The Power of Copying

Why copying works better than cramming

You already know how to learn a language by copying — you did it once before.

When you were a baby, you didn't study grammar tables or memorize vocabulary lists. You listened. You copied. You repeated what you heard until it stuck.

That's the Copycat Method.

The science behind it

Your brain has mirror neurons — they fire both when you watch someone do something and when you do it yourself. Your brain literally rehearses speech just by listening.

When you copy a phrase out loud, you're not just practicing sounds. You're building muscle memory — the same way you learned to ride a bike or type on a keyboard. Your mouth learns the movements until they become automatic.

Why traditional methods ignore this

• Grammar-translation: Treats language as rules to memorize

• Gamified apps: Optimize for streaks and engagement, not speaking

• Immersion: Throws you in the deep end before you've heard enough input

They all ask you to create French from scratch. But that's backwards.

The Copycat insight

You don't need to understand French to copy it. And through copying, understanding comes naturally.

Watch. Copy. Chat.

That's how you learned your first language. That's how you'll learn French.