Learning lots of languages can lead to some unexpected problems. Some funny. Some infuriating! 11 of these "polyglot problems" are here 👉🏼th-cam.com/video/PzT4GLkFc_Q/w-d-xo.html
I would be interested to know your definition of fluent.After 13 years in France and I have been highly motivated,the French say Im fluent but yet there are times when I understand maybe 50%sometimes due to accent amongst other things but never grammar.My problem is I would like to learn Spanish but see it as so daunting to get to the level I have in French.I find it difficult to believe that someone like Steve has my vocabulary in the 20 languages he speaks.So if he doesnt then he is fairly restricted in what he can talk about ,that to me isnt fluency.Help me out!!!
I tweeted about this video as follows. "From Olly Richards, one of the most down to earth, practical, competent & friendly of the polyglot community, most of whom share these qualities but Olly is tops" Such a well done video. As one person said in the comments here, "I prefer to listen to Olly talk about Steve rather than to listen to Steve himself."
You and Steve are the two people that helped me most when getting into languages, then a bit further down the line AJATT + Matt vs Japan. Such an inspiration
This is an excellent presentation. And Steve is a fantastic role model especially for people of my age group (I am 58 now, and the best years are still ahead of me... ) Thanks, Olly.
if there's one thing this channel has done for me, it's that it motivated me. and every once in a while I feel myself losing hope when I make silly mistakes like mixing up sentar and sentir, forgetting to put little reflexive words like os, or me, like forgetting whether the noun or the verb comes first. but when I watch your videos it reminds me of why I'm doing this, and the importance of perseverance, and for that olly, I thank you 🇺🇸🇲🇽🇪🇸
Mille mercis à monsieur Kaufmann, la librairie Kaufmann m'a vraiment aidé, comme aussi mes autres camarades, à mon apprentissage de la langue française. Merci beaucoup, de Grèce 🇬🇷❤️🇫🇷
I agree, it's not about becoming as good as a native speaker because that is almost impossible; it's about doing what you enjoy and having a REASONABLE understanding. I enjoyed this, Ollie - and your books are good too!
It's not impossible to become as good as a native speaker. It's easy, you just need time to learn the language. Of course you can't become like a native in just 3 months but you can, in just approximately 4 years; I am from Turkey and I had some Syrian friends in Istanbul who escaped from the Syrian war and they were really able to speak Turkish better than some natives.
Steve has really inspired me in my language-learning journey since I discovered him back in 2015. I am now learning French on Lingq and have racked up over 17,000 words in just two months. I am excited to see where I will be by the end of the year.
@@milosm9280 I can read advanced books (native-level) and understand something like 90% of the words, which I believe makes me intermediate in reading comprehension at any rate, if nothing else.
@@milosm9280 I have been doing LingQ, watching French movies, listening to videos and reading paper books in French. I am currently reading a 900-page biography of Charles de Gaulle.
What an impressive video! I am currently learning French and have been applying both Olly and Steve's concepts on language learning, and can attest that my understanding and communication have greatly increased. I can't stress enough how much short stories and constant input have helped me out.
Steve is of course one of the polyglots that I admire. I can relate to his method because I am also an input-first person. I also do not study grammar unless it is necessary to understand some points that I cannot figure out on my own. His impressive language learning journey motivates me a lot. And indeed, being able to enjoy the process is so crucial for learning languages.
I'm soon to start a foreign policy PhD and trying to learn to read and speak better French and German (improve on my GCSEs!) beforehand. Just discovered your channel Olly and it is BRILLIANT! So pleased I found your content! Thank you!
Steve is very pragmatic - which makes him hard to figure out! I'm sure I've listened to a clip of is where he said he liked to whizz through an introductory course like Teach Yourself quickly in a couple of months to orientate himself in the grammar.
Steve did say in some of his videos that he likes to start with a textbook like teach yourself. He goes through it quickly and then continues with other things. Maybe nowadays he's just focused with his mini-stories but he does buy textbooks and grammar books for his languages too. But he is using his lingq platform the most.
Olly I have to say I enjoy hearing you talk about Steve Kaufman more than actually watching Steve Kaufman himself! LOL :-) Thanks for another great video!
Olly, really loving this series. I do watch some of the people you feature - I know all of these things about Steve, for example - but it is interested to see it all compiled and be able to get so much info in one place. Also, I need to start a TH-cam channel so I can get featured. Lol
I have gotten into language learning more in my late 30's than I had at any time prior to. I started learning Korean last summer after getting HEAVILY into K-dramas while watching them with my daughters. Something just clicked in my brain that made me want to learn Korean. I want to watch Korean movies, shows, and vlogs without relying on subtitles and although it isn't easy, as Korean in completely different than English, that challenged me to learn it even more. English is my native language, Korean is my target language and now at the ripe old age of 40 I am learning Italian into my language learning mix. I guess getting older inspired me to become a lover of languages. I always have loved how foreign languages sounds since I was a kid but now that I've gotten older I have really gotten heavily into learning languages. My long term goal is 12 years. In 12 years I want to be able to speak 5 languages and if I learn them all as close to fluent I'll add 2 more for a total of 7. Korean, Italian, Indonesian, Japanese and French. If I somehow master them then I want to learn Afrikaans and Greek.
