My New Book: Frictionless Foreign Language Mastery
Yes, I'm coming out with my first book in a matter of weeks or months! The subject is not socionics, but I think many readers of my blog will find it interesting.
My book is about foreign language mastery — how to gain the most skills in the least time with the least effort and develop a sustainable long-term language mastery practice. As some readers may know, I have been speaking foreign languages for many years and have a near-native command of Russian. In total I speak 9 languages, and a typical day involves communication in 3-5 of these.
What's most interesting to me about the book, however, are the general principles that carry over to all kinds of skill acquisition and life changes. This is what really gets me excited. With the tools in the book you will be able to think critically about your efforts to learn a foreign language or any other skill or habit and make specific improvements to your method to make your practice more frictionless and rewarding (potent + fun).
The material in the book is 100% original and includes a theoretical apparatus that is intuitive and derived from 20 years of practice and observation. I go into depth on not often discussed subjects such as honing the physical technique of a skill (in this case sound articulation).
What makes my approach particularly practical is a simple algorithm (list of steps to be repeated over and over) for language learning that can take you from beginner all the way to near-native proficiency with no changes in the method itself. This is how I mastered Russian, and I now do this with all my languages except English.
The book was supposed to be under 150 pages, but it's growing to nearly 200.
I'll be self-publishing the book with a dedicated website and a print-on-demand option for those who want a hard copy. Some of these details remain to be determined.
If you want to be notified when the book comes out, let me know here in the comments, or send me a personal note, etc.
8 comments:
Hi Rick, love reading around the blog and as a foreign language student and teacher, I'd be keen on your new publication. your brief theoretical outline is something I'd like to explore more deeply.
cheers,
Hi Rick, I'm so glad I've recently found your blog. I am drawn to socionics and also am a foreign language teacher and student myself so I'd be very keen on reading your new book. The theory is piquing.
cheers,
Great to hear, Jason! I'm finishing up my book and will let you know when it's available in paper or electronic form.
I'd love to get my hands on a copy too, Rick. I'm currently looking for a good method to become fluent in Chinese, and yours sounds promising!
Great, Unknown. I've finished the first draft. As soon as it's ready I'll post an announcement.
Hi Rick, it's been a long time and I'm not sure you respond to this site any more but did you complete your book and how can I get a copy?
DC, books tend to take longer to write than planned :) Believe it or not, but I recently finished my 4th draft. Now I am creating a 20-page booklet with the main actionable directives and basic ideas. Both will be ready "soon." I'll keep you in mind.
Check out my new site http://www.frictionlessmastery.com/ and sign up for notifications.
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