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The Language Habit book overview - The Language Pedia Podcast
May 15, 2025
The Language Habit book overview - The Language Pedia Podcast Hello language enthusiasts! It's Oualid here with another exciting video. Today, we're going to talk about The Language Habit book by Oualid Cheddadi, the founder of Lingualid. It is a language learning guide, that emphasizes the importance of habit formation in language learning. It argues that small, consistent actions over time, like learning a few words daily, are more effective than infrequent, large study sessions. The book stresses the role of environment, goal setting, and community in supporting language learning. It also discusses the role of technology, including language learning apps and tools, as well as the importance of real-world interactions and immersion in building fluency. You can check out the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DF4RBKJW 🔔 Don't forget to subscribe and hit the bell icon so you won't miss out on any new videos. 📚 For more in-depth discussions and articles, check out my blog, Lingualid: https://lingualid.com **Social Links:** - 📘 Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/lingualid - 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/lingualid - 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/lingualid - Podcast: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oualid-cheddadi **Affiliate Links:** - 📚 Language Learning Resources: https://lingualid.com/language-learning-resources/ - 🎧 Recommended Language Learning Apps: https://lingualid.com/reviews/
View Video Transcript
0:00
okay so have you ever like started
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learning a new language you know all
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excited and then a couple weeks later
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you just hit a wall it's so common it is
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uh it's like you set out to climb Mount
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Everest and then you're like wait I
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don't even like Hills right but what if
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learning a language could feel as easy
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as like humming your favorite song
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instead of that huge climb well that is
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what the language habit by Will Chaddy
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is all about okay um it's not about you
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know memorizing a ton or grammar drills
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it's Chang in how we think about
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language learning from like a chore to
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an enjoyable habit I am here for that
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yeah so how how do we do that how does
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this book suggest we make that happen so
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it all starts with understanding the
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power of tiny habits like think about
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this if you just learn five new words in
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your target language every single day by
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next year you will have added over 1800
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new words to your vocabulary wow it's
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like a whole book yeah that does really
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put it into perspective because that
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does feel doable exactly five words a
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day small consistent steps yeah that's
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what we're talking about and it doesn't
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have to be just vocab right you can
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apply that to anything right 10 minutes
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listening to a podcast on your commute
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sure you could practice speaking a few
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phrases while you're cooking dinner
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little moments add up so instead of
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needing like a huge chunk of time it's
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more about fitting in those little
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sessions in those little place in your
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existing routine exactly and speaking of
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routine the book talks about this
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concept concept of habit stacking yes
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tell me more okay so habit stacking can
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be a GameChanger and basically what it
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is is you take a new habit that you want
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to build and you attach it to an
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existing habit okay so let's say for
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example you're trying to get in the
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habit of reading in your target language
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okay but you forget or put it off they
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been there right so think about a habit
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that you already have that's well
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established like that after dinner cup
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of tea okay what if you made it a rule
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to spend just 10 minutes reading in your
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target language while you enjoy your tea
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it's like my brain won't let me have the
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tea until I've done the thing that's the
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idea it's brilliant it's removing that
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decision fatigue yeah like an automatic
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sequence the book actually gives a bunch
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of other examples like um pairing
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language learning apps with your morning
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commute or listening to a podcast while
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you're out for a run yeah so it's
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finding those little pockets of time
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where you'd otherwise be scrolling on
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social media or just staring into the
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void yes which I'm guilty of we all are
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but you know it's not just enough to
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create these tiny habits we have to set
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ourselves up for Success yeah right we
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need to create an environment that
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actually supports our language learning
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goals that makes sense because if I'm
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surrounded by distractions good luck
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exactly so what are some of the tips
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that this book suggests for creating
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that ideal environment one of my
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favorites is using the power of visual
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cues you know the sticky notes we used
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to put everywhere oh yeah the book
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suggests a really fun Twist on that
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label everyday things around your house
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with the corresponding words in your
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target language so instead of seeing the
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word refrigerator every day I see it in
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I don't know Korean or something exactly
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you're turning your home into this
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immersive language learning playground I
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love it you could even have like themed
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sections kitchen vocabulary on the
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cabinets bathroom words on the miror you
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know living room terms on the coffee
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table make the language visible it's
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like tricking your brain into absorbing
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it passive exactly by just living your
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life and it's not just sticky notes
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think about where you normally study
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your practice okay is it buried under a
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pile of clutter hidden in a drawer
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that's my desk you just described my
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desk perfectly so make those language
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learning materials your textbooks your
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workbooks those language learning apps
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visually prominent okay keep them out on
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your desk next to your bed even propped
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up next to your toothbrush okay so they
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need to be front and center reminding
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you to make a little time for them each
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day it's like they need to be front and
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center reminding you to make a little
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time from them each day and speaking of
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things we use every day this book also
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talks about technology as a tool for
