Language Learner's Journal: Meaningful Leisure

[This is a continuation of Taylor's blog series where she details some of the week-in-week-out lessons that she learns through her Arabic studies and coaching work together with me. For other posts in the series, click here.] 

If the first phase of my Arabic study in Jordan was intensive textbook fusha and the second was track-switching ammiya classes, this third and current could be called meaningful leisure, or, hanging out around town a lot and making friends. 

When I went to Bombay for an extended stay in 2010, a journalism colleague gave me a piece of advice: "Take everyone up on their offer to hang out with you." It may sound "duh," but over the years living abroad, I've seen how foreigners spend their free time in ways that often diverge from how residents in a given city do so. When we, as gringos in Rio, may have wanted to go to foreign film festivals or paragilding over the beach, many of our Brazilian peers would be going to baby showers, a classmate's thesis defense, or Outback Steakhouse. All of those activities are great ones, and I think the spirit of my colleague's advice was: If you want to get to know a culture, let your host take the lead and show you how they spend their free time.

That means over the past few weeks, I've sat on the sidewalk in front of a gift shop with a delightful young sculptor and a store clerk, my partners in very unstructured language exchanges that break when one of them needs to pop into the shop to attend a client. I went for a 6:30 a.m. workout with two of the fastest runners in Amman, a pair of brothers I met at a sunset race in Wadi Rum as we waited in the dunes watching for headlamps of other runners finishing. I went to a capoeira performance at Jadal cafe that was held in commemoration of the nakba; I was pleased with how accessible the discussion after the performance was for me, particularly when an older man in the audience vigorously questioned the capoeristas as to why they needed to do someone else's sport when they could do dabke.

Alex often talks about "islands" of vocabulary, and I thought about that as I spent more time with the same people and can make good guesses about the words they're using. (As I crossed the finished line at the race, other runners asked me ايش كان مركزك؟ though I certainly hadn't run fast enough to place. It was satisfying, though, to deduce what they were saying.) The store clerk and I talk often about money and salaries, since she hustles to work two jobs to help her family out.

I could be more purist; I speak plenty of English in these interactions. I'm still searching for the point of equilibrium between taking advantage of each opportunity I get to speak in Arabic while (of course!) having genuine friendships with peers with whom I share interests (running, yoga, current events, feminism, vegetarianism, pets). Plenty of the vocabulary and references regarding those topics are in English, not to mention the people who are interested in them often read and speak in English about them. I don't believe every friendship needs to be instrumentalized for one's language-learning goals (though I believe even more strongly that such an attitude should not be a lofty cover for native English speakers kicking back and relaxing). When I told Alex about my happy sidewalk sessions, which qualify more as bilingual shooting-the-shit than a proper language exchange, he said: You're doing the real thing, rather than practicing for it.

Some working notes, now, on practice:

I've been happy with my second time around testing out language exchanges; I've used the website Conversation Exchange, which I had suspected could be out of use by its retro web design but is actually popping. I'm pretty strict about where I meet the person, i.e., it needs to be as quiet as possible (a first exchange at Indoor cafe across from the University of Jordan was really hard to decipher and, from my point of view, turned into disjointed monologues rather than a conversation because I couldn't hear her well).

I think the exchanges, for my current level, are less experimental zones and more consolidation ones. That is to say, I don't risk and try to reach for vocabulary I'm shaky on but work with what I know decently. That's why I like coupling the exchanges with private classes, which I go to twice a week and are a better place for reaching and experimenting. I also think that in a language exchange it is useful to ask my partner "is the way I said that correct?" but not productive to ask "why?" I save those questions for my teacher.

Alex encouraged me to discover certain transition phrases (على فكرة... على كل حال... بالرغم من) and put them into practice in my speech, which give the impression of being more fluent and conversant than I am. This has been a fun exercise with my private teacher, since I take the English phrases I want and try to describe to her a situation that I might use them.

I'm on board with the many lines of criticism telling us that we need to make an active effort to start unplugging our lives before we turn into cyborgs; that said, having a round of friends here I chat with on Facebook or Whatsapp has indeed been great practice for seeing spelled out how people are saying what I hear each day. In conversations, I still feel like I rarely could repeat back word-for-word what someone has said to me, even if I usually get the message through key words and context.

