journey). I maintain 3 foreign languages with 6 hours a week. To get here took 2-3× as long. Anyways whatever gives people hope. Anyways, you seem like a nice person. Very informative.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you kindly.

[@moocorp]

Finally! Thanks for existing, Alexander. I've been trying to self study language but I'd stop when I start thinking I was doing it wrong (which i was), but now I've learned a solid method and there's even a solid timeline with expectations! And the best part is not having to go to a class... for now...

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for the appreciation. I am glad to be of assistance!

[@justifinak.6237]

Yes Finally. Assimil is a very good book hence I’m surprised why not a lot of people talking about it. That’s one of the best resources if you’re doing self study. Thanks for this. 👍🏽

[@ProfASAr]

I've given them over 1/2 a million views in free publicity over the past month - let's hope this helps them become better known - they deserve it!

[@guilhermedaselva4046]

It is always interesting to see the learning habits of a master. I knew that cats were indispensable for language learning. Thank you! Obs: I can see the collection "Gateway to the Great Books" by Britannica there behind you Professor. I have one too, bought not long ago.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for the appreciation, regarding the great books collection - one idea I have in mind for the virtual academy is a reading and discussion circle using it. Might that be of interest to you?

[@focus2570]

@@ProfASAr That'd be great! To be realistic, I personally would need at least a month, ideally two, to give these books a good inspectional reading or better yet, an analytical one, so I could be part of the discussion. I'm currently reading Adler's How to Read a Book and it's fascinating. I was happy to hear you mention him and the Great Books in a previous video.

[@ProfASAr]

@@focus2570 The idea of the reading and discussion circle is that we would meet once a week in a small group to discuss the readings together. You would need to do the weekly reading to attend and get the most out of finding our way through and to a good inspectional and/or analytical reading together, but you would not need to read the books months beforehand to come to this on your own

[@StephenHarrisJr]

@@ProfASAr, if you end up starting a discussion circle like this, I might be a candidate for joining it with you. I run a similar discussion group, but I would be very happy and curious to see how you would conduct your own seminars.

[@ProfASAr]

@@StephenHarrisJr Hello Stephen, and thanks for writing. What language(s) do you lead your group in, and what language(s) might you be interested in doing with me? If you would like to talk, please write to me using the contact form in the description to the video. I'd be curious to know what you do, too!

[@amikecoru]

What about higher levels? I've got a book in a language that I understand well, but I'd like to speak the way it's written. I also have the text and translation. Would it be useful to chop it into small pieces to read in this or any similar way?

[@trayamolesh588]

From experience - find the audiobook and do intensive listening and reading on a chapter (or a comfortable amount of text depending on your time restrictions) until you can listen to it fluently. Then review it for five days, listening and reading to the text simultaneously - by the fifth day you probably won't need the text for the most part (with regards to looking up words - I still follow along personally) and will probably find shadowing it pleasant since you can just focus on the writing, prosody/accent of the speaker, and won't have to look up many, if any, words. If you do this for a book you will begin to internalize the voice of the author/translation (if it's a translated work). Even if you don't shadow and only listen, it will still work well

[@ib3scope]

Assimil has a 'B2+ follow-on' Sans peine for specific languages, many people, I've found, are unaware of this. Sometimes it is labeled as a 'business-specific' follow-on.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for the great question. If you understand the language, then I wouldn't see a particular need to chap it into smaller pieces, but you can try it and see if that works better for you. I see there are a lot of upvotes to you comment and some substantive responses as well. Maybe I'll make a separate video about this.

[@grumposaurus]

Prof. A. discusses this somewhat in the video entitled "The Harry Potter Stage of Language Learning," which is about advancing from studying textbooks to reading literature. Specifically, starting at 19:50 into the video. Previous videos are mentioned, but not any specific ones. It would be great to hear more of his suggestions for this, as he's since indicated may be possible. (In the meantime, I'll try trayamolesh's suggestion, myself, FWIW.) Another video demonstrates a way to use advanced material, the "Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis" video, but it is not what you are looking for-although it's definitely worth listening to if you know any Latin, despite the not-so-good audio.

