This is the latest update in a language learning case study. Introvert Michael Gaeta is using the Mimic Method to learn Italian by Ear. In this episode, Idahosa checks in on Mike and his progress learning Italian with The Mimic Method. Mike now feels comfortable with spontaneous conversation in Italian and has recorded some of his most recent moments with his Italian tutor.
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The Principle of Post-Game Analysis
I’ve been learning Italian on and off for the past few months now. Things started off strong, but as is always the case, life got in the way. The holidays came around and there was a lot of other work to do.
Despite this, I still progressed quickly to quasi-conversational level. I owe a lot of this progress to systematically approaching the language from a differently, instead focusing first on the sounds and how to speak them. This meant that I spent my practice either listening or speaking to native speakers from a swath of resources. The most important parts of this process involved meeting and talking to as many native speakers as possible.
But I found that it’s not enough to simply be efficient. I found that the best way to maximize the fruits of my labor was to go back and review my mistakes often.
What is the best accent to learn?
People ask me all the time about which accent is the best one to learn. They’re worried that picking the wrong accent will make them sound stupid or uneducated. They’re worried that people will judge them for speaking in a weird way, or that they’ll build a habit that can’t be reversed as they learn more about the language.
But this is actually the wrong question.
Before you can settle on the best accent to learn, you need to take a step back and ask yourself what is your true end goal is for learning this language.
Once you answer that question, you can really only come to one conclusion, and that’s that you need to mimic the accent of the person you are talking to right then and there.
Italian in 2 Months – Mike’s January Italian Update
This is the next update in a language learning case study. Introvert Michael Gaeta is using the Mimic Method to learn Italian by Ear.
In this video, Idahosa talks about plans to finish the Italian language mission and more case studies coming soon. Edit: holidays are over, hope you had a nice one!
That Point When Conversations Finally Stop Sucking
We recently announced that one of our team members – Mike – will attempt to learn Italian in 2 months. To be more specific, Mike’s mission is to reach “The Shift” as fast as he can.
“The Shift” is the point in the language learning curve when conversations finally stop sucking.
In this post, we are going to talk about this point in more detail. We will also talk about Mike’s tactics and timeline for reaching The Shift as fast as possible.
Continue ReadingHow to Learn Vietnamese Pronunciation with The Mimic Method
Two weeks ago, I moved to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I will base here for the next three months while I focus on rolling out version 1 of The Mimic Method app.
There are many reason why I chose Ho Chi Minh city as my operation headquarters. Firstly, Ho Chi Minh has a very low cost of living, which means that I can reinvest more of my business profits into the continual development of this app.
Secondly, there is a fair-sized community of software entrepreneurs here, and as I once wrote in this guest post on Mark Manson’s blog, it is important to surround yourself with the people you want to mimic. [Read more…] about How to Learn Vietnamese Pronunciation with The Mimic Method