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Digital Nomad Life: Learning the People: Idahosa Ness and Language Learning Using the Mimic Method
Welcome to the World Wanderers podcast, your source for travel stories, travel destinations, and travel philosophy. We are your hosts Ryan and Amanda, and we will be taking you on today’s adventure as we speak with this week’s guest.
In this week’s episode, we are joined by Idahosa Ness, founder of The Mimic Method language learning method.
Idahosa is someone who speaks five languages fluently – Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, and Mandarin Chinese, and therefore he decided to start teaching others by implementing his unique ways.
By developing this unusual language learning method, and making it available for everyone, he was able to pursue his location independent lifestyle. His company is now growing and enables him to combine his love for travel, languages, and entrepreneurship which are all foundations of his digital nomad lifestyle.
It was interesting to learn more about him and his life, so we had a long conversation where he explained everything from the importance of language, to his Mimic Method and more about his way of life.
The benefits of “learning a people” by going beyond only using traditional language learning components like vocabulary and conjugation
Firstly, we wanted to go over and understand Idahosa’s language learning method, and why it is such a successful way of approaching and learning something, especially languages and communication.
“So what I always tried to communicate to people is that a language is just a tool, right? And you can’t get caught up in the tool itself. And that’s what people do when they’re like, oh, what’s the preposition and the conjugation… They’re focusing on the actual tool of language and how it works and its ends and outs, but losing sight of why you even got that tool in the first place, which was to communicate and connect with human beings from a different culture, from a different place.”
He discusses language and how it’s used as a tool for communication. Meanwhile, we understand the advantages of his approach to learning which goes beyond teaching traditional components such as vocabulary and grammar at the beginning but rather implies directly attempting to mimic native speakers and the way they talk.
He encourages everyone that wants to start speaking a new language, to ditch the textbooks in the first step of learning and go straight to speaking, just as a child would when learning to speak. Getting yourself out there and communicating in any way you know and can, pushes you to start developing faster and covers the more important parts of language.
To support this, he shares with us some great examples, so everyone can get a better understanding of his program.
“So I want to make Portuguese friends. But it’s kind of difficult to do that if I can’t communicate with them in their own language. So that tool of Portuguese is what I use to make Portuguese friends and build Portuguese relationships… It doesn’t really make sense anymore for you to be spending your time all day looking at grammar textbooks and memorizing all these different theories.”
Idahosa’s decision to settle down in one place (for now!), how routine can help with accomplishing work goals, and how he decided to pick Lisbon, Portugal as his home base
Idahosa is currently in Lisbon, Portugal. What is also exciting is that he moved to this place just currently and decided this is going to be his home base.
Since he is a big adventurer that is constantly moving around, living a digital nomad life, we were curious to find out what made him take this big step in deciding to settle down.
“But then you just move around and every few months you’re in a different hemisphere. In Australia is summertime in December. And I don’t even know what summer and fall mean anymore. So it’s just really confusing. That’s actually why I decided to come to this place. Because I feel like the human brain has not evolved to handle this type of variation. So a little bit of routine helps me find sanity.”
He shares what it has been like for him, his whole travel experience, and why he needs to settle to build some sort of routine.
This would help him establish a better discipline and accomplish more things in a period when he needed to. By settling, he cut down on responsibilities regarding logistics and other details surrounding traveling, which therefore left him some more space and time to focus on work.
Lisbon is also one of those places that checks every box on the list for him when it comes to picking the perfect home base he says. So, this is why he decided to nest here for as long as he needs to, in order to accomplish bigger things!
“I had decided at some point last year that I needed to have a home base where I can establish a routine and structure, to focus on getting stuff done because I have a lot of projects and ambitions I want to accomplish. And you can work while traveling. But, you definitely get way more done when you don’t have to like figure out logistical and other details every time you change a location. So I was looking for a home base, but I was very picky with it. And then when I came to Lisbon in September, I was like, this place checks off all the boxes I need.”
The notion that talking and connecting with people is the best way to learn a new language, and how being able to participate in language-based communication can help make you feel like a part of the community
According to Idahosa, connecting and meeting new people is the best way to learn a new language and gain huge motivation to help you succeed in your learning process.
