An Amazing Method For Developing Fluency In A Language By Yourself | My Interview Method 

Funny. I’m part of a Spanish language exchange that I joined when I moved to a new city. Part of introducing myself was telling the story of how I moved there, my new job, some complications with my family staying in the old town. About six weeks in, a Chilean visited the group, and I gave him the story. He told me how fluent I sounded in Spanish. I said, “well, I’ve been telling this story for weeks!”

This is an introvert’s dream

I've been doing something similar. It's fun and it's powerful and it's become my main output practice. Here are a couple of tweaks you could consider adding: 1) I create a "mood board" around the question, using a whiteboard app. This contains all the unfamiliar vocab, colocations & idioms I've gathered as the topic evolves. I make it visual, using images clipped from the web. Then I can use this as a prompt when I review the topic on a spaced-learning schedule or use it in a Skype conversation. The visual layout draws on the power of locus to help cement the vocabulary. 2) I video myself as I speak. If you're anything like me, this creates a level of stress that helps replicate the stress of a real face-to-face conversation. If I can be fluent in front of a webcam, I can probably do it anywhere!

OMG I do this too and I've always thought that was kinda weird ahah I don't always do an interview, though. One of my favorite methods is what we could call 'the spilling the tea method': sometimes I make up a whole story/telenovela in my mind and then I like to pretend like I'm meeting a friend and I just start gossiping and telling them about that story. It sounds silly, but it's quite useful if I do it everyday for like a week or two for all the reasons that you've mentioned. I'm glad I'm not alone over here :) Great video!

This reminds me of a classroom technique that Paul Nation talks about called "4 3 2" in which one speaks on a (relatively mastered) topic for four minutes, then talks again on the same subject but for just three min, then again just for two min. He pitches it as fluency development because of the time constraint challenging someone to be quicker and more fluid. I think this mock interview technique pushes a lot of the same buttons! I suspect it'd be useful to sometimes do the exercise but, following Nation, to put a shortening time constraint over the course of days!

This is actually a great idea. Learning my 5th language, Spanish, and I'll start doing this today. Thank you.

I got no idea what brought me to your channel, this is absolutely my first time watching a video of yours, and let me tell you your video is inspiring, I've done a similar technique to yours when I first began learning English, which was basically imagining having unreal conversations in my mind with different people in different situations, but also putting much emphasis on the accent I prefer which's The British Accent. I have never been to England, I rarely had the opportunity to practice speaking with real people and what I did was only mimic those who speak in films, youtube videos like yours, ensuring at the beginning that they were all British! And guess what? Just three days ago, a lecturer who happens to be lived & studied in London for several years and after exchanging questions and answers, he complimented my accent in front of the audience, not only this, but he came up to me and asked me where did I learn English and I told him I'm an autodidact and he was like Are you sure?, it was like I got an Emmy Award or A Nobel Prize, I felt euphoric. And watching this particular video in this particular time of my life is weird though, your words made me realise that this could be a message from God, I hint I that I should continue, reflect on my next steps and make decisive decisions about the languages I'm planning to learn. You see, whilst I was watching your video my uncle called and kept trying convincing me to learn Geman, I assume then, I should give this language chance and put a plan for it! Though I prefer leaning Japanese. Thank you for sharing this. you really are great. wish me luck.

Thank you for your videos!!! You're a lifesaver for introvert language learners

I usually compare two things for instance : "what taste better , coffee or tea", "why?"

Okay this is F*CKING BRILLIANT. Seriously amazing idea. I’ve been studying languages since middle school (I’m 30 now) and this is one of the best pieces of advice/techniques I’ve ever seen! Thank you for sharing this and for all your other videos as well!

This is definitely your best video yet!! (of course, I think that with every video you make) And that blue cup is my favorite. Thanks for this great video!

Your advice is always so helpful and encouraging!

Such a practical idea! Can’t wait to start. Thanks.

