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There is one simple habit that my entire language
learning is built around. It's so simple that once
you understand it, you'll realize that you can
build your whole study routine on this one thing.
It's backed by science. It only takes 30 minutes
a day. And I've been using it for years because
it simply works. And I'm not exaggerating when
I say that even after your first study session,
you'll see the difference. you'll remember at
least one expression and you'll feel confident
enough to use it in your next conversation. So, in
this video, I'm going to walk you through exactly
how to use this habit step by step. All right, so
I call it the learn and use habit, and it's built
on comprehensible input and active recall. I talk
about the comprehensible input theory a lot on my
YouTube channel because this is what I use in my
language learning. If you're new here and if you
don't know what it is, basically it's when you
read or listen to content that you can mostly
understand. It's comprehensible for you. You
can understand it, but you're still learning
something new. Like there's still some words that
you don't know, but obviously they don't make
up the majority. And so with this habit, we use
comprehensible input and we combine it with active
learning. And personally, I find active learning
really useful when it comes to internalizing new
vocabulary. Basically, this habit bridges the
gap between input and output. And this helps you
understand the language and also use it naturally.
Okay, so now let's actually talk about this habit.
Let's break it down and start with the first step.
Step one, choose your input. You're going to start
by choosing something that you really like, like
a YouTube video by a creator that you admire or
maybe a chapter from the book you're currently
reading or an article. The key here is interest
and comprehensibility. The material should be
just slightly challenging. It shouldn't be so
hard that you can't even follow the main ideas.
No, that means it's way too hard and you have
to choose something easier. Obviously, I'm going
to give you guys an example and I'm going to use
a Shortform summary of Atomic Habits by James
Clear. I have been using Shortform for a very
long time and I'm really happy that today they're
sponsoring this video. Shortform doesn't just
summarize books, they also analyze them. They
have one-page summaries, chapter breakdowns,
and even exercises after each section to help
you apply what you read. The summaries and audio
versions make it super easy to revisit what
you've just learned on a walk, at the gym,
or maybe while doing your morning routine. And
what makes it even better is that Shortform
goes beyond book guides. They also offer master
guides that compile ideas from multiple books on
one topic, article guides, and podcast guides, so
you can learn from new ideas beyond just books.
And their browser extension can summarize
anything on the internet, articles, emails,
and even YouTube videos. It's perfect for books
like The Gifts of Imperfection, Atomic Habits,
The Mountain is You because you get to go deeper
into the key ideas about self-love, perfectionism,
and habit building. So, if you want to give it
a try, too. I have a very special offer for my
audience. You can get a free trial plus 3 months
off the annual plan if you sign up using the link
in my description. So step number two is going to
be collect vocabulary. While watching the video
or reading the chapter, you're going to write down
all the new expressions, the words you don't know,
the grammar patterns that look unfamiliar. And
obviously, if you're following the comprehensible
input method, you're not going to have a list
of like 50 new words, 50 new expressions. You're
probably going to have like a few new words, which
is absolutely great. Here the simplicity is key.
We don't need a super long list of random words.
After collecting all of these words, you can
talk to AI. You can ask AI to explain what all of
these expressions mean. Ask it to give you example
sentences. Make it help you understand subtle
nuances of how all of these words are used. This
makes your vocabulary list richer and more context
aware. Instead of staring at a bunch of words that
you have to memorize, you're actually having a
conversation with AI. It's no longer a random
collection of words. It's already more connected
to you. I want to show you guys how I would
personally do it. So, let's choose the expression
prevailing wisdom and have a conversation with
Chad GBT. Hi. So, I'm trying to learn this
new word in English, this new expression,
prevailing wisdom. Can you explain what it means?
Can you give me example sentences of how a native
speaker would use it? And also help me understand
like the nuances of this expression, where I can
use it, should I even learn it? Is it a useful
expression? It's actually a pretty handy phrase
to know. It basically means the generally accepted
belief or the common view on a particular topic.
You can do the same thing and have a conversation
with Chad GBT or just, you know, type in your
questions and then see the responses. Okay, so
now let's talk about the final step. Step number
three, reflect and reuse. So you have your AI
explanations, all of the examples, you understand
what all of these expressions mean. Now it's time
to reflect. It's time to actually practice active
recall. And what it means is you're trying to
use these words in your text or in your speech.
And we're going to make it super low pressure by
journaling or again having a conversation with
your AI. The idea behind it is that I really
want you to move from just understanding all
of these words to actually using them yourself. In
psychology, there is this super interesting theory
called the generation effect. Simply put, what it
means is that you remember information when you
create it yourself instead of just reading it,
looking at it, or repeating it. In other words,
when your brain has to generate something, this
expression becomes active instead of just staying
passive in your memory. And this act of retrieving
and creating something makes you memorize all of
this information way faster. So, let's say you
sit down to practice journaling. You're going
to try to use this new word, this new expression
while journaling about something. And this way,
you're going to be practicing active
recall. You're going to be thinking,
okay, I have to use this word. I have to use this
expression. How can I use it? Like, does it feel
natural when I personally use it? But let's say
you decide to talk to Chad GBT and use the new
expression you're trying to memorize. So, can you
ask me a question where I could practice active
recall? And I am going to use this phrase myself.
Can you tell me about a piece of prevailing wisdom
in the self-improvement world that you personally
disagree with? The prevailing wisdom that I used
to believe in in the productivity world is that if
I don't have any hobbies, if my only hobby is my
work, that somehow makes me cool and that somehow
automatically makes me successful. But right now,
I understand that, you know, taking breaks,
resting, doing something else is actually really
important. I really hope you can see how just
now I actually made myself use this expression.
Obviously, AI gave me a lot of amazing examples,
but I really wanted to practice active recall. I
really wanted AI to ask me questions to make me
use this expression myself. And it's so easy to
do right now. You can journal and respond to a few
questions or if you want to, you can also practice
speaking. So, I've been using this three-step
habit very consistently, and I think it does
work because it makes you focus on absorbing the
language first and then producing it second. So,
you're always going through this loop. You
find something that you really like that's
comprehensible enough for you. You're observing
the language and then you're practicing active
recall. you're trying to understand like the
nuances of all of these expressions, how you
can personally use it while journaling or while
speaking to people. And to be honest, every time I
sit down to practice my languages, that is what I
do. Like I don't really add more things. Sometimes
if I feel like I have more time or if I want to
do something else, obviously that's completely
normal, but most of the time that's what I do.
I read something, I listen to something, I watch
something, and then I talk to AI, or I journal,
and I use all of these new expressions. So guys,
I really hope you enjoyed today's video. If you
did, don't forget to give it a thumbs up and
subscribe to my YouTube channel. The habit that
I shared with you today has been really helpful
when it comes to memorizing new vocabulary, like
working with my memory, not against it. And if
you want to go deeper and see what vocabulary
method I really like using, I highly recommend
watching this video right here. Here I talk about
memorization ani and all of the tools that work
really great for me. So if you want to learn more,
just click right here and I'll see you there.
