Spoiler alert: No, it’s not. In fact, this approach can actually hinder your progress in the long run. Let’s dig into why the “speaking-first” method is more myth than miracle.

The Appeal of the Speaking-First Myth

The idea of diving into speaking right away is seductive. It promises instant results and a sense of accomplishment. You’re putting words together, stringing sentences, and making yourself understood (sort of). This is supposed to be the pinnacle of language learning: communication.

But here’s the problem: speaking prematurely can build bad habits, reinforce mistakes, and lead to frustration.

How to learn a language fast: Vocabulary Expansion

Want to know how to learn a language fast? Start by listening and reading, not speaking. Language acquisition doesn’t start with your mouth; it starts with your ears and eyes. Research in second-language acquisition shows that comprehensible input—reading and listening to material just slightly above your current level—is the real driver of fluency (source).

Think of how children learn their first language. They listen for months, absorbing the rhythm, structure, and vocabulary of their native tongue. Only then do they start to speak, and when they do, it’s after having built a strong foundation.

When you focus on listening and reading, you build a mental database of words and sentence structures. This database is what allows you to speak naturally and accurately when you’re ready.

Why Speaking Too Soon Can Backfire

1. Reinforcing Mistakes When you’re speaking from day one, chances are you’re cobbling sentences together incorrectly. And when you repeat these errors, they become harder to unlearn.
2. Stress and Anxiety Speaking without a solid foundation can be stressful. Anxiety can make it harder to remember words or focus, leading to a less productive learning experience.
3. Limited Vocabulary Starting to speak early often means relying on a handful of basic words and phrases. This creates a false sense of progress while limiting your ability to express yourself in meaningful ways.

How to Learn a Language Fast: The Better Approach

This doesn’t mean you should avoid speaking forever. Speaking is essential to fluency—but it’s the last step, not the first.

Here’s a better roadmap:

1. Start with Link-King to Build a Strong Vocabulary Base Begin your journey with Link-King to lay a solid foundation for vocabulary. We reccomend drilling new vocabulary 10-30 minutes per day combined with immersing yourself in native media. (start today)
2. Learn Songs in Your Target Language Explore songs in your target language to familiarize yourself with its culture and music. This not only builds vocabulary but also deepens your connection to the language.
3. Watch Movies Start with kids’ cartoons for simpler vocabulary or dive into regular movies to challenge yourself. This practice improves your comprehension and exposes you to natural usage.
4. Read Books to Really Challenge Your Vocabulary Push your limits with books. Keep working with Link-King to reinforce your vocabulary. Link-King ensures you won’t forget words, helping you retain and expand what you’ve learned.
5. Transition to Output Once you can understand a significant amount of spoken and written language, start with low-pressure speaking opportunities: language exchanges, shadowing techniques, or repeating sentences aloud from what you’ve heard or read.
6. Practice with Purpose When you do start speaking, focus on accuracy and context. It’s better to form correct sentences slowly than to speak quickly with errors.

The Long Game

Fluency is a marathon, not a sprint. If you try to skip the foundational steps, you’ll find yourself stuck at a plateau, unable to progress past basic phrases. By prioritizing input and delaying output until you’re ready, you’ll save yourself time, frustration, and effort.

So, the next time someone tells you that speaking from day one is the fastest way to fluency, remember this:

Fluency isn’t about how soon you start speaking; it’s about how well you’ve prepared to speak.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to learn a language fast doesn’t mean cutting corners; it means choosing the right strategy. Language learning isn’t about impressing others with a few poorly strung-together sentences. It’s about building a deep, functional understanding of the language so you can communicate effectively and confidently. Embrace the silent period, immerse yourself in input, and trust the process. Fluency will come—and when it does, it will be worth the wait.

The post How to Learn a Language Fast – The Truth Behind the Myths appeared first on Link-King.

My language learning story began in September 2020 at the age of 27. At the time, I wasn’t exactly a language prodigy. Sure, I had studied French and Irish in high school, but I wouldn’t describe myself as particularly gifted in language learning. What I did have, however, was plenty of motivation.

I had fallen in love with a Brazilian woman, now my wife, and was planning to spend a significant amount of time in Brazil. To truly enjoy that time, I needed to speak the language. And to really thrive there, I wanted to speak it well.