[@calebgates6202]

Professor Arguelles, I am a fan of your work and seeing you begin making videos again a few months ago was like Christmas come early. This year I am upping my language learning game to work on Pashto and Dari using Pimsleur, and also aim to spend 60 minutes per day learning Arabic. Since I want to learn a spoken Arabic dialect rather than MSA, I am beginning with Linguaphone’s Egyptian Arabic course rather than Assimil’s Arabic course. I am a complete beginner with Arabic. Given that I am committed spending 60 minutes on Arabic, and given that I am a complete beginner, how would you recommend I organize my Arabic study time? I think it would be helpful if you could make a video showing how you would learn/shadow a non-roman script language. For example, my Linguaphone course has the Arabic text in one book, and the Roman script transliteration, and English translation in another book. How would you modify the study method shown in this video for a non-roman script language like Arabic?

[@ProfASAr]

In your particular case, I would recommend that you stick with Pimsleur to begin with and that you do Levantine rather than Egyptian Arabic. Having just recently reevaluated Pimsleur (have you seen the video I made back in October or so?) and found that the courses with multiple levels are valuable after all, I note that they are pretty much your only resource for Pashto and Dari (for which they have 2 levels each), and that for Levantine they have 3 (while for Egyptian only 1). As the courses are all structured exactly the same, you will be learning the same dialogues in all 3 languages, which should greatly facilitate the task whether you do them simultaneously (recommended if possible) or sequentially. Request for another demonstration noted!

[@calebgates6202]

I my case I am choosing Egyptian Arabic because I have clients from Sudan and I assume Egyptian Arabic is closer to Sudanese Arabic than Levantine Arabic. That being said, have you done a video or can you recommend any basic resources or videos that give a good overview of the similarities and differences between the various Arabic dialects?

[@calebgates6202]

Yes I did watch your recent video on Pimsleur. I had previously used Audacity to truncate silence last year for the German Cortina course I was going through. Taking inspiration from your Pismleur video, I have now used Audacity to truncate the silence for Pimsleur Pashto 1 and Dari 1. Now I can get through 3 lessons is 40 minutes, instead of only 1 lesson in 30 minutes.

[@ProfASAr]

@@calebgates6202 Sorry not to be able to help you with this, but I took the MSA approach and not the dialectical approach so I am not very strong in this area. However, I can report from my many years in Dubai that Arabs from Morocco through Iraq and down to the Sudan all managed to converse among themselves without any seeming difficulty - in situations when speaking with those from different areas, everyone seemed to know how to bend his speech and ear enough to make communication possible.

[@ProfASAr]

@@calebgates6202 That's great to hear - I am glad I was able to help with that!

[@nnozz1373]

Was I glad I had a black and white tuxedo cat lying around! Gives an amazing learning boost.

[@ProfASAr]

Indeed nothing helps like they do!

[@letteracura]

Great video idea thanks. I think that the main reason why many fail to learn a new language is because they focus on the language as a theory, and not on their relationship with it. I am an italian native, and i don't know everything neither in italian nor english, but i am so familiar with both that i can manage to explore the unknown with both. Suming up, you can shadow a language you want to learn with those you know the most, but do not search for exact correspondence. Rather aim at familiarity and want to know the unknown thorugh the new language.

[@tuinglessinmiedo4732]

Love your new series of video! Do you have a vocab list for the most difficult new words in each chapter?

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you. The newest Assimil manuals do tend to have vocabulary lists, but the one I am using here does not.

[@annadupont7615]

Thank you for the great demonstration! I have a question about using Assimil when re-activating a language. I studied German and Spanish many years ago, and they're both very rusty, so I'd like to start from the beginning so that I can reinforce the basics. Would you still recommend just one new lesson per day in this case? Or play it by ear, e.g. if a lesson is really easy, do a 2nd one that day? P.S. In addition to felines,🐱rabbits are also great study-buddies 🐇

[@ProfASAr]

Assimil does have books like this for both German and Spanish, so you are in luck. Certainly you can do more than one lesson per day - at first, at least, when they are short and you are refreshing. Do whatever and however much you can in 15 minutes. When you are in the middle of the books, you will probably be at the lesson a day stage. Good luck in your studies! And thanks for the tips about rabbits!

