Buenos dias, GirdleyWorld!
This week:
- New project: video!
- My system for learning a 2nd language
- 3 quick hits from this week
Let’s dive in!
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Announcement: I’m making videos!
I’m going all-in on video content.
The show is called “GirdleyWorld” (sound familiar?) and the first episode dropped on Thursday. I’m really excited to dive into this new format.
Give it a watch here, and I’d appreciate a subscribe if you enjoy the content!
I’ve recorded 9 episodes so far. My first takeaway is that making talking head videos is hard.
I’ve been doing unscripted podcasting with Acquisitions Anonymous for 230 episodes, and it feels so natural now.
Talking head style for GirdleyWorld is a whole other animal. But, I remember how rough the early podcast episodes were. I just need to put in the work and they’ll get smoother.
I’m already feeling more comfortable than I was on the first episode. So I’m excited to keep making more.
If you have questions or feedback, hit reply to this email!
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How I’m learning a second language as an adult
I’ve been on a mission to learn Spanish for a little over a year.
Why Spanish? It’s the number one language in the west by a long shot. And it opens up all of Latin America and Spain as places I can travel and get by without expecting someone else to know English. Someday I dream of life in a Spanish-speaking country, too. (YouTube has figured this out too: it’s showing me a ton of “So you want to live in Barcelona?” videos.)
There’s something special about the moment you speak in someone’s native language. It transforms travel, frankly.
I saw this firsthand last year when we went to Cancun (not my choice) and I’d ask the staff if I could practice my Spanish. Their eyes would light up. It changed each moment from a “ho-hum” for them to something with a real personal connection.
When I asked them why, it turned out that most of the staff at the resorts and other places in Cancun want to learn English. It can 2x or 3x your salary because it’s a relatively rare skillset. One person told me it was fun that I was on the same journey as him, trying to learn a foreign language.
One other benefit. If you’ve been to Mexico, you’ve made this mistake before: The “M” bathroom door is not what you think it is.
Where I started
For me, it started with a great book called Fluent Forever by Gabriel Wyner.
It teaches you how to create a language learning system that works for you.
I ended up with a four-pronged strategy:
- Set a goal for the year
- Weekly tutoring
- Daily flashcards
- Increasing my language exposure
Let’s look at each one.
Set a goal
Real progress happens when you’re striving for something.
My first year, my goal was to reach “low intermediate” spoken Spanish.
As of today, I’m at “barely B1” (low intermediate) according to my tutor.
A buddy who is pretty capable told me to focus 70% of my time learning the present tense of everything, 25% on the past tense, then 5% on the future. It’s been working for me so far.
I find that many learning programs (and Spanish in school) are very worried about grammar and written correctness.
Personally, I don’t really care about either of those. My goal is to understand and be understood verbally.
Weekly tutoring
I talk to my tutor for 45 minutes every week. It’s great, but draining — the first few times I felt like I needed a nap afterwards.
I like her and it’s 50 euros a session. I could probably find a cheaper tutor, but she’s educated and worldly and we have great conversations!
(She also rails on Americans’ fascination with massive water bottles: “Do you think you’re crossing the Sahara or something?”)
Having a block in my calendar every week is a great forcing function. I need something like that to learn anything hard that isn’t a passion.
After each session, she’ll send me a list of words I got stuck on, which feeds into my next step.
(For a cheaper option, I’ve heard good things about the app iTalki.)
Daily flashcards
For flashcards, I use a program called Anki. I can drop in a bunch of words and it uses software to drill me on the ones I’m worst at.
I’ll grab 5 to 10-minute blocks during the day to go through the words I need to improve. So otherwise wasted time in a car, waiting for an appointment, or chilling before dinner I can do this.
The flashcards show me the concept/picture/word and I have to recall the Spanish for it. Fluent Forever talks about this being the science of learning a language. You’re trying to be able to instantly recall the word for “cat” when you need it.
Eventually, you get to a place where you can pull the words instantly.
The only way to do that is to try to recall them repeatedly. It takes multiple failed recall attempts over time to eventually burn the words into your brain.
Funny anecdote about language learners: many people, myself included, forget English words when the new language starts to fill up your brain. The good news is that this fixes itself over time.
Language exposure
I’m always on the lookout for ways to get more Spanish into my day-to-day.
My favorite is the News in Slow Spanish podcast. It’s like a Sesame Street version of the news, and it’s hilarious.
For about a month, I tried only “liking” Spanish tutoring clips on TikTok. I didn’t get better at Spanish, but I did succeed at making TikTok not fun. It felt like work opening it up. (So if you want to break your addiction…)
People have also suggested listening to Spanish music, and changing the audio and/or subtitles when you’re watching TV.
Just recently, my company Near has started running all our board meetings in Spanish. And now that I’m making videos, I’m thinking about doing a Spanish version of each one.
It’s incredible what you can accomplish with 20 minutes a day.
3 things from this week
Appetizer: I’m stoked on these videos, and the agency we’re working with is great at turning my longer content into shorts. Here’s the Bird in the Hand Principle in 30 seconds!
Main: Is it possible to be freer in prison than out? My friend Brian Feroldi wrote a short piece on the hidden cost of being entertained.
Dessert: The full speaker lineup for the 2023 HoldCo Conference is out! This is going to be a great time. They have some tickets left so I hope you can make it.
That’s all for this week! Talk soon.
Michael
