Start Speaking Any Language in 7 Days A Review of Conversation Countdown

Start Speaking Any Language in 7 Days A Review of Conversation Countdown Start Speaking Any Language in 7 Days: A Review of Conversation Countdown Spoiler alert:  Conversation Countdown got me up and running with a new language (German) pretty darn fastâ€"within one week, as promisedâ€"and Im actually excited to share the results.My inner cynic is slightly disappointed that I have so little to complain about.Ive followed and enjoyed the Fluent in 3 Months blog for a while, but Ill admit that I was still quite skeptical when I started hearing about Conversation Countdown.  The basic idea is to go from zero to conversant in a mere week.Like, really, conversant in seven days?  This instantly had me thinking, too good to be true.When I studied Spanish, I was in a classroom for a good six or seven years before I ever talked to a native speakerâ€"I grew up in a rural area with few native speakers around. When I studied Japanese, I had my nose in a textbook for at least three months before traveling to Japan.After all, isnt that how you need to start learning any language? Dont you need lots of formal study to build foundations? After my week with Conversation Countdown, I can decisively say: no, close your textbook and start talking right now.The best part? Until Saturday, November 24th, 2018,  The Black Friday Language Learners Collection is offering a bundle of the following FI3M (Fluent in 3 Months) products for only $197:Bennys Bootcamp ($297 value + bonuses)FI3M Premium ($97 value)Conversation Countdown ($97 value)My Complete Easy Languages Package  ($234 value)This is a total value of $899, for just $197, or 75% of a reduction.In other words, if youve been thinking about trying out any products from Fluent in 3 Months, nows the time to go for it.Also, the links in this post are affiliate links, so by purchasing the above product, youll be supporting our efforts to keep bringing you top-notch language learning content on the FluentU blogs. What Is the Value of Conversation Countdown?This is the main question folks have about the programâ€"what can it possibly do for me?â€"and the answer cant be simpler. The purpose of Conversation Countdown is to have you carrying a legit conversation with a native speaker in your target language  within one week.  It does go a little deeper than that, as Benny points out two other solid objectives:Get over the speaking hump.  Its kind of like that Mark Twain quote about eating a live frog first thing in the morningâ€"you get over that challenging, intimidating idea of speaking your native language out loud in front of other people, and everything else is downhill from there.Start learning on the right foot.  This program is meant to build good habits right from the start, and it is meant to give you momentum to continue learning long-term.Start Speaking Any Language in 7 Days: A Review of Conversation CountdownIs Conversation Countdown Right for You?Alright, so Ive already dropped a mini-spoiler aboveâ€"this seven-day plan freaking works. However, its designed for a very particular audience, and it has a very specific set of goals in mind.First of f, its not built for intermediate and advanced speakers.  If youre in the intermediate to advanced stages of learning, have a wide vocabulary at your disposal and have already had conversations in your target language, then you should probably waltz over to the FI3M Premium program instead.  FI3M  Premium is the recommended follow-up to Conversation Countdown, and is loaded with an insane amount of language learning resources, including exclusive interviews with famous polyglots, massive resource guides and more wisdom from the man, Benny Lewis himself.You could try the Conversation Countdown program, but youll fly through at a rapid paceâ€"and you wont gain much language knowledge, youll primarily get a boost forwards with your speaking practice. If youre an intermediate learner who has always shied away from speaking with natives, this program will help get you up and running with a fruitful language exchange.All right, so if youre still with me at this point and havent gone to ch eck out FI3M  Premium, then its probably safe to say youre a complete newbie or early-stage beginner. Maybe youve never even attempted  to learn a language thus far, or maybe youve tried and failed. Perfect! Keep reading, please.If the following sounds like you, then youll want to give this program a try:You think youre bad at languages and nothing works for you.  This program starts out by busting tons of language learning myths. It smashes false, negative thoughts that prevent you from learning right from the get-go.Then youll learn that its  okay to suck.  You might need to take long pauses and deep breaths. You might need to throw out words here and there without forming any sentences. Youll need to laugh at yourself and lose your perfectionist streak. This doesnt mean youre bad at anythingâ€"this is all part of the learning process!Youre traveling abroad soon and you dont speak the language  at all.  If your flight is leaving sometime next week and youve procrastinated looking at a phrasebook, this program can save your butt.Youll get the direction you need to pick up the absolute most useful phrases in the language. Youll learn how to talk about yourself and cobble together a conversation. Youll also have a coach (none other than Benny Lewis) pushing you towards meeting, greeting and chatting with a native speaker faster than youd think is possible.Youve just begun learning a language solo.  When youre learning solo, you lack the interactive elements and the feedback that students in classrooms receive from their teachers and peers. This isnt just a program, this is an introduction to a helpful, positive, upbeat community of language learners.Youre a beginner who hasnt gotten much speaking practice yet.  Lets say youve already started learning and have some phrases under your belt. While this program is mainly designed to have you start at  zero, and youll probably be more prepared than the other learners here on day one, Conversation Countdown will defi nitely get you started speakingâ€"with confidence!Youre terrified to speak in your target language, or you think youre not ready to speak yet.  Oh man, you definitely need to try this. Sign up, and prepare to enter the no excuse zone. Youll see just how much you can accomplish with awkwardness and Tarzan speakâ€"where you throw out words and dont worry about full sentences or perfect grammar.Youve never spoken with a native speaker.  