Topic- "Language Islands - A Learning Method

What is your own favourite language learning method? Has this changed as you became better in the new language?

About this Event

The City Cross Food Court is quiet at 6:30 pm every second Friday evening when we meet there. This makes talking easy and relaxed. Each time there is a different topic with 10 talking points to help with ideas. Find us: look for a black yoga ball on the table. For more details see the Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1678127882281980 . The organizer is Thor May, dGhvcm1heSB8IHlhaG9vICEgY29t . See you soon :)

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Language Islands - A Learning Method 3 October 2025

Recommended video: Mikel | Hyperpolyglot (16 Sept 2025) "How to learn 100 words a day and not forget them" @

=> comment: This guy is a European language trainer. He actually means 100 sentences or phrases in one day from some "language island" (a useful topic). All the sentences should be spoken each day and at least five times over the following a week, then tailing off the repetitions over the subsequent weeks. You might agree or disagree with this approach - needs are different at different learning stages.

Talking Points

1. Repetition is one way to tell our brains that something is worth remembering. What is your view about repetition in language learning.

2. What is your own favourite language learning method? Has this changed as you became better in the new language?

3. Billions of people speak more than one language. A large part of the world's population is bi- or multi-lingual. How do they do it? Hundreds of millions of people have also failed to learn another language, especially in schools. What goes wrong?

4. It is known in America that at least 95% of students who begin a classroom foreign language program never learn to speak the new language. What is the reason for this failure, in your opinion?

5. The whole of any language is so enormous that it is impossible to "swallow" in one bite. The idea of language islands is to choose one topic which is very useful for you and to learn sentences and phrases to help you talk about that island. Later you can expand to other islands. How useful do you think this method is? What might be some problems?

6. Maybe the most popular language learning method at the moment is called "comprehensible input". (Learning methods are like clothes fashions. They go in and out of favour). The idea of CI is that you can become fluent almost entirely by listening/watching rather than speaking, but you should first understand at least 80% of what you are listening to. What do you think of this theory?

7. How do you think a foreign language teacher should best teach to be most useful to her students?

8. Create a study plan of "language islands" for yourself. The first islands should start from your survival needs, while later islands can expand to give you an ability to talk about wider issues of interest or professional need.

9. A language exchange is when you share your 1st language with a learner, while they offer you time in their native language. Sometimes this works, but sometimes it fails too. What can go wrong? How can a Lx exchange be made to work?

10. What do you think your present level of English is? What do measures like IELTS 1 to 9, or the European framework of A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 actually mean? What do they fail to measure?

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