“You come into a foreign country and people are living their lives, making all these sounds laughing hysterically and you’re like, oh man, what’s going on? Okay, can I join? But you can’t if you don’t know the language. That’s really the core motivation to learning, the people who succeed in learning a language. There’s this group of people that they want to get in on their joke. You want to get in on their culture and their understanding. So you got to push through all these sound barriers to get there on the other side and laugh with everyone else.”
He explains that the actual process of learning a new language is when he actually speaks with people in their native tongue, where he learns new words, new expressions, and some cultural specifics.
“Because when you do that, you’re not interacting with human beings. So I say, I just want to make friends with Portuguese people in their own language, I go out there and I’d talk to Portuguese people every day, start conversations, go to different places. That’s the actual process of learning the language because each time I do that, I’ll learn new expressions, learn new words, learn new little cultural texts and ways of getting to people and stuff. That is the actual method.”
“Mechanically assembling” vs “Organically developing” the learning of a language
Idahosa was able to explain the differences between mechanically assembling a language versus organically developing a language and how mimicking people can refine their language so much.
“So one thing I’ve been talking about a lot recently is the difference between mechanically assembling a language the way you described versus organically developing it. So human language, like humans themselves, develops organically. In the mimic method, we advocate that approach where you start off very Tarzan, just listening to people, mimicking using the tools. But if you open up that feedback loop and you listen to how native speakers are expressing themselves, bit by bit, you start to refine the way you speak.” – Idahosa
“Whereas the traditional way of sitting down, learning how to read and write first, learning what the grammar rules are, you’re kind of making this calculator program in your head where you’re like, these are the vocabulary words I’ve memorized. These are the grammar rules…And it doesn’t work. And then people were just sitting there like doing math problems in their head when they’re supposed to be connecting with a human being in a conversation.” – Idahosa
How the Mimic Method uniquely approaches the challenge of pronunciation as a physical challenge, paralleling it to how a musician learns to play music by coordinating physical movement with sound to improve student’s conversational skills
He told us that he understood the whole point of the method when he realized that the challenge of teaching pronunciation is a physical challenge.
“You want to learn Chinese and you have a whole new set of sounds, a whole new set of genes and DNA to figure out, and before coming up in my program, there was just no effective way to teach that. So the insight from this method came when I realized that the challenge of teaching pronunciation is a physical challenge.”
Idahosa explained how he adapted techniques from the music education world to the language education world.
“It’s the exact same process that a musician goes through when they learn how to play a musical instrument, you’re just coordinating physical movement with sound. So I adapted techniques because I played music my whole life. I adapt the techniques from the music education world to the language education world. And I say, this is a specific sound in Portuguese that people struggle with the sound. There’s a physical production going on in my mouth. If I can teach someone to understand what that is, and then have to do a couple of drills to get used to it and, acclimate their ears to it…”
The potential upside of applying alternative learning style models to education in general (outside of language learning) and the benefits of connecting with your area of study
Language is not a memorizing game its a skill, What Idahosa is telling us is that you cant learn how to ride a bike with only reading a book on rotational physics and how that same idea goes for learning a language, you actually gotta speak the language to learn it.
“The thing about a language is not like memorizing the capitals of all the countries in the world. It’s not just a memorization game. It’s a skill. You can’t learn how to ride a bike by reading a book on rotational physics. Right? Like you could read it, you can read that with your eyes and learn everything you need to know about. And still never know how to ride a bike until you get on a bike and start riding, it’s an intuitive skill. And the only way you’re going to learn intuitive skills is by doing them and doing them the right way.” – Idahosa
He also said that the way the educational system teaches us is the wrong way because there isn’t that much of a failure as opposed to the real world where failure is our greatest teacher and how we learn everything through mistakes.
