What Is Mimic Method All About?
How do children learn their mother tongue? Hearing what their parents and other people say and then by mimicking it. Over the time course, they become “native speakers”. Basically, language is only a collection of certain patterns. I am sure that any human in the world can learn any language in the world with practice.
The purpose of the Mimic Method is to teach you to speak like a native. Sometimes I have heard the misconception that you can’t learn to speak like a native. You will always have an accent. That is a myth and it’s proven false by countless language learners.
The creator of Mimic Method is Idahossa Ness. As an adult, he has learned to speak Spanish, French, Portuguese, German and Mandarin Chinese “By Ear.” That makes 5 languages in total. Sometimes people think at first that he is a native speaker because he speaks languages so well.
He made the same discovery like many other language gurus. He realized that children are learning languages quickly by hearing so why adults should learn by reading because it seems to take more time. As a lifelong musician, he knew the best techniques for ear-training.
–
UPDATE 2023:
SPANISH: See the BEST method to learn Spanish here!
FRENCH: See the BEST way to learn French here!
–
Mimic Method Review 2020
I’ve just published an updated Mimic Method Review 2020 video on my YouTube channel where I show you what is Mimic Method all about, who is Idahossa Ness and how he can help you to learn languages faster.
You’ll surely find the video helpful and informative.
If you have any questions regarding Mimic Method or learning languages in general, don’t hesitate to ask me in the comments below and I’ll be more than happy to help you out.
What Is the Traditional Way of Learning Languages and How Mimic Method Is Different?
Traditionally you study a new language in the following ways at schools:
1.Learn to read and to write a language
2.Study Grammar rules
3.Translate all words to your own language
4.Practice Conversation (through translation)
5.Improve your accent to sound better
Note that most of the e people have already lost your confidence in step 5 and they are saying, “Well, I can read and write in “X language” but I can’t speak it very well.” Many language gurus say that traditional way of learning languages is unnatural for humans.
Traditional methods focus on learning by eye while natural methods focus on learning by ear like children do.
In Mimic Method you will not be studying in a traditional way with your eyes. You will be learning by ear and start backward compared to traditional school methods. You will explore sounds, syllables and sentences of a new language so you can start to speak like a native right from the start. Why should you need first a phase of “speaking like a foreigner” and then refining your speaking bit by bit if you can learn the right pronunciation right away?
Mimic Method uses also music to reinforce learning. If we think about a language, it’s basically a flow of syllables said in the right rhythm and intonation. It’s like singing a song. You are using different kind of rhythms and tones in various languages. Compare for example Spanish and British speakers.
By learning the right intonation by using music it sinks deeper into your brain and memory. Then you can easily recall the good ways of saying words when you are next time speaking that language.
–
UPDATE 2023:
SPANISH: See the BEST method to learn Spanish here!
FRENCH: See the BEST way to learn French here!
–
The Founder of Mimic Method, Idahossa Ness
What Are the Main Benefits Of Using Mimic Method?
Idahossa Ness lists the benefits of using his learning method.
1.Hear the words in fast German/French/Spanish or whatever language that you are studying. Sometimes you may feel that native speakers are talking too fast that is hard to catch what they are exactly saying. You understand more or less what they say but noot 100%. Mimic Method’s purpose is to help you to understand all that you hear in your target language.
2.Native speakers will understand you. Sometimes when you are having a conversation with a native speaker you know exactly what you are saying is right but for some reason, the other person doesn’t understand you. Sometimes the reason can be that another person is just cocky and it bothers you that you are not speaking “the perfect” language. But most of the time the reason is that he/she just doesn’t fully understand the meaning.
With the help of Mimic Method’s practical training, you will mimic native speakers and sound like them. Then you will not have a challenge anymore that natives couldn’t understand you. On the contrary, you may be mistaken as a native speaker.
3.You will gain lots of confidence to speak a new language. When you learn the right sounds and a native pronunciation with Mimic Method, you will speak like a native -> you will get compliments -> you know that you are talking it right -> your confidence to use the language can rise. However, for me sounding like a native is not a requirement for the confidence. I can speak foreign languages confidently without sounding like a native because I know that making mistakes is not a problem as far as I learn and the other person and understands me.
4.Learn faster than with traditional methods. Usually, with traditional methods, it takes even years to speak a foreign language. The founder of Mimic Method, Idahossa Ness, learned German in a few months. Now he shares the methods with you so you can get the same results as he got.