I started to watch your videos and they really helped me in language learning but it was on and off, whereas now I’ve started to watch your videos again (although not too much as not to reduce the time spent with languages) and they’ve really helped me pick it right back up. I’ve also started watching Steve Kaufmann a bit more again. Thanks Olly 🙏
It is really a good thing - to enjoy learning process. I love reading. So I decided that I can read in another languages to learn them. Spanish reading is great, thanks for English language, but... Japanese is hard when it comes to reading, but page by page I go further. It's the most funny thing - when you find how to read these kanjis and realize that you know the word, just didn't know how it is written. 😄
I think doing what you like doing is so true, and I think it shows if you think about how many people learn english and english isn't easier than french, spanish etc but people watch a lot of movies, titkok, consume music and podcasts in english. I do truly believe thats why english has become a language that everyone kind of knows. I had english at school since the age of 9 but I think my english become good when i started watching youtubes, and from all of my friends who are the best at english they are always the ones that consume lots of youtube (more so than netflix since people use subtitles in their native language with netflix, where as subtitles on youtube isn't the greatest).
For me, the love of languages (English and Spanish) started with music. I loved certain artists/musicians, and from there, my interest (for Spanish in particular) had begun. I think music (i.e. songs) are an excellent way of learning languages.
I was looking for something to read in Italian because it's my target language, later i found your channel and became interested in your books. I live in Poland and i was sure i wouldn't be able to buy it here but i tried anyway so i jumped on most popular Polish shopping website and found it there without any issues, surprisingly. So i ordered short stories for Italian and i'm waiting for it to arrive. In conclusion your books are really available worldwide :D
This video is so rich in knowledge and i love it! Me encanta mucho tu trabajo Olly, yo también disfruto de aprender lenguajes y me gustaría anotar que gracias a esto ya hablo italiano como tercera lengua! (mi primera lengua es el español por lo tanto fue fácil hehe) And to those that also share the passion for languages, keep it up !
Please Olly... 🙏 If you can track down Timothy Doner - my teenage inspiration for language learning - it would be incredible to see a conversation or analysis similar to this. 😃😃 I recently bought your Spanish Short Stories for Beginners, too. So far I'm loving this method of input, so thank you!
fucking amazing olly, i did the same to get my better pronounce and also learn other languages especially japan. now my habit when starting the day by listening to your video. I just can't wait for something new every day, and it helps me overcome anxiety. thanks a lot, and your English pronounce is good I do shadowing you talking, please use hard vocab to help understand some of those pronounce
Now I figured why language learning is not fun for the rest of us. Steve has soaked up all the fun when learning 20 languages. Please share the fun with us Steve
I was thinking the exact same and came looking for a comment on it! Less than 50% of the population speaks Mandarin, and most of them are children who are forced to learn it in schools. A diplomat hanging out with children doesn’t look very good :/
He went there as a canadian diplomate in training and like he said at the time his government hadnt yet recognized the PRC so he could not go there yet and hong kong was as close as they could get. Also hong king was own by the UK at this time so it would have been very friendly to former commonwealth governments and people working there, like the canadians.
@@Instabram108 Yeah, so it's like some Asian country that has no diplomatic relations with Germany sending its diplomats to Amsterdam to learn German. If it's the best you can do then fair enough. Still funny tho
There have been more and more polyglots on the YT channel lately. Personally, I would like to see live the level of language they speak, such as one-hour live sessions where we YT users ask them questions. There is no problem to learn a few sentences. Nowadays, the technique also allows you to read when looking at the camera, etc., and then this is sold as “speaking languages”. I know there are people who speak multiple languages, but not many who speak fluently, at least so fluently that they are capable of communication, which is not the same as learning certain phrases or some text prepared in advance. My writing does not refer to today’s YT video, but is a reflection of a general observation of what is happening on YT. I'm learning a foreign language myself and I know how hard it is and that it takes a really long time to get to the level of communication...
i think not competing is important but it’s equally as important to *collaborate* with other learners. it’s very motivating to hear about a great story in Chinese and race to catch up so you can read it too XD plus all of the resources you can share with each other
I've followed Steve Kaufmann since early 2010's. He's like my personal internet grandpa, a grandpa I never had. I become very emotional whenever I see him getting older day by day. I wish him always in a good health & hope can meet him one day.
:D siiiii es hermoso el tiempo que vivimos ahora, que tenemos muchos materiales de los que aprender en nuestro propio tiempo y en cualquier parte del mundo
Me encanta encontrar tus commentarios en videos sobre còmo aprender a hablar un idioma; de todas maneras, siempre cada vez que comentas aprendo algo! Mil Gracias mi amiga :) Hace tres meses que estudio español. Paso a paso con mucho placer!
I speak Danish (native) 🇩🇰 Norwegan Swedish German English Do not speak Dutch but as a skandinavian we normaly understand Dutch as it is very similar. Learning Portugese due to my colleges are Portugese 😁 and other colleges are from India and that is next on my list. Learned French but forgot it as I did not maintain it.
Confidence begets...whoops, a squirrel..."is it fun" is the most important. Got it! Olly, you give us all your great ideas AND you give us ideas from other people. You seem to really believe in "everyone's best method is different". Thank you very much.
Steve kaufman is a legend genuinly , after 60 and he learned 20 languages lol , there are alot of people can't learn the quarter of that number during their life time , hats off Steve.
