Time Management to Make the Most of 60 Minutes for Study

A discussion of time chunking or parceling, the importance of focus, frequency of repetition, and flexibility of a study plan, ways of dividing up larger segments of time, and varieties of activities to engage in for the study of a single foreign language and of multiple foreign languages. Having made several videos to discuss how one might begin forming the habit of systematic study for 15 minute periods, this is for all those who requested guidance on what to do if you already have the study habit and you do not have that time constraint.
Time Stamps:
00:00 Introduction - language learning as mental exercise
04:04 Time management principles and habit formation
07:27 Time chunking or parceling
10:30 The Three "F's": 1) focus
15:43 The Three "F's": 2) frequency
17:07 The Three "F's": 3) flexibility
20:10 Use of 60 minutes for studying a single language
27:54 Use of 60 minutes for studying multiple languages
If you might like to participate in my reading and discussion circles for French, German, Spanish, or Latin literature, or in seminars for Great Books of both Western and Eastern civilizations beginning in May of 2022, please fill out the application at www.alexanderarguelles.com/ac...
If you can think of anyone else who might be interested in joining these discussion circles, or who might like support for the self-study of foreign languages, please pass the above information along to them.
If you are in a position to support my efforts to spread knowledge through these videos, I will gratefully accept any contributions to ko-fi.com/alexanderarguelles

[@continuousself-improvement1879]

the cat hypnotized me to comment. 😅

[@YogaBlissDance]

Well I get that he's sending out world peace vibes through his eyes....waves of peace rockets...I think in a past life he was a monk.

[@ProfASAr]

And we always thought the black and white coat was a tuxedo, but if you are right, perhaps it is his old Dominican habit...

[@francogiulianopertile279]

I discovered your channel a week ago, and it is just gold. Greetings from Argentina

[@ProfASAr]

Welcome aboard!

[@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.

[@aleksandr2245]

Great stuff! Thank you so much for wisdom!

[@ProfASAr]

You are very welcome. Thank you for the appreciation.

[@2451Yvonne]

English native speaker here, fluent in German, French, and Luxembourgish. I find your videos very motivational getting me out of my rut in my study of Serbian. Thank you!

[@ProfASAr]

I am very pleased to hear this.

[@amadeurosa]

Fantastic vídeo! Thanks a lot!

[@ProfASAr]

Glad you liked it!

[@spade2340]

Commenting for the algorithm. I love this channel. Been delaying french for a long time, I think it is time to pick it up, this channel is so inciting. Always appreciate your videos.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you kindly for your comments and your support. Good luck resuming your French studies!

[@Hrummjke]

Thank you, Merlin, for sharing your human with us!

[@ProfASAr]

In that case, watch this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHqWlqKPnJibjrc

[@chriswilcocks8485]

Thankyou to the prof. Something quite rare,great wisdom. Particularly like the mention of spirituality and the cooking analogy.

[@ProfASAr]

You are most welcome. Thanks for the appreciation!

[@Zb6632]

Thank you Professor for sharing. The practical advice is really useful. 👏🏼

[@ProfASAr]

Always glad to be of service!

[@michelgolabaigne595]

Bonjour Alexander, C'est toujours un grand plaisir de vous écouter ! MERCI

[@ProfASAr]

Merci à vous aussi.

[@javierrojas758]

Thanks a lot professor Arguelles.

[@ProfASAr]

You are very welcome.

[@Internationalcenterforgeopolic]

Hello, Sir! I have just discovered your channel, and already sincerely impressed by the content!.. Thank you for the splendid work!

[@ProfASAr]

Welcome aboard! Thank your for the appreciation!

[@eeeee323]

Gracias profesor Arguelles, no deje de subir vídeos 🌈 gracias también por estructurarlos tan bien

[@ProfASAr]

Gracias por el agradecimiento

[@pecerepa4286]

Thank you professor for sharing your knowledfge.

[@ProfASAr]

You are very welcome.

