E-book Category: Travel
E-book Title: Ultimate Language Secrets
Author: Owen Lee
Book Description: Dear Aspiring Language Learner,
This is the most important letter you'll ever read on how to learn any language the right way.
If you've ever felt frustrated, discouraged, angry, tired, or helpless while learning a foreign language - be it with pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, reading, listening, writing, or speaking - this letter will change your language learning experience forever.
So I urge you to stay away from all possible distractions for now - emails, phone calls, friends and family - and read this letter word for word for the next 15 minutes.
This is unlike anything you've seen or experienced before, and NOW is the time to get rid of all your language learning headaches - once and for all... Don't you think? Here's Why You Should Listen To Me Not only do I speak 8 foreign languages (and soon you can too) but I've also shared my secrets with hundreds of students who now know how to learn foreign languages more efficiently and effectively (they're 2 different concepts).
Over the years I've personally - and together with my students - tried almost every book, software, and audio program on language learning and witnessed the same mistakes made by my students over and over again...
Patterns emerged and I finally understood the fundamental reasons why so many people see language learning as a chore rather than an enjoyable activity...
I worked hard to seek the solutions to the biggest language learning problems and now, after countless failures and frustrations, I've finally developed a fool-proof, easy-to-follow, step-by-step system that will guarantee anyone to slash the time, effort, and cost taken to learn any language...
And for the first time ever, I'm going to share some of the most powerful secrets right on this page with you.
If you answered "yes" to any of the above, chances are, you're already making a few common mistakes like the vast majority of language learners - mistakes that may be causing you the extra work and added frustration...
But it doesn't have to be that way.
You see, a common trait shared by the most successful language learners is the efficiency with which they learn foreign languages and the fun accompanying that... Most of them, if not all, learn foreign languages differently than you do.
And here's something you have to keep in mind when learning a foreign language:
Effort does NOT necessarily lead to success, even though they're related (i.e. with the same learning system, more efforts most likely results in more knowledge).
Let me ask you a "metaphorical question": Would you climb the stairs to the 24th floor of a building when you can use the elevator? And would you like to "take the elevator" to your language mastery right now?
It's Not Your Fault!
The majority of language learners make the same language mistakes over and over again without ever realizing it, and you just might be one of them...
It's NOT your fault! Because you were never taught the right way in the first place...
But you gotta know this first: Many people tend to downplay what it takes to master a foreign language, and just in case you still haven't found out yourself...
Learning a foreign language is hard.
And not many people are truly bilingual or multilingual, and those who claim to be so often make you underestimate what's needed to master a foreign language.
The truth is, you will definitely encounter huge difficulties if you didn't grow up in a multi-lingual family or something...
And the following are some "language hurdles" that eventually stop 95% of language learners from achieving proficiency:
#1. Forgetfulness
Forgetfulness itself is not scary, but putting in a lot of effort without getting any results is downright terrifying
Do you know the best way to minimize the impact of your forgetfulness?
Learning language the traditional way is a lot like the proverbial frog climbing out of well. It climbs 3 meters up during the day and slips off 2 meters at night.
At school, teachers tell students to "persevere" - the frog will eventually get out of the well if it keeps climbing. But they never teach you "how to hold on to the wall of the well" better or to "control the rate of slipping off".
Let's come back to this later when we talk about learning foreign vocabularies.
#2. Endless Disruptions To Language Learning
If you've ever complained that you're too busy and don't have enough time to learn language, then you know what I'm talking about.
Every day there seems to be a never-ending array of disturbances to your language learning schedule if you've ever set one, and you think you'll never be able to "devote" 100% of your attention to language learning.
And having a memory like a sieve (where whatever little amount you've just learned constantly gets drained out of your mind) is enough to make anyone feel discouraged and want to give up.
But here's the thing...
You actually do have time. Lots of it... You just don't realize it!
You can actually squeeze out a lot of time while waiting in line for bus, train, food, doctor, elevator, etc., and doing routine jobs such as cleaning the dishes, climbing the stairs, jogging...
It may sound simple enough to make use of all these fragments of time, but it's in fact a technique that's usually learned only from experience...
And do you know that dividing your learning time into many small periods is much much more effective than an equal amount of time in one whole chunk?
#3. Ignorance Of The Power Of Accumulation
Here's a pattern you'll find familiar...
A language learner starts off motivated. She takes a heavy workload in the first few days or weeks and studies it for 2 straight hours each day with much enthusiasm. But after a while, her brain becomes saturated and she gets discouraged by the lack of results, so she takes a break or reduces her workload.
