Are You Wasting Time? Avoid These 4 Language Learning Traps!

[@japanese2811]

Hahaha bro you definitely have a way with words 😂 "Everything else is a waste of time" 😂😂😂

[@allafleche]

100% false, I became fluent in English with almost only input, watching, listening to hours and hours of content I enjoyed, barely spoke in English in real life. I was still able to get a job requiring fluent English, and I was even the most fluent in the team.

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

"I was even the most fluent in the team" all I needed to hear.

[@allafleche]

@@NaturalLanguageLearning yes, the others actually were often looking for words in the middle of a sentence, and also pronounced some word absolutely wrong when I didn't cause I heard them so many times I knew the correct prononcation

[@womp6338]

You basically just described how duolingo and many other apps teach languages at the end of the video...

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

Did I? How?

[@jamesc6227]

Just started your learning method, I’m doing: 1-2 hours a day vocab learning & repeating sentences outloud 1 hour listening input In a couple weeks I’m going to introduce the sentences & language islands. Fingers crossed! 🤙🏼

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

@@jamesc6227 sounds good. Keep going!

[@gusti4947]

Everyone learns in different ways, what works for me might not work for you and vice versa.

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

Almost everyone gets shit results. In the real world, what works for one person works for another person, if they actually try.

[@StillAliveAndKicking_]

@@NaturalLanguageLearningSo then why is it that numerous polyglots who have demonstrated high achievement in many languages all use different techniques? Vaughan Smith, for example, likes Duolingo.

[@space_fun]

Why I watched this video with my head tilted

[@doomood]

I kinda disagrees, using apps gives you a steady and organized progression, introducing vocab and sentences, then you're more able to use comprehensible input while doing the dishes, cleaning and walking. Then you can start communicating with fluent people and develop your languages skills This worked well for me for 3 languages!

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

Apps are a massive waste of time. Massive waste of time.

[@coolbrotherf127]

The best use for input I found is to practice listening comprehension. So many people try to have a conversation with a native speaker only to realize they can't hear the words clearly even though they can recognize them on paper. Actively listening to input without subtitles will really help people train their ear to hear the language at full speed. I found avoiding very scripted content is recommended as people in scripted shows, especially animated shows, often speak either bit too perfectly or in crazy voices/accents that don't exists. Listening to many different types of media though can be helpful if the language has a different ways it's spoken in casual and polite situations (e.g. news broadcast speech vs casual street interviews). It can also help learn to understand different dialects and accents in a language if they exist.

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

Yeah you need a lot of listening practice to improve comprehension. But you need to combine it with vocabulary learning, otherwise it'll be veeeery slow.

[@coachwalk7485]

You will never learn how to speak without practicing speaking. I totally agree. But you won’t learn to understand people talking without listening. Learning to speak is not the same as communicating or being fluent. In Spanish, I read better than I speak. I speak well enough to communicate. Both can be done rather quickly it seems. But understanding people when they talk is a whole different thing. So comprehensible input is critical to learning how to communicate.

[@RogerRamos1993]

Reading aloud if know your pronunciation is already good helps a lot in understanding the language when spoken. Yeah, but I agree with you anyway. I've learned languages in all sorts of ways and each way has its advantages, but in 10 plus years and these days I'd bet my money in reading 40%, listening 30%, speaking 15%, grammar 15%. So, I think it varies somewhat from person to person. I'm not interested in very casual conversations so reading a lot and listening a lot to be able to have real natural speed conversations is a must to me. And I love reading, as well. But say you just want to hang out in foreign languages or date foreigners, so less reading is needed and you should focus more on speaking and above practice a lot the 1000 most common words, as you'll have to know all of them by heart. As I am most interested in reading I need to know (or have an idea of the meaning) of thousands and thousands of words.

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

Yeah of course, you need both. That's why shadowing is so good, it works both skills at the same time.

[@pohlpiano]

@@NaturalLanguageLearning And Arguelles is one of the real polyglots out there

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

Yeah Arguelles knows his stuff.

[@zephyrkinesis]

My man. Gotta put some f***ing hard work here! :v!! No excuses.

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

@@zephyrkinesis that's the only way

[@reidnix]

you are totally correct!

[@Oceanwaves-d8l]

I disagree with apps being necessarily bad. Sure, Duolingo has its weak sides (especially with how it teaches other alphabets), but it's also very good for beginner learning. You're taught words and have to translate them _in contexts_ suitable for your level. Often, other beginner material (e.g. "1000 words for JLPT" sort of videos) gives you only words with no context --- and I find it very difficult to memorise them with flashcards. Will it get you fluent? No, of course not! But it is an efficient way of starting as a beginner imo, as long as you use a variety of techniques (especially learning grammar rules) alongside. Learning doesn't need to be boring to be efficient. In fact, the opposite is true --- it's been proven that you learn things faster when you find them fun, hence pictures being so useful in flashcards Also got to disagree with grammar being useless. The natives in the language had to learn for hours every day the grammar for their language, and to be frank, you're not inherently better than native speakers. The mistake people make with learning grammar is focusing too much on studying it by using flashcards. Flashcards are for _words and sentences._ The best way to learn grammar is to practice using it, not by memorising e.g. "je -> -ais, "tu -> -ais, il/elle -> -ait" on flashcards. _That's_ where it becomes useless.

