Advanced English: A Love Story

Nowadays, you hear the argument that Intermediate English is good enough because most English communication is between non-native speakers. You don't need advanced vocabulary and complex idioms for that so why learn it? In this video we answer this question.
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[@tarasteneta289]

George Orwell told about simplification of language in his book "1984". I agree with him. It will lead to simplification of our brains. If English has many words it makes it possible to describe and express many things.

[@cookymonstr7918]

The same thought here! I did notice your comment after I've finished mine. 🙂

[@teresalorenzini1241]

I'll never give up. English is my great passion.

[@DiegoWebberos]

Yes! And to describe things in many different ways also!

[@tarasteneta289]

@Ernesto-qo4np No. I can not agree with you. The amount and type of words that we use depend on our age, level of education and topic of the discussion. If the person is A1 the words will be A1, if the people are C2 the words will be C2. And you shouldn't "laugh in the face" to anyone because of their language.

[@tarasteneta289]

@Ernesto-qo4np You missed the point. Of course I can categorize natives. Even though they are natives, they have different erudition, intellect and education. This is why they use different vocabulary. It's the same in any language, including my native language. And, of course, it depends on the situation and the topic that is being discussed. There are many words that we don't know even in our native language because they are out of our "erudition range", for example scientific terms (about biology or chemistry if you are a historian or vice versa).

[@rocknroller81]

It's heartwarming to find people still fighting against widespread mediocrity. It has slowly crept into everything: language, arts, politics... It's now the accepted norm, but I refuse to settle for that. For instance, I never want to stop improving my English. So thank you Gideon! ❤

[@JanB56]

The truth is... learning a language is a lifelong endeavour

[@vi8585]

Sir, you've set the lame flicker in my heart on fire on this long journey of learning English. You're truly an inspiring teacher, an exceptional one.

[@NadiiaChernova]

As an ESL teacher I`m totally with you on that. People should or even MUST go above and beyond. Warmest greetings from Ukraine!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thank you dear colleague best wishes

[@oxanatrobyuk5647]

Dear Gideon, you re such an inspiration for me ! Reaching high snow-capped mountain with you feels like strolling in the park on a sunny day. Learning English is a daunting challenge indeed but with your smart and elegant approach to the study of English it's becoming light-hearted yet profound experience. Love from Saint-Petersburg, Russia

[@SebaCOYG]

'Tell them to jump in a lake' Brilliant 😂😂😂

[@myouatt5987]

Nice one, Gideon - as a native English speaker, I've also spent the last 50-odd years trying to come to terms with a decent standard of German and Dutch. To all, aim for the summit, that's the way to go ... and to all on this channel who wish to speak the very best English they can! Keep on trying, you'll get there, I'm sure, and good luck! :) By the way, I really enjoy your insights! Cheers!

[@coltatuc]

Learning English with you was the best thing that ever happened to me so I can progress with my learning. Thank you so much, Gideon.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

That's very kind of you to say. Thanks

[@HolgerJakobs]

Language is - or at least can be - far more than mere exchange of information. ❤

[@mirzatz126]

Gideon I thoroughly enjoy learning English with you. You really are a commendable teacher! You inspire a non- native as an ambassador of English language.

[@tinax4370]

YES! I am a masochist...and proud of it!! Thank you so much for your work!! 😊

[@conniedenhartog2804]

I totally agree with you! Personally I am extremely interested in the use of proverbs , expressions and idioms ( in English and Dutch). Where would a language be without them, how could you say exactly what you wanted if it wasn't for the perfect expression that exactly fitted the bill

[@jamesw7327]

Well said and inspiring - this applies to learning other languages too.

[@user-cc2ux9ew1r]

Always a pleasure to see you again gaffer. Greetings from Casablanca Morocco to my beloved teacher, the one and only like no other, Gideon.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

the pleasure is mine.

