How to learn a language for good this time

When it comes to language learning, so many of us want to do it, but so few succeed.

We go from class to textbook to app to New Year's resolution, each time thinking maybe we'll have finally found the answer: the technique that'll make this time different. 

But the textbooks pile up on the nightstand, apps get deleted to make space on our phones, and vaguely threatening emails from cartoon owls fill our inboxes. 

For all our good intentions, when we aim to learn a language, it so often ends in disappointment.

It’s baffling that this continues to happen in 2022, despite the fact that we now know a great deal about how languages are learned. Researchers have been studying second language acquisition for five decades and we know a lot about what works, and crucially, what doesn’t. 

But even the most uncontroversial findings from this research have struggled to "trickle down" from the ivory tower into the language classroom, the offices of textbook publishers, and language learning apps. 

So we're left with a marketplace full of techniques that mostly don't work, and generations of language learners thinking it's their own fault.

But it's not your fault.

This newsletter is an attempt to change the status quo. Our goal is to make a language learner out of you, by bringing you research-backed advice on how best to learn languages. 

Our ideal readers are the frustrated language learners who want to do it right this time, the beginners who want to start off on the right foot, and, above all, anyone who wants to learn a language effectively while balancing work, family, and all the other parts of life that can so easily “get in the way”. 

We assume you aren't able to devote yourself to language learning all day, every day, and want to get the most language learning bang for your buck.

We aren’t dogmatic: there isn’t one perfect language learning method. But some are better than others, so our aim is to help you find which effective ones will actually work for you. And we'll do it in a way that takes the stress, guilt, and perfectionism out of language learning.

With all that negativity gone, what’s left is a set of strategies, techniques, and mindsets to make you an effective learner of whatever language(s) you want to learn.

Who are we?

One half of “How do you say…” is Colin Gorrie, a linguist and experienced serial language learner. He's here to translate the results from the research into something you can use in your own language learning practice.

The other half is Natasha Lipman, a BBC journalist, novice language learner, and admitted grammarphobe who is here to make sure what we write stays realistic and accessible, as well as interesting to people who don't have PhDs in linguistics.

We’ll also be sharing our own experiences of implementing these techniques, and sharing the progress that we have made studying Yiddish together since last January, because who doesn’t like n = 1 anecdotal evidence?! 

We’ve been having a bloomin’ brilliant time, immersing ourselves in conversation, literature and culture – learning the language without having to resort to the ineffective study methods that were thrust upon us at school. 

If you join us and put what we write into practice, you will become a happier and more effective language learner…and you too will be able to have a bloomin’ brilliant time!

Every week, we'll send out an issue delving into a different aspect of language learning, whether it's a principle of second language acquisition, a particular technique, or a mindset that will help you learn better. 

Where possible, we'll illustrate these topics with examples from our own language learning lives. Finally, we'll point you to some resources that you can use to delve deeper into the week's topic.

We know that in January people are very excited to jump right in and get started with their New Year’s resolutions, but language learning is for life, not just for New Year’s. 

If you really want to make your language learning stick, taking some time to understand the fundamentals (both of language learning and how you learn best) will set you up for greater long-term success. 

With that in mind, our issues this January will start off with the basics: exploring how languages are learned, how languages definitely aren’t learned, and what that means for language learners. 

Once we’ve covered the basics, we’ll branch out to talk about things like purpose, motivation, time management, and specific tactics that will supercharge your learning when you’re ready to get started.

But for now, we’ll leave it there for our inaugural newsletter. Whether you’re a frustrated language learner, or just want to find your best way towards learning a language, we’d be delighted if you joined us by clicking the subscribe button and sharing this newsletter with friends or family who want to learn a language in 2022.

We’d love to hear about your experiences in learning languages too. What language(s) are you learning? Have you found the process hard? What have you always wanted to know about language learning? Leave your thoughts and questions in the comments!

Until next time…how do you say goodbye in Yiddish?

Zayt gezunt! 

Colin & Natasha