The 9 Habits of Highly Effective Polyglots

Which will you rely on when learning a language?

“Habit” (built by repetition) or “Will power” (depends on your feelings) ?

I will pick a solid habit any day.

So I asked 9 highly effective polyglots the following question:

“What is your most effective habit that pays the most dividend when you are learning a language?”

Enter the polyglots.

1. “Make at least two hundred mistakes a day.”

-Benny Lewis, FluentIn3Month.com

I failed learning Spanish for months because of perfectionism, but embracing a “screw it, I want to actually use this language, mistakes or not” approach allowed me to communicate and ultimately make friends.

I go out of my way to use the language to the max, and effectively “get the mistakes out of my system”, rather than study them out. 

Even if you only know the basics, you will be surprise that you can still convey what you want to say, and if not, the native can help you find another way to make yourself understood so that you will come out of the exchange having learned something.

I’ve been doing this in a decade in real situations, and it seems like I have somehow survived