[@englishlessons9457]

You are giving us words of wisdom! Thank you for your inspiring lesson. Nicoletta from Italy

[@annamiller9153]

Amazing ...I'm absolutely intrigued by what you've said about NOT being average... Thank you

[@SirEdwardeight]

To express and convey concepts and thoughts fully and thoroughfully, I need to learn more. That is a reason to keep studying. Besides, the feeling of having a native speaker genuinely complimenting you for your english is great.

[@DM-ul5yc]

I personally learn the language just for the heck of it. I believe it's the only way to succeed.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

A good reason to do anything.

[@DM-ul5yc]

@@LetThemTalkTV Gideon, your channel is the best for English learners on youtube. It's a shame how few subscribers you've got considering the content you provide. It's may be rude to ask, but I wonder what your ethnicity is. Are you Greek, Turk or maybe Jewish? Your appearance is unusual and intriguing.

[@nHans]

I suppose there would be ESL/EFL learners who are mastering English purely for the love of the language. However, my personal reason for wanting to improve my English-given that I work for a multinational that operates in several countries around the world-is to be able to communicate effectively with people, including clients, coworkers, and other stakeholders. Most of them, in fact, like me, are _not_ native English speakers. Hence the onus is on me to be especially clear and unambiguous in my communication. English, of course, is the _de facto lingua franca_ of the world today. It's also the official language of my employer. If, instead of English, the dominant world language were to be French, German, Russian, or Mandarin-and there were times in the last few decades when each of those was a distinct possibility-I'd be doing my best to master those languages instead. Consequently, I'd be reading _The Three Musketeers, Grimms' Fairy Tales, War and Peace,_ or _The Three-Body Problem_ - as the case may be - in the original language, and Shakespeare translated to my native language.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

that's interesting. Thanks, I guess that's a vote for Globish.

[@nHans]

​@@LetThemTalkTV Well, not really. I believe English has evolved and diversified to such an extent that it's beyond all such trivial attempts at reform. Globish is just one out of hundreds of such efforts. Without a standardizing body, getting a consensus is impossible. Heck, even _with_ standardizing bodies, other languages like French, German, Spanish etc. are having a hard time implementing any meaningful reforms. Such reforms therefore only end up splintering the language further-as if the American v. British divide wasn't already bad enough. I'd therefore stay away from such reforms, and instead, let English continue to evolve naturally. In any case, the type of reforms I'd like to see would make the reformed English unrecognizable to the current generation of native speakers-analogous to _Beowulf_ v Hemingway. We'd be better off using a conlang that was designed from the ground up with such goals in mind, like Esperanto or-my personal favorite-Lojban. But that's not going to happen either. As a software engineer who has worked on Computational Linguistics (aka Natural Language Processing), I have no qualms using computers to help me understand stuff that I don't otherwise understand. So, whether it is a technical manual in German or a raunchy Chaucer novel, I'm happy to feed it to the Cloud and get it translated to contemporary English. (These tools can also translate to my native language, but the results are not as good as the English translations. For now.) Sure, you can accuse me of being intellectually lazy and not making the effort to learn (and master) all those languages. In my defense, I can only say that in the limited time I have left, I have to prioritize ruthlessly to achieve my goals. As it happens, I can consume vastly more content if it's translated to the languages I already know, than if I start learning the languages the content was originally created in.

[@Ankitasharma26]

You are so inspiring. I love your videos 👍

[@user-tb2fj7dz2c]

I love English. I love languages. As an English lg teacher I envourage my students to try to reach the most advanced level of any lg they study.

[@louisbonnaire445]

Thanks a lot for this well-needed video. I fully agree / I genuinely concur with the message you are sharing here. In my opinion, it all boils down to considering the language as a purpose rather than a mean; I believe that a language is a form of art, and art is what elevates us. Besides, simplifying the vocabulary impoverishes the language - and hence ultimately the collective mind… which is probably not what is needed nowadays. In a nutshell, I am a masochist as well as a resistant! Let’s fight against Globishisation! 🙌🏻

[@monidefi2680]

You are the best online English teacher, without a doubt. I loved this video. The examples were spot on! Happy Holidays!