I am so glad I found your channel! It has been a huge inspiration to me! I think what is important is having fun with the language. You have demonstrated that in your approaches to whatever language you are learning. I think people need permission to do things by themselves first, and there is a lot you can do by yourself in a language! I am shy in my native language, ; ), so knowing other people are making progress by themselves in a different language is very inspiring. Thanks!

I love this opening song and soundtrack! I have to admit! You do speak German. I always say that human contact is crucial in language learning. From now on I will have to say “human contact is crucial unless you do like Robin MacPherson” hehe great video buddy!

Such a good idea Robin! Thanks a lot

Amazing video, Robin. I am definitely going to use this technique. I'm happy to be a part of your subscriber explosion -- less than a week ago you had 5K fewer than now!

I can always understand almost a hundred percent of your speech, thanks a lot for your help in my learning process. I'm a native Spanish speaker trying to learn English and French. Best regards from Mexico.

Thank you so much for this video! I was already beginning to talk to myself a lot, but this is such a great idea and I’m going to try it.

You've provided a lot of value sir. Thank you so much for helping me on my fluency journey ❤

I really appreciate your incredible work on the language. I crave watching your YT videos. I take all the advice of you to develop myself. your videos are totally different I couldn't come across especially on this topic. for me, it is very useful. thanks a lot. love you, Robin.

Man i love your content, thanks for share your methods. I practice my listening hearing you everyday

Thanks Robin, Repeating the same question all week is a very inspiring idea. I did it every day with the changing subject. It didn't work at all ... Your experience and enthusiasm give us the strength to try again ... Thanks a lot for this ... !!!

Thank you for your sharers! Merci ! I love your mindset !! I'll test this method for sure !

THANK YOU, Robin. More please.

This is so simple and yet so effective! I did a speaking challenge a few months ago that was similar and I found I became much more fluid and comfortable in my languages. But I like your idea of practicing the same question over and over as I do indeed struggle with unscripted speech. Also that coffee set-up is fantastic! I don't even start studying until I've sat down with a nice fresh cup of coffee ☕☕😁 Thanks for all the practical advice!

man, you're methods just resonate with me

Some really good suggestions, thanks for the share.

Super interesting. This podcast interview method is really cool. I’m going to start tomorrow! Thank you 😊

Such an amazing method,thanks Robin

Your videos are so informative and helpful that I have to save them for later watch and find your other videos and watch them all. Thank you very much for your hard work

Very nice! I'll try to do it in my english studying I really loved this tip

Wow this is a great idea, I’m going to start doing this!

Was für eine schöne Idee! Danke sehr!

Wow! Thank you very much for sharing!

I love this idea! Thanks so much for sharing. Will definitely be signposting my students to your page. :)

Currently learning Dutch and Russian right now this helped a lot thanks! Bedankt! Спасибо!

In all my years of learning this is something new.

Thank you very much Robin, with this video I have learned more than in my school. I from Peru. I love your content

i do this too but i've never thought of asking the same question all week, that's so helpful!!!!!

I'm so glad I found your channel, I'm learning English and your videos has helped me a lot, thanks!

Great idea! Thank you!

Amazing. I got here when you were at 14k subscribers. And that was what, like ten days ago? Parabéns, amigo!!

This video was the best gift for my learning career. I really appreciate your help. A new fan from Algeria🇩🇿 🙂

Thank you! Sounds like an amazing method! Can't wait to try it. Also, an additional good idea would be to record yourself so you'll be able to hear it afterwards and correct accent for next times. If you work with notion for maintaining the words / phrases you don't know, you can also embed the audio in the same page!

Very good advise Robin. Another good way to practice self-expression daily is to describe your day, at the end of the day, in a diary. While you´re writing you should say what you´er jotting down. With a diary you can compare progress across time...after a couple of months you´ll see clearly how your own way of expressing things has improved and how you have naturally adapted to the language with time. It´s a huge motivation booster ...and what you write down is not scripted either.