4:07
language learning oh absolutely like
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these days there's an app for pretty
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much every language and learning style
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you can think of right gamified flash
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cards AI powered tutors you name it yeah
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but the language habit actually brings
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up a good point it's like how do we
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actually use these tools effectively
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without becoming too reliant on them
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right because an app can't replace like
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actually talking to a human 100% yeah
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like think of apps as your language
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learning Sidekicks okay they're great
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for vocab grammar daily practice all
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that yeah but to really become fluent
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you got to use it you know yeah real
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world interactions in the wild yeah
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exactly those moments when you have to
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think on your feet and just speak oh
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totally so how do we strike that balance
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between using the apps and actually like
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going out there and using the language
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yeah well it actually looks at the
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strengths and weaknesses of some popular
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apps okay you know dual lingo memorize
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Babble sure what's interesting is they
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all have like their own personality and
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approach right like the book talks about
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how du lingo is really good at making it
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like a game yeah memorize is all about
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pneumonics and space repetition right
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see I've tried a few different apps and
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you're right they each have their own
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thing yeah but I do feel like I've
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definitely fallen into the Trap of just
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doing the app and not actually using it
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right it's easy to get stuck in that app
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Bubble yeah but the book reminds is like
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what's the end goal yeah right yeah it's
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to take those app skills and actually
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use them like ordering a coffee without
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doing a weird MIM exactly or you know
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talking to someone while you're
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traveling or even just like reading a
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news article or watching a movie yeah
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and that that actually brings up another
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point the book debunks this myth that
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you have to go abroad to become fluent
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okay wait tell me more about that
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because I've definitely had moments
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where I'm like well I guess I'm just
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going to have to book a one way ticket
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to Italy if I want to learn it's
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tempting right it is so tempting but the
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language habit says hey let's think
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about immersion differently okay it's
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not just about being there it's about
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creating that immersive experience
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wherever you are so even if I'm like
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stuck in my living room I can still
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create those experiences exactly and it
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gives some really creative tips like one
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that stood out to me switch your phone's
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language settings oh my God that's
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intense right that would force me to do
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it talk about daily practice but also
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like hello autocorrect disasters oh I
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can only imagine the text messages oh my
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gosh but you know even those mistakes
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can be really valuable I know you're
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right and speaking of embracing those
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awkward moments in real life there's
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this anecdote in the book about this
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pronunciation error you mean the one
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where they accidentally buy five
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chickens when they're trying to ask for
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directions that's the one it's such a
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good reminder that pronunciation is
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important it really is but okay so back
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to like creating those immersive
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experiences at home yeah we've got
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switching our phone settings what else
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well think about the things you're
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already doing you know if you love to
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cook find a blog or a cookbook that has
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recipes in the language you're learning
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okay if you love movies watch a film
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with subtitles or even try it without St
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and see how much you can understand
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that's a good challenge yeah okay so
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it's like taking something you already
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enjoy and just finding a way to kind of
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bring that language into it exactly and
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this book also encourages us to like get
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get out of our comfort zones a bit and
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actually look for opportunities to
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practice like in the real world yeah for
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sure those real life interactions
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ordering food asking for directions even
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just chatting with someone you know at
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the store those are the things that
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really help you learn faster right it's
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like giving your brain a workout exct
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and every workout you know might be a
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little bit painful at first but it does
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get easier exactly and those little wins
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you know when you order your coffee and
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they understand you or you're on the bus
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and you understand a conversation yeah
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those are the things that keep you m
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it's not just about like the grammar
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it's about actually like connecting with
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people yes and experiencing the culture
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it's so rewarding yeah and you know at
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the beginning of this deep dive I was
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comparing learning a new language to
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climbing a mountain right but I feel
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like it's more like setting sail ooh I
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like that where yeah there might be
8:17
challenges along the way but there's
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also like this amazing sense of freedom
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I love that analogy to just explore and
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just like a sailor uses the Stars we can
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use these tips from the language habit
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to kind of guide us on that journey I
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love that so to everyone listening we
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hope this has given you some ideas for
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your own language learning Journey
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remember it's not about being perfect
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it's about enjoying the process and all
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those little victories along the way
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until next time happy learning
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