When she goes back to learning, she discovers that she's forgotten so many things she "just" learned, and she "realizes" language learning is so very difficult. She gets stressed and starts to view language learning as a chore. Then she develops fear and takes longer and more frequent breaks. Before long, she decides learning language is not for her, and quits.
How many times have you heard such stories? Or experienced them yourself? I know I have, back when I first started out...
But here's something you gotta keep in mind:
Learning a foreign language every day for 10 minutes only is so much more effective than learning it for hours in one shot...
And often you'll find yourself wanting more after just 10 minutes of studying, once the "language-learning-momentum" is built.
Don't ever underestimate the power of accumulation.
#4. Fear And Dread Due To Frustration
So you find yourself getting more and more frustrated while learning a foreign language... And it results in arguably the single most dreadful obstacle of language learning - procrastination.
It may sound like a small issue since people talk about it so often, but only you know how it really feels.
Procrastination... what a monster.
You might think all you'll need to do is to "bite the bullet", sit down and learn... Yet it doesn't quite happen that way because you keep putting it off. In a way, you were incapable of doing it.
And the more often this process is repeated, the harder it gets... Why? In technical terms, you've already "anchored" yourself to that negative feeling. In other words, you've already "conditioned" yourself NOT to take immediate actions when it comes to learning a foreign language.
What If Everything You Know About
Learning Languages Is Dead Wrong? Here's a surprise for you...
The "language hurdles" I mentioned above are NOT the real problems, because it's only natural to encounter them.
The real problem, however, is that most people are dealing with them the wrong way without even realizing it.
Why?
Because the methods drilled into us back in school were most of the time totally wrong! And most people still firmly believe in traditional language education and refuse to change their mindsets or open up to more possibilities. They stubbornly toil through their language courses the way they had been doing unsuccessfully for so many years and end up quitting time and time again.
But what if everything you know about learning a foreign language is dead wrong?
Back to the "stair vs. elevator" metaphor...
When learning a foreign language in school, most people are led by teachers to "climb up the stairs". (Some are faster than the others.) And when people start learning languages on their own, they take for granted that the stairs are the only way and immediately run towards it.
Few have ever considered the possibility of "elevators". (Even fewer have ever located them.)
Let me show you where the "elevators" are!
Over the years I've observed countless common language learning misconceptions which later developed into "mental limitations" such as "Oh I can't do this" or "That's just too hard for me"... but many of those "mental limitations" are no more than the result of years of subconscious social conditioning, i.e. We have been conditioned to think that what we see and hear every day is normal and we are easily influenced by the signals and suggestions we pick up from others.
When others tell you about the problems they face (without realizing they are learning the wrong way), you start to believe them too.
The truth is, learning a new language is only as difficult as you think it is. If you are going to start learning a new language while believing that it is difficult, then every problem you encounter is going to be magnified to further feed your belief. But if you start by thinking that it is going to be easy, nothing is going to stand in your way of mastering the language.
So before you learn a new language, you've got to debunk all the myths surrounding language learning. You'll also have to get rid of all the reasons that are lurking in your mind telling you to quit learning the language...
Now let me share with you just a few aspects of language learning that traditional language education didn't teach you...
#1. Sound: What Really Impresses People
One of the biggest misconceptions people have about learning foreign languages is this: They must know half of the words in the dictionary and all the rules in the grammar book before they can be considered good.
It's not only discouraging but also completely misleading to beginners.
The fact is, you don't need a bunch of lofty words delivered with faultless grammar even if you're just trying to impress someone.
Let me ask you this: how many times were you pleasantly surprised by a foreigner who used words in your language that you yourself seldom use? Hardly ever, right? In fact, have you ever noticed a foreigner who didn't fumble over their grammar now and then?
Now think about the last time you spoke to a foreigner who could really speak your language well (I'm sure you have), what were you impressed by? Was it her usage of power words? Or her perfect grammar? Hardly!
You were probably impressed the moment she opened her mouth... because she sounded just like you and your people!
Often, what fetches genuine compliments and appreciation for linguistic accomplishments is your ability to sound like a native speaker.
On the other hand, I've seen so many language learners who, after working so hard on their vocabulary and grammar, can't even make themselves understood due to incorrect pronunciations or heavy accents, and solving this problem would require more effort than if they were to start all over again.
Although they might have a huge vocabulary and speak with flawless grammar, they'd still appear as beginners. (And it becomes a lot worse when they try to talk about a subject they're deeply passionate about and seem to go out of breath at any time).
