Pareto’s Principle of 80/20 dictates that 80% of the results in any endeavor come from 20% of the input, material, or effort.

Language learning need not be complicated.

Principles of cognitive neuroscience and time management can be applied to attain conversational fluency (here defined as 95%+ comprehension and 100% expressive abilities) in 1-3 months. Some background on my language obsession, from an earlier post on learning outside of classes:

From the academic environments of Princeton University (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian) and the Middlebury Language Schools (Japanese), to the disappointing results observed as a curriculum designer at Berlitz International (Japanese, English), I have sought for more than 10 years to answer a simple question: why do most language classes simply not work?

The ideal system — and progression — is based on three elements in this order…

1. Effectiveness (Priority)

2. Adherence (Interest)

3. Efficiency (Process)

Effectiveness, adherence, and efficiency refer to the “what”, “why”, and “how” of learning a target language, respectively. In simple terms, you first decide what to learn, based on usage frequency (priority); you then filter materials based on your likelihood of continued study and review, or adherence (interest); lastly, you determine how to learn the material most efficiently (process).

Let’s cover each in turn. This post will focus on vocabulary and subject matter. For learning grammar, I suggest you read this short article. For “reactivating” forgotten languages — like high school Spanish — this sequence will do the trick.

Effectiveness: If you select the wrong material, it does not matter how you study or if you study – practical fluency is impossible without the proper tools (material). Teachers are subordinate to materials, just as cooks are subordinate to recipes.

Adherence: Review, and multiple exposures to the same material, will always present an element of monotony, which must be countered by an interest in the material. Even if you select the most effective material and efficient method, if you don’t adhere with repeated study, effectiveness and efficiency mean nothing. In other words: can you persist with the material and method you’ve chosen? If not, less effective materials or methods will still be better. The best approach means nothing if you don’t use it.

By analogy, if sprinting uphill with bowling balls in each hand were the most effective way to lose body fat, how long would the average person adhere to such a program?

If you have no interest in politics, will you adhere to a language course that focuses on this material? Ask yourself: Can I study this material every day and adhere until I reach my fluency goals? If you have any doubt, change your selection. Oftentimes, it is best to select content that matches your interests in your native language. Do not read about something that you would not read about in English, if English is your native language (e.g. don’t read Asahi Shimbun if you don’t read newspapers in English). Use the target language as a vehicle for learning more about a subject, skill, or cultural area of interest.

Do not use material incongruent with your interests as a vehicle for learning a language – it will not work.

Efficiency: It matters little if you have the best material and adherence if time-to-fluency is 20 years. The ROI won’t compel you. Ask yourself: Will this method allow me to reach accurate recognition and recall with the fewest number of exposures, within the shortest period of time? If the answer is no, your method must be refined or replaced.

An Example of Effectiveness (80/20) in Practice

Pareto’s Principle of 80/20 dictates that 80% of the results in any endeavor come from 20% of the input, material, or effort.

We can adapt this principle and prioritize material based on its recorded likelihood and frequency of usage. To understand 95% of a language and become conversational fluent may require 3 months of applied learning; to reach the 98% threshold could require 10 years. There is a point of diminishing returns where, for most people, it makes more sense to acquire more languages (or other skills) vs. add a 1% improvement per 5 years.

If you were a student of English (though the list can be adapted to most languages), the following words would deliver the greatest ROI per hour invested for the initial 1-3 weeks of study:

The 100 Most Common Written Words in English

1. the

2. of

3. and

4. a

5. to

6. in

7. is

8. you

9. that

10. it

11. he

12. was

13. for

14. on

15. are

16. as

17. with

18. his

19. they

20. I

21. at

22. be

23. this

24. have

25. from

26. or

27. one

28. had

29. by

30. word

31. but

32. not

33. what

34. all

35. were

36. we

37. when

38. your

39. can

40. said

41. there

42. use

43. an

44. each

45. which

46. she

47. do

48. how

49. their

50. if

51. will

52. up

53. other

54. about

55. out

56. many

57. then

58. them

59. these

60. so

61. some

62. her

63. would

64. make

65. like

66. him

67. into

68. time

69. has

70. look

71. two

72. more

73. write

74. go

75. see

76. number

77. no

78. way

79. could

80. people

81. my

82. than

83. first

84. water

85. been

86. call

87. who

88. oil

89. its

90. now

91. find

92. long

93. down

94. day

95. did

96. get

97. come

98. made

99. may

100. part

The first 25 of the above words make up about 1/3 of all printed material in English. The first 100 comprise 1/2 of all written material, and the first 300 make up about 65% percent of all written material in English. Articles and tense conjugations that can often be omitted in some languages or learned for recognition (understanding) but not recall (production).

Most frequency lists are erroneously presented as the “most common words” in English, with no distinction made between written and spoken vocabulary. The 100 most common words as used in speech are considerably different, and this distinction applies to any target language.

The 100 Most Common Spoken Words in English

1. a, an

2. after

3. again

4. all

5. almost

6. also

7. always

8. and

9. because

10. before

11. big

12. but

13. (I) can

14. (I) come

15. either/or

16. (I) find

17. first

18. for

19. friend

20. from

21. (I) go

22. good

23. goodbye

24. happy

25. (I) have

26. he

27. hello

28. here

29. how

30. I

31. (I) am

32. if

33. in

34. (I) know

35. last

36. (I) like

37. little

38. (I) love

39. (I) make

40. many

41. one

42. more

43. most

44. much

45. my

46. new

47. no

48. not

49. now

50. of

51. often

52. on

53. one

54. only

55. or

56. other

57. our

58. out

59. over

60. people

61. place

62. please

63. same

64. (I) see

65. she

66. so

67. some

68. sometimes

69. still

70. such

71. (I) tell

72. thank you

73. that

74. the

75. their

76. them

77. then

78. there is

79. they

80. thing

81. (I) think

82. this

83. time

84. to

85. under

86. up

87. us

88. (I) use

89. very

90. we

91. what

92. when

93. where

94. which

95. who

96. why

97. with

98. yes

99. you

100. your

Individual word frequency will vary between languages (especially pronouns, articles, and possessives), but differences are generally related to frequency rank, rather than complete omission or replacement with a different term. The above two lists are surprisingly applicable to most popular languages.

Content and vocabulary selection beyond the most common 300-500 words should be dictated by subject matter interest. The most pertinent questions will be “What will you spend your time doing with this language?”

If necessary, the most closely related rephrasing would be “What do I currently spend my time doing?” It bears repeating: do not read about something that you would not read about in your native language. Use the target language as a vehicle for learning more about a subject, skill, or cultural area of interest. Poor material never produces good language.

Feed your language ability foods you like, or you will quit your “diet” and cease study long before you achieve any measurable level of proficiency.

Once the framework of grammar has been transferred to long-term memory, acquiring vocabulary is a simple process of proper spaced repetition, which will be the subject of a dedicated future post.

In the meantime, don’t let languages scare you off. It’s a checklist and a process of finding material you enjoy with a good frequency ROI.