How to Remember 90% of Everything You Learn

31.03.2017 |

Episode #8 of the course How to speak Spanish fluently for beginners by Rype

 

Think about how you learned how to ride a bike, swim at the pool, or play hoops in your backyard.

You learned it though immersion.

This applies to nearly everything we want to learn, from cooking to starting a business, and especially when you learn languages like Spanish!

The fundamental concepts of immersion are quite obvious, as it’s something we naturally act on without much thought. Most of us learned how to speak our native language because we grew up around people (family, friends, etc.) speaking it around us. In other words, we didn’t consciously decide that we were going to immerse ourselves to learn languages, it just happened.

 

Three easy ways to immerse yourself

1. Want vs Need

There is a big difference between want and need. While “want” is a nice-to-have, a “need” is a must-have. “Want” can often be confused for external needs, such as impressing those around you, but “need” comes from within and serves as intrinsic motivation that is longer-lasting and sustainable.

Ask yourself: Why do you “need” to speak Spanish?

Then come up with at least three powerful reasons. Listening to the stories of our own students at Rype, here are some powerful stories:

Family needs:

• “Need to be able to communicate with my family members.”
• “Need to speak Spanish to have a deeper connection with my spouse.”
• “Need to teach my child so they can be grounded in their cultural roots before they forget the language.”

Travel needs:

• “Need to get around safely and avoid being taken advantage of as a foreigner while traveling.”
• “Need to learn in order to have a deeper cultural experience and make the most of my travel experience.”
• “Need to learn so I can meet friends without worry about being alone.”

Career needs:

• “Need to expand my knowledge because the world is becoming globalized with international business opportunities.”
• “Need to learn a second language to improve my resume for career advancement and additional opportunities.”
• “Need to work with clients who speak the foreign language or I’ll be out of a job.”

2. Absorb all information in Spanish

Start by making a list of all the information you absorb throughout the day, from the moment you wake up to hitting the sheets for bed time.

Some examples include:

• Your smartphone
• Your computer
• The newspaper (during breakfast or at work)
• Radio in the car
• Movies you watch (e.g., Netflix)
• Music you listen to

Now think of how you can change everything into Spanish.

You could:

• Change your smartphone language setting
• Watch movies on Netflix with Spanish audio and English subtitles
• Listen to podcasts in Spanish
• Rock out to popular songs (e.g., Vivir Mi Vida – Marc Anthony)

The key to this strategy is not to go out of your way to immerse yourself in activities that you normally don’t do. Follow your daily routine to the minute, but just change the language.

This means that if you don’t like reading newspapers, don’t go out of your way to read them.

Forcing yourself to do something you don’t enjoy is one of the fastest ways to stop persisting on the learning journey, because the brain will associate the foreign language with negative associations rather than positive ones.

3. Label items at your house in Spanish

A powerful way to immerse yourself (and one that is super easy to do) is to label individual items at your house with a sticky note and a sharpie pen: plates, stove, window, desk, computer, etc.

It may sound a little tedious at first, but it’s incredibly effective for immersion, as you’re constantly walking around your house learning new words, often without you even realizing!

Hope you found this lesson helpful!

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about the power of accountability and how the most successful leaders and learners like Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, and Tony Robbins have taken advantage of it to achieve more in life.

 

Recommended book

“Madrigal’s Magic Key to Spanish: A Creative and Proven Approach” by Margarita Madrigal, Andy Warhol

 

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