Loved the idea🤩

Thanks a lot for this man, it’s awesome and extremely helpful!!

Thank you, I will practice this. enjoy your coffee!

This is terrific advice. Thank you very much sir.

This is genius and helps with continuous progress of learning a language by yourself 🙏🏼 ☺️

That's interesting. From experience, I know it actually works. I used to do something similar when I first started speaking spanish, trying to just introduce myself, and I was able to see that not only you learn more complexed ways to say what you want and new vocabulary by updating the story, but also you get more comfortable speaking. I think it's time to start doing it again, this time as Robin said, changing "interview questions" every week.

This is such a brilliant idea, kudos man

This is absolutely brilliant 😁 I am definitely going to do this. Thank you so much

Not language related, but I love your coffee setup. Respect to anyone who has the commitment to putting a La Marzocco (with wood grain finish) in their kitchen.

This is the exact reason I do a lot of listening to interviews for listening practice 🙃 naturally I also put myself in the position of the person being interviewed and trying to put together answers for myself

Mistakes are necessary , we must accept them . Great video Robin . When I used to walk my dog, I learned my conjugations whilst he was bounding across the fields after a pheasant or a rabbit maybe. And I used to have such conversations with myself. It's a very useful tool, thanks muchly for reminding me to use it.

I habe been doiing this all my life. It works perfectly for me

Hey there I hope you're doing well 😊 actually I have been using this method for 2 years now and I'd be happy to try your framework !

Excellent idea! I will definitely try it

Wow, Robin, I love the new techie parts of this video! I noticed that this incorporates the use of "language islands", which I learned about from watching your channel. 😃 I wonder if it's better to be beyond beginner to try this (I think so), so not yet for me. This is an interesting and very helpful video! 💕 ❤️

Loved this video!!! Your advice is definitely some of the best.

I started doing this already. it removes the anxiety when you eventually speak to a live person because that initial emptiness you get when you feel like you do not have the words, you experience that in the comfort of your home without the embarrassment. It is also amazing how fluent you are by the end of the week. Thanks for the video

I'm learning English, and this will help me a lot .

I love these videos!

Thanks a lot for the vid! 👍

Wonderful advice here!

I actually started doing this recently because I've been listening to some Cantonese podcasts. It wasn't with the intention to practice my Cantonese though, I just tend to day dream a lot sometimes and pretend that I'm interesting enough to be a podcast guest. 🙈 Good to know that it's a good language practicing method since I"ve been getting pretty rusty.

Thank you! I improve my English and learn Franch, so your video give me motivation!

Diese Methode klingt wirklich interessant! Ich werde das probierien werden, vor allem in den kommenden Tagen. Seit neun Monaten habe ich Deutsche gelernt und...

Great advice! Thank#!

Hi Robin! Thank you so much for sharing this awesome method. Actually l discovered it by myself quite recently, of course with a bit of difference from yours. Anyway, l got from you lots of information that hopefully will help me to improve my fluency and fix the bugs of my approach to this moment. Greetings from Russia. Have a nice day!

That's actually such a good idea, thanks a lot! I will start that exercise on monday with spanish and see how it goes :) And a video where you use the method for a week or longer would be very interesting to see, as well! (as a german, I'm also impressed by the speaking skills you developed by youself, we know it's a difficult language :D)

I love this so much. It feels like you've stripped the process of learning to speak to its core, and made it really easy to practice without having to travel to another country or deal with complicated language exchanges. Is there a list of "interview questions" that you recommend? Probably makes sense to hit the main things people talk about - work, family, school, hobbies, favorite books and music - but wondering if you have a list of topics with the depth of your coffee question (6:44). Really nice how your coffee question has a lot of meat to it.

