10000 Sentences
From Learn Any Language
The 10000 Sentences method of language learning is similar to an assimilation-based learning program -- armed with enough Comprehensible Input you get the feel for what is "correct." You assimilate enough sentence patterns and vocabulary to be able to produce new, original content. This method was popularized by All Japanese All the Time (AJATT). The idea of sentence-based assimilation was described extensively by Antimoon.
[edit] The Idea
The idea is to choose 10000 sentences in your target language and learn them sufficiently. According to AJATT, you've "learned" a sentence when you
- * Read it in full, aloud, in its native script
- * Know the meaning of every word in the sentence
- * Understand the meaning of the entire sentence
- * Write (copy) out the sentence by hand in its native script
The sentences should be learned without translation and without rote memorization. You will end up "memorizing" the sentences merely through repetition, but your goal should be understanding, not memorization.
[edit] The Method
Choose 10000 sentences. These sentences should be from a variety of sources: example sentences from dictionaries, movies, books, and podcasts. The sentences should also reflect your personal daily life to make them more meaningful to you: i.e., things you yourself want/need to be able to say. Load these sentences into your SRS and start processing them. This entire process (entering and learning the sentences) is estimated to take about 18 months.
[edit] Further Reading
Antimoon's page on making sentence-based flash card items, along with some example sentences.