[@asbhhid]

👏 Thanks a lot

[@ProfASAr]

You're welcome!

[@LisaHerger]

I just love your calm, focused Ausstrahlung! It's contagious! 😊

[@ProfASAr]

Vielen Dank!

[@maxwigant2011]

Probi sunt modi magistri.

[@Naomi-vf2rg]

Thank you professor for sharing your wisdom. Groeten van België.

[@ProfASAr]

Dank voor het compliment.

[@GCowner]

Hi professor I’ve been subscribed to you for many years. I think by making small changes such as improving your thumbnails you can drive greater views and reach a greater audience to share your knowledge, which would be beneficial for all of society. I appreciate the work you do. (I’m not a marketing professional but I’ve noticed that simple things like that can make a difference and drive subs).

[@Naomi-vf2rg]

Hi there, I understand what you're saying but I actually love professor's more "traditional" thumbnails. It's refreshing to have such raw, pure content on youtube, I personally wouldn't change it for the world! Also it's becoming more and more sought out by viewers tired of sensational thumbnails. :) I wish you the best.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for the suggestion, and the support!

[@dustsettles6099]

@@Naomi-vf2rg The best language content in my opinion. Raw truth, with solid experience and hard work. No click bait here! I enjoy his dialogues around learning process, and ways to improve rather than the modern "do it in a week" nonsense.

[@phoenixknight8837]

Quality advice!

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you kindly. May it serve you well!

[@elisabethrichard]

The 3Fs make a lot of sense. Especially Frequency and even Flexibility. I had not thought of that. I do tend to break up my study time, but this wasn't really a conscious nor very methodical choice on my part. I basically study different types of material at different times of day. Say a podcast in the morning, vocabulary and literature or reading articles during the day and watching a tv show or other entertaining video material at night. So obviously this routine only works for an intermediate or advanced level but I gotta say I never tried to break up my study time at a beginner level. I will definitely take it into consideration for my next language, thanks. Anyways, since I started studying that way, I noticed greater progress. I thought it was due to the interaction of diverse material reinforcing each other, but now I see that your 3Fs also played a part there. By the way, I think my next language is going to be Italian, and I'm thinking of starting it soon. Since I'm a native French speaker with an intermediate level of Portuguese, that shouldn't take me too long :) I have promised to take my mother to Florence and I'm dying to read The Name of the Rose in Italian :) so I guess I better tackle that one before Bulgarian, which is quite high on my wishlist but a bit more abstract to me at the moment.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for the substantive input and the confirmation that I am onto something here. Good luck in your Italian studies - reading Il Nome della Rosa will be well worth it for you!

[@renusingh-pc8ty]

Hello Sir, I am in a process of learning German as I recently moved to Germany. After moving here I realized that I need to speed up my pace little bit to understand the country more. Luckily, I came across to your videos on KZbin and found them amazingly helpful and glad that I got this content. I would be really grateful if I can get some tips from you which can help me in learning German in a much better way. Thank you once again for your time and efforts.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for writing. If you are teaching yourself the language and want regular tips and advice, you might want to consider joining the Language Learning Support Group in my academy... we currently meet on Fridays...

[@larue131]

So glad you've returned to KZbin; excellent information as usual. A quick question though, in your opinion, if one wished to study the same assimil book for the hour, how does that map into number of lessons per day? Would 60 minutes = 4 lessons per day? (15 mins each?) Or would it be more prudent to cap oneself to say 2 lessons per day? Or something else?

[@ProfASAr]

There are various possibilities. Yes, you could do 4 lessons a day for a while early in the book when they are short and easy, then shift to more review when you get more advanced. Or you could add in a supplementary textbook with a different approach, e.g., grammatical drills.

[@kcc879]

I’ve learned a lot of Asian languages but only basics, I’d love to learn to be more fluent but love talking to people from these countries and love learning cultures too. Right now, I need something to keep my mind active so I’ve finally taken the dive into Norwegian and Egyptian Arabic. Love the challenge but want to be efficient and hopefully speak more.