This dude is absolutely amazing! I know 4 languages due to being lucky with having a good school system in my home country plus I'm currently working on my 5th one yet I have no idea how it is possible to get through 20 languages and at the same time find the time to retain all of them. Also completely unrelated side note, he kinda sounds like David Lynch
My goal isn't to learn multiple languages, and I've tested all of the methods, just Spanish and learning languages isn't something I find "fun." Reading a book and not looking up words for me doesn't work very well -- the opposite does work very well. Reading books and looking up words I don't understand on the same page day after day until I reach 95% comprehension is what works best for me. Flash cards help, but overall they're kind of a waste of time. I have enough self control that I can do it the hard way and learn much faster without getting demotivated, but I always liked Steve's method, which is very similar to yours. Memorizing the whole page or lyrics works the absolute best for me, but that's past my comfort level for demotivation.
Your videos are amazing, but it needs one simple thing which is subtitles. because as a non English native speaker I find it more early to follow with subtitles
I like Steve, since he is a good example (you don't need to be a kid to learn langs), for his honesty about his different levels in each language, and for the passion that we share in exploring other cultures gradually than to rush for fluency. However I find that he has an extreme anti-grammar stance, and I find that some deliberate grammar study is needed. BTW Olly, have you been thinking about doing more content on Arabic? Have you ventured into other dialects or into Fusha (and if so, do you share my perception that the dialects are kinda like very similar yet different languages, or that they are at least the same language but very different from each other?). Nice to see how the studio is changing back there.
@@storylearning do you think it's worth spending time learning basic latin before I take on old Norse and old English? I have a love for ancient languages.I am learning Sanskrit and Lithuanian as of now.
You need to have titles like that these days, otherwise people won't click on them. And that sentence isn't wrong at all, he has learned 20 languages! Had the title been "How did Steve Kaufmann become fluent in 20 languages" then I would understand you. Everyone has different goals when it comes to language learning: some like to discover as many languages as possible, others want to learn a few languages to a high level. All of that is okay, if everyone is honest about their results!
I'm actually learning Chinese 🙋 These tricks sound awesome ❤️ I'm not a big fan of writing lists of vocab and memorizing them ( no time) I prefer reading and listening 🎧 this so motivational
amazing video! Truly inspiring. I hear a lot about reading books and it’s great but how do you get to the level in a language where you can build enough vocab to read a book in your target language?
I'm in a constant battle with a a very traditional language learner who is obsessed with grammar. I pointed out to her that vast majority of Brits don't speak with perfect grammar so why is she obsessed with perfect grammar in Spanish? I doubt Spaniards all have perfect grammar.
Agreed that it isn’t necessary and that natives don’t know all the grammar. BUT also, people have different needs and personalities. For example, this traditional learner might not feel confident enough to just roll with their mistakes. As long as they aren’t trying to tell EVERYBODY that this is the only way, then fine by me.
Brazilians, Spanish speakers and other people usually try to speak perfect English for social reasons.It's hard to be a foreigner and talk like a foreigner for some of us. And there is generative grammar, the grammar of speakers and not of norms. We need to speak like speakers and not like foreigners.
@@renatam.r.6762 Thanks Renata for reply. Some good points. But what is perfect English? There are basic rules of grammar and word order. That's enough for anyone to communicate. Look at poetry. Breaks so many rules of word order and grammar. Nobody has a problem with that. Look at foreigners who write "perfect" English yet can't speak to the same level. I say there's no such thing as perfect spoken English. Just levels of fluency.
Nice to hear advice about enjoying things you do, but I still have some doubts. For example, I enjoy watching cartoons and blogs in TL and don't enjoy learning word lists or phrases lists or grammar, I do have progress, but not that fast, sometimes I feel like I do not enough to effective study.
I love learning other languages as well. The 20 languages I'd love to learn after my native English would be: German, Polish, Russian, Slovenian, Irish, Italian, Swahili, Hebrew, Korean, Tagalog, Indonesian, Quechua, Aymara, Hawaiian, Norwegian, Afrikaans, Guraní, Mandarin, French, and Portuguese.
Hey Ollie, is there a way to use story learning to supplement academic language learning? I'm enrolled in an Italian language learning course tight now, but I want to use story learning rather than textbooks
I want learn different languages Such English Arabic Japanese Turkish Chinese French Spanish Korean But now I learn English and arabic because is the whole world of languages is Englis📖 one day I will speak these languages God willing ❤📖
No you won't be. You barely put much time immersing yourself. You're just like everyone else online who claims they'll achieve something but gets lazy down the line
i hope you are able to speak as many languages as you like, however, from general experience it's probably best if you just focuss on one at a time to progress quickly and then move on to another language
Maybe start with one first. Don't plan your list of languages ahead of time, pick one that appeals to you now, and stick with it for years until you know it. Picking 20 languages to learn is a great way to never learn a single one.
Language learning isn't fun until you start understanding a reasonable amount of what you hear. It took me 10 months before I began enjoying Korean. Those first 10 months, were hard slog and not enjoyable in the slightest.
10 months sounds good, I'm watching kdramas and here and therr I'm picking up words and phrases but honestly I haven't put enough effort to actually learn.
@@CrisOnTheInternet Whatever anyone says, you have to put the effort in and simply hack through it. It's no fun though! That's a myth. I'm now 15 months in but still a long way off fluency. However, my comprehension is OKish which makes it more enjoyable. It's a combination of everything. Listening, reading, speaking, grammar etc. They all help.
