“Sharpen your saw before you cut the wood”

Welcome to episode #007 of The Broughton English Show, where I talk to the best teachers, learners and motivators of the English learning world to give you the best tips, tricks and techniques to help you learn, practise and master English on your own.

Today’s guest is Ash Golestani, a London-born Oxford University graduate who came to Madrid six months ago with the intention of staying for just two. He fell in love with Spanish culture and the language, and decided to start his career and life in Madrid. Starting with almost no Spanish, he has since become a proficient Spanish speaker in just six months. He shares his language learning story and spills the beans on the techniques he uses to self-study and how he went from zero to advanced Spanish in such a short time. Listen and learn! More details and his recommended resources and books are in the show notes below.

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Show Notes

• Ash talks about his studies, his arrival in Madrid and how he started his learning journey.
• He talks about how he tries to systematise the language learning process to make it as efficient and effective as possible. He tries new techniques all the time, makes the most of the ones that work and replaces the ones that don’t work by trying and implementing new ones.
• He finds the software and resources he uses through Google searches and by speaking to other language learners for recommendations.
• Ash explains how he improves and works on his memory and recall to expand his vocabulary. He recommends a book which you can find in the recommended books section below.
• We discuss the importance of getting a strong foundation in a language which you can then build on. This language foundation is one of the most important aspects of language learning as it’s the thing on which everything else you learn will depend as you progress.
• Don’t learn general language; learn specific language. Identify the language you want and need and put a priority on learning this vocabulary and grammar.
• We talk about how much time you should spend every day practising English, and how to allocate and divide the time you spend on practising key vocabulary and grammar. The take-home? As opposed to spending a long time practising one skill, spend shorter amounts of time practising multiple skills to get the best results.
• A lack of desire and systematic learning is what Ash says makes many English learners fail to reach their language learning goals.
• We talk about the importance of daily habits and learning a language with the idea of using it.

Recommended resources

• fluentu.com
• Duolingo
• Reverso context
• Linguee
• Anki – The programme which makes remembering things easy

Recommended books

• Tony Buzan – Use Your memory
• Stephen Covey – The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People