And the solution? 2 letters.

These two represent the current golden standard in learning neurosciences.

And they are:

R and P.

They stand for Retrieval Practice.

And here’s why they’re the current golden standard:

“One of the most striking research findings is the power of active retrieval—testing—to strengthen memory, and that the more effortful the retrieval, the stronger the benefit. […] The act of retrieving learning from memory has two profound benefits. One, it tells you what you know and don’t know, and therefore where to focus further study to improve the areas where you’re weak. Two, recalling what you have learned causes your brain to reconsolidate the memory, which strengthens its connections to what you already know and makes it easier for you to recall in the future. In effect, retrieval—testing—interrupts forgetting.” (Make It Stick, pp. 22-23)

If you’re subscribed to this newsletter, it is because you want to learn another language.

Which might give the impression that the advice from the book doesn’t really apply.

However, look at what comes right after:

“In virtually all areas of learning, you build better mastery when you use testing as a tool to identify and bring up your areas of weakness.”

Having learned five languages on my own and faced many challenges in the beginning, I can confirm this applies to languages as well.

With this in mind, let’s not waste time.

Let’s see how to put this into practice and learn any language a thousand times faster.

To speed up our learning with it, we need to understand the prerequisite for learning anything:

“All new learning requires a foundation of prior knowledge.”

In other words, learning any language will be influenced by what you’ve already experienced with it in the past.

This means that your rate of progress will be 100% dependent on how much exposure you’ve already had and continue to have with it.

Thus, we find the first necessary factor for practicing recall:

1. Exposure to the language.

It is through this exposure that our ears, eyes, mouth, and brain will catalog the language’s characteristics, such as:

Phonetics, rhythm, accent, melody, lip and tongue movements, intonation, body language, etc.

But there’s a problem:

We can get used to all of this and still understand nothing.

Why?

Because we’ll only understand if all of that conveys meaning in a given context.

And we’ll only identify meanings if we recognize the functions each word has in that language.

But how can we do this?

Translation + comparison.

Unfortunately, most people only stick to translation.

But that’s because they haven’t been taught about comparison.

There’s a fundamental difference between the two:

Translation shows you the literal equivalent in your language.

Comparison shows you the contextual equivalent in your language.

For example, it doesn’t take much effort to learn that “My name is” is “Meu nome é” in Portuguese.

There’s a literal equivalence.

No need to analyze context, vocabulary, intonation, nothing.

Just translate it and you’re done.

Now, a sentence like “I think it’s gonna work out” cannot be translated as “Eu acho que vai trabalhar fora”.

In this sentence, “work” implies the possibility of something happening, not actually working in your job.

Here, you’d need to find the equivalent expression in the same context in Portuguese.

Using tools like ChatGPT or Reverso Context, we might find:

“Eu acho que vai dar” (literally, “I think this will give”)

“Eu acho que tem como sim” (literally, “I think that it has how yes”)

“Eu acredito que dê” (literally, “I believe it gives”)

See the problem?

None of the literal translations make sense in English.

But this isn’t unique to English-Portuguese translation.

It happens from any language to another.

There are concepts that simply don’t translate directly.

The thing is, native speakers weren’t born with these concepts in mind.

Just like you weren’t born with yours in English.

So, how can we put them into our brains?

2. Repetition and interleaving.

Seeing words, expressions, slang, etc., that we’re not used to multiple times will make our brains remember them faster.

Meanwhile, interleaving — that is, changing up the ways we interact with the language (watching videos, listening to music, writing in a journal, talking to yourself, etc.) and topics (economy, psychology, humor, fashion, sports, etc.) will help us see different uses of those words, giving us confidence to use them when we want to.

And if you think about it, that’s exactly what naturally happened with you in English.

Having lived so many years with the language around you in so many different forms, talking to hundreds or even thousands of people throughout your life and interacting with content on the TV, the computer, your phone, etc., you were exposed to a vast vocabulary.

This hyper-exposure generated the confidence you have today when speaking, from simple words to local slang.

All of this was the result of combining repetition and interleaving.

That’s why it’s important to surround yourself with the language in every possible way.

Changing the language on your phone, computer, TV, smart watch — everything.