@@nicoleraheem1195 Yes. The more you understand, the more enjoyable it becomes. Sadly, it's a choir until you have decent comprehension. Worth it of course!
I'd love love love to go to Brazil for a bit and learn like steve did. But.. I need $.. and the economy is just terrible so that won't be happening for awhile. Hopefully I'll be able to do this in a few years :')
The sad secret is that many polyglots are obviously genius level intellects. Most of us mere mortals can’t learn like they can. Steve is obviously a genius type.
I really love your videos and the information you share. My only thing is, and maybe it's because I've just started my language journey, but how do you gain any knowledge or insight from reading and listening to a language you know nothing about without looking up words all the time? I understand that you acquire the language when you comprehend it but if you are new to a language comprehension is non existent, so how do you gain acquisition?
Don't we start with the same things when we learn a language? Like introducing ourselves, daily routines, colors, greetings and so on. Very basic things that build up, like when we talk about hobbies we learn the names of sports or if we talk about meals we learn about food names.
I have one question, if I try to listen to a foreign language while for instance making a salad I can't concentrate fully on hearing the language. Doesn't that mean that my listening will be inefficient?
Learning languages is easier than remembering them. Another issue is brain fog (or fart if you will) when switching back and forth between two or more languages at the same time. Time to eat chocolate and take some Omega3.
If you don't know the alphabet, then you need to learn it and recognize the characters in separate words, aka getting familiar. Actually read in any language is a futher step regardless the alphabet. You can always look for audios with their scripts to associate the characters with their possible sounds.
... being a polyglot is like practicing a sport ... it requires time and dedication and it is only useful to compete with other polyglots, which is what you see on TH-cam ... the truth is that you only need to know one or two foreign languages depending on the work you do or where you are going to apply them ... today is not necessary to know several languages, for that there is Google Translate and Google Lens ...
Learning lots of languages can lead to some unexpected problems. Some funny. Some infuriating! 11 of these "polyglot problems" are here 👉🏼th-cam.com/video/PzT4GLkFc_Q/w-d-xo.html
I would be interested to know your definition of fluent.After 13 years in France and I have been highly motivated,the French say Im fluent but yet there are times when I understand maybe 50%sometimes due to accent amongst other things but never grammar.My problem is I would like to learn Spanish but see it as so daunting to get to the level I have in French.I find it difficult to believe that someone like Steve has my vocabulary in the 20 languages he speaks.So if he doesnt then he is fairly restricted in what he can talk about ,that to me isnt fluency.Help me out!!!
I face NO problem at all with 22 - gut I only listen I'm half deaf & mute from stroke
I tweeted about this video as follows. "From Olly Richards, one of the most down to earth, practical, competent & friendly of the polyglot community, most of whom share these qualities but Olly is tops" Such a well done video. As one person said in the comments here, "I prefer to listen to Olly talk about Steve rather than to listen to Steve himself."
Don't worry; I for one still enjoy your rambles... I don't miss any of them - and on LingQ every day.
It was an easy job given the subject matter I had to work with on this video! 🙏🏻
If u really do communicate in more than 4-5 languages that has to be the gift of tongues!!! THAT IS A SUPER POWER
@@storylearning good teachers are few and far between now a days
@@Malouco they are not gifted it's lots of hard work. Poliglots don't just "speak" the languages, they work hard to LEARN them
You and Steve are the two people that helped me most when getting into languages, then a bit further down the line AJATT + Matt vs Japan. Such an inspiration
Steve is the man!
You also
Love Steve. Such love towards language learning and such an inspiration proving that older people can learn a new language without any problems
Cheers!
YES SHARP older people can learn a new language without any problems, NOT AL ~2%
Steve is a freaking legend, now he's learning Arabic and Persian from home, and spends several hours a day doing so. What an inspiration!
赚钱呢怎么样
@@juanmontoya6622他在意你不是
@@idkwhattonamemyself1730 滚开没有人问你的
This is an excellent presentation. And Steve is a fantastic role model especially for people of my age group (I am 58 now, and the best years are still ahead of me... ) Thanks, Olly.
Cheers to that!
if there's one thing this channel has done for me, it's that it motivated me. and every once in a while I feel myself losing hope when I make silly mistakes like mixing up sentar and sentir, forgetting to put little reflexive words like os, or me, like forgetting whether the noun or the verb comes first. but when I watch your videos it reminds me of why I'm doing this, and the importance of perseverance, and for that olly, I thank you 🇺🇸🇲🇽🇪🇸
Mission accomplished!!
Mille mercis à monsieur Kaufmann, la librairie Kaufmann m'a vraiment aidé, comme aussi mes autres camarades, à mon apprentissage de la langue française. Merci beaucoup, de Grèce 🇬🇷❤️🇫🇷
I agree, it's not about becoming as good as a native speaker because that is almost impossible; it's about doing what you enjoy and having a REASONABLE understanding.
I enjoyed this, Ollie - and your books are good too!
Thanks Paul!
It's not impossible to become as good as a native speaker. It's easy, you just need time to learn the language. Of course you can't become like a native in just 3 months but you can, in just approximately 4 years; I am from Turkey and I had some Syrian friends in Istanbul who escaped from the Syrian war and they were really able to speak Turkish better than some natives.