[@AP-nb7in]

what a nice video ! In these "easy life & easy years" (much essy than ever), our pitfall is all about to learn things (languages & so forth) with minimal cogntive endeavour. No "effort to learn" means you can't create new connections between neurons within your brain ! what a joy to .... create new neuron connections.... when you dig a thing ! Thanks to you for sharing so much on your channel

[@soundscape26]

While I find your argument compelling I gotta say that, aside from the last 2 exaggerations, even most native English speakers will use the examples in green much more regularly than the ones in orange. I feel that if I come up with sentences like the ones in orange regularly - which I can with some effort - I will be seen as a smart ass by most natives. Ultimately I try to balance things out.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks for your comment. I don't think the occasional literary remark makes anybody a smart arse. I admit the last two were exaggerated though

[@alessandragiuliano6514]

You are such a thrilling teacher🔝

[@user-wf1ux4fu6w]

Thank you for the video! I really enjoyed it. I would also like to add that your previous videos about the history of language and the benefits of that knowledge for English learners inspired me more and I'm sorry you've dropped that topic.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

thanks. Stay tuned!

[@kathconstance4684]

Thank you. You go part way to express better than I am able to say how utterly sad it is to hear recommend the 'dumbing down' of what has the possibility of moving men to change history, to change a heart or even to consider ... Please, please start a movement for the appreciation of what can be beautiful language.

[@p3shoo]

Another masochist here, laughing through pain for more then four decades now. Love your channel, by the way.

[@nefelichristogoula316]

Αs a learner of English as a foreign language of a C2 level, I can honestly say I've always wanted to achieve that level because, well, it's cool! But I get your point. Nice video!

[@joseluisgonzalezrodriguez8422]

"Nice" video? Couldn't you do better as a C2 student? 😅

[@barbarabagaric2942]

I say NO to mediocracy from now! 📚📒 (in everything)

[@LetThemTalkTV]

agreed

[@hei7586]

❤ YES! ❤

[@paulgraf4140]

Yeah! Let's reach for the stars, guys! 👍💪

[@tj2375]

Never heard about globish. But the appeal of learning advanced English is the appeal of being a person! Capable of speaking from the heart like in your native language, feel yourself in the foreign language instead of feeling constraint and less than yourself.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Totally agree.

[@dilnozaalimardonova6677]

Wow💯

[@cykkm]

“So wherever you are in the world, whether it be in Taipei or Tehran, you can understand each other.” - I once took up mediaeval architecture and spent a couple weeks traveling by car through rural France, mainly in Centre Val de Loire and then some to the west. Back then, I arrogantly, if not brazenly, thought I could string a few words together in French. After all, my French was enough to get by in Paris _et dans les environs..._ And I be damned if I met a single person who'd speak any English at all.

[@fleurblanche7642]

I think it is better to have a wide gammut of choice, it adds to plays on words and engenders arts and fun,creativity Simplification is not only boring but it is death to communication

[@janfazlagic8738]

Can you do a podcast on how to understand the dialogues in the Band of Brothers serwis, I understand less than 75% and I have been learning English for 20 yrs.

[@lorenasmartevents5354]

Wow, wow, wow! Awesome video. Noe I de ill aim/target to leave mediocre vocabulary behind, and target towatds excellency, .the more vocabulary and more difficult sentence construction I could use, the better. It means my brain is at work not at idle...Hence , the better and more advanced words, sentences (grammar) I may use, the better. Ty for triggering the "I don't veant to belong to the generalbstandard of non native Englisb speakers. Now ,I want to get aheafd and learn even more. Thank you Gideon for this awesome video!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉👍👍👍👍👍

[@LetThemTalkTV]

thanks for your comment. I'm glad you liked the video.

[@BerSerKAE]

Speaking in a simplified language is like making sketch instead of a full color picture. And yes, I am a happy masochist also, against all the odds crawling towards the sparkling peak of knowledge hoping of touching the beauty of culture with the gaze of my mind.

[@sosyalsorumluluk]

Can't agree more however people who give us job interview expect us to use fancy words to prove we are "better" speakers.

