He Reached Native Level After 8 Hours A Day For 5 Years

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This week we talked to Julien Gaudfroy, one of the best foreign speakers of Mandarin of all time. We hear about his personal story living in the country, language learning philosophies, the nuances he's picked up the years, and his advice for those trying to reach the highest levels in a foreign language.
Outline:
0:00 Who is Julien Gaudfroy
2:46 How Julien Started Learning Mandarin Chinese
05:54 "Learning Languages is Easy Compared to Being a Musician"
6:40 How Long Did it Take To Reach Perfect Pronunciation?
8:30 Study Methods That Julien Used
15:30 Learning Chinese Outside of China
18:25 Thoughts on "Shocking Natives" Videos
21:03 The Truly Advanced Level of Shocking Natives
27:24 Nuances of Accent in Mandarin
28:40 Julien Speaks Chinese
#JulienGaudfroy #learnchinese

[@KoreKaraPodcast]

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[@nigelcarruthers335]

Let's not overlook Julien's English skills. He barely has a French accent and uses complex vocabulary.

[@katsu-jc5cp]

Yes, I couldn't agree with you more. I was wondering how his English got to this level.

[@INFIDEL96]

I didn't realise he was French...

[@chiefpanda7040]

@@INFIDEL96 yes he’s very articulate I could tell he was European but could not pinpoint where very impressive since French speakers struggle with the English language

[@jessicahawkins5555]

Whoa I assumed he was American 😮

[@uchuuseijin]

​@@jessicahawkins5555don't, he makes a mistake in literally the first sentence he says in English. He's good but not perfect.

[@hieuthai3809]

I love stories like this. Instead of polyglots talking about themselves, I really like to hear others talk about another person's achievement in their language achievement. This guy is very good! Thanks for sharing!

[@KoreKaraPodcast]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@cutekawaii96]

when he imitated the way Shanghainese people spoke Mandarin and how he did it my jaw just dropped to the floor, and how he can in 2-3 sentences pinpoint accurately which part of China they were from, also, his advice is so true, I think I finally heard what I needed to hear to not give up on my Chinese learning journey because there was too many things that i could not understand for too long... 如果你没有每天8个小时坚持了5年你没资格说你没天赋……说得好。 I'm so glad I stumbled upon this video, it has been truly eye opening, there is no result without true effort and dedication, even extremely gifted people are working hard and looking for ways to efficiently improve, so why shouldn't we? Also, being able to listen from the people who did it before you even if looks harder than what you do now, maybe it just means you need to put in more work if you want similar results as them?

[@shirobonjp5185]

probably one of the most based language learners ive seen

[@humanbean3]

great message to the korekara squad. shocked

[@fabiothebest89lu]

Awesome! So inspirational!

[@NotSatan]

5 years * 365 days * 8 hours = 14,600 hours. Let that sink in.

[@INFIDEL96]

Doesn't mean it takes that long. Most would reach that native level at 6000 hours with Chinese. Only if they truly care about native like fluency.

[@NotSatan]

@@INFIDEL96 i was just trying to note how many hours he had put in. but i disagree, 6000 hours is not enough to reach native level in any language thats different enough from your L1

[@LanguagesLearningOrcaCommunity]

@@INFIDEL96 I had spent more than 7000 hours learning Japanese. On a scale of 1 to 10, many Japanese said that I only got a 7. I know more talented learners reaching a 9/10 in that same amount of time. But native level is going to cost you more than 5 years no matter how talented you are.

[@nihongobenkyo3102]

The hell did he do for work? Did he eat? Go to the toilet? Who the hell has 8 hours free a day.

[@Big-guy1981]

365.25 days in a year 😉😉

[@nigelcarruthers335]

This was so good. I'll watch this one several times for sure!

[@KoreKaraPodcast]

appreciate it a lot!

[@samuraialfredo]

One of the best videos regarding language learning without sugarcoating things or trying to sell you a false promise. Loved this 👏.

[@LimeBoy-oo6ph]

👏👏👏👏👏👏Brilliant. Thank you for this video. It's great to learn from language learners like him.

[@shiuryuu]

Still just watching the ads before the video started. Liked the video. Thank you for this!

[@KoreKaraPodcast]

appreciate it a lot!

[@thelanguagecaviller3657]

Very interesting interview. I wish we got a bit more insight into his studying routine or thoughts on newer methods but nonetheless it’s amazing to see people achieve the higher levels of ability.

[@jinjurbreadman]

dude, exactly. this episode was a lot of fluff considering this guy has 2 decades of knowledge wealth on the topic... more to-the-point questions should have been asked.

[@JesusChrist2000BC]

Yep KoreKara really let us down on this one. Too much about his life and not about learning.

[@thelikesofjeremy]

Lots of great nuggets here. Do the hard things. Suffer through not understanding. People have this aversion toward going through the trials of fire, and that's precisely why they never progress. It's like going to the gym and curling a huge dumbbell and then taking a 5 minute break in between sets.

