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

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/

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

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

"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 😁

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

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.

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

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

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

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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

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

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

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 ❤️

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

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