“So, unless you had experienced learning like a skill like dancing music or a sport, you know, if people who have not done those things as adults, they don’t have a sense of what it takes to learn a complex ability. The only thing they have is what it takes to learn concepts or memorize vocabulary and all that kind of stuff. So that’s why all the programs are geared that way because people have an expectation for learning that way. And they have a bit of a fear for the kind of failure-based learning that’s necessary to learn a new skill. The education system teaches you that like failure’s bad that you can’t make this. Whereas the real world teaches you that failure is the only way of learning and mistakes are the only way of learning, you know?” – Idahosa
The Mimic Method tenets of Capacity, Conversation and Command in language learning
Here he explained to us the three Mimic Method framework which includes capacity, conversation, and command.
“So the overarching framework we have for learning a language has three stages, capacity conversation, and command. The first stage capacity deals with hearing or pronunciation, the second stage conversation deals with understanding and speaking, and then the third stage command focuses on reading and writing. So, if I were learning Russian and I didn’t have the information, the first stage of capacities building my raw physical capacity to hear Russian sounds and pronounce Russian sounds. So that’s what we do with our courses. We try and make it more accessible, but a person can do it on their own as well, just kind of deep diving on their own.” – Idahosa
Tips on ways to familiarize yourself with how a language sounds using resources like Youtube videos, sound editors, italki and Pimsleur before you travel
He talked us through the process he does on Youtube and how he uses audio software which he slows down the audio and play around with it so he could focus and hear what and how the person on the audio is speaking.
“I would look up videos on YouTube in Russian, Russian music, or whatever, and then use free software like audacity, which allows you to kind of slow down audio and play around with it the way you play around with like a word document. And what you’re doing here is you’re not focusing on knowing what the Russian person is saying and the recording. It’s not about what it means and how it sounds. So you’re listening to it in slow motion and be like, what are these sounds that this person is making? Can I get my mouth to pronounce it? Then I get my ear to differentiate between sounds. If you look up different pronunciation resources, you would go to Wikipedia and type in Russian phonology, this breaks down the entire sound system of Russian. It’ll give you a list of all the elemental sounds of Russian and what they are. And this is what I did to come up with my programs and how I learned the language. I just took a significant period of time. Really deep dive into the sounds, listen to them very closely until I had a capacity to hear the sounds and pronounce the sounds.” – Idahosa
He also recommended a program called Pimsleur to get basic vocabulary and grammar through audio which is way better than actually reading and writing because it makes the process harder.
“That’s the whole end goal in the first place. And through that process, you learn new expressions, learn little cultural habits. I usually recommend a program called Pimsleur to get the basic vocabulary and grammar you need. And I recommend it because it’s audio. So you don’t want to introduce reading and writing at this stage because it can actually alter the way you hear and get in the way of your ability to understand people. That’s why I say reading and writing for the end. But when you do Pimsleur and then if you just focus on having a conversation on a regular basis, you can set up free conversations like 30 minutes a day.” – Idahosa
How rewarding learning a new language can be by opening up whole new populations of friends, and how it can make you feel safer in a new place by allowing you to better understand those around you
Idahosa told us that he really liked Moscow and its history but he felt like he didn’t really know anything because he couldn’t talk with people about their lives and stuff like that, and how knowing a particular language in a country can make you feel safe and allow you to better understand the people and environment.
“What really makes places interesting, is the people and you can see cool architecture and learn history. But you inevitably get that feeling of being left out of the inside joke. Russia, it looks so beautiful. And there’s Moscow. It looks so cool. There’s all this history here. But I actually don’t really know anything because I can’t talk to people about their lives, you know? And that’s where you start to feel the language.”
He told us that the biggest motivation for learning a new language is earned when someone actually falls in love with a place or a country, so he recommends visiting some places and starting to learn the language as they fall in love with the place.
“So very often people are like, oh, I just want to go and check it out. But then they fall in love with the place. And then that’s where the motivation comes. So I definitely recommend that no one goes about learning a foreign language until they have a really strong human-centered motivation because anyone who’s done this knows it’s not easy.”
Using music to keep repetitive components of language learning interesting and fun
We can all agree how sometimes a foreign song gets stuck in our head and we keep repeating it all the time and the brain just memorizes the words so easily. So Idahosa told us that one way to be motivated to learn a language is through music.
