I "Blitzed" 50 Books in 50 Days - My Experiment in Language Learning

I want to share my thoughts as I hit the halfway mark of my Bimodal Blitzathon — attempting to "blitz" through 100 Polish-language books in 100 consecutive days.

The Bimodal Blitz, my experimental language learning method, involves reading a book in your target language while simultaneously listening to the audiobook... in a single day, even a single session. This immersive and intense approach aims not just for language acquisition but for a memorable experience within the literary world of your chosen language.

Today, I'm excited to briefly share some insights from my latest milestone: 50 books in 50 days.

COMPREHENSION and VOCABULARY EXPOSURE

As someone who started learning Polish just five and a half months ago with an A1 ability according to CEFR, my ability to follow along with native-speaking narrators has improved radically, even at 2x speed. My exposure to Polish vocabulary and the way words are combined continues to grow. Additionally, I am now familiar with many more Polish words in their various grammatical forms.

CHALLENGES and INSIGHTS

Blitzing isn't always easy. Some books, like the Polish translations of H.G. Wells' stories or Peter Thiel's "Zero to One," required a very high comprehension level. I spent a lot of time translating or making wild guesses about certain passages. Business and technical books in Polish are definitely not recommended for beginners like me.

Other times, the book felt too long for a one-day reading, like with one particular Polish version of "Heart of Darkness." Luckily, tools like the Natural Reader app, which reads the text aloud and highlights as it goes, helped me power through without losing my place.

The key to getting through any book, I've found, is knowing and leveraging the levers of flow. A flow state enhances cognitive performance and learning by reducing frontal brain activity, which minimizes mental interference and distraction. I'm going to share my findings after a bit more experimentation and fine-tuning.

Technology is also an invaluable ally in Bimodal Blitzing. From LingQ and Readlang for quick translations to Natural Reader's excellent TTS feature that kept me on track even during a treadmill session, these tools have made it possible to persevere through challenging texts and long reading sessions.

REFLECTIONS and LOOKING FOWARD

Fifty days and fifty books later, my understanding of Polish has deepened significantly. While I've encountered challenges, such as committing words to long-term memory and comprehending complex texts, the journey has been rewarding. Bimodal Blitzing has not only improved my language skills but also allowed me to explore a wide range of literature that I wouldn't have otherwise experienced.

As I look forward to the next fifty days, I'm stoke about the stories that await and the progress I'll continue to make. The Bimodal Blitzathon is more than just a language learning challenge; it's a feast of language and ideas, one book at a time.

Stay tuned for more updates and insights on Goodreads and on my Twitter/x feed. And for those intrigued by the Bimodal Blitz method, I encourage you to dive into a book in your target language and experience the immersive world of bimodal reading and listening.

P.S. A book on how to Bimodal Blitz will eventually be released explaining the method in detail. For updates, please subscribe to this blog.