[@GeorgeDeCarlo]

I was translating the sentences to Tagalog but gave up. Why? Where do you turn it into audio. I guess it's a secret.

[@scottnathan2912]

What about comprehensible input while you practice using words in sentences?

[@djordje721]

Does it work when we need to get from B2 to C1? Should we then add more CI in our studying?

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

Srpski? Sparingovao sam sa jedim Djordjem kada sam zhiveo u Bechu. Bila su dobra vremena! Yeah language learning works more or less the same at every level. One of the main problems people have at higher levels is that the input materials get much harder because they contain a lot more words. You need to learn a lot of more vocabulary to understand advanced content and input alone is very slow for learning new words. So a lot of people feel stuck at B1-B2, like they don't improve anymore. That is why I recommend memorising as many words as possible every day, it makes reading and listening much easier.

[@djordje721]

@@NaturalLanguageLearning Da, sprski je moj maternji jezik :) Thanks a lot for useful advice!!!

[@felipecanadulce]

amen, hey have ypu tried to translate your audio with ia and then put it on the video?

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

translate my audio with AI? what do you mean?

[@coolbrotherf127]

@@NaturalLanguageLearning I think he's talking about the vocal track option that allows creators to replace their audio with AI spoken translations or real dubs. It's so people can release 1 video, but have the audio available in multiple languages. I don't know if every creator has access to it yet, but I know big creators like Mr. Beast have it in videos so people can watch in their native language instead of English.

[@Miracleorganiqueomega]

Teacher, How many languages should I learn at a time?

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

Depends on your goals and time available

[@Miracleorganiqueomega]

I want to be known as The Human Translator. I have as much time as I have life

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

How many are you learning now?

[@Miracleorganiqueomega]

@@NaturalLanguageLearning 2, French and Spanish

[@skibidi2077]

Ai already took that job

[@dennismurphy9957]

Hard work, yes. But don't assume that everyone using an app is doing it wrong and wasting their time.

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

Look at the results

[@teresita.lozada]

La referencia de Candy Crush. Te quedó bien 😂.

[@ВладиславБондаренко-х5е]

Yeah, immersion doesn't guarantee the results. For instance, in Ukraine we have russian speaking people. They don't teach children Ukrainian because they think they'll learn the language in school. Their children go to Ukrainian schools for 11 years+ university and still not able to speak well Ukrainian because they haven't put any effort to get relatively good in language.

[@jyjyjyj3]

Я думаю immersion помогает в первую очердь пониманию (письменного или аудио материала). Думаю многие из этих детей понимают язык хорошо, и даже умеют как-то говорить (хоть и не свободно) Сам часто общаюсь с соседкой. Она из Украины и жила всю жизнь на востоке страны, в русско говорящей семье. Она свободно понимает украинский, просто за счет того что смотрела Новости ну и телек в целом. Ну и говорит тоже, но я думаю уже не так хорошо, как понимает.

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

Так, те саме тут у Країні Басків. Іспанські діти розуміють баскську мову завдяки школі, але зазвичай не можуть розмовляти нею. Я вивчив спочатку російську, а потім українську.

[@jyjyjyj3]

@@NaturalLanguageLearning кстати, как человек для которого оба языка не родные. Как тебе кажется насколько они схожи? Интересно просто мнение со стороны. Просто для меня удивительно что дети Рускоговорящие в Украине не умеют говорить по Украински. Мне кажется они должны выучить украинский в целом пассивно. Если говорить медленно, взаимопонимание между двумя языками процентов 70-90 Всё-таки ситуация с испнским и басским совершенно иная. В этом случае пересечение 0 процентов

[@ВладиславБондаренко-х5е]

@@jyjyjyj3 70-90 is too much. Difference is much larger. 70-90 % occurs if you consider surzhyk as a language. If I speak real Ukrainian at normal speed, it's hard to catch similarities.

[@ВладиславБондаренко-х5е]

@@NaturalLanguageLearning звучить сумно ця тенденція. Білоруська та ірландська мови майже мертви через гегемонів наскільки я обізнаний. Мені цікаво стало, чи вдається тобі розуміти суржик?

[@StillAliveAndKicking_]

You wouldn’t be pushing your own method by any chance? You are very opinionated. Lots of people have different methods. To push one magic method is at best misguided. To say that input is very inefficient is misguided. Input on its own is inefficient, but when used sensibly, it is the best way to learn. Most language learning takes place unconsciously i.e. implicitly. Input teaches you the correct context for words, and develops a feel for the language.

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

You didn't watch the video did you?

[@StillAliveAndKicking_]

@@NaturalLanguageLearning Yes I did.