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

Gideon, something just occurred to me after listening to a certain KZbinr. Southern Californians have but a single pronunciation of the word "the". Normal English speakers have two pronunciation for the word "the", "thee" and "thuh". Southern Californians seem to have dropped the "thee" pronunciation all together. I heard this KZbinr say "The ancient..." and there was no stop between the words so it came out "thancient..." "Thuh ancient..." doesn't force the glottal stop between the words like "thee ancient..." does. What do you think causes this strange phenomenon?

[@onceuponatime2010]

And maybe anybody knows what's the movie on 5:30?

[@ursulastaempfli759]

English of course and this is a lifelong journey.

[@user-js5ct3xh3k]

Please help me upon catenative verbs!

[@sergiyshklyar2573]

Reasons to learn advanced English: 1. For English teachers: not to correct non-mistakes. We were studying conditionals. The student started her sentence "If I should ..." and was immediately corrected by the teacher. I bet the student's sentence was correct - just not of the pattern we were instructed to use. 2. 1500 words might be too few to comfortably read even "technical nonfiction." Though reading is not impossible. If you know basic grammar, you can read with a dictionary, maybe with efforts. 3. Richer vocabulary helps to avoid awkward writing. On the other hand, it is essential to be able to speak plain English, in words sophisticated not more than necessary - in order to be intelligible to non-native speakers.

[@thattimestampguy]

Globish = English reduced down to 1500 points words 0:47 Do you want to learn English or Globish? 1:13 Native speakes know more words. 1:49 AI, CHAT-GPT 2:14 2:32 You don’t need to learn complex words. Examples. 3:00 Keeping it simple 4:00 Greetings and Salutations! 4:31 Why spend extra time to learn complexity? + A desire to understand, the joy. + the desire to connect with other people 6:10 “Go jump in a lake.” 6:34 + Go beyond subtitles 7:10 Aim high

[@rickster4455]

Esperanto?

[@urahi830]

I think there's something to say about the way our society treats learning, or to be honest, any aspect of our lives. Everything that can be trimmed down should be. If you can teach someone just enough English so that they'll be able to perform a repetitive task in an English-speaking environment, that's good enough. More than that would be a waste of time. Learning as a concept has been perverted into something that, ultimately, is only useful if you can eventually use what you've learned to make money.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Yes, indeed. Anything that saves us time in this frenetic century.

[@AivirfoTlareg-nc8yg]

Are you Armenian? You look just like an Armenian I think. Good people. Thanks for your videos! The most interesting video was about Scottish English. I learned about you by watching it.

[@oleksandrholovko131]

What I learned talking to native speakers is if an Englishman says it's OK, remember, it's not OK.

[@paoloernesto2591]

Not so much towards the land, not so much towards the sea! (Direct translation of a Portuguese saying.) I wanna know much more than Globish, even though I don't need to know as much as a native speaker.

[@pasixty6510]

This had to be said. Let us hope it is going to be heard! Knowing that most English is spoken by not native people, there’s some appeal to a simplified version. After all it’s not that small island in the far European end of the Atlantic Ocean, where rules for proper English are made any longer. Rather a new version of English will emerge of its own, …but that won’t happen by proposing some kind of Orwellian ‚newspeak‘.

[@Sauvageonne]

Tricky one. In France, the local fishmonger of 50 years ago had a better level of spoken French than a PhD graduate of today, and if he (the fishmonger) finished secondary school, probably a better level of written French. Growing up, speaking (not writing, just speaking) good French was laughed at. I mean really. I'm guilty of that myself. People who spoke good French (grammatically correct with advanced vocabulary) could only be old people, politicians (who were or looked old back then) and people from former French colonies, like Hakeem in Coming to America (nothing mean or racist, this was mainly noticed by descendants of such countries describing their parents). There was no way my generation would use the double negative ("ne" and "pas"). However, I am pre-sms language (just about) so I can only write in formal French, even with my banter mates (using the double negative for example). This does feel a bit weird. Now the funny thing is that my generation are now looking at vintage videos, mainly from the INA KZbin page (INA is the French BFI) and I'm pretty sure you won't find many videos with comments not admiring how well-spoken the average (wo)man was back then and how bad we speak today. Funnily enough, I grew up speaking UK English too and there was no stigma around being well-spoken. But, when I moved to the US as a student and young professional, I felt like Hakeem in Coming to America, as people would tell me all the time I was using unusual words and that I spoke like a scholar. I don't know what happened to spoken French and I don't know how to ensure it doesn't become laughable to speak advanced English.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Interesting.

