I am a keen learner of foreign languages and have read a few books about best practices for learning. I was therefore excited to see what Gabriel Wyner's Fluent Forever had to offer. To start with the positives, I loved that this book (unlike others I've read recently) did not try to say traditional grammar books etc. had no value. I appreciated Wyner's view that different resources could help in different ways and while modern technology offered a lot that didn't mean books were pointless. I enjoyed the science aspects of the book that explained how learning and memorisation occurred. I also liked that the book offered amended suggestions for those already at intermediate level. A couple of points where I wasn't as sold on Wyner's views were 1) the huge emphasis placed on flashcards and 2) the suggestion it was bad to learn more than one new language at a time. On the first point, this will depend on the student. I personally cannot work with flashcards. I have tried, but I find them so dull I lose all motivation and I would rather learn more slowly than give up through boredom. That point ties in with my thoughts on the second issue because I prefer to have fun studying what I want when I want, even if that means slower progress, than be told I am not allowed to try Chinese until I am an advanced-level Korean speaker. Overall, this book does have some good tips and recommends some good practices and resources, but I think it will be best suited to students who like to focus on flashcards and spaced repetition, as that was the primary area expounded. I am giving it four stars.

With eight chapters and an awesome toolbox, “Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget it. Revised Edition” by Gabriel Wyner is an awesome resource for language learners. As someone with an Austrian grandmother on one side and with numerous Germans on the other side, I grew up hearing the German language, living in and visiting both Germany and Austria throughout my life, and even enrolling in college to become a German language high school teacher, Wyner would characterize me as a ‘heritage speaker’.

Although I haven’t read Wyner’s first book, I can state with full confidence that this revised edition is absolutely wonderful. The author argues that there are three keys to language learning: learn pronunciation, don’t translate, and use a spaced repetition system (SRS). After I earned my doctorate, I returned to college and earned my 150 hour certificate in Teaching Language as a Second Language, so I can attest to Wyner’s method. Indeed, some parts of this book reminded me of a required linguistics class that I had to take in graduate school. That said, the vast majority of this book is one that anyone—regardless of educational level—can use to successfully learn another language.

I followed Wyner’s directions and began using physical flash cards using his method, and it worked. Wyner’s method focuses heavily on the five principles of memory using SRS. Using flash cards (and especially cardboard flash cards), there are definite issues, but he he explains how to overcome these more fully in his toolbox; with a bit of creativity, it can easily be done.

I spent quite a bit of time with this book because I wanted to really test Wyner’s method, and it definitely does work. I was disappointed, however, that some of the free tools were **not** free. For example, Anki isn’t free for iOS—only Android users; iOS users must pay $24.99. And the “free” FSI language courses are decidedly not free. For example, the German download bundle costs $19.99. Despite this, the author provides a number of different examples that are free (YouTube and etc.).

This is a really great book on language learning and I absolutely recommend that people interested in becoming a polyglot read this book. It will definitely increase your chances of learning languages successfully.

I received an ARC of “Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget it. Revised Edition” by Gabriel Wyner from NetGalley, Rodale Inc., and Harmony in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

What a fun and helpful guide to learning anything! "Fluent Forever" presents author Gabriel Wyner's process for learning languages, using the latest neuroscience to unpack how one's brain processes and stores information. It's all completely different from the vocabulary lists and boring grammar rules taught to me, and feels far more natural. Connecting images, sounds, and concepts, rather than translating every word in your head, means you start to think in your new language. And rather than "cat sees dog"-types of lessons, Wyner's method focuses on the student's interests to make the lessons more relevant.

The study techniques and aids in 'Fluent Forever' are especially useful. Wyner's practical approach makes the book a valuable resource for anyone looking to speed up and enjoy their language learning journey.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This has excellent tips for how to develop a more natural fluency in other languages. I especially found the tip about not trying to translate to English helpful.

(I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)