But even so, exposure, repetition, and interleaving won’t be very useful if you don’t do the most important thing to be able to speak another language:

3. Activate.

In short: writing and speaking.

This is where retrieval practice shines.

Most people around the world struggle with the same issue in another language:

They can understand a little but can’t speak it.

The reason is simple:

They spend much more time reading and listening to the language than writing and speaking it.

And it makes sense because, not being in a foreign country, they don’t need to speak the other language.

Consequently, they don’t develop the skill.

And this leads to the most common question:

“If I have no one to talk to, how will I improve my speaking?”

When I say the solution is to talk to yourself, the almost automatic reaction is:

“But how will that help me? Won’t I make mistakes? How will I know if I made one?”

Once again, the book Make It Stick explains why this is so useful:

“Trying to solve a problem before being taught the solution leads to better learning, even when errors are made in the attempt. […] Self-testing may be unappealing because it takes more effort than rereading, but as noted already, the greater the effort at retrieval, the more will be retained. Students who take practice tests have a better grasp of their progress than those who simply reread the material.”

“Talking to yourself” is trying to come up with the language on the spot, without prior help.

In practice, it means testing your ability to recall words, conjugations, prepositions, pronunciations, etc., in that moment.

This is exactly what your brain has to do when you have to speak with a native speaker.

In other words, by trying to talk to yourself, you’re literally putting your brain in the same state it would be in when talking to a native.

This means that the more you do it, the better you’ll be able to speak with natives when you need to.

The reason is that, by self-testing so much, you’ll find your weaknesses and train your brain and mouth to react faster.

When I say you’re probably studying incorrectly, that’s what I mean.

Not having active contact with the language.

Not testing yourself continuously as part of your routine.

Not trying to repeat like a native, form sentences, check with ChatGPT if it’s correct or not, why, etc.

The wrong way to study a language is one that doesn’t improve all your skills as quickly as possible.

And we’ve just seen why the practice of recall is the best way to learn.

So now I ask you:

Has your study been like this?

Constantly active?

Trying to repeat, speak…?

Trying to create?

If not, now’s the time to change it.

And of course, at first, there may be some friction.

Even some discomfort.

But that’s exactly what you want.

It means your brain is doing things it’s never done before.

Which will no doubt lead you to results you’ve never achieved.

With that said, I invite you to finish reading this newsletter and do an active practice session.

Try talking to yourself, imagining yourself in a specific context that’s relevant to you.

After all:

“Learning is stronger when it matters, when the abstract is made concrete and personal.”

Do this and use ChatGPT to find your mistakes and successes.

Make this a habit.

If you do, I promise you’ll make progress you never thought possible.

Now it’s up to you, my friend.

P.S.: We’re currently wrapping up our Black Friday sale. We’re offering access to our 5 main courses at a 72% discount with lifetime access to all 5. If you’d like to join while there’s still time, click here: https://chk.eduzz.com/2246632

References:

• Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown.
• Becoming Fluent: How Cognitive Science Can Help Adults Learn a Foreign Language by Richard Roberts and Roger Kreuz.

“Retrieval strengthens the memory and interrupts forgetting. A single, simple quiz after reading a text or hearing a lecture produces better learning and remembering than rereading the text or reviewing lecture notes. While the brain is not a muscle that gets stronger with exercise, the neural pathways that make up a body of learning do get stronger, when the memory is retrieved and the learning is practiced. […] Trying to solve a problem before being taught the solution leads to better learning, even when errors are made in the attempt.”

when learners retrieve information from memory or solve problems that stretch their current understanding, the brain strengthens neural pathways associated with that knowledge. This “desirable difficulty” creates more lasting learning, as it aligns with how the brain processes and consolidates information, especially by engaging multiple retrieval routes, enhancing long-term retention.

“To be most effective, retrieval must be repeated again and again, in spaced out sessions so that the recall, rather than becoming a mindless recitation, requires some cognitive effort. Repeated recall appears to help memory consolidate into a cohesive representation in the brain and to strengthen and multiply the neural routes by which the knowledge can later be retrieved. In recent decades, studies have confirmed […] that repeated retrieval can so embed knowledge and skills that they become reflexive: the brain acts before the mind has time to think.” (p. 29)