Life is full of causes and effects. If somebody gets certain results by using certain methods, you will most likely get the same results if you are doing what he is doing. The formula for success is simple: 1. Learn what successful people did. 2. Do the same and become successful too. This principle fully applies to language learning.
–
UPDATE 2023:
SPANISH: See the BEST method to learn Spanish here!
FRENCH: See the BEST way to learn French here!
–
Mimic Method Testimonials
Here I took two testimonials of Mimic Method users. First guy started seeing remarkable results already in two weeks after using this method. His language skills were literally upgraded to a next level.
Another user had apparently already learned German before taking Mimic Method. Then after learning with this method he started learning a better pronunciation and getting compliments on his accent. This example proves that Mimic Method works also for those who have already learned a language before but they want to take their skills to the next level.
Who Is the Mimic Method for?
Mimic Method is for you if you want to understand better what native speakers say and to speak like a native yourself. It develops your pronunciation and understanding.
If you want to learn grammar then this method is probably not for you. This is neither for you if you want automatic work without any practice. You will need to dedicate time to learning. But this principle applies to any language learning method ;).
Idahosa Ness recommends using 20-60 minutes daily for this method. Then you will gradually make progress every day. If you practice a little bit every day you will go through for example Mimic Method German in 6 weeks. If you learn once or twice a week it will take around 3 months. Imagine what kind of progress you can make in such a short period of time.
Mimic Method doesn’t focus on teaching lots of vocabularies but rather the right sounds. I think it’s a good focus because many times in language courses we are studying irrelevant vocabulary that we don’t even use in our everyday life. There are, for example, 135,000 words in German but 500 words make up 60% of all spoken language.
If you can hear/pronounce 500 most common German words you can perfectly hear/pronounce 95% of all German words.
So, by concentrating on learning the most important vocabulary, you can already manage quite well. 🙂
What Are the Prices of Mimic Method?
The cost of Mimic Method German, Mandarin Chinese, French or Spanish is $147. You can learn more what those individual courses include by clicking one of those links. By buying the course you will get a lifetime access to all learning material related to that course.
All of them are based on the same method, but courses are individually formed because languages are different. They have different sounds and characteristics.
Then if you want to learn a few courses in a bundle you will get a discount. Typically one course costs $147 but if you buy two courses at once (for example Spanish and French) you get $70 discount on another course and pay only $77 for a lifetime access. If you buy 3 courses at the same time you pay $147 for the first one and only $57 for the second and the third course so you save $180 compared to buying them one by one.
My Final Opinion of Mimic Method
In my opinion, Idahossa Ness’ Mimic Method is very interesting and creative. It’s already used by thousands by language learners but is not as common as those traditional methods at the school where you learn with your eyes instead of using your ears. I think that Idahossa’s method gives much better results because it focuses on learning right away the correct pronunciation from native speakers.
–
UPDATE 2023:
SPANISH: See the BEST method to learn Spanish here!
FRENCH: See the BEST way to learn French here!
–
What do you think about Mimic Method? Have you already tried it yourself?
It’s very true. I had a friend who has seven children. They are all born in america, so most of them have lost the ability to speak chinese. I don’t blame them, because it is highly discouraged in school social circles to speak your own native language. I was always a little confused as to why people will discriminate against you for having knowledge of an extra langugage, but that’s besides the point. Anyway, long story short. five to six of those seven children I just mentioned can’t speak chinese at all. When they do, it’s super broken. Two of them can speak it. I asked them how they did it. They said that they simply just talk more in that language, and keep sharpening their pronunciation until they get it. I think that’s very similar to your mimic technique. If I showed it to the other five, I am sure it will bring them great results.
Hi “Blame”,
you are right that using the language by speaking is a very effective and good way to sharpen language skills. Mimic Method is a bit different because it teaches you the sounds, rhythm and more details about the language. Because sometimes you may speak a language even for tens of years and still have a different accent than native speakers. Mimic Method’s gives you a native speaker’s accent because you are learning how native’s speak it.
Hi Roope,
A very interesting site you have here.
My two kids speak fluent mandarin. Surprisingly, I can’t. Whenever I tried speaking to them, they will laugh and ask me to use other dialect instead. And when other people speak to me in mandarin, they will help me answer.
Looks like the only thing stopping me to pick up this dialect is nobody at home wants me to speak in mandarin. Or is it myself giving a lame excuse.
