Universe of Memory 04: How to deal with overwhelmedness

Hi,

The number of options for any daredevil who wants to learn a foreign language is truly dizzying: Duolingo, Memrise, paper flashcards, textbooks, 1 million apps, and so on. Each one of them screams 'I am the one you need, babe. Pick me! I will show you what the good time means!'

But is the variety really that good for you (hint: it's not)?

Imagine the following:
You finish your work, get home and sit all worn-out in your comfy armchair. Suddenly, you start feeling this intrusive urge. The urge to LEARN.

So you think to yourself, "What should I start with? A book? An app? Or maybe an option no. 43?" After all, there are so many choices!

The clock keeps ticking, and you can't seem to make up your mind. Then you say with your best British accent "perhaps tomorrow."

Let's analyze what happened between your initial thought to learn and the moment when you gave up.

One thing which becomes instantly clear is that it isn't your ordinary quiz show, where you get to choose from a couple of available options. The potential answers are A, B, C all the way to Z. Heck, a single piece of paper, with 10 words on it, is treated as yet another learning material.

The growing confusion in your head immediately awakens your biggest opponent - your brain. It jumps in on the action, gently whispering to your ear. "You are not taking my glucose away."

This is the exact moment when you start feeling a knot of resistance in your stomach. As a result, you come up with ridiculous excuses as to why you shouldn't learn right now, and finally, you give up.

What's the simplest way to avoid this cognitive trap?

Limit the number of learning resources to the minimum. Don't hamster them. Just use what's necessary for your current level.



Dealing with overwhelmedness is just one of many language learning strategies I have created throughout the years to help me and my students learn languages in record time. You can find all those strategies in my course Vocabulary Labs.

Vocabulary Labs contains 15 modules and over 160 units which will explain you step-by-step how to rapidly acquire vocabulary and grammar, and first of all - how to become a truly independent and effective language learner.

Here are some of the things you will in Vocabulary Labs:

• what kind of mistakes hinder your learning and how to avoid them

• the EVA method which will guarantee you 100% recall (that's a big promise but I definitely deliver)

• how to optimize your reading. Learn new vocab from texts without spending too much time.

• my system for mastering grammar of any language (over 15 strategies which can be used in conjunction with each other so you can control your own grammatical correctness without any extra help)

• how to become fluent by speaking with yourself (including methods for double-checking that what you're saying is correct

•  how to find language partners so you don't have to pay for teachers/conversations

• how to surround yourself with a language so you maximize your total learning time and language gains.

• how to combine passive and active learning to get the best benefits

• how to use logic in learning to avoid unnecessary memorization

• how to improve your listening comprehension so you can understand asap

• how to use music in language learning. Learn and have fun! The module includes lots of different apps to automatically find interesting artists and lyrics.

• general learning strategies and strategies for specific language levels (A1-A2, B1-B2, etc.)

• Vocabulary Labs Cookbook - includes a lot of language specific resources so you don't waste time looking for them (currently available for German; Finnish, Swedish, Polish and Spanish are coming up soon).

• and many more

- Vocabulary Labs comes with a 60-day guarantee. If you don't find it to be helpful, simply e-mail me, and you will get your money back without jumping through hoops.

- What's more, you will have my full support so you can rest assured that you will be able to get the most out of it. It's not one of the courses where you are left to your own devices.

- Oh, and you get lifetime access to it as well. You can use it at the pace which you find convenient. That also means that you get a lot of cool updates per year to make your learning even more effective.

- Also, I will be checking on you via e-mails for 12 months after you complete the course (aka a naggin' mamma package).

P.S. The course closes on Sunday at 9 am (GMT+2), or Saturday 11:59 (PT) and it won't be back up for some time. My students have my full support and that requires time - there are only so many people I can help at the same time. Here is how to join.

P.P.S. Here are previous e-mails in case you missed them.

• Why so many people fail at language learning

• Terrible learning strategies that kill your progress

• The universal guidelines to structure your language learning

Talk to you soon,

Bartosz