Johanna asks: "How important is it to review your lesson notes?" In Today's Episode: The principle of review is super important In the past, I've spent 15 minutes at the end of the day reviewing what I did in the morning, and it's very effective The foundation of memory and mastery is repetition Your teacher is right that reviewing your notes is the best way to learn the stuff from the lesson However, the question remains... why? If the topics aren't relevant to you, it can be demotivating But if you have follow-up lessons on the same topic, then reviewing your notes is bound to help you It's the big conundrum of classroom learning - is the stuff actually relevant or interesting to you? I suggest dealing with the reality in front of you and doing your best to learn it Review the whole text, not just the vocab Study "smart" not "hard" - e.g. identify the really important words and work hard to remember them Resources Mentioned: Free Listening Course - a free email course to help you memorise vocabulary Start Speaking Today: I’d like to thank italki for supporting the show. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, visit: https://iwillteachyoualanguage.com//italkishownotes Do You Have A Question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve got any comments about the show then please leave them in the “comments” section below! If you’d like to help me out, then I’d love it if you could… Share the episode using the social media buttons around you Leave an honest review and rating of the podcast on iTunes (click here to do that) iTunes reviews in particular really help the rankings of the podcast and help me to reach other aspiring language learners out there! See you in the next episode of the I Will Teach You A Language podcast!

In this solo episode, Olly gives you some updates on what's been going on. In Today's Episode: Update on the Short Story Book launch, worldwide and in US & Canada How to claim your book launch bonuses Random coincidences Language Masters event in London with Michel Thomas About the Language Influencer Summit Polyglot Conference 2019 New language material to master grammar Resources Mentioned: Short Story for Beginner Books with Teach Yourself (including information on bonuses) Language Influencer Summit 2019 - for bloggers, YouTubers, IG'ers, podcasters in the field of language learning Polyglot Conference - Slovenia October 2018 Conversations - story-based listening material for intermediate learners Start Speaking Today: I’d like to thank italki for supporting the show. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, visit: https://iwillteachyoualanguage.com//italkishownotes Do You Have A Question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve got any comments about the show then please leave them in the “comments” section below! If you’d like to help me out, then I’d love it if you could… Share the episode using the social media buttons around you Leave an honest review and rating of the podcast on iTunes (click here to do that) iTunes reviews in particular really help the rankings of the podcast and help me to reach other aspiring language learners out there! See you in the next episode of the I Will Teach You A Language podcast!

In this episode, you're going to hear an interview I did on another podcast, the newly-released Reaching for Words show. The reason I wanted to share this episode on this show was that I thought the interview was uncommonly good, and host Rob asked me a lot of good questions that allowed us to discuss a lot of common topics from a beginner perspective. In Today's Episode: Rob talks with Olly Richards about the role of memorisation in language learning: Do memory champions make the best language learners? Is memorisation really important? Active vs passive memorisation Memorisation tips and techniques for language learning Resources Mentioned: Reaching for Words Podcast - iTunes, Website   Start Speaking Today: I’d like to thank italki for supporting the show. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, visit: https://iwillteachyoualanguage.com//italkishownotes Do You Have A Question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve got any comments about the show then please leave them in the “comments” section below! If you’d like to help me out, then I’d love it if you could… Share the episode using the social media buttons around you Leave an honest review and rating of the podcast on iTunes (click here to do that) iTunes reviews in particular really help the rankings of the podcast and help me to reach other aspiring language learners out there! See you in the next episode of the I Will Teach You A Language podcast!

Austin asks: "Any tips for learning French together with my wife?" In Today's Episode: Learning your partner's language can be fraught with problems Learning a new language with your partner sounds like a great idea! The activity itself, and the benefit for your relationship is far more important that the efficacy of the approach, I think You might find yourself with different learning preferences, and that will be something you'll need to compromise on If you want to learn the language to a higher level, you'll need to find your own path in time Resources Mentioned: Short Stories in French for Beginners - my new book of short stories with Teach Yourself French Foundations - master the basics of French in two weeks Start Speaking Today: I’d like to thank italki for supporting the show. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, visit: https://iwillteachyoualanguage.com//italkishownotes Do You Have A Question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve got any comments about the show then please leave them in the “comments” section below! If you’d like to help me out, then I’d love it if you could… Share the episode using the social media buttons around you Leave an honest review and rating of the podcast on iTunes (click here to do that) iTunes reviews in particular really help the rankings of the podcast and help me to reach other aspiring language learners out there! See you in the next episode of the I Will Teach You A Language podcast!

Maria asks: How can I integrate revision into my schedule? In Today's Episode: Revision needs to be meaningful and you need to know it works It's possible to waste a lot of time with revision, time that you could be spending with more content It can be tricky with multiple languages I tend to think of revision now more as a question of repeating content - listening/reading to things over and over Important point: Things that you want to "revise" will learn themselves naturally over time Taking notes is a funny one... many people literally never look at them again My personal revision process involves: Putting key phrases into flashcards and reviewing regularly Highlighting useful words/phrases for lessons Covering topics multiple times in speaking sessions I deal with grammar by: Putting complete sentences into flashcards Looking briefly at rules, and then noticing how that grammar is used in real content Resources Mentioned: Bulletproof Memory - My complete programme for developing a world-class memory & never forgetting another word IWTYAL 246 - Why do some gurus advise against learning multiple languages at the same time? Start Speaking Today: I’d like to thank italki for supporting the show. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, visit: https://iwillteachyoualanguage.com//italkishownotes Do You Have A Question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve got any comments about the show then please leave them in the “comments” section below! If you’d like to help me out, then I’d love it if you could… Share the episode using the social media buttons around you Leave an honest review and rating of the podcast on iTunes (click here to do that) iTunes reviews in particular really help the rankings of the podcast and help me to reach other aspiring language learners out there! See you in the next episode of the I Will Teach You A Language podcast!