[@ProfASAr]

Best of success to you in your studies!

[@YogaBlissDance]

Merlin is giving us the STAREDOWN In this video! I think in past life he was a monk or security.

[@ProfASAr]

I think you are right!

[@samaval9920]

Very interesting methods.

[@ProfASAr]

Glad you think so!

[@iberius9937]

I love how you suggest prayer and meditation into the mix. Far too many scholars and polyglots and such leave out the spiritual element. I believe that God can help one learn anything, even a language. Some of us, of course, treat language as more than just an everyday tool for communication that we take for granted. It is an intellectual engagement and a way to connect to culture and history, like in the case of philology and the term polyliteracy, which you yourself have coined. I myself am fascinated by etymology and historical linguistics/phonology and such. I am currently learning both Modern and Ancient Greek (New Testament Koine, Homer and a smattering of Attic), with less focus on Biblical Hebrew. I have chosen to put my Latin on hold, for the moment, until I get very good at the former languages and can then move on to others I have been placing on hold and that draw my interest (Arabic, for example).

[@ProfASAr]

Welcome to the channel, kindred spirit! Indeed, there is a functional dryness about most approaches to language learning...

[@Dysacanthos]

I still ask myself a question what amount of languages I am able to learn in my life..and when I can actually say e.g. I've learned 13 languages so far and I know them properly..it's sad for me I don't have so much time anymore because of work and daily stuff.. so I can study like 1-2 languages properly to know them well ..but I still watch your videos... And I still remember when I first watched your video where you explained how you spend 14 hours studying languages daily..like it's more than 12 years ago and from then on my goal was to achieve fluency at least in 13 languages..still a way to go but I take it as a lifetime goal..from your video about how you studied I got more into polyglottery and studying languages and found out more about other youtuber polyglots such as Laoshu, Glossika, Steve Kaufmann and more..Thank you for another great video.

[@ProfASAr]

You are very welcome, and thank you for letting me know that I have had a positive influence on your life.

[@f.b.9776]

Greetings Professor, I discovered this channel when I did some research regarding middle high German! Reviewing is truly important, over the time it gets more and more meaningful, when we learn a language. Many years ago I learned Latin and Russian, but nowadays I lost both languages since I didn't had to use them. Latin is completely gone, only some vocabulary and grammar is still left in my brain, Russian however is in a better state, I can still understand it to some degree. I am learning Japanese for a relative long time (around 2 years) and progress is in this language very slow, since the characters must be mastered. I am often wondering how I should approach the reviewing part in this language, regarding its characters. Common Kanji like 私　最　見 are mechanical programmed into my hand through their high frequency, but uncommon are threatend to be gone, when they are needed.

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for commenting. I believe the best way to continuously review Hanja is to write them out repeatedly in a meaningful context, i.e., copying texts in Scriptorium.

[@Yan_Alkovic]

Very good summary of your previous videos! I would just like to bring up an issue that I myself have had with habit formation: sometimes I would find myself having done nothing with a particular language by 23:40, and the nagging feeling at the back of my mind would compel me to do the thing that I had planned even though I was really tired, and frequently I would succeed in that, but it felt really hollow and mechanical, and utterly unsatisfying. I came to the conclusion that while habit formation is important, it's also important to not allow that to overtake our lives and not put our duties before our health, so I would just like to caution people who will go on to develop language-study habits that they might find themselves in similar situations and that the right choice is going to sleep. What do you think about such situations, Professor? I understand that in your paradigm one doesn't get to that point, but let's suppose that circumstances force one into an undesirable position like that.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you, as always, for the substantive comment, Yan. A "trick" for handling the kind of situation you describe is to make the most token of efforts then and there, e.g. read one sentence aloud so that you do NOT skip the day altogether; then the following day, do more than usual to compensate.

[@Yan_Alkovic]

@@ProfASAr Hm, I see, that thought never actually crossed my mind! Thank you, professor, I will try to make use of your advice next time I wind up in such an unfortunate situation!