I bought Diwan Baladna, an ammiya vocabulary book organized by subject matter. I really like it – my hope is that it will help me turn a lot of passive vocabulary into active vocabulary. I have a quibble with the audio component (read too fast in long audio files that make it tedious to isolate the word I want. And having sample sentences is far better than English translations!).

And finally, as per Alex's encouragement, I continue to avoid dictionaries and translation apps. I make ample use of Reverso Context, but only after I've read a message or passage several times through, and usually I'm using it to confirm my guess of a word's meaning is true. Especially when it comes to Whatsapp and chatting, the majority of messages I am receiving are ones that involve words I know well (Want to meet at this time? How far did you run today? I have foul and rice my mom made, want some? It's veg.)

Guest Post: Can robots be language coaches?

I wrote a guest post over on the Learner Coaching ELT blog:

I read From English Teacher to Learner Coach only recently. I received a glowing recommendation from a fellow language coach, Lýdia Machová, and the more I read, the more enthusiastic I became. The methods described in the book mesh pretty well with those I developed through my own studies of various languages. This was an approach suited not only to those learning English, but rather something that could (and should!) be adopted by the thousands of native English-speakers who struggle to learn a second language each year.

Indeed, the general message of the book – one I interpreted as ‘we don’t have to wait to be taught; we can learn for ourselves’ – is something that I believe has important implications for how we go about education in the coming decades. (I was especially pleased to learn a new word – heutagogy – for this somewhat hard-to-define practice of self-education). Seth Godin has written about the demise of the system of factory education and others are tackling this from various angles.

Read more...

Language Learner's Journal: Keeping Pace

[This is a continuation of Taylor's blog series where she details some of the week-in-week-out lessons that she learns through her Arabic studies and coaching work together with me. For other posts in the series, click here.]

I had a low low and a high high in the same week, in fact, one day after the other. I hope that may underscore that preparation and, after that, confidence/stubbornness are the motors for getting new words and sentences out of my mouth.

On Monday, I wrote in my daily study log that I was tongue-tied and could barely get a complete sentence out in class. On Tuesday, I happened to be the only person to show up to class -- and thankfully, I was prepared, having read the night's text and done our homework on making the أمر (command) and using what seems to be a bit obscure but indeed nice use of the أفعَلَ to express admiration or astonishment, like, ما ألذّ هذه الكنافة. That meant for three hours, I was one-one-one a teacher in each class (and, in fact, with an additional instructor, since an observer/trainee came along too). And for those three hours, I was a chatterbox. I talked about a vengeful husband who cast a spell on his wife to turn her into a donkey (we were, if these are a set of familiar references to you, on the "1001 Nights" chapter of Al Kitaab Two), traded commands with my professor (!كلي الحلويات العيد الحب), and described the Seven Wonders of the World with our new قواعد.

I make many, many mistakes. I routinely use incorrect prepositions, mispronounce words whose consonants I know but whose vowels I flub, and fumble conjugations. Alex has said that speaking a foreign language is 80 percent a confidence game, which felt like what happened between Tuesday and Wednesday, which was not a time when I got 80 percent better at Arabic.

On that note, a few helpful tools that helped me hit a high note this week:

Daily study log: I mentioned this above, and as simple as it is, it is useful to reflect on highs and lows and how I'm spending my time. Alex made an excel sheet that adds up my total times spent reading, in conversation, etc, each week. It also keeps me a little in check because when I use a timer to log how long an exercise takes me makes me a bit more efficient and, say, not give into some mindless cyborg urge to check my social media or Whatsapp because... if I do, then I'll kick myself when I see I took an hour and a half to do a simple exercise.

Reverso: I had been asking around for dictionary recommendations, and Alex turned me onto Reverso. I've seen this site before but haven't consistently. In addition to a translation, it includes a list of sample sentences of that word used in context. Many of their examples are short and punchy and easy to absorb even when I just need to look up a word while I'm in the middle of a reading assignment.

Time matters: Even a few extra hours a week need to be taken into consideration. I've decided, for the time being, to stop casual meetings I had been arranging with an language partner each weekend. One, I get a lot out of speaking to my teachers after class and with my fellow students, which I do twice a week when I stay for an extra conversational section at Qasid. And two, I was spending a lot of time getting to and from the weekend exchanges, loitering over ordering tea and trying to find cafes where without much smoke or noise. Exchanges for students at our level can be little disorienting without clear rules and intentions for what we will do, and Alex backed me up when I said I felt like we weren’t getting much out of our time, saying that he, too, didn’t usually find language partner arrangement to work well.