And now here's the tricky part that 99% of language learners don't know:
Different languages are spoken with different parts of the mouth and most often with different muscle group. For example, the German language uses mostly the front part of the mouth, while in Hindi people make use of the back of the mouth... If you imagine a "focal point" within the mouth, "German sounds" come from a little bit behind the teeth whereas "Hindi sounds" come from just in front of the throat.
If you have difficulty identifying the "focal point" of a language, here's a secret for you:
Don't listen to how the native speakers pronounce their languages, listen to how they pronounce your language (especially if they have a typical foreign accent).
You will then be able to tell which part of their mouths they use because it's much easier to identify this when you are dealing with your own mother tongue.
Then, do your best to imitate their accent by speaking (your native language) with the same part of the mouth or muscle group they use. Once you're able to do that, switch to the foreign language you're learning and you'll find yourself sounding a lot more "native".
#2. Vocabulary: "How To Waste Your Time"
The following graph is called "The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve". It indicates the rate at which human beings forget new information.
As you can see, we forget almost 70% of what we learn within 24 hours. (But there are simple techniques you can apply to minimize this effect, and I'm going to show you exactly how.)
Now here's the more "interesting" part... According to the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve, the first 1 hour is when you forget information the most rapidly. (In fact, you'll forget more than half of what you've learned within just 1 hour!) Therefore, you should always review new words (or pronunciation, grammar rules, etc.) within 20 minutes.
Not many language learners do that.
The truth is, reviewing what you have learned within a short time is an excellent investment of your time and is much more effective than later reviews.
If you don't review within a short time frame, or worse still, review only after a few days, you'll find yourself with almost a "clean slate" and end up wasting a lot more time re-learning what you have already learned and forgotten.
You'd then start fretting over your "poor memory" and after this happens a few more times, you'd be ready to quit.
I've seen that enough times already.
What's more, the Ebbinghaus Studies have also found that a stable long-term memory is established only after an average of 7 repetitions. That means you need to review a word 5 to 9 times before you can effectively retain it in memory.
Let's say on day 1 you learned 20 words. They should be reviewed twice again on the same day, once more on the second day, once more in a week, once more in two weeks, and again in a month.
#3. Grammar: No More Tables Please
Are you afraid of communicating in a foreign language because you make frequent grammar mistakes?
I guarantee you're neither the first one nor the last.
Oh, you wanna start speaking only when you're "ready"?
You probably never will.
But here's something you might not know... It actually doesn't matter whether you're "ready" or not. Most native speakers you communicate with don't care or don't even pay conscious attention to your grammar.
It probably makes a difference during language proficiency tests, but it doesn't matter that much in real life.
And the secret of learning grammar is: instead of learning it "linearly" (i.e. subject-verb agreement, tense A, followed by tense B, and then cases, etc.), you should learn it "cyclically" (i.e. learn everything all in one go but for many times).
This way, you'll know what's going on when you're reading and listening and can improve incrementally through repeated revision...
Do you remember being instructed to memorize countless formidable grammar tables back in school? Have you ever wondered how on earth you could ever pick out the correct ones during an actual conversation?
If you answered "Yes", you're not alone.
The fact is, grammars are created in order that we can forget them eventually. If you know the reasons why certain grammar rules are enforced in the first place, you'll know how to follow them naturally without excruciating memorization.
For example, in a German sentence the adjective must match the gender of the noun it precedes. Since there are altogether 3 genders, 4 cases, definite articles vs. no definite article, and indefinite article vs. no indefinite article, there seems to be 3 x 4 x 2 + 3 x 4 x 2= 48 different scenarios... but it's really not that complicated.
If the (in)definite article is present, the adjective simply takes the ending -en, with Nominative Singular + feminine and neutral Accusative (3 scenarios) as exceptions (the ending is then -e/es). But if the (in)definite article is absent, then the adjective plays the role of the (in)definite article and follows it's ending, with exceptions being the masculine and neutral Genitve (2 scenarios), with -en as the ending.
Those are a total of 3 + 2 = 5 scenarios only. If you know rules like that then you no longer have to memorize the 3 formidable 4x 4 grammar tables governing adjective ending changes.
The 4 Basic Abilities Of Languages
#1. Listening
Have you ever found yourself at a loss when talking to real people even though you could understand the tapes/CDs from your language course?
You can go to the bookstore today and pick up a language book teaching foreigners your mother tongue, and most likely you'll find the text quite different from the daily conversations you're used to, and some of them might even baffle you.
It's the same with what you're learning from your own foreign language materials.
And we're not even talking about the influence of different accents, cultures, and age group slangs...