“Even if you have the right method it takes a lot of hard work. And to get through that hard work, you need to be really motivated. And the only motivation that really lasts long-term is that motivation. Using music to keep repetitive components of language learning interesting and fun”
The thing he said is that learning a language requires actually talking and using the language in various situations just like a bike requires actual riding and not just watching videos about it.
“So music is actually just another tool. We use it because we talked before about learning skills. Hockey or riding a bike and any physical skill or intuitive ability requires a lot of repetition for it to stick to the deeper part of your brain. And music is the only form of like repetition that doesn’t get boring after a while. So for example, if there’s some sound in Spanish that you’re struggling with me like that a sound or whatever if you had sat there alone in your room for like two hours, you eventually get bored. So people aren’t really inspired to do that, but we put like a piece of funky music and then you make these kinds of musical tutorials. Then people would get really engaged and engage different parts of your brain so you get more excited.” – Idahosa
He explained the method they use teaching the skills and how using music makes it way more enjoyable and effective.
So that’s the vehicle we use to help people train these skills is music. But it’s not so much to say that you need music to do it. It just said adding music makes it way more enjoyable and way more effective.” – Idahosa
“Unlearning” bad habits from traditional language learning models, bringing in new good habits, and tips on how to identify words you may be mispronouncing
As Idahosa said, the course is for everybody new and experienced who are looking to unlearn their bad habits in the particular language and to learn new ones.
“That’s why the course is the same for everybody. Whether or not you’ve been studying for years or you’re brand new, because it’s about unlearning habits and just bringing in the new ones. And then when it comes to your speaking, one thing we do, that’s really useful for people who already have habits, the habits around the words it’s like that Brazilian girl I told you about, she was able to pronounce the sounds, but she noticed she had these association between a specific word and the way it’s pronounced. So you just have to go through an audit. So do you go to like actionary.com and search like the thousand most frequently used words in a language and then just read through each word out loud and then have someone point out all the words you’re mispronouncing. If you’ve done our training and you know, what the overall pronunciations should be like, you’re gonna be like, I never realized before, but I’m mispronouncing it that way.” – Idahosa
He told us that he got emails from many people that were very satisfied with the method and how they finally started understanding people without learning vocabulary and words. He also told us that they achieved that by just freeing up their ears and mouth so they could express themselves more.
“I get emails all the time from people who were like, wow, I’ve been doing the course for two weeks and I already understand people. In my courses, they weren’t taught any vocabulary. They’re not learning words. What they’re learning is that foundation and freeing up their ears so they can bring in the information and understand more and freeing up their mouth so they can express themselves more.” – Idahosa
How we unconsciously apply our native language biases to new words when learning solely through reading and writing, making it practically impossible to properly pronounce words and grasp language systems without the use of contextual auditory learning and mimicking
Idahosa explained to us his process of learning German and German letters are not pronounced the same and the English letters and how the mispronunciation is based on the fact that people read German letters as if they were English letters which make the whole process more complicated. That’s why he suggests focusing on audio listening before you start learning the language.
“When you’re trying to learn German, kind of hear and pronounce German at the same time of reading and writing it. For example, the letter V is the way F is pronounced in English, the letter W is pronounced the way V is pronounced in English. And when I hear 400 speed German there, it is making these mistakes all the time that have nothing to do with not having the sound and the language because you know, most German sounds already exist in English. They’re mispronounced. Their mispronunciation is based on the fact that they saw the word written down and they’re reading it out loud as if it were English. And it’s just an unnecessary complication that could have been completely avoided. If you just focus on the audio before you started prematurely, introducing the whole reading and writing element.” – Idahosa
Last Words
It was interesting getting to learn more about something new on this podcast. Idahosa’s mimic method is truly exceptional, and we hope those of you who are trying to learn a new language will find it helpful!
We have also used the mimic method and had a lot of really good success with the Spanish language, which proves it successful.
If this got you interested, we recommend visiting and subscribing to Idahosa’s newsletter, along with his website where you can learn more and start learning right away!
So we hope that you enjoyed that interview with Idahosa, as much as we enjoyed partaking in it!
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