Indian expat in Paris. I document what I learn — French, life in France, fitness, video making, and the pursuit of an unforgettable biryani — so you don't have to figure it out alone
Vocabulary is hard
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Hey Friends, Since the last time we spoke, I'm on holiday in India and have been meaning to spend more time on my Dutch. With the best of intentions and free time, I've not been able to spend as much focused hours like I did during my French learning days. The difference is desperation in that, I'm not! This 'new' way of learning a language (My Dutch journey) is super different from my French journey which was all hands on deck, try different exercises, fail fast and keep making progress - don't stop till you get there. So, depending on what's occupying your time and mind, you can chose either of these two approaches for the same goal - speaking a new language comfortably without translating in your head and understanding a local without any doubts. A hallmark habit that's common between both is using flashcards. There's plenty of research on why this works best for vocabulary acquisition. During my free time here in India, I just moved the flashcard app on my phone to where instagram used to be and my rule is - every time I open it, I need to review a Dutch deck. If you don't know what to put on your flashcard deck, I'll share with you how I started my first Dutch deck in the next issue of this newsletter :) In the meanwhile, I've put together some phrases from my favorite french movie Les Intouchables Learning Dutch has reminded me how hard it is to stick to learning a new language. I know you can nail your French because I'm going to nail my Dutch. Slowly but surely. Sorry for being MIA the last few weeks. Alongside the 'first 100 French words' bundle, I'm also working on the vocabulary chapter of may handbook which should be out in the next issue. Here's the previous version in case you've missed it Download the free Frenchmesh Handbook I'm back to doing 10 minutes of Dutch everyday. Do you have a French routine for when you're in the mood to practice some French ? Let me know! |
Keep Learning — it changes everything
Indian expat in Paris. I document what I learn — French, life in France, fitness, video making, and the pursuit of an unforgettable biryani — so you don't have to figure it out alone
Last weekend I sat the test civique — the French citizenship exam. And the first thing I noticed at the centre was that they let you smile on the ID photo. Small thing. But after years of stone-faced passport photos, this is refreshing. 39/40 let's goooooo I scored 39/40. The passing mark is 32, and I'm super proud of this! A lot of the credit goes to Anki. I've been using spaced repetition for years to learn things, and this was the clearest proof yet that it works. If you're preparing for...
It's been one month since I revived my investment in learning Dutch, and it's certainly humbling. Many of you reached out to me with one question: "Why Dutch?!" What I hear behind that question is, "How do you have the energy to learn a new language when you don't even need it?" Since I've failed at this half a dozen times, I know it sounds heroic to get into the arena again. But the most valuable thing to address at the get-go before learning a language is the 'why'. I was super efficient...
Dear Reader, A couple of years ago, people started telling me my French was unusually good. So I started sharing what I did and it resonated. But I've been avoiding a question ever since: was that the method — or was it just me? There's only one way to find out - I'm learning Dutch. If I get to conversational fluency in a language I have zero cultural pressure to speak, no survival instinct pushing me forward, no debt to payback and no job to hunt for — then the method gets the credit. Not...