Steve has really inspired me in my language-learning journey since I discovered him back in 2015. I am now learning French on Lingq and have racked up over 17,000 words in just two months. I am excited to see where I will be by the end of the year.
@Don Ricky I have only just started speaking, but I think I could work my way up to intermediate level in speaking within a few months.
@@DressyCrooner you arent intermediate with 17k words ?
@@milosm9280 I can read advanced books (native-level) and understand something like 90% of the words, which I believe makes me intermediate in reading comprehension at any rate, if nothing else.
@@DressyCrooner so did you just sign up for linq or did you use some other methods
@@milosm9280 I have been doing LingQ, watching French movies, listening to videos and reading paper books in French. I am currently reading a 900-page biography of Charles de Gaulle.
What an impressive video! I am currently learning French and have been applying both Olly and Steve's concepts on language learning, and can attest that my understanding and communication have greatly increased. I can't stress enough how much short stories and constant input have helped me out.
Steve is of course one of the polyglots that I admire. I can relate to his method because I am also an input-first person. I also do not study grammar unless it is necessary to understand some points that I cannot figure out on my own. His impressive language learning journey motivates me a lot. And indeed, being able to enjoy the process is so crucial for learning languages.
I'm soon to start a foreign policy PhD and trying to learn to read and speak better French and German (improve on my GCSEs!) beforehand. Just discovered your channel Olly and it is BRILLIANT! So pleased I found your content! Thank you!
This is the single best language learning video I have seen. Very healthy advice!
Steve is very pragmatic - which makes him hard to figure out! I'm sure I've listened to a clip of is where he said he liked to whizz through an introductory course like Teach Yourself quickly in a couple of months to orientate himself in the grammar.
Steve did say in some of his videos that he likes to start with a textbook like teach yourself. He goes through it quickly and then continues with other things. Maybe nowadays he's just focused with his mini-stories but he does buy textbooks and grammar books for his languages too. But he is using his lingq platform the most.
“Who’s the best guru?”
I mean, it’s pretty goddamn clear it’s Steve Kaufmann, my freaking hero.
Steve, you are a living legend! Also interesting going to Hong Kong where they speak Cantonese, to learn Mandarin ...
This video has motivated me more than a ton of other things I have come across!
Olly I have to say I enjoy hearing you talk about Steve Kaufman more than actually watching Steve Kaufman himself! LOL :-) Thanks for another great video!
no words to say from Steve Kaufman understands everything
Olly, really loving this series. I do watch some of the people you feature - I know all of these things about Steve, for example - but it is interested to see it all compiled and be able to get so much info in one place. Also, I need to start a TH-cam channel so I can get featured. Lol
Two of my favorite polyglots ❤️
Your nose is braun
I honestly can't wait to experience those 11 problems because then, I'll know how far I've come!
Wow very helpful, Input is where it is at!
I have gotten into language learning more in my late 30's than I had at any time prior to. I started learning Korean last summer after getting HEAVILY into K-dramas while watching them with my daughters. Something just clicked in my brain that made me want to learn Korean. I want to watch Korean movies, shows, and vlogs without relying on subtitles and although it isn't easy, as Korean in completely different than English, that challenged me to learn it even more. English is my native language, Korean is my target language and now at the ripe old age of 40 I am learning Italian into my language learning mix. I guess getting older inspired me to become a lover of languages. I always have loved how foreign languages sounds since I was a kid but now that I've gotten older I have really gotten heavily into learning languages. My long term goal is 12 years. In 12 years I want to be able to speak 5 languages and if I learn them all as close to fluent I'll add 2 more for a total of 7. Korean, Italian, Indonesian, Japanese and French. If I somehow master them then I want to learn Afrikaans and Greek.
I started to watch your videos and they really helped me in language learning but it was on and off, whereas now I’ve started to watch your videos again (although not too much as not to reduce the time spent with languages) and they’ve really helped me pick it right back up. I’ve also started watching Steve Kaufmann a bit more again. Thanks Olly 🙏
Olly puts out great information !
It is really a good thing - to enjoy learning process. I love reading. So I decided that I can read in another languages to learn them.
Spanish reading is great, thanks for English language, but...
Japanese is hard when it comes to reading, but page by page I go further. It's the most funny thing - when you find how to read these kanjis and realize that you know the word, just didn't know how it is written. 😄
It was half way through this video before I realized this wasn’t an interview
I think this is a really good series. And you're quite right, I had forgotten to subscribe!
I think doing what you like doing is so true, and I think it shows if you think about how many people learn english and english isn't easier than french, spanish etc but people watch a lot of movies, titkok, consume music and podcasts in english. I do truly believe thats why english has become a language that everyone kind of knows. I had english at school since the age of 9 but I think my english become good when i started watching youtubes, and from all of my friends who are the best at english they are always the ones that consume lots of youtube (more so than netflix since people use subtitles in their native language with netflix, where as subtitles on youtube isn't the greatest).
Both of your and Steve's youtube channel are my favourite source which inspire for me a lot.
:v
For me, the love of languages (English and Spanish) started with music. I loved certain artists/musicians, and from there, my interest (for Spanish in particular) had begun. I think music (i.e. songs) are an excellent way of learning languages.