The Early Days: Duolingo and Basic Conversations

When I began the Portuguese course on Duolingo, I was excited. I believed that if I worked hard enough to complete the course, I’d be fluent by the end. I committed to studying at least 30 minutes a day, often an hour. I completed the course quickly, but to my disappointment, I was far from fluent.

I could barely hold a one-on-one conversation and constantly needed explanations for words, limited by my small vocabulary. As of September 2023, Duolingo’s Portuguese course includes only about 2,855 words—not nearly enough for fluency! Worse, many of those words were given minimal focus and inefficient repetition.

When I first arrived in Brazil, I quickly realized that while Duolingo had helped, it wasn’t the magic solution I’d hoped for. I could hold basic one-on-one conversations if the person I was speaking with was patient enough. Gestures, pointing, and the occasional word guess became my best friends.

But let’s be honest—eking out simple sentences gets old fast. Group conversations? Forget about it. If I missed a critical word, I was either an inconvenience or unconsciously left out. Even after completing the course, I realized I needed something more to truly connect with people and thrive in Brazil.

A New Chapter: Discovering the Power of Reading

So, what’s the next step in a language learning story when apps aren’t enough? For me, it was reading. I couldn’t find any advanced resources that clicked, so I decided to challenge myself. Reading seemed logical—it lets you go at your own pace and exposes you to countless words in context.

I’m an avid reader in English, but reading in a second language is a completely different beast. Never one to shy away from a challenge, I picked a book from my list: The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm by Christopher Paolini. At first, I had to look up new words almost every sentence.

Even in our first language, reading plays a big role in building vocabulary, so why not apply the same principle? I believed that if I wanted to speak Portuguese as well as I speak English, I needed to read—and read a lot. Starting with something I was emotionally connected to, like The Inheritance Cycle, felt like the perfect way to ease into reading in Portuguese.

Struggles and Spreadsheets: My Secret to Retaining Words

Reading in Portuguese wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. At first, I’d only manage seven pages a day, translating nearly every sentence. Paolini’s rich vocabulary made it challenging, but the real hurdle was remembering all those new words.

To fix this, I started recording every unfamiliar word I came across in a spreadsheet. Each day, I spent 15 minutes reviewing those words before diving into 45 minutes (or more) of reading. While effective, this system quickly became cumbersome.

To make my process more efficient, I wrote macros for the spreadsheet. These simple programs helped me sort words based on when they were last studied and introduced a structured spaced repetition system. Here’s an article explaining the science behind spaced repetition, which ensures new words are reviewed at just the right intervals to stick. It worked incredibly well.

The Turning Point: Fluent Reading and Real Progress

By the time I reached my third book, my reading speed and confidence had improved dramatically. I had added over 2,000 lemmas to my vocabulary—a lemma being a base word, like “run,” which covers variations like “runs” and “running.”

By the time I finished The Inheritance Cycle, I was reading fluently, barely needing to look up words, and sometimes I’d get so into the story I’d read for hours.

Fast forward to today: I’ve completed 11 books in Portuguese and, according to my Kindle, have read over 1.5 million words in the language. Now, I can tackle challenging texts and understand words as obscure as headland (promontório), grimace (careta), and giblets (miúdos).

Building a Better System: The App That Changed Everything

While my spreadsheet worked well, it wasn’t perfect. Managing hundreds of words manually got overwhelming, so I developed a simple web app. By my third book, I had a tool that streamlined my studies and made vocabulary retention easier than ever.

Over the past year and a half, I’ve used the app to learn over 4,000 new lemmas. It not only reinforced my vocabulary but also allowed me to progress faster than I ever thought possible. My speaking skills have improved immensely, and I can now confidently participate in multiway conversations. I can attend doctor’s appointments with my wife and new baby and understand every word being said with ease.

Lessons Learned: Tips for Your Own Language Learning Story

If you’re starting your own language learning story, here’s my advice: focus on vocabulary first and worry less about grammar. Learn words in context by reading and listening. Apps like Duolingo are great for beginners, but to truly achieve fluency, you’ll need more tailored tools.

