Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It by Gabriel Wyner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Website

This is one of the most useful books I’ve read in some time. Wyner proposes a method to learn a new language that both removes some of the drudgery while improving retention. Anticipating the skepticism that I would have myself at this point: no, it is not one of those books that makes ridiculous and unfounded claims such as that you can learn a language entirely in your sleep or that you can develop native fluency in seven days. Instead, Wyner’s method is based on sound scientific ideas.

So, what does this method consist of? A few of the key points are: first, one doesn’t skip straight to basic conversational phrases as many books and courses do, but rather places great emphasis on learning how to hear and say the sounds of the target language. This phase is often given short shrift, presumably assuming that this skill will be picked up automatically in the process, but Wyner’s argument is that not being able to hear what’s correct or not great slows progress in the long run. Second, memorization tasks use the “spaced repetition system” (SRS) method whereby you increase the time between exposure to new knowledge as you learn it until it is firmly entrenched in one’s mind. Third, one seeks to build a more visceral connection to the new vocabulary and phrases, and this makes learning more fun while improving retention. This is principally done by making flash cards that tell a story relevant to one’s personal experience (and / or which uses subject matter such as sex [which tends to produce more indelibility of memories.])

Beyond the method presented by the book, one is also presented with a great number of resources that can be helpful. Some of these resources are a part of the author’s own website, but many are external resources (from Anki [an app that allows one to build flashcards and study them on a SRS schedule] to courses of the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute.)

I’ve started to learn Mandarin and have begun employing a number of ideas from this book. I would highly recommend the book for anyone who is interested in learning another language, no matter what said language might be. (This is a book of “how to” learn, not “what to” learn.)

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