Ellen asks: How should I supplement my university language course? In Today's Episode: It's good to think about how you want your language skills to develop post-uni, not just how to pass your exams! Many people studying languages at uni cannot speak when they graduate At uni, you'll get a huge amount of "education"... there's no risk of you not learning all the important stuff It's natural to want to master the vocabulary and grammar you meet, but you won't be able to do that by more study The way to master vocab and grammar, and to learn to speak the language confidently over time is by making the language a part of your life Find things you like in Spanish and German and spend as much time as possible enjoying them! I give you permission to put the books away and have fun! Resources Mentioned: Casa de Papel - an extraordinarily good Spanish tv series Start Speaking Today: I’d like to thank italki for supporting the show. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, visit: https://iwillteachyoualanguage.com//italkishownotes Do You Have A Question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve got any comments about the show then please leave them in the “comments” section below! If you’d like to help me out, then I’d love it if you could… Share the episode using the social media buttons around you Leave an honest review and rating of the podcast on iTunes (click here to do that) iTunes reviews in particular really help the rankings of the podcast and help me to reach other aspiring language learners out there! See you in the next episode of the I Will Teach You A Language podcast!

Terry asks: What should I do when I lose my motivation? In Today's Episode: Motivation to learn makes or breaks your learning project Sunk cost fallacy - the more time you've put into something the harder it is to let go Languages need to be a living breathing part of your life, or it's hard to keep them up Resources Mentioned: IWTYAL 256: The extraordinary power of haircuts in language learning New Books - visit the launch page to find out about the books and bonuses! Start Speaking Today: I’d like to thank italki for supporting the show. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, visit: https://iwillteachyoualanguage.com//italkishownotes Do You Have A Question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve got any comments about the show then please leave them in the “comments” section below! If you’d like to help me out, then I’d love it if you could… Share the episode using the social media buttons around you Leave an honest review and rating of the podcast on iTunes (click here to do that) iTunes reviews in particular really help the rankings of the podcast and help me to reach other aspiring language learners out there! See you in the next episode of the I Will Teach You A Language podcast!

In this episode, I finally reveal the "big news" I've been teasing you with for over 2 years! In Today's Episode: For complete information on today's episode, please visit the main blog post at: Start Speaking Today: I’d like to thank italki for supporting the show. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, visit: https://iwillteachyoualanguage.com//italkishownotes Do You Have A Question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve got any comments about the show then please leave them in the “comments” section below! If you’d like to help me out, then I’d love it if you could… Share the episode using the social media buttons around you Leave an honest review and rating of the podcast on iTunes (click here to do that) iTunes reviews in particular really help the rankings of the podcast and help me to reach other aspiring language learners out there! See you in the next episode of the I Will Teach You A Language podcast!

In this episode, I react to the never-ending belief that children's book are good for language learning. In Today's Episode: Why I'll never recommend that adults should use kids' books for language learning: The vocabulary is NOT high-frequency The grammar is NOT simple The content is NOT interesting or relevant Readings from: Harry Potter and the Philsopher's Stone Hansel and Gretel Jack and the FlumFlum Tree Start Speaking Today: I’d like to thank italki for supporting the show. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, visit: https://iwillteachyoualanguage.com//italkishownotes Do You Have A Question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve got any comments about the show then please leave them in the “comments” section below! If you’d like to help me out, then I’d love it if you could… Share the episode using the social media buttons around you Leave an honest review and rating of the podcast on iTunes (click here to do that) iTunes reviews in particular really help the rankings of the podcast and help me to reach other aspiring language learners out there! See you in the next episode of the I Will Teach You A Language podcast!

In this episode, Olly continues a new series covering what he believes to be the fundamental rules of language learning. Click here to listen to part 1 Click here to listen to part 2 The Rules: Rule 7: Listen with the transcript Rule 8: Don't worry about something until it’s actually a problem (Spanish varieties, Italian dialects, a notorious grammar point) Rule 9: Do something every day...however small Start Speaking Today: I’d like to thank italki for supporting the show. To claim your free lesson and start speaking today, visit: https://iwillteachyoualanguage.com//italkishownotes Do You Have A Question? Ask me your language learning questions by clicking here, and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show! Also, please subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast! If you’ve got any comments about the show then please leave them in the “comments” section below! If you’d like to help me out, then I’d love it if you could… Share the episode using the social media buttons around you Leave an honest review and rating of the podcast on iTunes (click here to do that) iTunes reviews in particular really help the rankings of the podcast and help me to reach other aspiring language learners out there! See you in the next episode of the I Will Teach You A Language podcast!