HOW TO LEARN A LANGUAGE IN GENERAL (AND FRENCH IN PARTICULAR) IN LESS THAN 20 MINUTES A DAY

If you swallow too much information at once, you will not be able to absorb all of it. This is called information overload, or cognitive overload. 

The brain is an ace at deciding what information in our daily lives is important and what is background noise. This background information is tossed out, and never makes it into our long-term memory. It’s great for guiding our day-to-day lives... but not very practical when you want to learn a language!  

Many experts question the famous principle of cramming or binge-learning:

You know, when you have a big exam coming up, you sit down at your desk and you start memorizing everything you've been studying for months. But be honest: how much of that knowledge will you remember a week later? Probably not that much! 

Rather than trying to learn everything at once, it is better to divide the learning into smaller lessons to be repeated frequently. This is the most effective method: For information to become a part of your long-term memory, you need to create connections and repeat them.

Repetition is really the most important thing in learning a language. 

This is called chunking in psychology: divide something into groups of elements to promote processing and fast memorization.

The distribution of the learning time that I recommend ?

Start with some repeating exercises: For exemple, you can spend 5 minutes reviewing your flashcards.

Then, work on the homework given by your teacher, listen to a podcast, read an article or play on your favourite language app for 15 minutes. 

And if you think you are too old to start learning a language, remember this: according to a study from Haifa University, adults can be better learners than children. No matter what setback you may think you have, there is a way to get around it.

Many of my students, for example, use their flashcards on public transport in the morning on their way to work. It's a great time to turn a boring and repetitive journey into a useful and rewarding moment !

Those who enjoy a routine can build their own program - for example by alternating vocabulary reviews and listening to French videos or podcasts. - and stick to it.

And then there are those who do not like the routine rhythms. It's not a problem at all, they just do not do the same kind of exercises every day, and neither do they at the same time. 

My advice: to dedicate certain days to the repetition of vocabulary (it's always useful!) And other days to new lessons, in the ratio that you prefer.

My advice: Book a day a week to put the language into practice : If there is a French restaurant near you, why not say hello to them - Bonjour! - or try to order in French? This is only one track, of course: the Internet can provide you with a whole bunch of ways to read French, listen to a podcast or find an online community with which you can exchange in that language. 

Practicing the language is the best way to really put the information in your long-term memory. And if you have the opportunity to practice the language in real life, it's even better! In fact, that's the main goal, isn't it?

My last advice for the road : The most important thing is to do a little bit every day. Even if it is only 10 minutes instead of the 20 recommended, it allows your brain to assimilate over time.

 If in 20 minutes a day you can perfect your learning of a language, the key to your progress lies in daily practice. With such regularity, no doubt, you will speak a new language in no time !