Grateful for the clients who basically forced me to get better at explaining myself, because for the longest time I was just like "trust me, lists don't work" and... that's not exactly a masterclass in coaching, is it? 😅 Here's the thing — I've never memorised a word list in my life. Not for English, not for French, not for Spanish. Never been my thing. So when I started working with clients who grew up doing exactly that (shoutout to my Asian clients, you know who you are), I hit a wall. I knew something wasn't clicking for them, I just couldn't articulate why for a while. Eventually it landed: memorising a word and actually being able to use it, on the spot, mid-conversation, are two completely different skills. You can ace a flashcard and still freeze the second someone asks you a real question. So now I'm turning it over to you — did you grow up drilling lists, characters, vocab? Is it still how you study? And more importantly... does it actually work for you when you're speaking, or is it more of a "feels productive" thing? 👀 Genuinely curious what you'll say.

I know this community is still small, but so much has yet to come and your voice really helps shape this space 🫶🏼 Lately, I've been working on some new Mandarin Chinese characters and I've found myself struggling with memorisation. I'm exploring various techniques and strategies to overcome this block and find a practical way that can make me feel more confident when I read or write in Chinese. I've learned other languages in my life, but none of them required this kind of memory 😅 ✋ Raise your hand if you've ever memorised a whole list of English words... and still blanked on them mid-conversation. I'll try some different techniques that go beyond rote memorisation and report back soon 🙏🏼

I just published a new piece breaking down why memorising vocabulary lists feels productive but rarely translates into actually speaking with confidence — and what to do instead (hint: it's harder, but it's the thing that actually moves the needle). I want to hear from you though: 👉 Be honest — how many word lists have you made in the past year? And how many of those words can you actually use in a sentence, right now, without thinking? Drop your number in the comments. No judgment — I've made hundreds of them too. I just want us to start being honest about what's actually working and what's just busywork that feels safe. (And if you haven't read the piece yet, it explains exactly why this happens and what to do differently — link below 👇)

If the answer is yes then you'll want to stay tuned for tomorrow's Substack, cause we'll talk exactly about this. What do you think? Is it useful to memorise lists of words by heart? Does it help with fluency? Let me know in the comments 👇👇👇

If you were not able to join us, don't worry! The 30-minute masterclass is now available in the "Classroom tab" or you can click here to watch it. Enjoy!