I was looking for something to read in Italian because it's my target language, later i found your channel and became interested in your books. I live in Poland and i was sure i wouldn't be able to buy it here but i tried anyway so i jumped on most popular Polish shopping website and found it there without any issues, surprisingly. So i ordered short stories for Italian and i'm waiting for it to arrive. In conclusion your books are really available worldwide :D
Yes! Nice content. Steve has some good language learning wisdom.
This video is so rich in knowledge and i love it!
Me encanta mucho tu trabajo Olly, yo también disfruto de aprender lenguajes y me gustaría anotar que gracias a esto ya hablo italiano como tercera lengua! (mi primera lengua es el español por lo tanto fue fácil hehe)
And to those that also share the passion for languages, keep it up !
Lovely comment thanks!
Love the soad profile picture
Si hahaha per noi italiani el español es bastante facil para aprender e anche per gli spagnoli è uguale 😁
J'aime beaucoup regarder les vidéos de Steve sur sa chaîne. "Ne pas être en compétition avec les autres" est un excellent conseil.
I'm so glad I found this video, it really made me think of language learning differently
Me: “Ok Ernie, no more videos in english”
Olly: “ok guys, here’s a Steve Kaufman Language video”
Thanks Olly. 😬😁👍🏼
Down the rabbit hole of information consumption again !
@@diariosdelextranjero 😬😂
Glad I'm not the only one who gets lost in that struggle. Haha
-Sarah
Please Olly... 🙏 If you can track down Timothy Doner - my teenage inspiration for language learning - it would be incredible to see a conversation or analysis similar to this. 😃😃
I recently bought your Spanish Short Stories for Beginners, too. So far I'm loving this method of input, so thank you!
Love the collaborations
fucking amazing olly, i did the same to get my better pronounce and also learn other languages especially japan. now my habit when starting the day by listening to your video. I just can't wait for something new every day, and it helps me overcome anxiety. thanks a lot, and your English pronounce is good I do shadowing you talking, please use hard vocab to help understand some of those pronounce
Now I figured why language learning is not fun for the rest of us. Steve has soaked up all the fun when learning 20 languages. Please share the fun with us Steve
3:38 "they wanted someone to go to Hong Kong to learn Mandarin"
Lol that's like sending someone to Amsterdam to learn German
How did he manage to learn Mandarin ?
Like it is easier to go to hong kong to learn english than mandarin
I was thinking the exact same and came looking for a comment on it!
Less than 50% of the population speaks Mandarin, and most of them are children who are forced to learn it in schools. A diplomat hanging out with children doesn’t look very good :/
He went there as a canadian diplomate in training and like he said at the time his government hadnt yet recognized the PRC so he could not go there yet and hong kong was as close as they could get. Also hong king was own by the UK at this time so it would have been very friendly to former commonwealth governments and people working there, like the canadians.
@@Instabram108 Yeah, so it's like some Asian country that has no diplomatic relations with Germany sending its diplomats to Amsterdam to learn German. If it's the best you can do then fair enough. Still funny tho
There have been more and more polyglots on the YT channel lately. Personally, I would like to see live the level of language they speak, such as one-hour live sessions where we YT users ask them questions. There is no problem to learn a few sentences. Nowadays, the technique also allows you to read when looking at the camera, etc., and then this is sold as “speaking languages”.
I know there are people who speak multiple languages, but not many who speak fluently, at least so fluently that they are capable of communication, which is not the same as learning certain phrases or some text prepared in advance.
My writing does not refer to today’s YT video, but is a reflection of a general observation of what is happening on YT. I'm learning a foreign language myself and I know how hard it is and that it takes a really long time to get to the level of communication...
It would be great to see TH-camrs making videos in the languages they profess to speak. That is why I upload so many videos in Spanish.
i think not competing is important but it’s equally as important to *collaborate* with other learners. it’s very motivating to hear about a great story in Chinese and race to catch up so you can read it too XD plus all of the resources you can share with each other
Looking forward to this one.
I've followed Steve Kaufmann since early 2010's. He's like my personal internet grandpa, a grandpa I never had. I become very emotional whenever I see him getting older day by day. I wish him always in a good health & hope can meet him one day.
:D siiiii es hermoso el tiempo que vivimos ahora, que tenemos muchos materiales de los que aprender en nuestro propio tiempo y en cualquier parte del mundo
¡Sí, Esto exactamente! Es asombroso.
Me encanta encontrar tus commentarios en videos sobre còmo aprender a hablar un idioma; de todas maneras, siempre cada vez que comentas aprendo algo! Mil Gracias mi amiga :)
Hace tres meses que estudio español. Paso a paso con mucho placer!
I speak
Danish (native) 🇩🇰
Norwegan
Swedish
German
English
Do not speak Dutch but as a skandinavian we normaly understand Dutch as it is very similar.
Learning Portugese due to my colleges are Portugese 😁 and other colleges are from India and that is next on my list.
Learned French but forgot it as I did not maintain it.
Do you find harder to learn Portuguese because it belongs to a different family?
Confidence begets...whoops, a squirrel..."is it fun" is the most important. Got it! Olly, you give us all your great ideas AND you give us ideas from other people. You seem to really believe in "everyone's best method is different". Thank you very much.
Steve kaufman is a legend genuinly , after 60 and he learned 20 languages lol , there are alot of people can't learn the quarter of that number during their life time , hats off Steve.