[@gemmalee3032]

wow, multi-talented person!

[@swinxfee]

As someone who learned spanish i do want to say that learning vocab is quite useful, it just shouldn't be the sole thing you do. Always see how it is used in a sentence. When coming across the new word while reading or watching smth, write down in which context it was used.

[@tenchichrono]

Everybody has their pace at learning things. Find your pace and do it daily as much as possible and you'll be better in 1, 2, 3, 4, ++ years.

[@GAOMaster]

Really impressive guy

[@yoavco99]

just follow the input hypothesis and you will easily acquire a new language. from personal experience and from what I've heard from other people and also based on studies.

[@KoreKaraPodcast]

that's pretty much it!

[@DirtyDan666]

this shocked me.

[@paulwalther5237]

I’ve noticed musicians definitely have more talent for accents and nice pronunciation than normal people. Even when they barely study the language. It’s completely unfair. Really good interview.

[@marceloaugustorosadossanto156]

Maybe because they have more "sensitive" ears and catch details most of people wouldn't

[@randomlymeander2467]

very inspiring for someone trying to learn french

[@roumiaou]

CLAP CLAP Julien. I can't grasp Japanese yet. You're sending a very positive message to "miserable learners" :-) Congrats.

[@RoboFuryMan]

よく頑張ってね

[@marvhan888]

Its a talent. Some people learn whole life not able to get rid of their original accent.

[@Kinjutsuu]

these people dont want it hard enough. If you REALLY cared, you would try every day. Experiment with different practice methods. Search google, read articles, record yourself, get tuition... struggle - but never give up! What some people dont have is passion, and in that case there's many things that cant be accomplished

[@monguyenfamilytt]

Hello everyone

[@LeonSKennedy7777]

Wait what!? This guys speaks fluent Chinese!?!? 🇨🇳

[@byronwilliams7977]

Anyone that has seen Christophe Clugston's videos knows just how much what Julien says here mirrors what Clugston taught.

[@6Uncles]

what does Clugston say that Julien says here? Clugston, to my understanding more or less encourages right brain methods & SLA backed approaches

[@carerforever2118]

As a beginner, I've been learning Japanese using my Replika Al friend app. Having conversations with the AI by writing to it in Japanese 🇯🇵

[@RockChampEnglish]

he brought up a new point... haha Many English teachers claim that they can teach you English and blablabla follow native speaker.... but... if you look into it... they can only speak english fluently..... that's not language learning.... think about it. and most people in hong kong speak english and chinese, and more than 10% of them can speak fluently in both languages...so.... it's a joke when u go back to the so called professional english teachers.

[@jinjurbreadman]

how did you get this guy on your podcast and NOT ask him specifically about exercises he did for his pronunciation (which is actually native level). a podcast with Julien without asking this question is a giant waste.

[@kalevipoeg6916]

Must be nice to have 8 hours a day for 5 years to devote to it ;)

[@IN-pr3lw]

Well at that point it's basically his job and we all have jobs

[@trainerred6582]

Yeah, he means that if your life depends on it? You’ll be extremely good at one activity, or if you have infinite money and time, you can focus on doing 1 thing extremely good since you don’t have to worry about how to get money or finding time to do things you like

[@lugo_9969]

When I am painting a wall, I listen to a tape.

[@eldromedario3315]

so he's french ?

[@KoreKaraPodcast]

ya

[@eldromedario3315]

@@KoreKaraPodcast I c, thx 4 d clarification.

[@sarahsf6940]

I am not native in English so correct me if I am wrong but I believe that 'uncomfortability' (14.21) doesn't exist, you meant 'uncomfortableness'

[@oGOLDENARMo]

I would have said 'discomfort'

[@JesusOfPaign]

Honestly, neither one of those words seems like a real word, but they’re clear enough about its meant to mean that it doesn’t really matter. I would’ve said “Discomfort” though.

[@SurprisedPika666]

Neither are real words but I can totally imagine a native speaker accidentally using it.

[@gemmalee3032]

discomfort

[@Anthyoine-qk8fj]

@@SurprisedPika666born and raised in America and I am now going to google both words because I thought they were real

[@user-mi2hs5or5r]

对的，锵锵三人行

[@natiboy7705]

Google translate error lol

[@Gundal66]

8hrs a day.. for 5 years..😅

[@RockChampEnglish]

I reach native level in English in two years. lol...just no one talks about it.

[@RockChampEnglish]

and that's why i started learning japanese like a few months ago... just becoz I know I can master it in like a year lol...just kidding... just becoz i wanna read manga and watch anime.

[@thomasmullee3049]

Your from America ? 😅

[@RockChampEnglish]

@@thomasmullee3049 I’m not. But I’m really really into something from the states 😂

[@Poykaa]

how old were you when you began learning English?

[@RockChampEnglish]

@@Poykaa around 30 i guess. I share my views on learning occasionally here😛