Im willing to bet theres a reason why you havent spoken with a native yet. Perhaps youre intimidated by those language exchange sites filled with talented polyglots. Perhaps youre embarrassed or worried youll sound silly. These anxious thoughts will be set aside once and for all.The Principles of Conversation CountdownAs with any top-notch learning program, there are some strong foundations that youll keep coming back to. This program is built on some really interesting principles, ones that you might not expect.Mini Missions â€" The first step is to br eak things down into discrete, manageable goals. This program will get you in the habit of setting clear, achievable goals for yourself every day.So, rather than being totally overwhelmed by the huge, long-term goal of I want to be fluent in Arabic, youll learn how to wake up each morning and make a goal you can handle, like I will learn to give a 1-minute introduction of myself in Arabic today or I will have a 30-minute conversation in Arabic. Every time you achieve a goal, youll be able to measure your progress, see tangible success and feel proud of yourself.Pressure/Excitement â€" When you think of the word countdown, where does your mind go? You probably hear a booming voice ominously counting 3, 2, 1 before something big happens. You might imagine some kind of powerful space shuttle engine revving up, or the tension of a sprinter about to bolt at lightning speed down a track. That tension, that pressure, that excitement is exactly what feeds this program.You dont give yourself time to rest and recover between sessionsâ€"youre supposed to keep at the studying for one hour per day, in these first 7 daysâ€"and you certainly dont  shy away from any task that Benny lays out in front of you.Feedback â€" Far too many solo-learners take the solo thing too seriously. In Conversation Countdown, Benny will give you the tools, guidance, community support and pep talks you need to start receiving feedback and encouragement from fellow learners and native speakers alike.What to Expect, Based On My Experience with Conversation CountdownDuring Days 1-3:  Start TalkingOn day one, my first email has arrived. I open it up and am promised a life-changing weekâ€"okay, Im psyched for anything with the potential to kick-start learning.The program mashes Bennys explanations, anecdotes and pep talks with resources from other top language learning websites. He gives you an assignment and leaves it up to you.In these first days, youll find yourself relying a lot on Bennys recommen ded phrasebook with audio clips from Omniglot. The phrasebook-audio combo is challenging for languages with very different alphabets and sounds, I will say. The audio runs fastâ€"at native pace!â€"but I suppose the whole point here is to get acquainted to the actual, authentic language that natives speak.Depending on the language you choose, you may find a variety of expressions presented in various dialects and degrees of formality, which can be tricky to choose from (Should I say the informal version of the phrase, and which informal version is more natural-sounding? Are they both okay?) But Bennys mantra is to make mistakes fearlessly and embrace your errors  as learning opportunities.So, now that you know what tool youll be using, what are Bennys assignments  like?Days 1, 2 and 3  get you speaking straightaway.  Well, I certainly did that! In these first three days, youll end up recording and uploading two videos to share with fellow learners on Fluent in 3 Months.  Despite bein g a card-carrying resident of the internet, Ive actually never uploaded a video anywhere before (excluding video messages to friends and family) so this was a leap for me.  The punch of anxiety I got helped me to practice my phrases numerous times and feel more prepared when recording. It worked! Without that extremely short deadline, I never would have accomplished that goal of saying my first introductions out loud in German.Along the way, the comments youll get on  Fluent in 3 Months  will give you a happy little boost of confidence.Right off the bat, I felt like  the program was drilling  some excellent language learning habits into me,  including:Learning independentlyIdentifying high-quality resources like dictionaries, phrasebooks and translation toolsSetting and keeping daily goalsStaying positive and confidentDays 4-7:  Gain MomentumDays 4 through 7 is where things start to get real. Benny starts to wean you off of the circle of learners on the Fluent in 3 Months  community , and starts pushing you towards actual, honest-to-goodness  language exchanges.Youll need to sign up on a language exchange site, locate possible language exchange partners and write them messages to introduce yourself and describe your interest in conversationâ€"all in your target language.Oh yeah, and its all going to culminate in your first conversation with a native.Dont worry though, each day will have you learning and practicing more vocabulary. Each day requires you to build your language knowledge in order to prepare for great conversation. Youll be chatting with fellow language learners to exchange fun study ideas.Beyond Day 7: Realize Youre AddictedLuckily, the fun doesnt grind to a halt at Day 7. I was pleasantly surprised to spot Day 8 and Day 9 emails to follow up on my progress, give me suggestions for the future and pep talk me a little bit more.At this point, dont be surprised if you dont even need a pep talk anymore. Im willing to bet youll be very satisfied with t he progress youve made so far and youll have tons of momentum to keep going forward.Whats next?Well, hopefully youve already gifted yourself access to the whole Black Friday Language Learners Collection. Id recommend starting with Conversation Countdown, then jumping over to the  FI3M  Premium program and learning e-books  to prepare you to reach the intermediate and advanced levels of learning.As for me, Im going for a drive around town with those old German audio-lesson CDs Ive had laying around but never really listened to. Now Im hooked!And One More ThingSo you really want to become conversational in a second language? Then its time to check out FluentU!FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.With FluentU, you hear languages in real-world contextsâ€"the way that native speakers actually use them.Just a quick look will give you an idea of the variety of FluentU video s on offer:FluentU really takes the grunt work out of learning languages, leaving you with nothing but engaging, effective and efficient learning. It’s already hand-picked the best videos for you and organized them by level and topic. All you have to do is choose any video that strikes your fancy to get started!Each word in the interactive captions comes with a definition, audio, image, example sentences and more.Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab, and easily review words and phrases from the video under Vocab.You can use FluentU’s unique adaptive quizzes to learn the vocabulary and phrases from the video through fun questions and exercises. Just swipe left or right to see more examples of the word youre studying.The program even keeps track of what you’re learning and tells you exactly when it’s time for review, giving you a 100% personalized experience.Start using FluentU on the website  with your computer or tablet  or, better y et,  download the FluentU app from  the  iTunes store  or  Google Play store.Maureen Stimola  is a Vermont native, serial expat and language addict who has learned Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese and Kichwa. Request her writing, editing and translation services on Hola Translation.