[@josephcote6120]

If I may, If I was going to start learning a new language I don't think it would be bad to (IMPORTANT PART) START by learning a useful core subset. Get me talking to people, get me started on the way. If I go to a French class I don't need "My pencil is blue." I need "I want some poutine please."

[@fotoestilogu]

I really want to master my English

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I'm here to help

[@MarcioSilva-ssiillvvaa]

We should just for the hell of it!!😄

[@michaeldibadj]

0:43 hi from TEHRAN💓🙂

[@birylo1]

I think globisch is like a prosthesis.😊

[@elzbietanowik1790]

Hello, I think I am a masochist😂

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Welcome to the club

[@brackalack1]

Intermediate probably is good enough. As a starting point. Native speakers learned over a lifetime. You can get by, and still keep learning. If that's your choice. I guess a lot of people are forced to learn English maybe to get a job, or move countries, or for lots of reasons. I'm guessing lots of them may be very happy with a simple working knowlege and vocab. Why do they need a ferrari when a bicycle will suffice?

[@cookymonstr7918]

0:51 Definitely english. Never cared for esperanto and the like, either. Might as well learn Newspeak!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Globish is indeed a kind of English version of Esperanto albeit cut down.

[@r3d3y3dstranger]

As a non-native ESL teacher... Yes, yes, I am a masochist.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Best wishes my fellow teacher

[@amiryazdani2318]

[@OceanChild75]

I must admit I have never understood that urge of simplifying everything. Anyone who has an advance level of English (or any other language really) will know what words NOT to use when speaking to someone who is struggling in the language-well you would like to think so anyway! It is the same as talking to a child, you wouldn’t use technical or scientific words they couldn’t grasp the meaning of. To language nerds, there is no greater delight that learning obscure grammar rules or uncommonly used words. Funny you’ve used the word "interlocutor" because I have recently used it in a work email and my manager (English native speaker) said it was not a word. I have sent him a screenshot from an online dictionary and he swore he had never heard of it before-it kinds of proved your point: speaking "like a native" doesn’t necessarily mean perfection 😅

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks, I agree with everything you said. Interesting that you mentioned 'interlocutor'. It might be less used than "conversation partner" but I'm surprised your manager didn't know it.

[@philippewinston2740]

and then , most of all , überalles , try to be on a par with the ultimate; with the epitome of all what's best is British ; think , speak and write like a 007 special spy . So , draft any messages in sentences so convoluted and intertwined with understatements , spattered with commas , that even this line is becoming abstrusely abscond .....

[@satyamkaskar1034]

I can't make any sense of what you're saying 😭 I think this is the point you wanted to make

[@roshangupta4842]

If learning English is a hard nut to crack...you're a nut-cracker 😂😊

[@khinkaliloverbabe]

Be honest, Gideon. The number of students in your school has dropped, hence the video which encourages people to keep studying :) The video is excellent, as always, and I wholeheartedly agree with you!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

You see right through me! Thanks for your comment.

[@mirzatz126]

English

[@antoninstefka]

I need literature understand :)

[@lynnodonnell4764]

ENGLISH! ENGLISH! ENGLISH! I still use words from the 1700's.

