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