Time matters (2): Time also matters in the long run, and, after consulting with Alex several times, I changed my plans for how I will spend the next several months. I realized I would fear feeling overwhelmed or incomplete if I went to an intensive summer Arabic program in the United States, which is largely in fusha and starts in June. I also decided to leave Qasid after this term to focus exclusively on Ammiya in a new course and in private lessons. Alex's advice and answering my many questions about how to include and prioritize dialect in my language learning were invaluable to making that decision, even if he also made many arguments in favor of the summer program, which I plan to keep on my radar for a future summer.

I feel at peace with that choice because I've already been studying fusha for a year and a half, and I don't expect it to slip away from me if I still find ways to practice what is important to me. I've been speaking Portuguese for ten years and I still learn new things (the other day, "você parece estar comendo a sua língua," or, "you look like you're eating your tongue" – you look like you're having trouble expressing yourself); Spanish has been with me for half of my life and the same is true. Rather than honing my sights on some sort of “Well now I’m finished" endpoint, which the summer program had been in my mind beforehand, I’m reminding myself that language, like exercise, is useful to us precisely because we don’t are not trying to "finish" with it.

How to learn a language without a teacher

A key belief at the foundation of my language coaching work has always been that teachers aren't needed to learn a language. Younger people and students of mine seem to understand this far more readily than people who grew up in a culture where 'learning a language' meant taking a course or enrolling with a teacher.

I was very pleased, therefore, when I discovered that someone else had given a talk on this topic at last year's Polyglot Gathering. Lýdia Machová offers 'Language Mentoring', which is essentially the same idea as the language coaching that I do. I found the talk fascinating as a fellow practitioner, but I think there's lots of wisdom there for anyone seeking to study languages outside the classroom. Indeed, the whole point of the talk is sort of that 'outside the classroom' is in fact the place where language learning should mainly be taking place.

Some people, she explains, want to be taught a language, but what she tries to do in her work is show them how to learn. It may sound like a semantic difference to most, but it is crucially important.

Nobody can teach you a language. You have to learn it yourself. Wishing otherwise is to avoid the fact that real work has to happen when you're learning a language. This is a hard lesson for many to hear, but it is certainly something I stress to all new students I work with: you have to do the work.

Check out the rest of her talk for more on this solid approach to self-study and why working with a coach can help boost your language-learning efforts.

[For more information on working with me to learn a language, visit languagecoach.io/coaching. If you're learning Arabic, check out my new book, Master Arabic.]

'Master Arabic' is Out Today!

I'm very pleased to announce that 'Master Arabic' is (finally) released and available for direct download. I've been busy finalising various small details relating to the text throughout January and it's great to have it finally out and in the world.

If you haven't already had a chance to check it out, visit this link to learn more about what the book contains and what extra materials come alongside the book as part of the premium edition.

I'm particularly pleased with how the online resource guide turned out (with over 300 resources listed). I continue to add to it each day, too, so this is a ever-growing resource in and of itself.

As always, if you have any questions about learning Arabic or about the book, please do get in touch on twitter or via email.

Language Learner's Journal: Adjustments at the Deep End

[This is a continuation of Taylor's blog series where she details some of the week-in-week-out lessons that she learns through her Arabic studies and coaching work together with me. For other posts in the series, click here.]

I'd be lying if I said this wasn't a hard week for me. Our homework load is heavy at Qasid, and it means most days I go straight from class to work to homework. On a big picture level, I'm trying to keep my head above water by maintaining perspective that studying is a privilege and it's not every adult who has the flexibility (thanks to the nature of freelance journalism and independent contracting) to go back to school.

On a more detail-oriented level, a few strategies are making me feel more orderly about my studies. One of my recurring issues that that I often feel so deep into tedious grammar that getting homework done is less about comprehending the subject and more like squirming like sightless creepy-crawly that by trial and error finally happens upon ground level. That doesn't do me much good, so when I see that feeling coming on, I try to stop and find a resource, like my grammar book to remember some basics, like what's the actual meaning of the pronouns I'm using or what again are the meanings associated with each verb wazin. If I'm going to take an hour to write out verb charts, I can take an extra ten minutes to make sure I understand, even if it's a fleeting understanding, each line I'm writing.