In order to reach a proficiency level where you can understand real life conversations, you have to listen to how native speakers talk among themselves. If you can't find many native speakers of your target language in your environment, listen to the radio or watch a video broadcast online (e.g. simply google "[your target language] online TV").
#2. Reading
You probably already know that in order to understand a text you don't have to know every word. Just the keywords will give you a good idea in most cases.
But let's say you do understand every word of a text. It's still not a guarantee you'll be able to process a foreign text quickly and correctly.
I've seen plenty of language learners having hard time piecing information together... Even when they already possess a considerably large vocabulary, they still have to read the sentence several times before grasping its meaning.
Let's do a little experiment, shall we?
Take any of the above sentences you just read and read it slowly word after word. That is, read by the unit of words and concentrate on only a single word, one after another...
You'll soon find yourself losing your train of thought.
The fact is, we don't read by unit of words. We read sentence by sentence.
And the same thing applies to reading in foreign languages. Language learners are often overly careful by reading slowly. Ironically, that's an important reason for low comprehension rate. Next time you read a foreign text, read a whole sentence or clause at once and you'll find yourself at ease with discerning the sentence structure as well as its meaning.
#3. Writing
Here's how you would practice writing in a foreign language at school:
You write an article on a given topic and hand it in to the teacher for review or correction. The next day you get it back from the teacher with comments, suggestions and "red crosses" here and there. Sometimes, you see so many mistakes that you get headaches by just looking at them. You then look through your mistakes and hope you don't make them again.
And that's it.
Let me tell you something: this traditional way of practicing your writing lets most of your effort go to waste.
You can get so much more out of it by simply rewriting it two more times or, better still, by asking a native speaker to put your ideas into her own words and then compare her version to yours.
It may seem like a lot work, but if you do this just 5 times, I guarantee that you'll see a lot more improvement that will startle your teachers and friends.
#4. Speaking
Often, it is easier to understand an idea conveyed in a foreign language than to articulate that same idea using that language
Why?
Because being able to translate a foreign word into your language is one thing, but translating the same word in your language into that foreign language is another.
The former is called "passive vocabulary" that you can recognize, and the latter is called "active vocabulary" that you'll not only recognize but also use as part of your frequent vocabulary. Your passive vocabulary is most likely much larger than your active vocabulary.
There are words which you sometimes struggle hard to recall but just cannot, but when they're presented to you, you'd smack your forehead and say, "Yeah, why didn't I recall it just now!"
Those words are part of your passive vocabulary but not your active vocabulary.
I call them "one-way" vocabulary. They're useful when you're reading or listening but don't do you much good when writing or speaking. (I'll teach you in detail how to turn them into your "two-way" vocabulary in my book.)
But don't go away with the idea that a "two-way" vocabulary means translating words from your mother tongue directly into your target foreign language.
Have you ever met any foreigner who spoke your language in a weird way but for a moment you just couldn't tell what was wrong? She seemed to speak with correct grammar but it just felt unnatural because you as a native speaker instinctively knew that "people don't speak like that".
That's a direct result of shortage of exposure to real life language. The foreigner is most likely performing direct translation in his head, which is why her choice of words and sentence structures don't sound very "normal". Be aware of that when you're speaking in your target foreign language.
My Years Of Investment And
Experience Are Yours Risk-Free
I have helped many, many people with learning new languages, and they include many who once thought they were incapable of learning foreign languages.
And as a passionate language learner myself, I've spent thousands of dollars on almost every language solution in the market from books to software, CDs to DVDs, flashcards to vocabulary lists (and I've also gotten valuable feedback on language products from the students I've taught)... I've also tested countless language schedules, tools, learning methods...
Now, after years of trial and error, I've finally established a complete step-by-step system that is guaranteed to demonstrate to you all the shortcuts of language learning. You'll improve at a rate you never thought possible and with much less stress and hard work.
This is unlike anything you've seen or heard before:
I'll share with you every secret, trick and technique I know - either from experience or from my students - and teach you how to master any language you choose in the shortest time possible and with the least amount of effort.
What You Can Expect From
The "Ultimate Language Secrets"
Some people move from course to course but just can't seem to find "the one course" that exactly suits their needs. It won't be the case with "Ultimate Language Secrets".
Here are just a few of its unique qualities: - It has no BS, no nonsense. The "Ultimate Language Secrets" is filled with techniques you won't find elsewhere and I won't waste your time by distracting you with loads of stories and anecdotes. Some authors love beating the dead horse for 20 pages on end, but you won't waste a single minute of your time learning the "Ultimate Language Secrets".