[@paulcal3500]

Really useful video. Two questions: 1) I was wondering how your resolution to read 3 minutes a day was going? Have you been able to follow through with it? Do you notice any progress? 2) What about listening? Listening has always been a big part of my learning simply because I am often walking around, riding transit, or doing stuff (cooking, making coffee, exercising, etc.). How do you feel listening can be optimally used in a daily routine, especially passively listening as you go about your day?

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for the questions, Paul. I'll answer the first one here - that resolution "worked" in that it has gotten me to read my neglected languages more often than I have in recent years, but it has evolved from its 3 minutes for each of 5 or so languages to simply getting caught up in reading a text in one of them for a few days. The balancing act is the hardest part! Your second question would be better on the website so it can be fleshed out more and indexed for easier reference. Would you care to submit it to some of your other posts there, or start a new one?

[@paulcal3500]

@@ProfASAr Thank you for the reply. Glad to hear it is "working" somehow. I agree, the second one would serve well on the website. I will write something up and send it to you soon. Thanks again!

[@mug7703]

A video about this topic would be very interesting. I too can devote many more hours per week to listening than any other learning activity.

[@Rreemmkh44]

شكرًا جزيلًا لك اقدر مساعدتك ومحاضراتك ساعدتني جدا ، مستوى اللغة الانجليزية جيدة جدا لكن اريد ان أقرأ الكتب الانجليزية القديمة ولكن المفردات صعبه قليلًا بالنسبة لي ولا اعرف كيف استطيع تحسين مفرداتي باللغه ❤

[@ProfASAr]

خذ كتبي العظيمة للعالم الغربي أو تاريخ الأديان لممارسة القراءة المتقدمة في اللغة الإنجليزية.

[@lindamarx1256]

Very useful info, thank you! I have a question. I wanted to check out the books/ system you recommend for self study. Unfortunately, for my target language Swahili, they are neither available for German speakers (my native tongue) or in English, only in French. I really don't think my French is good enough for this. Are there any other ressources you might suggest for learning Swahili?

[@ProfASAr]

Yes! In German: Swahili Grundkurs und Übungsbuch von Wilhelm Möhlig und Bernd Heine - Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, Köln

[@lindamarx1256]

@@ProfASAr Thank you so much Mr Arguelles, I'll check it out!

[@arccosinusopinion2323]

Hi there. Can you please share your thoughts on the saying that the any new language learnt makes up for a new personality of yours

[@ProfASAr]

Are you asking if I have a different personality in different languages? No, not that I have noticed.

[@mikrbruh3683]

Hello sir, hope you are doing well. Pardon me if youve done this already but could you make a video on which resources you perfer or use regulary? Also I just got the Assimil Arabic and Spanish books. Hoping to use them in my tool box!

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for the suggestion. Please see the playlist on my site. I did an extensive review of various methods many years ago.

[@jankoszuta9835]

It's a personal thing and maybe it partly depends on the language, but I started Arabic with Assimil and I found it really dull to the extent that I had to give up Assimil after a third of the course. With my next language I think I will start with Pimsleur and Duolingo before going on to Lingq and then maybe tackle the Assimil after taking those steps when I'll already have an idea of some grammar absorbed less painfully (for my style, I have ADHD). What do you think?

[@ProfASAr]

Thanks for writing in. I am sorry to hear that boredom set in and cut short your exploration of Assimil Arabic. What edition did you have? Their newer / current one is, rather refreshingly and unusually, an improvement over the older edition, so that might be a cause. That said, there are simply different strokes for different folks and if you have ADHD, then you might need to do something different. Best of luck to you!

[@Woodman-Spare-that-tree]

Merlin has his ears flicked back, listening to every word you say. Waiting to hear you say the magic word “fish”. Or, as you’ve been teaching him French, “poisson”.

[@ProfASAr]

In that case, watch: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHqWlqKPnJibjrc

[@barrysander9280]

What do you think about the gold list method by David James?