[@lyoubomiratanassov7357]

You know the answer of course. English and Globish are different languages. It's hard to take only 1500 words that are common, language is a fluid thing, common words of today are not the same with common words from a decade ago, and even if you learn all "common" words what are you going to do then if you encounter an unknown word - you'd just say to yourself: wait a minute, I won't be learning that word because it's not common, I'll just ignore it. And you will ask the other party: can you rephrase with a more common word, please. And what will happen if the speaker rephrases with another word that you don't know, you will ask again. It doesn't work that way. People learn with life, with experience, you can't stop that, sometimes you can't even control that. But if that Globish serves some people a purpose, good for them. Maybe they can really do some more important for them, everyone has their own priorities. I am not happy reading books about grammar by the way, in fact I don't even like reading books that much, although sometimes I do, but I very rarely concern myself with English grammar. Luckily English has easy grammar, so I think I can get away with it. I learn new words and phrases because it's like an adventure for me, it just attracts my attention. I hear the phrase and I like it. It gets into my mind and almost involuntarily I start using it in my conversations, I start finding how it is related to other words I know, and so on. Sometimes I still like having subtitles though, especially when watching British movies and they start speaking fast a skipping sounds, and using British words, like loo and lorry . . .

[@T0PGUNGE0]

Oy! Oy!

[@raychat2816]

I’m not sure there’s enough drive to learn glogish, as a new’ish world language, it goes against preserving cultures’ particularities, people in the world on average speak 2 to 3 languages, and closer to 3. If I should compare the drive to develop globish to RP English, we’d agree that the reasons to create RP English were a lot more solid, and that’s in those times, as the importance of RP English today as an English language not belonging to any one region, has dwindled … Globish will remain a curiosity, much like the attempt to create a modern day Phoenician language not too long ago, the basics were actually set, but it’ll never become a living language, exactly like Globish, the name of which gives very Orwellian vibes to begin with 😂

[@LetThemTalkTV]

An interesting curiosity. That's a good way to say it.

[@alina_elena]

I want to be a master.

[@cykkm]

As for Globish and international communication, I seem to be eternally condemned to break through the language jungle of some papers with a machete. 1:45 “Are you a [...] masochist?” - It's way worse than that. I'm a scientist.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

A scientist! Dear, oh dear.

[@iainmc9859]

Native English speakers have 20 to 35 thousand words in their vocabulary, for instance ... like, kinda, so I said, ennit, so he said, yeah cos isn't it bruv, solid ... whatever ! Unfortunately most native English speakers are lost as soon as you point out there is a difference between spoken and written English; never mind having to explain blends, digraphs, pronouns etc, etc, etc. Just being monolingual would be a notable achievement.

[@jimmylaze]

Its so fun to make fun of the working class! Let them eat 🍰

[@iainmc9859]

I'm part of that working class. The unwillingness to see that you are treated as a lesser person because you have a lesser literary awareness (written and spoken) is a prime factor in social inequality. Don't willingly allow the children of the 'well heeled' to out educate you and place a glass ceiling over your head. Simply put, if you act like a serf, dress like a serf, and sound like a serf, you'll get treated like a serf. @@jimmylaze

[@jimmylaze]

@@iainmc9859 I think it's best to treat people with dignity regardless

[@iainmc9859]

Absolutely true. Just don't undervalue yourself because Daddy isn't a Stockbroker.@@jimmylaze

[@user-xy7xm3dt2y]

Εnglish

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

double plus ungood

[@user-kk6qe6ku5h]

Advanced is better.

[@bacca71]

Globish may be useful for conveying VERY basic information, but it loses important nuance and specificity. In turn, nuance and specificity have important influence on the quality our way of thinking. Globish may be more equivalent to linguistic Zombyish.

[@grantofat6438]

Lol. I already climbed that mountain, otherwise I would not understand what you are saying in this video. Why are you asking people who obviously already know English if they want to learn English?

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I thought you might be watching the dubbed version.

[@soundscape26]

This was more of an opinion piece.

[@meryuk]

Oy! Oy! Yum, yum! 💩

[@irina_moscow6228]

Globish of course

[@LetThemTalkTV]

go for it!

[@eerokutale277]

Globish sounds quite close to gibberish.

[@pierfrancescopeperoni]

Newspeak is ungood. But I can not tell you why. The language allow not it.

[@jameskent8gmail]

Oftentimes, posh and complex grammar will confusion an average English speakers. I think that is why it is suggested e.g. Sir Humphrey Appleby