Motivation and encouragement is very important in any learning process.
All the best to you!
Sharon
Hi Sharon,
Thanks for the comment! I have experienced the same when I have studied some new language that people laugh. But then I thought that it’s only a positive thing because I made some people smile and laugh. Is it so bad at all? 😉
I am sure that you will pick real Chinese when you never give and keep on learning. If your children speak good, then you can learn their pronunciation also.
Mimic Method Chinese could also be very profitable if you want to learn to speak Chinese without an accent.
All the best to you too!
-Roope
This is a very interesting post. I spent most of 2015 teaching English to Chinese adults and children. Using a pre-prepared lesson plan, we used a variation of the mimic method.
Grammar was part of the progressive training. I was trying to learn Thai at the same time as I taught English. Learning to read it and recognising the alphabet was crucial to improving my skills. Since Thai is a tonal language, with numerous vowels, I am not sure if the mimic method would work with it.
What do you think?
Cheers,
Duncan
Hi Duncan,
It’s always interesting to hear experiences from language teachers. I am curious how well did the “variation of Mimic Method” work with your students?
I believe that Mimic method could learn with any language because you always need to learn a certain pronunciation. Idahossa Ness’ Mimic Method is so far available in 5 languages but I believe that they is something similar with Thai. Do you speak Thai fluently nowadays?
-Roope
I have a relative who lives in the US. he has two sons, the first one was three years when the family migrated to the US and the second son was born in the US. The first one has lived more years in the US than the second one, however, the second one speaks English better. Why is that so? That’s because the first one already had basic knowledge of language and he could not mimic the natives, where as the second one began to mimic as soon as he began to learn verbal communication.
That’s an interesting story. Thanks for sharing it for us.
It seems that with many new skills we first need to “unlearn” the old habit to replace it with a new. Some years ago I went to singing lessons every week and the teacher always taught that the biggest part of learning to sing well is unlearning old singing habits.
I think that’s why they always say it’s the best to teach the best ways right away for the children so we don’t need to try to “cure” adults.
Definitely true. Mimic Method is what I really did when I was learning on how to speak Japanese language “Nihongo”, because if I found it difficult to learn the language through reading books. At first I tried learning just by reading.
The good thing about reading is you will learn how they spell out the words and you will know how to construct sentences with their language, however the funny thing was when I went out and tried to talk to some of my Japanese friends it seems that what I’ve learned was somehow different when I heard them talking, though I had my notes just for guidance.
So what I did was I watched Japanese movies an hour or two just to hear some slang words that they are using. For me Mimic Method is like learning how to play music, you need to listen and get the correct tempo and play it.
Hi Zenica,
thanks for sharing your story. I think it proves that the real “mimic method” really works! 😉
Sorry to say, but am one among those who believes it’s almost impossible to speak like a native by just learning the language.Well,that was a long time ago, my views have changed since I met a foreigner who spoke my native language with so much ease that I couldn’t believe he just learned the language a few months prior to our meeting.
Drawing from the above, I won’t say it’s 100% possible to speak like a native because a lot of folks find it really difficult doing so, but a majority of people can achieve it with the right set of mind, efforts and off course your recommendation drawing from this post.
Hi Rumu,
if you aren’t able to speak like a native it can be because of 2 reasons:
1.You have used wrong methods
2.You haven’t practiced enough
There are millions of people all around the world who learned to speak another language just like a native so it’s completely possible for you as well. I recommend learning from those who have already done it because they can give you good advice. If you talk with people who failed to achieved it, most likely they won’t give you very good tips.
That’s true. I remember when we repeated words at school many years ago. However, Mimic Method doesn’t only make you repeat the words. It teaches you the right pronunciation, sounds and all nuances of your target language so you will be able to speak it fluently.
So cool! There are so many methods on how to learn a language. Maybe the most appropriate to me is this, the mimic method. For me, it is easy to mimic or copy a certain characteristics of a person. Maybe it is because of my hobby copying other moves or characteristics. I think I could learn fast in this method.
Sounds great. Let me know what has been your experience after you’ve used Mimic Method. I would like to hear from you. 🙂
Mimic Learning is the real way for a child to learn. I have understood that because I have a daughter 2 yrs old now that we don’t even teach her the English Language right away because we like her to learn Tagalog first our native language, but because she hears it from the children shows she watched, she was able to say it better than we could. So yes it is a great way and I think since we can be also even though we are adults to learn through mimicking.
