Do you want to develop the ultimate mindset to master a foreign language quickly without memorising lists of words and actually having fun while you do it...even if you've failed in the past?
Language learning is seen as something incredibly difficult and most speakers of English are brought up with the idea that we English speakers just aren't good at learning languages.
Many have tried and failed including me! I know how it feels to just not understand and think you never will. We shudder when we think back to high school classes, text books full of verb tables and long lists of words we were required to memorise.
Listening to native speakers rattle on at 100mph while you can't understand a word they say.
That sinking feeling as your dream of speaking another language is finally snuffed out.
But what if this isn't how the story needs to end?
What if you could easily learn a new language and have FUN doing it?
What would you pay to be able to speak and understand another language fluently?
In this book I pull back the curtain to reveal the mindset and methodology of a polyglot. This book will dispel the myths, lay the foundations of the correct mindset for success and inspire you to commit to acquiring that language you've always wanted to master, no matter how old you are!
Here's what you will
Why you think learning a language is difficult How children learn languages so easily How to go about learning a language 5 proven ways you can build your language knowledge The best way to get vocab into your long-term memory Why learning a language is actually fun. Sometimes rib-crackingly hysterical! How to become aware of your language How I taught myself to speak in Italian in 1 week!
In this book Ryan will take you through his personal journey of failures, despondency, frustration and later determination and successes in 5 different languages.
He will reveal the methods, tricks and hacks he used to acquire language, which you can use to set yourself firmly on the road to fluency, even if you've failed before.
Ryan Doherty studied Spanish, German and Italian at 4 different European Universities. He also speaks to varying levels French, Dutch, Portuguese and has a good grasp of the grammars and language features of many other languages including of course his mother tongue, English. He has recently just published his first book; Away with Words and has also made a imaginative and creative meditation series on Audible for learning the Spanish language; Meditation for Spanish Learners.
This book gives great tips and ideas on how to learn a foreign language effectively. It maps out a simple plan anyone can implement into their busy lives. It also gives a brief lesson on English grammar and how it plays an important part when learning a foreign language, which I found immensely helpful.
I highly recommend this book if you are interested in learning a foreign language but not sure on how to go about it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book is a personal account of what the author found helpful in his journey of learning languages. The main point is that in order to become fluent you should get a lot of language exposure by listening, reading, looking up words and memorizing the words that are key to your interests. Then you should start thinking and talking in your target language as soon as humanly possible. Do not be afraid of making mistakes, as you can learn from them. It is a good idea to be familiar with the grammar of your own native language so you can then become aware of the similarities and differences in your target language. Children learn languages quite naturally by listening and imitating and this can work for adults too but they can also benefit from more deliberate mnemonics strategies or their knowledge of other languages and word etymology etc. Everyone can learn a foreign language if they put in enough time and effort. I liked the encouraging attitude of the author. Why are you learning a language? If you have good reason to be motivated you are more likely to be successful than if it was something uninteresting that was forced upon you.
The book is written in a chatty, informal style, with some awkward grammar and several run-on sentences, for the most part quite easy to read.
In one section the author wants to make the point that awareness of grammar rules and familiarity with the terminology may help you to make sense of the patterns of the foreign language you're learning. This is a valid perspective but this section gets a bit bogged down with a multitude of random grammar and vocabulary examples from English and other languages that may not be very relevant or interesting to the reader if you're not interested in learning the language the examples were from. I did not learn any new grammar knowledge from that section as it was all pretty well covered in my previous studies but I did happen to notice a few errors.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The book looks into how children learn languages better than adults, and this comes down to immersing themselves into the practicality: children don't technically learn, they have to know the language in order to communicate with their parents and their friends. The book demonstrates understanding the origins of English can help motivate the natural way the author's son learnt: comparing the languages and finding the similarities in order to remember, hence the chapter on English grammar. The layout of techniques and examples also help visually so readers can equally use the book as a revision guide when learning a new language of their choice.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The writing style is meant to engage and excite the reader. I found it a little dry for my personal taste though. The derailing from the original topic of the paragraph or chapter gets a little tiresome and is filled with textbook-like information.
The methodology of learning language is very sound. If you can manage to look past the veering astray that happens regularly, you can learn much from this book. Comparative language learning makes things much easier and Doherty explains how this can be achieved. He also points out ways that language learning can be done in a way that is easier and has a better retention rate than in a standard classroom or textbook learning setting.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Ryan Doherty’s “Away with words: How you can learn any language and cultivate an idiomatic mindset” is an interesting take on learning a new language and one I can fully understand. As adults we do find that young children seem to pick up new languages rather quickly.
This book explores the differences between the way children learn as opposed to the way they are taught languages in school. As I am older with a desire to learn new languages I found this book helpful and informative. It’s a well written, formatted and common sense approach and while we don’t all learn the same way it offers insight and information to aid in learning.
Absolutely brilliant book for beginners as well as for some that already speak one or more languages. It’s a pleasant read and I personally think it would be good for some teachers that are trying to inspire or finding it difficult to teach foreign languages to adolescents as well as stubborn adults . It is not a ‘heavy’ read, actually really uplifting. Thank you Mr Doherty for sharing your experiences,
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. I am writing my HONEST to goodness thoughts and opinions.
Good Read!
I like the author's approach to learning. Very informative book!!.