Currently brushing up on my mandarin and trying to pick up German!:)

After 5 years of failing to figure out what was keeping my Spanish fluency back, this is basically the same method that I started using after reframing and reanalyzing the issue. But I only started doing it a few weeks ago, and I basically use random essay prompts instead, even if they’re really outside my comfort zone. I deliberately force myself to create an opinion, sometimes starting in English first because it’s drastically easier to formulate my opinions in English. And I do think it works, but I haven’t done it for long enough to see the results yet. But seeing that it has worked for you, it makes me excited for the future of my Spanish fluency. Thank you for confirming what I had hypothesized. 😄

Just found this video (amongst your massive library), am about to try this right now! ^_^

WOW, WOW...WOW!. I need this. Thank you sooo much!.

Right now i'm learning german A2 and working on my english fluency that was helpfull thank you

Hi Robin! I'm trying to improve my English speaking and writing skills and you help me a lot. Thank you very much! This can be a difficult process when you don't have a native speaker for practising the language. Congratulation for your great job! ;)

Great idea !

Beneidenswert sind besonders die vielfaeltigen Satzkonstruktionen und natuerlich die Aussprache. Viel Erfolg weiterhin! Mīt herzlichen Gruessen - eine ehemalige Germanistiksudentin, jetzt Englischlehrerin

Thank you, Robin. This is fascinating. I will try this and get back to you.During COVID-19, it’s impossible to go talk to German speakers, so I am alone. Definitely will try this method!!!😃😃😃😃😃

sper helpful video. Hope many see this.

Great tips! It reminds me of the time I was learning English, constantly making up virtual conversations in my mind. I love that you give each topic a week so that you have enough time to build your vocabulary and set phrases to gain confidence.

Awesome method!

Excellent tip, Robin, as always! Looking forward to Friday's video, of course... *looks up how to say "connective tissue" in French*

Love this technique because it reinforces a practice that I came up with on my own. I write out conversations I would like to have with my brother who is fluent in Spanish. I look up the words that I don't know and I check the grammar in Google. The thing I haven't done is to practice variations of the conversation nor do I speak it out loud. What I like about this technique is that hopefully my Spanish won't be so slow and broken that we switch to English at the first sign of distress.

It's a waY of creating "language islands," areas of comfort that you can speak easily in because you prepared for them.

Hi Robin! cool method, once i get a little more into my russian I definitely will try it!! By the way, you should record yourself applying the method, it would be great! C u on Friday!!

"Crazy idea" and that's the beauty of it.

Yet to actually watch the video but just wanted to say I am SO HAPPY that your subscriber count has exploded! Been watching you since around the 2k mark and it's great to see your channel doing well :D Congrats, Robin!

Happy wednesday! I was waiting for your video (since this morning) but I had to work ...hahaha ... Gracias por este nuevo tip, te felicito por tu progreso en alemán, espero poder tener mas tiempo para desarrollar la fluidez que necesito en este bello idioma... have a good night!

You are so great 👌❤

I have been talking to myself when I'm alone pretty much my whole life. I never understood why would someone find that uncomfortable. Sure, others sometimes think that I'm a lunatic if they hear me, but who cares.

I stopped watching this video to go to your German video. I was so impressed! I now want to work on that level of confidence. PS Native German speaker

nice format - sounds interesting. Do you have any other podcast recommendations?

If you like to sing in the shower, try singing in your target language. You can find simple songs with videos on RU-vid with or without lyrics in your native language. One of my go-to German songs is "Geile Zeit" by Juli.

Very nice 👍👍

I actually do this lol. I tell people that I talk to myself but I don't ever go in depth lol.However, I pretend that I am a celebrity ( Actor, Singer ...usw und sofort). So, on the days when no one is home to interrupt, I dress up and put a little bit of makeup on (Yes. Gotta make it believable 😁 ) and talk about my lastest single or a new roll that i'm playing in a movie 😂. I also talk about the people who inspire me or like Rihanna for example. She is from Barbados (my home land) and she is major!