Kids are great learners because they aren’t afraid of making mistakes. They try, try, and try until they have learned. Did you know that adults could learn languages much faster than kids if we use proper methods? I think that many times in practice kids learn faster because adults have so many excuses and fears that children don’t have. What do you think Melvs?
I certainly agree. These patterns are hardwired into our brains at an especially young age. The more familiar we are with certain words, the easier and more natural it will be for us to use them in everyday life.
The accent thing varies from one individual to another. This is also proven not true for everyone once you consider the numerous actors able to perform movie roles with accents and the audience being none the wiser to the fact that it’s not how they normally talk.
People can sometimes surprise you with how well they speak despite it not being their native language. It’s so fascinating whenever I watch a movie only to find out later that the actor playing the memorable character actually spoke differently from when he was in the movie.
This is what Mimic reminds me of. It would be so fun to learn a new language and nail the accent. This method might just do the trick.
Yeah, different accents are interesting.
You talked about movies and accents so you probably remember the story of Arnold Schwarzenegger. A part of his success was his unique Austrian accent in the Hollywood movie business. At the beginning some movie producers said it’s sounds strange and people don’t want to buy it. But we can see what happened. People fell in love with that unique accent of Arnie. 😉
I know, right? Accents provide opportunities for individuals to express their unique sense of self. It happens whether they’re aware of it.
Some people even have their accents so ingrained in their minds and experiences that they can’t really say they have an accent. It’s funny how specific countries have this thing: for those of us living outside of their country and therefore unfamiliar with their accent, we perceive the subtle nuances in their intonation and the way they speak.
But to them, there is no accent. It’s what they consider normal and has always been how they spoke and communicated.
That’s true! Interesting thoughts.
Thank you. It’s fun to share stuff here with you.
It’s also really weird. I can’t remember which countries have this sort of thing about accents. I just know that there are countries where it’s considered unusual, weird, or impolite to point out someone’s accent.
It comes across to them as if you’re pointing out their big toe, ear or whatever. Some people are even so sensitive about it that they may take offense at what you thought was a friendly gesture.
They’ve used this scenario in movies where the protagonist goes to a foreign only to make the most ludicrous mistakes. So funny!
Hahahha yeah, there are interesting cultural differences with gestures.
Your article is really nice, because I don’t still know how to speak my language including my mother’s, I have tried all the processes of learning how to speak language but still I don’t get it. I have bought books on how to learn languages before but it didn’t go down well with me, as I kept on forgetting the language and the words later on, sometimes when I want to speak it just leaves my memory and I go to zero again.
It got so bad that they hired a language teacher for me, the teacher gave me all the rules on how to speak languages which includes:
Having a good listening ear.
Being able to mimic like a child.
Being around people who know how to speak the language well enough.
Among others, I was doing so well with my new teacher until she asked me to repeat what she just said, I repeated it and the next thing she said was “Diana, English language should be the only thing you can speak, because you will never learn how to speak any other language other than that”. Since then I gave up on learning how to speak other languages, but with this insight you have giving me I should be able to take it up from here, learning languages aren’t difficult as I thought.
I think if you would strongly believe that you couldn’t learn languages, it becomes a negative self-fulfilling prophecy. On the other hand, if you believe that you can make it despite challenges, it becomes a positive “prophecy” and eventually you’ll make it.
I think that your teacher’s comment wasn’t very polite. I hope she was just joking even though it doesn’t sound like a nice joke. Les Brown and his mentor always said, “Don’t let someone’s opinion of you become your reality.” Don’t care if somebody doesn’t believe in you. You can now that I believe in you still! 🙂
Yes. I guess you are right about that. I just felt so many years that she possibly was right seeing that I couldn’t get my head around trying to learn a new language.
Thanks for the motivation too. I just might take your words more seriously and begin to focus more. Am coming through a lot of genius ways of learning a new language here on your site which seems to be way better than the conventional means of learning all this while. Am thinking if I can get a long with one, then just maybe I might be a able to break my jinx and work it through.
The mimic method is true in my opinion. It was how we all came to speak are first language. I’ve personally tried this method when learning to speak Spanish and it works perfectly for me.
I’m glad to hear that you had positive experiences with Mimic Method Spanish. I’ve noticed that many people who have visited my blog LanguagesAreEasy.com have bought it.