- It's super time-saving. By using the "Ultimate Language Secrets", you'll save hundreds or even thousands of hours in learning foreign languages by cutting corners and taking shortcuts. Tedious tasks like memorizing vocabulary will take a lot less time as you'll discover how to learn faster, remember better and cut down your revision time.
- It's empowering. The "Ultimate Language Secrets" will take you by the hand past the initial hurdles of learning languages and quickly get you up to speed, so that you'll be able to rely on yourself to learn any foreign language quickly, easily, inexpensively and shock your friends, teachers and relatives with your amazing learning speed.
- It's fun. "Interest is the best teacher" is so true. When you have a strong interest in learning languages, you won't feel it's something you have to do. Instead, you'll want to do it because of the fun it brings you. The system you're about to learn is fun and easy to implement, and some techniques will definitely make you smile. It's a great way to stay motivated and it also makes your learning material a lot more memorable.
- It's no-hassle. Don't waste hours and hours trying to memorize difficult words. I'll teach you some powerful memory tricks that will work like magic; Don't spend tons of money buying different course packs. With the help of the "Ultimate Language Secrets", you can pick up a language from "everyday learning materials" like newspapers and the Internet... All you need to do is to follow through step by step and leave the rest to me.
- It's 100% scientific and proven. I have tested every single secret, trick and technique in this book myself and have been teaching them for many years, so I know they work. Do exactly what I ask you to do and you'll get the maximum benefits out of it. And I strongly advise you to have a notebook beside you to jot down notes and inspirations while reading the "Ultimate Language Secrets".
- It's practical. Every technique offered in the "Ultimate Language Secrets" is explained in utmost simplicity and is immediately applicable. The system is designed for application in the real world as opposed to entertainment or mere theories... It'll fully involve you in the entire language learning process.
- It works for anyone. You don't have to be a linguist to make the "Ultimate Language Secrets" work for you. It's for anyone who wants to to master one or several foreign languages in the shortest time possible, regardless of the target language(s). And it's also for people who have difficulties with language learning strategies or face specific obstacles such as trouble memorizing new words, inability to pronounce foreign words correctly, lack of communication skills, and so on.
"Alright Owen, So What Exactly Am I Going To Get
After Ordering The 'Ultimate Language Secrets'?"
Here are just some of the powerful techniques you'll learn in "Ultimate Language Secrets":
The Right Language Learning Mentality
- 2 things you must know even before you begin to learn a new language
- How to pick the exactly right language for yourself so you don't waste tons of your time trying to pursue the wrong language targets
- 5 overlooked elements you have to take into account when setting your language goals in order to match them to your schedule, energy, pace, and specific needs
- A little-known yet powerful technique that instantly sets you apart from other language learners
- How fast you can you really expect yourself to learn a new language while keeping your feet on the ground and aiming for your maximum potential.
- The very reason why so many language learners quit half way and how you can avoid making the same mistakes
- What you can learn from Star Wars to ensure your success in learning any foreign language
- How to overcome your own "language bottleneck" so that you can make continual and consistent progress, instead of getting stranded at a language level where you don't seem to make any progress despite of a great deal of effort
- Captivating learning methods that'll keep you engrossed and inject sheer joy into your language learning experience
- 3 powerful psychological techniques of how to keep yourself motivated and never tired of learning languages
Ultimate Language Secrets Core System How to set the right schedule to make sure you achieve the language goals you've set for yourself How to uncover and make full use of the hidden periods of time in your busy schedule to learn your new language One simple technique that will help you constantly progress when learning a new language How to immerse yourself in the right language environment so that you learn double the amount in half the time A secret technique top language learners use to gain the same benefits of learning languages in foreign countries without ever traveling there The missing link between aggressive language learning and long-term memory retention A simple technique that will make a world of difference between you and other language learners The myth about learning many language simultaneously and an arsenal of tricks to tackle the task of effectively learning more than one language at the same time A shocking secret of "conning" natives into thinking you are one of them, and feel completely at ease How to dramatically increase your memory retention and speed up your learning process so that you can cut down on 80% of your language learning efforts while doubling or tripling your language learning performance What kind of materials you must read in order to maximize your language learning results How to make use of media resources the right way to enhance your language learning performance What the "Information Age" really means for you as a language learner How to supercharge your language learning performance by learning from real people the right way so that you don't sound like a walking text book when you visit a foreign country How to build a personal language database to track and improve your language learning process How to get the most of the language learning tools that are freely available to you How to develop an unshakable inner confidence when speaking in your new language so that you appear to have been speaking the language for years and years More... | 
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