People always learned this way
You’ve already done this onceAges 0 to 5You learned your first language, grammar and all, from the talk around you, with no rules, no tests and no flashcards.
Ten seasons of Friends, no classesSeoul, the 2000sA generation of K-pop idols learned English from one sitcom, watched with Korean subtitles, then English, then none.
English before the first lessonFlanders, 2020Belgian ten-year-olds know hundreds of English words before their first lesson, picked up from games, videos and TV.
Stories beat grammar, two to oneFiji, 1980Fijian classes given storybooks learned English twice as fast as classes drilled in grammar, and stayed ahead for two years.
Sixteen languages, no textbooksBudapest, 1944Kató Lomb learned sixteen languages, each from a novel she couldn’t yet read. The Russian one she read in a cellar under siege during WW2.
From no English to Heart of DarknessAt sea, 1878Joseph Conrad learned English at sea in his twenties, kept a Polish accent all his life, and wrote Heart of Darkness in it.
Adults can learn faster than kidsThe Netherlands, 1978Adults who moved to the Netherlands learned Dutch faster than young children all year. Teenagers were fastest of all.
Ten meetings and a word is yoursWebb, 2007Meet a word about ten times in real sentences and you know its meaning, its spelling and how to use it.
Read and listen, remember moreWebb & Chang, 2015Read a story while you hear it read and you learn more of its words, and still know them three months later.
Forty-nine studies agreeJeon & Day, 2016Across forty-nine studies, people who read a lot in a new language got measurably better at reading it.
How many words you really needNation, 2006The 2,000 most common words are about four fifths of any book. A novel takes 8,000 to 9,000, and stories get you there.
Listening counts as readingRogowsky, Calhoun & Tallal, 2016Adults given a book as text, as audio, or both understood it equally well, right after and two weeks later.
Babies crack a language in minutesSaffran, Aslin & Newport, 1996Eight-month-olds pick out the words of a made-up language after two minutes of hearing it. Nobody taught them.
How diplomats get fluent fastForeign Service InstituteThe US Foreign Service trains diplomats all day in small classes, and gets them to Spanish in about 30 weeks and Japanese in 88.
Grammar comes secondTomasello, 2003Children build grammar from the sentences they hear, not from rules.
Books in Portuguese
Browse Portuguese books →
A Última MoradaPortugueseLevel 6Thriller
— Para onde vamos? — perguntou Artur, enquanto o relógio do painel marcava vinte e uma e trinta e sete.
A feira de AnaPortugueseLevel 1Slice of life
Hoje é dia de feira, e Ana precisa de dinheiro.
A Linha BrancaPortugueseLevel 5Sports
No balneário do Estrela do Cais, Leonor apertou a fita que lhe prendia o ombro direito.
Duas chávenasPortugueseLevel 1Slice of life
Rui está na casa de chá, como todos os dias.
A Mesa de São PauloPortugueseLevel 1Humor
Hoje a família está em casa, em São Paulo.
A saída da negativaPortugueseLevel 4Martial arts
O Pátio da Figueira ficava atrás de uma casa estreita, numa rua de Salvador.
A letra no papelPortugueseLevel 6Historical fiction
Na noite de Novembro, Mariana subiu a Rua do Poço Escuro com os sapatos molhados e a saia presa numa mão.
O café já pagoPortugueseLevel 5Mystery
Às oito da manhã, a chuva batia na montra do Café da Janela, numa rua de Lisboa.
O último autocarroPortugueseLevel 2Romance
Hoje é o último dia de Inês naquele trabalho.
Uma palavra por diaPortugueseLevel 1Slice of life
Maria está junto da água, em Rio, com uma mesa e cocos.
A Estrela TortaPortugueseLevel 6Crime
A música da festa chegava abafada ao armazém, misturada com o som das ondas contra o cais.
O AlienistaPortugueseClassic
Machado de Assis1882
aloglot
/ˈæl.ə.ɡlɑt/AL-uh-glot
- 1n.noun A person who speaks a language other than their mother tongue.
- 2adj.adjective Speaking a non-native language.
- 3n.noun You!
Origin
French alloglotte, from Greek ἄλλος “other” and γλῶσσα “tongue”.
Compare to polyglot “speaker of many languages”.
Why stories, not flashcards?
You’ll want to study
Books about whatever you’re into
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Alo, a patient AI speaking partner
It actually works
Knowing phrases beats memorizing rules
Key words keep coming back in context
Reading, listening, speaking, AND writing
It fits with a class
Extra practice anytime, judgment free
Grammar lessons become instinct
Turn this week’s lesson into a story