That’s where my app comes in. It’s the system that has made a huge difference in my language learning journey. It’s designed to help you retain vocabulary efficiently through structured spaced repetition—a method proven to enhance learning outcomes. Learn more about the science behind spaced repetition here. The best part? It’s free to download and the best it’s ever been.

Conclusion: Try the App for Yourself

My language learning story is far from over, but I’ve come a long way—and my app played a huge role in that. Today, I read fluently, engage in conversations with ease, and navigate life in Brazil confidently. If you want to take your own language learning to the next level, give my app a try.

Check out the app on the home page. It’s completely free and ready to help you on your journey.

The post My Language Learning Story appeared first on Link-King.

After finishing the course on Duolingo, I felt great, but not for long. Knowing some of the advanced conjugations felt impractical when I lacked the vocabulary of even a young child. While I had learned the basics of Portuguese, I was far from fluent. I couldn’t enjoy Portuguese media or follow complex conversations. It was frustrating. Many of the “best language apps for advanced learners” promise fluency but none of them deliver.

Determined to bridge the gap, I searched for something—anything—that could take my Portuguese to the next level. But I came up empty-handed. So, I decided to create the solution myself. That’s how LinkKing was born.

From Google Sheets to a Full-Blown App

In the beginning, I started reading in Portuguese. It was tough. Unknown words piled up faster than I could handle, and I quickly realized I needed a system to manage them. I began logging every new word into Google Sheets, creating a study tool for myself. Over time, I refined the system, making it more efficient and effective.

It worked so well that I thought, Why not share this idea with the world? That’s when the idea of LinkKing started to take shape. The goal was simple: help people expand their vocabulary quickly and efficiently, giving them the tools they need to immerse themselves in real-world media.

By October 2023, I was ready to take the leap and commit full-time to developing LinkKing into a functional app. I had some coding experience and a natural knack for it, but I was far from an expert. When I started, I didn’t even know that JavaScript and HTML were the basics of web development. I threw myself into learning, devouring Udemy courses—an excellent platform offering affordable courses on everything from web development to design—and working tirelessly. Learn more about Udemy By January, I had built a functional web app.

Creating a Tool for Advanced Learners

LinkKing focuses on what I believe is the most important aspect of language learning: vocabulary acquisition. Think about it. Even if you know every grammar rule, you’ll be lost without a broad vocabulary. You might have a perfect accent, but if you can’t understand half the words in a conversation, people will just think you’re clueless.

Now, imagine the reverse. Let’s say you don’t know much grammar, but you’ve been working with LinkKing and you have a huge vocabulary. Now you can follow even high-level conversations and enjoy books and movies. From there, grammar comes naturally through meaningful exposure. That’s the idea behind LinkKing: a simple yet powerful tool to help you build a strong foundation of vocabulary so you can learn the rest through immersion.

From Web to Mobile: Overcoming Challenges

While the web app was a great start, I wanted more. I wanted LinkKing to be truly outstanding. So, I decided to build a mobile app—despite having zero experience in mobile development. Did you know that over 84% of the global population has access to a mobile phone, 68% owns a smartphone, and approximately 59% have access to a computer? Source It was a steep learning curve, but I was determined. I’ve always been fascinated by software development, and this project gave me the perfect excuse to dive deeper.

The journey wasn’t easy. I worked tirelessly, learning everything I could about mobile development and figuring out how to turn my vision into reality. The result? A fast, effective, and user-friendly app that I’m incredibly proud of. Of course, the work never stops. There’s always room for improvement, and I’m constantly refining the app to make it even better.

The Real Challenge: Sharing LinkKing with the World

Developing LinkKing was tough, but marketing it has been an even bigger challenge. I’ve poured my heart and soul into this app, creating one of the best language apps for advanced learners. Now, I need to get it into the hands of people who need it most.

LinkKing isn’t just another language app. It’s a tool born from the frustration of unmet promises, the determination to bridge the gap in language learning, and a deep passion for creating something truly transformative. It’s for those who have mastered the basics and are ready to take their skills to the next level. Whether you’re trying to bridge the gap between beginner and fluent or looking for a better way to learn, LinkKing is here to help.

So, what are you waiting for? Give LinkKing a try and take your language learning to the next level!

Learn more

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The post The Story of LinkKing appeared first on Link-King.