Don't worry about making mistakes | Language learning tip #9

[@jr_8292]

When I started learning languages (about the age of 14), I was scared of making mistakes because if I didn't speak the language well enough to make a native speaker think I was another native in his/her language, I'd think that I was a failure. I've found that a big step in becoming less of a perfectionist was recognising that I'll *never* be a native speaker of Spanish/French/Chinese/whatever. This means that when I'm practising, I focus so much more on confidence / "ease of expression" in the languages, rather than "perfection". Native speakers also really don't mind if foreigners make mistakes speaking their language, the fact we're learning languages is a great thing in itself.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+James R Thank you for the comment James.

[@thelangtopchannel6055]

Yes.People are afraid of speaking because of this problem.

[@bilyanapetrova5449]

Hi! I am from Bulgaria. I already know English and Italian. I have been trying to improve my German and French. Thanks for the random tips, they help a lot!

[@moritz426]

"It might help to think of language learning as a solution, rather than a bunch of problems." I don't remember where I read this, but the change of mindset it conveys, opposing our traditional school methods, has really been a game changer to my personal language learning approach. Danke für deine Videos Vladimir, du bist klasse :) Ich hoffe ich kann auch irgendwann so wunderschönes Englisch sprechen :)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Danke sehr Moritz. Viel Glück:)

[@wedfghthhnjy]

I think that this advice is essential for everyone who is trying to learn a new language. But the problem is that most teachers don't think like this and are too focused on grammar and seek perfection from their students (this is how teaching is done in my country). I hate when people correct me all the time, especially when I haven't asked for that, even when I'm speaking Serbian, which is my native language. I have a friend who's a perfectionist and she can't seem to understand that speaking perfectly isn't an imperative for me as it is for her, so sometimes after speaking with her I feel exhausted. I cannot imagine what it's like when somebody's constantly correcting you when you're making an effort to speak a foreign language and what kind of a damaging effect it has on one's confidence and motivation. Also, your channel is great and keep up the good work! :)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Hello Ivana. Thank you for the nice comment. "I hate when people correct me all the time, especially when I haven't asked for that" "..after speaking with her I feel exhausted." Amen!

[@FattyAdy]

I was constantly made fun of when speaking arabic as a kid by my cousins (it's my native language but I'm born and was raised in canada so I prefer english) I'm currently learning korean but can't get passed my fear of speaking because I feel like I'm going to get made fun of if I try..I'm trying to get over it though and this video is very helpful thank you!! ^^

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+joongki's wife (VKookBias) Thank you for the comment:) It's a process and it will take time I think. Maybe start slowly getting out of your comfort zone and speak for 30 seconds without back-checking constantly whether what you say is correct. Just try to get a flow of speech out of you without the constant back-check and then slowly extend the length of it. Good luck.

[@ivanstojanovic1362]

As a guy, who has all his life learned two foreign languages, I can say that this video is very good. I totaly agree that fluency is much more important than making no mistakes. Now I am in situation that I have to use english and german every day, and my focus is on the vocabulary, not on misstakes. Maybe, I made one of them in this post :)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+Ivan Stojanovic Thank's for the comment Ivan:)

[@cophnia61]

Happy to see a new video of yours!

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+pink ribbon I'll try to post more.

[@allanlealdacosta9223]

Make mistake is part of the process :) I love the video

[@weronikaitylenatenteman5670]

Sometime ago I met a sentence (that was a languages learning tip) "Do mistakes and be proud of it" where the word "proud" is, in my opinion, absolutely crucial to the case. I've had an over-correcting teacher too and I admitt it doesn't support your learning process at all, especially in the beginning, it provokes, as you already said: utter loss of confidence meanwhile making mistakes is a normal stage when you learn and in some moment you become aware that you have already made a mistake and you can correct yourself - and this is the moment makes you proud. But I have a question for you. Have you ever tried the 1000 words method? It relies on learning 1000 most popular, often used words in a language before you start learning it "seriously" in order to increase your understanding, motivation and just to start using language as soon as possible (I don't mean languages like Japanese when its words, just for me, look like bushes after spiteful gardener's work :D). If yes, how you appraise it?

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+Weronika Itylenatenteman Hello. Thank you for the comment. I haven't tried the 1000 most popular used words method, but I've been working on a project that builds on a similar concept for years. Check it out if you like: www.foreverastudent.com/2012/10/basic-language-structures-project.html

[@Vajew]

Exactly! The focus should be effective communication not perfect communication. I was wondering if you could give some insight on foreign languages in the context of jobs. What jobs can let you go into a foreign country and start speaking the target language quickly? Which job opportunities become available / let you use the language regularly as you learn more languages? What kind of a job would an aspiring polyglot want?

[@Vajew]

added context: I'm an American, have an international business degree, about HSK5 level Chinese (strong speaking, cant write without typing), and have taught ESL for a year. Becoming an interpreter or negotiator would be sweet, but I was curious as to what else is out there to work toward.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+Dyldro Hello and thank you for the comment. More people have been asking me this question actually. Maybe I really should make a video about it. I can only talk from my personal experience though, I don't know how well this applies to others.

[@MMmk1]

Jesteś bardzo sympatyczny, bardzo cię lubię ;) Ten film na pewno pomoże mi stać się lepszym nauczycielem (uczę angielskiego). Jesteś moją inspiracją :D Pozdrawiam - przyszły (być może) poliglota.