This dude is absolutely amazing! I know 4 languages due to being lucky with having a good school system in my home country plus I'm currently working on my 5th one yet I have no idea how it is possible to get through 20 languages and at the same time find the time to retain all of them. Also completely unrelated side note, he kinda sounds like David Lynch
My goal isn't to learn multiple languages, and I've tested all of the methods, just Spanish and learning languages isn't something I find "fun." Reading a book and not looking up words for me doesn't work very well -- the opposite does work very well. Reading books and looking up words I don't understand on the same page day after day until I reach 95% comprehension is what works best for me. Flash cards help, but overall they're kind of a waste of time. I have enough self control that I can do it the hard way and learn much faster without getting demotivated, but I always liked Steve's method, which is very similar to yours.
Memorizing the whole page or lyrics works the absolute best for me, but that's past my comfort level for demotivation.
Just amazing and too inspirational.
Good content 👌 kindly make video on tips to learn Vietnamese. I am working on learning it these days👍
Your videos are amazing, but it needs one simple thing which is subtitles. because as a non English native speaker I find it more early to follow with subtitles
When I will be retired, I learn other languages (I speek today 4 languages: German, Italian, English and Spanish )
Me too!
Your English is bad though
@@masa5300 who cares? If they try, they improve. Have you ever tried to learn a new language?
When I retire, I will learn other languages.
As of today I speak 4 languages ...
Je vous en prie:)
@@masa5300 written
I like Steve, since he is a good example (you don't need to be a kid to learn langs), for his honesty about his different levels in each language, and for the passion that we share in exploring other cultures gradually than to rush for fluency. However I find that he has an extreme anti-grammar stance, and I find that some deliberate grammar study is needed.
BTW Olly, have you been thinking about doing more content on Arabic? Have you ventured into other dialects or into Fusha (and if so, do you share my perception that the dialects are kinda like very similar yet different languages, or that they are at least the same language but very different from each other?). Nice to see how the studio is changing back there.
Grammar is great when it comes after input and not the other way round.
The need to be good in Math and Sciences hampered my ability to learn languages properly in my younger age.
@6:56 😂 how did Olly know for some reason I was distracted at the exact moment
Having "learned" 20 languages is very vague.
Many people have very basic level in multiple languages, but wouldn't claim to have learned them.
he’s still one of the most legendary living polyglots in the world right now, so his advice is still quite worthwile
Spend a little time on Steve’s channel. You’ll see the claim is justified
@@storylearning yes he is!
@@storylearning do you think it's worth spending time learning basic latin before I take on old Norse and old English? I have a love for ancient languages.I am learning Sanskrit and Lithuanian as of now.
You need to have titles like that these days, otherwise people won't click on them. And that sentence isn't wrong at all, he has learned 20 languages! Had the title been "How did Steve Kaufmann become fluent in 20 languages" then I would understand you. Everyone has different goals when it comes to language learning: some like to discover as many languages as possible, others want to learn a few languages to a high level. All of that is okay, if everyone is honest about their results!
I'm actually learning Chinese 🙋
These tricks sound awesome ❤️
I'm not a big fan of writing lists of vocab and memorizing them ( no time)
I prefer reading and listening 🎧 this so motivational
Immersion is the only way
amazing video! Truly inspiring. I hear a lot about reading books and it’s great but how do you get to the level in a language where you can build enough vocab to read a book in your target language?
I'm in a constant battle with a a very traditional language learner who is obsessed with grammar. I pointed out to her that vast majority of Brits don't speak with perfect grammar so why is she obsessed with perfect grammar in Spanish?
I doubt Spaniards all have perfect grammar.
I know the feeling. And yet…. If she enjoys it…
@@storylearning I could say so much more on this fascinating point and I feel it would be highly beneficial to language learners using your system.
Agreed that it isn’t necessary and that natives don’t know all the grammar. BUT also, people have different needs and personalities. For example, this traditional learner might not feel confident enough to just roll with their mistakes. As long as they aren’t trying to tell EVERYBODY that this is the only way, then fine by me.
Brazilians, Spanish speakers and other people usually try to speak perfect English for social reasons.It's hard to be a foreigner and talk like a foreigner for some of us. And there is generative grammar, the grammar of speakers and not of norms. We need to speak like speakers and not like foreigners.
@@renatam.r.6762 Thanks Renata for reply. Some good points.
But what is perfect English? There are basic rules of grammar and word order. That's enough for anyone to communicate.
Look at poetry. Breaks so many rules of word order and grammar. Nobody has a problem with that.
Look at foreigners who write "perfect" English yet can't speak to the same level. I say there's no such thing as perfect spoken English.
Just levels of fluency.
If you speak at A1 level that doesn’t mean that you’re a polyglot.
Nice to hear advice about enjoying things you do, but I still have some doubts. For example, I enjoy watching cartoons and blogs in TL and don't enjoy learning word lists or phrases lists or grammar, I do have progress, but not that fast, sometimes I feel like I do not enough to effective study.
I love learning other languages as well. The 20 languages I'd love to learn after my native English would be: German, Polish, Russian, Slovenian, Irish, Italian, Swahili, Hebrew, Korean, Tagalog, Indonesian, Quechua, Aymara, Hawaiian, Norwegian, Afrikaans, Guraní, Mandarin, French, and Portuguese.