Some of Alex's tips have helped me make more of the time I have in the classroom and independent study:

• Sped up my anki card-making by using the cloze template and by challenging myself to have fewer clues (i.e., not searching for pictures or a perfect simple sentence with a new word, but mostly using the Al Kitaab and Qasid's Ammiya course's sample sentences and audio). This has meant a lot -- it means I maintain a lot of my Al Kitaab and Ammiya vocabulary from my supplementary course in my day-to-day reviews. Also, I notice many of my classmates using Quizlet, and it is indeed tempting when we are short on time. Al-Kitaab vocabularly has already been uploaded many times over so I could download a premade deck, but usually it's just in translation (i.e., an Arabic-to-English flashcard with a single word on each side). Making my own Anki cards certainly takes time, but I get a lot of reading and listening done in the process.
• (A note on Al Kitaab: A high point for me is continually realizing that the textbook is well designed and routinely feeding back to me vocabulary I've already seen. I study each chapter's new vocabulary by looking through their sample sentences in the answer key / read aloud in the audio CD; even if I think I don't understand a sentence at first glance, about three-fourths of the time I am able to figure it out if I read it again or listen to their slow, deliberate pronunciations. Gabriel Wyner talks about the power of the "ah-ha!" moment in language learning, or, straining a bit without any outside help from a translator and finally being able to call up the meaning to a word to which you've been exposed. It may sound simple, but it means in practice: Don't run to a dictionary each time I don't understand a sentence. And it's been key to how I've been able to keep recognising a good bit of our new vocabulary which would otherwise be like pouring sand into a sieve, given the volume of work we do.)
• When I have trouble speaking in class, "plan spontaneity." My teacher starts each class by asking each individual student how their days have gone and what they have done; I'm using that as an opportunity to come up with any sentence slightly more interesting than, "I did homework" and try to put a new verb into practice. Also, when time permits, I glance ahead to the exercises on our syllabus for the next day so I can have an idea of what they are about as soon as we open the page to them.
• Setting a stopwatch to see how long my homework is taking me and tracking my time spend on various language learning activities each day (reading, writing, watching TV/videos...). This doesn't necessarily speed me up, but it does, if I'm pooped out by the end of the day, give me a sense of how I spent my time after class and work. As Alex predicted, I'm spending the vast majority of my time on reading and writing exercises, which is fine at this stage, though I want to change that in the future.
• I paid extra attention to the ten verb forms and the patterns used to derive other parts of speech (like the masdr, the ism fael, and the ism mafaul). My initial instinct had been that it was nice to appreciate these patterns but that it would certainly be a mental overhaul to try to systematically memorize them. Alex called the wazin the base of the Arabic language, and even if I don't have them memorized, I am seeing that recognizing some common patterns and being able to derive meaning from them is useful (like, "this is the masdr, it looks similar to a conjugated verb but it's a 'verbal noun' and is often coming where I expect a conjugated verb.")
• Plan language exchanges with topics and questions beforehand. I meet with a friend from my weekly running group for English-Ammiya exchanges, and we chat throughout the week on Facebook about what we'd like to talk about. It means everything to have a compass to guide us through what the other may be saying.

[If you're interested in coaching for your own language study, click here to find out more information.]

Master Arabic: What's in the Premium Edition?

Master Arabic is the book I wish I'd had when I got the end of my university programme studying Arabic. I'm really happy with how it's turned out, especially the resource list. I discovered all sorts of new books and online materials that I'll be using in my own studies going forward.

I've updated the page for Master Arabic to more accurately reflect the differences between the basic and premium edition. Here's what you get when you order the premium edition.