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+matekusz1 Dziekuje bardzo:) Powodzenia.

[@durulubirseyler4734]

you are so sympathetic. I relish watching your videos. you are my idol 😄

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+Kimliksiz Kız Thank you :)

[@TalisaHwang]

My goal in the future is to become a translator, so I tend to place extra pressure on myself to understand the language (Korean in my case). As much as I try not to, pressure never fails to take over 😅🙁I even feel like quitting at times too tbh

[@yexu6035]

It seems a little bit hard for lots Chinese students who learn foreign language without over concentration on their mistakes . We ( or most of us) are naturally too shy to open our mouth and care too much how the native speakers judge our speaking, even though we know we shouldn't be.

[@jhiaaa]

Thank you for the video, I'm actually teaching Spanish as an exchange for Italian and this video taught me a lot things about corrections and confidence. :) do you have any Italian resources? :)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+Jhia Rodríguez Hello:) I was listening to 'Focus economia' by Sebastiano Barisoni from the Radio Sole 24 Ore a lot. I didn't use any textbooks.

[@jhiaaa]

+Vladimir Skultety I'll check that out, thank you. Me neither, I'm not very fond with textbooks, I rather do some research and make my own material :)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Jhia Rodríguez That's a very good approach too:)

[@pedrociccone2009]

good video

[@MrJoaninhaV]

Espero que possas um dia fazer um video em português, mesmo que seja português do brasil. sinceramente, nao importa que o sotaque ou a forma de falar seja mais brasileiro. existem algumas diferenças mas falas bem pelo que vi no outro video e é isso que importa. já agora, muito bom video, concordo completamente e espero que percebas o que escrevi.. continua 😊

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+Mary Jane Obrigado:) Talvez um dia.

[@person8275]

Hi Vladimir, When will you make a new video?

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+Temirlan Tuganov Hopefully soon:)

[@oliverclark7488]

Hi Vlad (and fellow language learners)! Do you have any tips on learning languages that don't have as many materials? I'm reaching a bit of a stick with my Serbian at the moment as I just can't find enough films books etc that interest me to start studying extensively and move into advanced. Are there any more intensive methods, as in direct study methods, that can help bridge the gap between B2-C1 (I think those are the levels I mean)?

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+Oliver Clark You mean teaching materials? I rarely use those actually. I just buy regular novels, mostly thrillers or detective stories that would keep me interested and use those as textbooks. I also listen to a lot of youtubers and use that as teaching material too.

[@oliverclark7488]

+Vladimir Skultety Hi sorry I really didn't make it clear! I literally mean things that are of interest in the foreign language, like books,youtubers etc, the problem is that I feel I've kind of exhausted all those but don't want to give up as I've invested a lot of time (for some reason!) in this particular language. Thanks for your reply by the way :)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+Oliver Clark I understand. I just bought one book by Frederick Forsyth and listened to Radio B92 news podcasts. I can't help more I'm afraid.

[@oliverclark7488]

I'll keep working at it, thanks for your help and for your time :)

[@alexndras]

Посмотрела все видео за один раз :D Очень классно рассказываешь. Спасибо :)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+Alexandra Zhuk Bol'shoe spasibo Alexandra:)

[@billyriedel6449]

This is a great video, but something I struggle with that stops me from talking to people is ability to understand the other person. Do you have any tips on how to improve the ability to understand the other speaker?

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+Billy Riedel Hello. You can try to practice intensive listening more. I made a video about it here kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6fcq3ubdpZ9rLs Hope it helps.

[@MrOmau]

I was just really upset!! because I had so many mistakes in German language :( please if you can keep it up with all your tips and specially the German language please

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

Hello Omar. I'll try to make more videos.

[@ivonajurlina1052]

Hey..So I speak English and German and my nativ Serbian ...and now I started learning Swedish haha Do you think that I can learn Swedish on lenguages apps? My question is actually how can I learn Swedish at home by myself ??

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+Ivona Jurlina Hello Ivona. I'm not sure whether you can learn it with language apps, but I never went to any classes and learned languages on my own by listening to a lot of spoken radio, reading regular books and most importantly talking to my native speaker friends, so it definitely is possible to learn a language at home by yourself:)

[@MessedUpGaming]

Can you give some tips on specific languages? cough* Italian cough*

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+MessedUpGaming I was thinking about this actually:) I try to think of something.

[@inspirebelieve]

+Vladimir Skultety I'm Taiwanese American learning my fourth language (German)... any tips would be great! German is soooo different compare to Chinese and Taiwanese (y español también desafortunadamente)

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

inspirebelieve I'll try to think of something.

[@BillFu]

+Annie Ayyyy Taiwan #1!

[@perizatboskoeva5715]

Здравствуйте. У вас очень хорошое произношение на всех языках; как вам это удается ? Spasibo

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+Perizat BK Привет и спасибо. Трудно сказать несколькими словами. Много практики прежде всего.

[@annadan2647]

👍

[@lucaventrella760]

Farai qualcosa in italiano?

[@VladimirSkultetyOfficial]

+Luca Ventrella Spero di si.

[@lucaventrella760]

Grazie 🖐

[@CilicianElite]

You should learn Armenian