Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 5,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
Fluent In 3 Months summary
Benny Lewis
Tips and Techniques to Help You Learn Any Language
13 mins
Table of Contents
Fluent In 3 Months
summarized in 6 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 6
Language learning success means overcoming prevailing myths, ditching vague plans and setting realistic goals.
Mastering any new skill is difficult, whether it’s web design or roller skating. But the idea of learning a new language tends to fill people with absolute dread. Why?
For starters, there are plenty of language-learning myths that prevent lots of people from even attempting to learn a new language. One of these myths is that learning multiple languages is beyond the ability of some people; in other words, children of monolingual parents are simply not genetically suited to becoming polyglots. People often trot out this excuse when learning a new language proves difficult.
But while such ideas can be off-putting or discouraging, they are myths that buckle under scrutiny.
Just take societies across the world, from Canada to Switzerland, where speaking multiple languages is the norm. Surely, people in Switzerland don’t have some special language-learning gene that other people lack.
Nonetheless, when people are continuously confronted with myths like this, they start to believe them. As a result, they give up before they’ve really tried. In this way, myths can derail your language learning goals – but so can vague plans.
A vague plan like, “I’m going to learn Spanish” is daunting. After all, learning a new language from scratch is a huge undertaking. One way around this is to set specific tasks that contribute to a realistic goal, thereby giving yourself a sense of accomplishment.
To do so, start by deciding how fluent you need to be. If your goal is to speak with native speakers without straining, aim to reach level B1 or A2 in three months. But if you just want to be able to order food in a restaurant, A1 is probably sufficient.
Once you’ve set your long-term goal, break it into steps. For example, you might make a commitment to yourself to spend at least two hours a day on language learning.
After you’ve overcome debilitating myths and have set realistic goals, you’ll be ready to broaden your vocabulary. Next, you’ll find out how to learn lots of new words – and fast.
Want to see all full key ideas from Fluent In 3 Months?
Key ideas in Fluent In 3 Months
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is Fluent In 3 Months about?
Fluent In 3 Months (2014) is a guide to mastering any language in record time. These blinks are full of useful methods to help you learn a new language efficiently and effectively. They debunk traditional forms of language learning, offer actionable strategies to get you speaking today and will set you on the road to being multilingual.
Best quote from Fluent In 3 Months
Language-learning has truly changed my life, and it opened up doors for me in ways I cannot even begin to describe.
—Benny Lewis
Who should read Fluent In 3 Months?
- Frequent travelers and anyone else who wants to learn a new language
- Readers who are moving to a new country
- Anyone who has given up on mastering a second language
Categories with Fluent In 3 Months
Books like Fluent In 3 Months
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked
Start growing with Blinkist now
26 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers