A long-term experiment in language learning, measurement, and the compounding effects of consistent practice.

Why The Flywheel?

Language learning works like a flywheel. At first, progress takes deliberate effort: every new word, page, conversation, and hour of listening moves the wheel forward only a little. But nothing is wasted. Vocabulary makes reading easier. Reading strengthens grammar. Listening reinforces vocabulary. Understanding more allows you to consume more, and each turn makes the next one easier. Eventually, the momentum begins to carry itself. The goal of The Flywheel Linguist is to build that momentum until another language stops feeling like something you study and becomes a world you can enter; a world where books, ideas, and stories no longer need to pass through translation first.

Follow the Experiment
Follow the Experiment

THE EXPERIMENT

Can an adult learner measure his way toward advanced language proficiency?

I’m documenting my pursuit of C1+ proficiency in French and Italian using a combination of deliberate study, reading, listening, conversation, and immersion. Along the way, I’m tracking every activity through an experimental XP system designed to measure not just time spent learning, but the type and intensity of that work.

The goal is to find out how well accumulated effort predicts real-world CEFR proficiency and what happens when the process is sustained for years rather than weeks.

Follow the experiment →

French
Estimated CEFR Level: B1
446,378 XP
Next: B2 at 700,000 XP
B1 · 350k 27.5% to B2 B2 · 700k
XP is my experimental measure of weighted language-learning activity. CEFR levels shown here are estimates based on my model, not formal assessments.
Italian
Estimated CEFR Level: A2
272,914 XP
Next: B1 at 350,000 XP
A2 · 150k 61.5% to B1 B1 · 350k
XP is my experimental measure of weighted language-learning activity. CEFR levels shown here are estimates based on my model, not formal assessments.
Romanian
Estimated CEFR Level: A0
472 XP
Next: A1 at 50,000 XP
A0 · 0 0.9% to A1 A1 · 50k
XP is my experimental measure of weighted language-learning activity. CEFR levels shown here are estimates based on my model, not formal assessments.

Latest From The Journal

The Flywheel Journal
When a Foreign Language Stops Feeling Foreign
When a Foreign Language Stops Feeling Foreign

After hundreds of hours learning French and Italian, I experienced something new: understanding French television without translating. Here's what changed.

Read more →
The Flywheel Report: September 2026
The Flywheel Report: September 2026

September brought 48½ hours of French and Italian, 30 straight days of practice, and some of my clearest evidence yet that the flywheel is working. French is becoming easier, Italian is gaining ground, and the two languages are beginning to interact in unexpected ways. Here’s what a month of sustainable consistency taught me about comprehension, language switching, and keeping the wheel turning.

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The Week French Started Thinking for Me
The Week French Started Thinking for Me

What happens when a language starts feeling automatic? After a breakthrough week in French and Italian, I explore how reading, Pimsleur, movies, and consistent immersion are building momentum toward fluency.

Read more →

The Linguist

Meet Trevor

I’m a business professional and adult language learner documenting what happens when a systems-oriented approach is applied to language learning over the long term.

After returning to French following nearly two decades away and restarting Italian with a new purpose, I’m pursuing advanced proficiency in both while documenting the process, the data, and what I learn along the way.

About Trevor

Follow the Experiment

The Flywheel Linguist is an ongoing experiment in language learning, measurement, and long-term progress.

Have a question about the project, an idea worth exploring, or experience with language learning you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you.

Send me a message below and keep the flywheel moving.