• 13 Expert Interviews - You'll receive a link to download MP3 files for you to listen at your own convenience. I chose people who have been through the challenges associated with intermediate learning plateaus, and they each offer unique tips to break through to more advanced levels.
• Discount Codes - Exclusive discount codes from some useful language services and publishers. Language learning can be expensive; these codes offer some respite.
• Online Resource List - I've scoured the web and physical bookstores to pick out the best resources available for the intermediate language learner. This is a 'living document', continually updated as I come across new materials. The resources are organised into topics / areas, and there are dialect-specific sections as well.
• Cheat Sheet - Most Common 1000 Words - learning this list will make more of the things you read and listen to comprehensible.
• Cheat Sheet - Tim Ferriss' Deconstruction Dozen - Twelve sentences that reveal the core grammatical structures and principles at work in the Arabic language.
• Cheat Sheet - Tool Overview - An overview of some of the main tools and tricks you can use to work on specific skills or areas of your study.
• Cheat Sheet - Goal-Setting Worksheet - a one-page chart to help you think about the goals you set. (Corresponds to a section in the book on goal-setting.)
• Cheat Sheet - Arabizi - a one-page quick reference chart for the symbols and letters used to type unique Arabic letters using English script. Essential for txting and chatting with friends!
• Access to the exclusive Incremental Elephant forum to discuss language learning and your Arabic progress
• Sample Study Plans - I've included suggested activities you can use to customise your own plan. Includes samples for those who only have 30 minutes each day as well as someone working on an intensive study programme (either in-country or at a university)
• Spread the Learning! - Buy the premium edition and I'll send a PDF copy of the book to a friend, free of charge!
• Lifetime updates - Receive lifetime updates to the book's text. I continue to work on the text and when a new release is available, premium customers can download the update for free.

You can view a list of the thirteen people I interviewed here.

There are also six discount codes offered with the premium package:

• Bliu Bliu - Get 3 months Premium for free when you enroll in the Arabic Challenge.
• iTalki - Get $10 of language classes for free with your first purchase and the exclusive premium code. (PRE-ORDER ONLY)
• Glossika - 25% off for purchases in their online store
• Foreigncy - Get a 10% discount on six-month and annual subscriptions with the exclusive premium code. (PRE-ORDER ONLY)
• Talk in Arabic - Discounted subscriptions.
• Beeminder - Get a 20% discount on all premium plans with the exclusive premium code.

(Note, two of the premium codes are only valid if you pre-order the book.)

Pre-Order Now: 'Master Arabic'

We're getting closer to finalising the materials for our new book and resource guide, 'Master Arabic'. The full description of the book reads as follows:

This will be my thirteenth year studying the Arabic language. I've tried everything: university programmes, intensive courses, self-study and more.

My Arabic level remained at the intermediate level for years, a learning plateau, and I felt like I wasn't progressing. I spent the last three years getting to the advanced level and I'm now (finally) able to communicate comfortably in a dialect and tackling contemporary fiction.

I've decided to write up some of the techniques, attitudes and resources that are available to the intermediate student of Arabic. This is the condensed product of years of experimentation. This book contains advice on how to improve your reading, writing, speaking and listening skills and also offers suggestions for resources you can use to tackle each particular skill.

The premium package includes over a dozen interviews with leading educators, Arabists and students who impart their secrets on how to pass through to advanced materials. It also includes life-time access to an online resource database of materials to study Arabic.

As a way of saying thank you to all those who subscribed to the mailing list and to ring in the new year, 'Master Arabic' is now available for pre-order. A discount code is provided below that will allow you to purchase the book for 10% off.

There are two editions:

- Basic Edition -- You'll get a copy of the e-book in PDF format. You will also receive access to an exclusive curated guide to materials, content and study aids for students of Arabic.

- Premium Edition -- You'll get everything in the basic edition, plus multiple formats of the ebook to suit various e-readers. You will also get access to over a dozen interviews with students, teachers and experts from Egypt, Jordan and the United States who have unique insights into learning Arabic.

Feel free to email if you have any questions about the book, the materials or have a topic that you really feel we should cover in the book.

USE DISCOUNT CODE 'preorderthankyou' for 10% off. This one-off discount will no longer be offered once the book is released at the end of January.

Share the Gift of Language Coaching

If you’re still looking around for last-minute Christmas presents, look no further. How about the friend who has been struggling to learn a language? Know someone who is always talking about how they want to learn a language but don’t have the time? Or even you yourself: are you always putting off studying Arabic or French (or even Mandarin) that you know would benefit you, but you just don’t know how to get started?

I offer custom-made language coaching to suit your schedule and needs. You might need help with motivation, accountability, coming up with a grand plan and/or just require someone to be a sounding post for a study plan you’re already working on.

Whatever you language-learning needs, I’ll be happy to work with you. My goal is to help you reach your goals as directly as possible. We’ll work to your strengths and find ways to make the process less of a chore.

You can read more about the whole process here.

To purchase a gift subscription, please get in touch here.

The Two Books Every Intermediate Arabic Student Needs to Read

In the beginning, the study of Arabic is about coming to terms with how the language works. You start to grapple with the diglossia, with the verb system (roots everywhere!) and start working your way through one of the big textbooks that most programmes prescribe.