Being as proficient as Steve is my life goal
Hey Ollie, is there a way to use story learning to supplement academic language learning? I'm enrolled in an Italian language learning course tight now, but I want to use story learning rather than textbooks
I speak Fulani, Hausa
( Nigerian languages), English and Arabic. I am also an intermediate in Hindi.
I got a friend on HelloTalk today :D She is Japanese and I'm danish, but I'm teaching her English
💜ARMY🥳 I'm also on HelloTalk and I'm learning Chinese, Japanese and French
I want learn different languages
Such
English
Arabic
Japanese
Turkish
Chinese
French
Spanish
Korean
But now I learn English and arabic because is the whole world of languages is Englis📖
one day I will speak these languages
God willing ❤📖
No you won't be. You barely put much time immersing yourself. You're just like everyone else online who claims they'll achieve something but gets lazy down the line
@@masa5300 that's a little bit harsh, but yeah! He/she'll need more time than expected just for Arabic and Chinese alone.
i hope you are able to speak as many languages as you like, however, from general experience it's probably best if you just focuss on one at a time to progress quickly and then move on to another language
also there's an expression out there: Jack of all trades, master of none...
Maybe start with one first. Don't plan your list of languages ahead of time, pick one that appeals to you now, and stick with it for years until you know it. Picking 20 languages to learn is a great way to never learn a single one.
Language learning isn't fun until you start understanding a reasonable amount of what you hear. It took me 10 months before I began enjoying Korean. Those first 10 months, were hard slog and not enjoyable in the slightest.
10 months sounds good, I'm watching kdramas and here and therr I'm picking up words and phrases but honestly I haven't put enough effort to actually learn.
@@CrisOnTheInternet Whatever anyone says, you have to put the effort in and simply hack through it. It's no fun though! That's a myth. I'm now 15 months in but still a long way off fluency. However, my comprehension is OKish which makes it more enjoyable. It's a combination of everything. Listening, reading, speaking, grammar etc. They all help.
Facts. What is fun, is becoming fluent, and the price to pay for that is the slog.
@@tomthomas9708 Same and it took me about 17 months to really get into understanding and enjoying Mandarin
@@nicoleraheem1195 Yes. The more you understand, the more enjoyable it becomes. Sadly, it's a choir until you have decent comprehension. Worth it of course!
Quality content per usual Olly!
Interesting about the mini stories. They have those on duoliguo.
Steve: speaks 20 languages effortlessly
Me: been learning English for 10+ years and still struggle with it
Serious question: how does listening help if you have no clue what they are saying? Where one word begins and another ends?
it helps with understanding how it should sound, just in general. like the accent and stuff. not as good as knowing that they’re saying, of course 😅
Superb point: explore more rather than perfection
اللهم صل وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم تسليما كثيرا
Thanks a lot I benefit from your channel
Oh How good is understand Ingles ❤️ knowledge is profit!
The goat himself
I'd love love love to go to Brazil for a bit and learn like steve did. But.. I need $.. and the economy is just terrible so that won't be happening for awhile. Hopefully I'll be able to do this in a few years :')
"It's Duolingo, isn't it?" LOL
Steve is an alien!!!
Me: I can't wait to speak with people who know my language!
Realizes I'm learning Esperanto.
The sad secret is that many polyglots are obviously genius level intellects. Most of us mere mortals can’t learn like they can. Steve is obviously a genius type.
Hey Olly I have been following you around 5 B.C so please I'm bitting you to start learn a new language
sick talents!
5:45 - You actually censored the word “bloody”? Why?
*C’est fou!*
I really love your videos and the information you share. My only thing is, and maybe it's because I've just started my language journey, but how do you gain any knowledge or insight from reading and listening to a language you know nothing about without looking up words all the time? I understand that you acquire the language when you comprehend it but if you are new to a language comprehension is non existent, so how do you gain acquisition?
Don't we start with the same things when we learn a language? Like introducing ourselves, daily routines, colors, greetings and so on. Very basic things that build up, like when we talk about hobbies we learn the names of sports or if we talk about meals we learn about food names.
Define speaking a language 😉
I have one question,
if I try to listen to a foreign language while for instance making a salad I can't concentrate fully on hearing the language. Doesn't that mean that my listening will be inefficient?
I HATE COMPARING OR COMPETING IN LANGUAGES EITHER! IDGAF IF PEOPLE LAUGH AT ME IMA BANANA 🍌
I swear while playing video games. That how I learn new languages
When people congratulate you for your command of your native language --- then you know you've spent far too much time speaking "foreign"
Learning languages is easier than remembering them. Another issue is brain
fog (or fart if you will) when switching back and forth between two or more
languages at the same time. Time to eat chocolate and take some Omega3.
Bel video. Ormai le passioni dei bimbi di oggi sono giocare ai videogiochi o dire parole in inglese
How do you learn from reading when the characters of some languages are so tough to make up with? eg korean, japanese or Arabic.
If you don't know the alphabet, then you need to learn it and recognize the characters in separate words, aka getting familiar. Actually read in any language is a futher step regardless the alphabet. You can always look for audios with their scripts to associate the characters with their possible sounds.
... being a polyglot is like practicing a sport ... it requires time and dedication and it is only useful to compete with other polyglots, which is what you see on TH-cam ... the truth is that you only need to know one or two foreign languages depending on the work you do or where you are going to apply them ... today is not necessary to know several languages, for that there is Google Translate and Google Lens ...