So welcome back. So in this video, we're going to talk about deliberate practice. And we're going to talk about muscle memory. So we'll start off with muscle memory. This is an important term when it comes to understanding how to learn a language now to speak, and how to focus on the speaking element of things. So start with this definition I found about muscle memory.

So muscle memory is the ability to reproduce a particular movement without conscious thought acquired as a result of frequent repetition of that movement. So in my understanding when it comes to language learning, the better you get, the less you have to think about it, the more it's automatic and in your muscle memory, like the definition there. The way to start learning with this in mind from day one is to start speaking, so learn words where you can start applying them straight away. There are no words that you can use in everyday day to day language that you can communicate with people that you can go online and chat with people. That's how you're going to develop muscle memory. It's like going to the gym.

You could read all this books you want to boat going to the gym, you can learn all the rules that you need to know about gym. But if you don't actually go at our day to day, you're not going to build any muscles. And without any muscles, you've got nothing really to show for it. With the analogy in languages, if you're not building up that muscle memory, if the words are top of mind, you're not going to be fluent in the language as quickly as somebody who is putting in that effort every day when it comes to deliberate practice, or not only like to be conscious about the material I'm learning but also in the way that I learn. So in the last few years, I've experimented with a way of learning where I chunk my time and it breaks up the process a lot easier for me.

It's a Pomodoro Technique. You may have heard of this before. It's basically you can split your time into 25 minutes learning 10 minutes, five or 10 minutes of a break. 25 minutes, again, five to 10 minutes a break. You can do that. As much as you want adapted to your own learning styles.

I often change around the time intervals, but what it's leveraging is your question. Focus motor thinking and your diffuse motor thinking. So the focus motor thinking is when you're focused honed in on a problem, it's very analytical, very narrow, focused tunnel vision. That's good. It gets you to, to solve problems, but without the balance in that and diffuse motor thinking you're missing things. So there's a great video about this that Dr. Barbara Oakley has done.

She has done a course on learning how to learn that I'd recommend checking out there's also YouTube video that I would recommend having a look at just to get a feel for this concept of focus mode and diffuse mode of thinking. Basically, when you're in the focus mode, you don't have access to the diffuse mode of thinking because the diffuse mode of thinking is more relaxed. A way to get into the fuse modal thinking is to relax, have a break, have a coffee chat to a friend go for a walk. That's why it's very important to take mini breaks in between your study sessions because it allows you to have access to parts of your brain that you wouldn't have access to if you're just going hell bent pedal to the metal focus motorway, I think with just the focus motor thinking, it's like having a hammer to every problem you have when you need other tools as well.

So with the focus, motor tanking, there's a tendency to get frustrated and not see the big picture. So, with this technique, you're pulling yourself back more, you're balancing yourself a little bit better, and you're seeing the bigger picture more that you need as a language learner. So that's muscle memory. That's deliberate practice. I hope this has been helpful. On the next video, we're going to talk about habits and neural pathways to see you in the next video.