[@ProfASAr]

I have never heard of it before, sorry.

[@barrysander9280]

@@ProfASAr it's based on the idea and research of long term memory: write a list of 25 words each day for 14 days (14 different 25-word lists). Then rewrite words that cannot be remembered, redoing the 14 day cycle, it is estimated that 30% will be remembered after each cycle or distillation. The remembered words are taken out of the list and redo just looking at the words, each list once a day. Does that make sense?

[@ProfASAr]

@@barrysander9280 Thank you for explaining it. Yes, it makes sense. It sounds like an intriguing memory exercise, but I do not see the value of memorizing individual words by any method - it is much better to learn vocabulary by practicing dialog. I like the physical writing part, though, and can see that this technique might be quite good for those who are learning Chinese Characters or other forms of Hieroglyphics. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[@barrysander9280]

@@ProfASAr Yes the creator said he uses it more for small phrases or sentences, rather than single words. By the way thanks for the assimil recommendation

[@ginabisaillon2894]

I use the Pomodoro method: set the timer for 25 minutes, stop when it rings. Take a five minute break and do another 25 minutes, or not. I do two sessions a day. With Hebrew I can't do more, the effort is such that my brain hurts.

[@ProfASAr]

You may be able to work up to a bit more over time.

[@justinehinze1037]

Hello, please can you help? My children 2y7m and 12m have a mandarin tutor that comes 3 hours a day for 4 sessions. Please can you help structure the lessons. So far it’s just teaching through play.

[@ProfASAr]

Greetings. Within a few weeks my new website will have a consultation feature where we might work together on issues like this. Honestly, though, if your children are infants, I think that teaching through play and natural interactive language use is not inappropriate.

[@azerbaijanipolyglotelnur9804]

How many languages do you speak?

[@ProfASAr]

I can't give a number.

[@andrewstephen9096]

He's like a Bond villain who is determined to learn every language in the world...... Lol

[@ProfASAr]

Are you talking about me, or about my cat?

[@furiosaningveryserious7104]

Your cat looked so big in front of the camera so funny 🤣🤣🤣

[@ProfASAr]

If you like watching him, watch this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHqWlqKPnJibjrc

[@ginabisaillon2894]

I'm 82 and learning Hebrew so if that's not mental exercise I don't know what is!

[@ProfASAr]

It is!

[@donaldtryk3253]

Say hello to my little friend.😼

[@ProfASAr]

Done!

[@juanpablo-rdm]

Cuatro idiomas exigen demasiada energía del cerebro 😵 Lamentablemente aprender italiano y portugués afecto mi ortografía en español, lo mismo sucedió con el francés y el alemán interfieren en mi inglés. N 🇦🇷 es C 🇺🇾 es B 🇬🇧 en A 🇮🇹 it 🇧🇷 pt 🇩🇪 de 🇫🇷 fr

[@ProfASAr]

Lamento que tengas este problema.

[@Woodman-Spare-that-tree]

Merlin might be more comfortable if you put a rug on your lap, Men’s laps not being as soft and cosy as women’s.

[@ProfASAr]

Watch: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHqWlqKPnJibjrc

[@ericbwertz]

Merlin -- blink three times if he's lapping you against your will. It's OK, we can help.

[@ProfASAr]

He is quite happy!

[@Mrs.SaturnX]

How to make most of an hour study time: Don't spend half of it watching the professor and his cat on KZbin. 🤣 Guilty right here!

[@ProfASAr]

Go to the settings wheel and change the speed to 2X, then use the auto-translate subtitles into the language you are learning and read that rather than listening to me. That way you will get 15 minutes of study at the same time you get my advice.

[@Mrs.SaturnX]

@@ProfASAr Perfect advice! 😂

[@Woodman-Spare-that-tree]

Nice video but you are vastly over elaborating. The whole thing can be condensed into three words of advice: “Little and Often”.

[@ProfASAr]

Let's see and hear your video!