[@lahcencoucitini1961]

Si quieres podemos practicar el español .

[@davidgarcia-rv3fs]

hola amiga, como estas ? ;)

[@博运孙]

Professor, Thank you very much for this practical video. If I may request a future video that would also fall under methodology, I would be very curious for elaboration on two other techniques you have mentioned in the past, but which I don’t ever recall you talking about at any length, perhaps because - unlike Scriptorium and shadowing which you developed on your own - you expect the audience to already be somewhat familiar with their basic procedure: grammatical analysis and composition. Of course, while I understand the gist of each activity , I would be very curious to see the details of how you integrate these activities into your overall study regimen. For example, questions for composition such as: Do you only try to write about topics which you have read about in one of the great book? Do you try to write on the same topic for several different compositions, In order to achieve an effect similar to reading books from the same author, that is ? Do you bother trying to get corrections for your compositions? Do you read aloud as you are composing? Or questions for grammatical analysis such as: Do you just work straight through a reference grammar? Or do you only focus on points of grammar which are giving you trouble when reading? Do you copy out the sentences and/or read them aloud? Do you try to compose original sentences based on models given in the book? Forgive me if the question seem a little pedantic, however I now realize that in terms of methodology, truly only a handful of activities (5~10) will occupy the vast majority of our language learning time. Therefore, instead of always trying to chase the newest, brightest fill in the blank, gap-fill, or matching activity; most learners would be much better served learning how to optimize those small handful of activities to maximum efficiency. Chase P.S. I forgot to ask, but one related question I had regards your opinion on which types of exercises commonly found in course books generally add little to the learning process and can be skipped, which exercises are sometimes worthwhile - perhaps depending on the language, as brought up in our recent discussion about correlation drills with heavily inflecting languages like Russian and Latin - , and which exercises are generally always worth doing.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for the suggestions, Chase, I will consider doing these.

[@aboriginalalex]

This is a beautifully written comment.

[@AlexT1210]

it's been 2 years but i just wanted to say, you are so prettyyyy !!

[@ProfASAr]

Well... thank you!

[@NewportSolar]

This video was uploaded in 2022 and my brother is rocking the Sansa MP3 player from 1997! That MP3 player is older than 90% of the people watching this video. I am just like this guy, lol… I still have my original Zune and 10+ OLD MP3 players.

[@ProfASAr]

Older does tend to be better!

[@FOXMAN09]

1:28 - The professor has jokes!

[@ProfASAr]

I do indeed!

[@tomdoesstuff1978]

Thank you for your video Professor. Would it be fair to say that if one were to follow your advice here then after a year's study one would be at around an A2-B1 level? Also, I have another question if I may: what are your thoughts on the current proliferation of comprehensible input materials such as those used on the Dreaming Spanish KZbin page? They seem to fly in the face of your proposed formal study schedule and I don't believe it is something I have seen you comment on before. You are undoubtedly one of the world's most gifted polyglots, therefore I believe a lot of the online language learning community would be interested to hear your thoughts on this. Finally, thank you for making these invaluable videos and a belated happy New Year to you.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for the kind words of appreciation. Yes, if you do this procedure thoroughly, when you have completely internalized an Assimil manual, I suppose you would generally be in the A2 range, B1 if it is a language that is very similar to one that you know already. As for the kind of comprehensible input videos to which you refer, you are right, they are the opposite of the kind of formal study I espouse, but formal study is not for everyone, so I am glad they exist: different stokes for different folks.

[@tomdoesstuff1978]

@@ProfASAr Thank you for taking the time to reply. As a monolingual English speaker myself who has recently learnt Spanish to around a B2 level via a variety of methods; namely online tuition, comprehensible input, some use of Assimil as well as some use of graded readers and easier novels, I have often found an inner conflict between a rigid study schedule and the more open-ended method of acquiring a language via CI. Your video has inspired me to pick up my Spanish but to also start a new language - Dutch - utilising the method you outline above. I have previously watched your in depth videos from years back which discussed shadowing and using a sort of rolling 10 lesson framework as a means of each particular day's study. This new video appears to be a very close relative of that former video but broken down into much more manageable chunks of time. It has been a desire of mine for a very, very long time to become fluent in a foreign language, and again, you have inspired me to continue on that path as well as striving to become a polyglot. Now I just need a cat!