After a few months, you want to start communicating with people, but every attempt is met with some kind of difficulty or failure. Either you’re not speaking the right dialect, or you’re not attempting to speak using dialect at all. You study a bit more, and you’re finally able to communicate with your Lebanese or Tunisian friend, but the moment you come across someone speaking a different dialect variant you’re back at square one.

What’s the solution to this problem? Do students of Arabic have to learn every dialect? Thankfully, no, though you’ll want to get a basic familiarity in some of the main broad patterns that different dialect groups employ.

This is where the good people at Lingualism come in, and their two-volume Arabic Voices series. (Get Volume 1 and Volume 2 from Amazon here, or order direct from Lingualism).

These two books contain 57 monologues covering the whole Arab world and North Africa. You can learn about Qat from a Yemeni, identity from a Lebanese man, or what it’s like to date as a young Tunisian woman. To get a taste for the content of the material, everything is available for free on Lingualism’s YouTube channel. Here’s Wasem, for example, talking about the life of Arabs living in Israel:

The great thing about this book is that every monologue comes with a wide variety of exercises and supporting materials to help you get the most out of the language used.

You start off with some basic comprehension questions alongside some of the key vocabulary, then you dive into some of the specifics that are unique to that particular dialect. Here’s one of the exercises where you’re supposed to draw lines connecting the English to the Egyptian and to the Fusha / ‘Modern Standard’ translations.

View fullsize

I’m not super keen on textbooks that deal too much in translations, but if you know how to use them, this is a real goldmine. I’ll usually put one or two of what seem like key phrases or expressions into Anki to memorise. The exercises are followed by a full transcript in Arabic and English translation. Here’s one example:

View fullsize

Some of the monologues also include grammar notes at the end if something particularly interesting is worth noting. Here’s an example of that ‘focus’ material.

View fullsize

Once you’ve gone through all the exercises, listened to the video to figure out what the various new phrases might mean, you can start covering up the Arabic part of the transcript to see if you can reproduce parts of what was said on the basis of the English translation. This is hard work, but incredibly rewarding.

If you want to get a full overview for how the language that Arabs speak day-to-day, these two books are the resource for you. What’s more, the monologues are short enough that you can probably blaze through the content of both books in two to four months. I don’t know of any other one-stop-shop where you can gain familiarity with the linguistic variety of the Arab-speaking world, plus learn a thing or two about people’s lives and culture(s).

[Over the coming weeks I’ll be writing more about the different resources available to intermediate-level Arabic students. I’ve just finished writing an eBook and electronic resource for people at that stage in their learning. For more information and discount offers, sign up to the mailing list here. To enquire about one-on-one language coaching sessions, click here.]

Positive feedback on my Memory Skills course

I haven’t written much on this blog about the memory course I wrote and launched a few months back. Its target audience is Muslims hoping to learn the non-canonical Asmaa al-Husnaa or 99 Names of God.

The point of the course isn’t so much to learn the 99 Names. They have their uses, to be sure, but I chose them mainly as a proxy to teach some basic memory techniques and skills that will have relevance and use throughout your life.

The course of emails lasts for a week, but as part of the package you get:

• daily emails containing the course’s core lessons
• 13 custom worksheets and handouts to practice the daily email lessons
• a summary sheet at the end of the week with an overview of the main principles of the course
• recommendations for ways to apply the principles in your daily lives and in other studies
• support through the Incremental Elephant community on the forum

I haven’t done that much marketing or outreach except what has been easily to hand, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the numbers of users trickling in bit by bit. Some recent feedback from users:

“Thank you for setting up this helpful course! It's been fascinating to learn the memory techniques and tips you've offered.”

D.N., Singapore

“Overall, I'm quite pleased that this course gave me the incentive to memorise the names properly and I also learnt other interesting things (can see now how this could easily become an obsession!). The emails were readable and contained about the right amount of information to make it doable in one week. Your didn't make any grandiose claims and the price was very reasonable. Jazakallahu kheyra. I'll recommend this to others.”R.H., United Kingdom

R.H., United Kingdom

I’ve also been pleased how those who finish the course have gone on to develop interests in more advanced memory techniques beyond the foundations contained in the email lessons.

If you’ve ever been interested in having a better memory, being able to learn longer lists and complex ideas for school or daily life, head on over to Incremental Elephant and give it a try!