Demidov’s Internalization Method

Alexander Demidov’s Internalization Method for Language Acquisition. A Teaser. Hi, my name is Alexander Demidov. I’m a certified teacher and translator, and here I’m offering you a taste of my method for learning foreign languages, which I call the Internalization Method (метод интернализации in Russian). The Internalization Method is based on three ideas. One. Time. Learning a language takes time. There’s no getting around it. Babies are born with an innate ability to learn a language, but it still takes them a couple of years to start speaking properly. And it certainly takes time to learn a second language. There are no shortcuts to success. [Oh no!] You’ve got to put in the hours. [Yup.] But most people live busy lives and find it difficult to make time for this. So we must devise a way to fit it in. That’s one, time. Two. No translation. Most people try to speak a second language by translating whatever they’re thinking in their own tongue. This is bad for three reasons: a) it’s extremely tiring; [This is exhausting.] b) you’ll never get it right; and c) you’ll always be coming up short, unable to translate this or that word, embarrassing yourself and leaving your audience hanging. [Boo!] All right, OK. [You suck!] By the same token, formulating your thoughts in the target language will let you speak easily, idiomatically and fluently. That’s two, no translation. Three. Internalize. Do it in your head. If you go on a course and work hard, doing all the exercises...