[@ProfASAr]

@@tomdoesstuff1978 Assimil does have a Dutch with Ease manual with an English base, and it is quite good, so you should be able to use this method well for that. Yes, another viewer also wondered whether there was any difference between this approach and the one I outlined back in Step by Step Shadowing in 2009, where there are more steps, and the difference is only, as you yourself articulated, that this one is broken down into more manageable chunks of time. You can and should begin by doing what I do here, and then, when and if you run into difficulties and need to add more time, refer back to that older video for some additional things you could do. But you might not need to because Dutch is quite close to English so it is among the more transparent languages out there, and a great place to start getting experience in language learning. Keep me posted about your progress in months to come!

[@tomdoesstuff1978]

@@ProfASAr Thank you again for your generous response. I own Dutch With Ease and have today begun using your approach. I hope to be able to provide an update in a few month's time.

[@matteozampieri6392]

@@tomdoesstuff1978 let us know! I have to learn Dutch as well :)

[@Beaverswings]

Sorry if I missed this, but when you say that we can "teach ourselves a language in a year," what level do you think a person would reach? That is, what level constitutes knowing a language? B1? B2?

[@futurez12]

In case you don't get an answer, - If it's a language close to your own i.e Spanish/English, then in a year, assuming 1 hour/day, I'd imagine you can get yourself to a solid B1, so long as you do the 'right' things, are attentive, and you stay consistent. 'Knowing' a language is a vague concept and can mean completely different things to different people. I imagine the professor is talking about being close to B2, realistically, probably a weak B2 is as far as you'll get in 300-400 hours (if it's a language that isn't too far from a language you're fluent in). Obviously, the more you do the further you'll get.

[@trayamolesh588]

I think he means you will have internalized the core grammar of the language along with a good starter vocabulary and syntax from which you can launch outward into native materials and environments to expand your vocabulary. Basically you will have laid down the neural architecture needed to parse the language sufficiently to move to an advanced stage. This is how I think of it at least - Assimil is the best beginner course but I have never found myself in a position to say i "learned a language" after just a single assimil course.

[@karolakkolo123]

@@fallout4smallcustomization330 I'm just a beginner when it comes to learning languages by self-study, but I have similar experiences from studying mathematics, and I think that I agree with you. This professor probably spent few hours a day, not just 15 minutes a day. And a lot of people, especially passionate ones, will probably feel inclined to spend much more than 15 minutes a day to learn a language they like as well. This method is probably better for people who need to learn a language but have a tight schedule. Even then, I think 30 minutes would be both better and more realistic. Ideally though, you'd want to supplement Assimil, for example, with some media in the other language, or perhaps by writing out certain words that interest you from the dictionary, to build some additional vocabulary in parallel

[@ProfASAr]

I did say clearly towards the end that what you can achieve by doing is to thoroughly internalize the content of a well-designed didactic manual. Rather than a CEFR level, I would prefer to characterize that as a working overview of the mechanics of the language plus the base or core vocabulary through the dialogues which you should by then essentially know by heart.

[@randomgaminginfullhd7347]

That purr-thing is MAJESTIC.

[@ProfASAr]

I like that! His name is Merlin, so he you may refer to him hereafter as Merlin the Majestic.

[@Jockeymahorn]

Ah c´est le pied, Monsieur Arguelles! Thanks for sharing this, das ist nicht nur hilfreich, sondern Sie sind auch sehr inspirierend.

[@ProfASAr]

Wunderbar! Es freut mich!

[@Iggilosesweight-ew7vx]

if you listen carefully you can hear the camera man breathe !

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting.

[@iaaronsharif]

4 weeks and your accent is amazing!

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you!