Friday, August 8, 2014

read | Fluent Forever

Fluent Forever is a good way to face a language without becoming overwhelmed by it. This book explains methods you can use to learn a language quickly, though they are not for the faint of heart. It's not a too-good-to-be-true scenario, and it does require daily review and eventual immersion. I like to think I would learn a language in my spare time, but it's not an immediate goal for me. Even so, I found this a highly enjoyable read.

The book summarizes the techniques you'll use early on and reiterates them frequently - much like the system for learning itself - so this can get quite repetitive if you're not trying to commit the plan to memory. There's interesting research about how our memories work and better ways to learn, and these explanations are fun to read casually. I feel like people who want to learn how to learn a language quickly might see these sections as obstacles to the "important" information. Another pro (and con) to this book is that it requires a lot of outside information. A lot. You still need to find textbooks, pronunciation guides, etc. The book does provide several free sources, though some of the links I tried to follow were no longer active. Overall, Fluent Forever is an interesting insight into how the mind works whether or not you are actually seeking to learn a new language.


I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.