How best to learn a new language and speak it well

I speak ten languages and counting and here I share my tips on how to learn a new language well by focussing on your goals and avoiding common pitfalls and misconceptions. The information is presented in a humourous/humorous way, with some SFX for good measure.
0:00 Intro
0:10 You don't need to be a genius
1:01 Define your language goal
1:33 What are the implications of your goal?
2:00 Even if your goal is very broad, you still need to decide where to start.
2:25 A language is like a buffet lunch - start with the bits you most like.
2:56 Learn how to say what you want to say and to understand what you want to understand
3:26 Which skill are important to you?
3:39 How important is reading and writing the language to you?
4:10 Example of huge difference between spoken and written French
4:42 Languages with other writing systems
4:51 Cyrillic alphabet
5:12 Korean Hangeul
5:34 Chinese and Japanese
5:55 What does "I'm learning for it work" actually mean?
7:14 Stick to your own agenda and don't allow yourself to be sidetracked by course books, apps and teachers.
8:15 Avoid lessons which artificially present grammar points
8:33 No one cares about your daily routine!
8:49 Learning lists of vocabulary is a waste of time!
9:33 How language knowledge is stored in the brain
10:45 Language learnt in a linguistically authentic way stays in your brain forever
10:53 If you must memorize something, memorize phrases.
11:20 Learn through curiosity and remember through use.
11:51 The impact of testing on language teaching
12:16 Grammar as an important thing that you mustn't get wrong
12:38 Developing a healthier attitude to grammar
12:53 Grammar is there to help you, not to trap you.
13:03 Grammar is nothing to fear
13:30 How to decide is a grammar rule is useful

[@jenesuispassanslavoir7698]

I’ve been learning Norwegian because I’m moving to Norway, and now I can not only sit in English silence but also Norwegian silence like the natives!

[@laurabasola4081]

What a lovely idea!!!

[@tinfoilhomer909]

An Aussie here, when I decided to learn Dutch for fun I threw myself in the deep end, I didn't know numbers or basic greetings when I arrived in Holland. After 3 months I had no confidence at all and was really down, after 4 I was able to get my point across, after 5 I was joking with friends, at 6 months I passed my Dutch high school exams. On the other hand is Chinese, which I studied at school to spite my parents three years before visiting the Netherlands. At the time I studied Chinese when I was bored and not in my free time. Ten years later I coincidentally found a job in a Chinese company and another year later I learned to enjoy the language, but can't tell a single joke! When I say I'm learning the language for work I mean we don't pass legal notes or chat about weekend hobbies, more often we're yelling over loud machinery about clearing oil spills and rat nests, I learn a lot about the lunch menu. So I'm confident in my ability to clean a factory in China or buy a meal, but not to talk about the weather or even ask for directions. I can read hundreds of characters but ask me to write them and you'll get a blank stare. The asymmetries in language acquisition are what I find so interesting and what has kept me motivated in my study of Mandarin.

[@jean-louismorgenthaler4725]

I'm French. I have been learning English seriously since 2003. That year, I travelled to the USA as a tourist and I was so utterly disappointed: I didn't understand people and they didn't understand my poorly spoken English. So I had to completely change my learning method and practice. That's my own challenge: I want to understand and be understood. Otherwise, what's the point to learn a language? And, in addition to this, learning English is fun.

[@linguaphile9415]

I learn languages just for the fun of it. I love it when I understand things which were a closed book before. As an employee in a supermarket we have many customers who don't speak and understand my language very well. It is an awesome feeling when their faces brighten as you answer in their first language.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I love it. Keep up the good work! What is the main language in the country where you live?

[@linguaphile9415]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages Deutsch 🤗

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

@@linguaphile9415 and which languages have you spoken to customers in so far?

[@maifreund4121]

I studied at the Universität Innsbruck 40-some years ago, after a year of intense German 1 in the USA that proved to provide only a tiny foothold in Deutsch.. I was so lost at first, but plugged away, deciphering phrases etc. veezeevissen was one that a prof used generously. I realized it was a 'throw-away phrase' "as you know." Everybody has them, and once understood, one needn't ever mentally translate them... Most troubling was not understanding the 'kindergarten phrases' used by the Hausfrau's 6 year old nephew - "pick up your room" etc. The neat part of German is the compound words. I worked on my Skoda, and had a great time at hardware and car parts stores expressing what I needed, by stacking words, sketching, and finally arriving at the right word or phrase with the clerks' help. Measuring tape (messen draht? Massband), n , Screwdriver (Schraubführer? Schraubzieher (screw puller? OK)). The Hallelujah moment was about 3 months in, when my thoughts upon waking up were in German... Years later I again got a taste of learning a language from my autistic son who struggles to find the words in English. He wanted more maple syrup for his waffles. He finally told me "waffle juice." A boy after my own heart!! Thanks for your video.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I live the waffle juice story. Thank you so much for sharing that. It just goes to show the ingenious ways we can communicate if we are willing to take risks.

[@rogerstone3068]

I have always advised that when learning a language (by whatever means you feel drawn to try) a very useful supplement is to find a radio station in that language, preferably a quiz show or phone-in, and have it on in the background. From time to time, repeat a phrase you have heard. This works best if you have no idea of the meaning of what was said, because you will now be training your ear to hear the sounds, and you'll be trying to copy the sounds you heard.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Yes, that sounds like a valid method of getting used to the sounds of a language.

[@R08Tam]

I hitchhiked to the south of France in 1978 and couldn't speak a word of French as our French teacher was lousy. Within a month I was waiting tables in a bar restaurant. In the late nineties I got a sales job travelling the world including all the Francophone countries. I would never have got that wonderful job without the experience of working in the restaurant. Nothing beats immersion in a language.

[@matteosposato9448]

The reason why I think this is a useful video is because it hints at a very important realisation, which I will try to summarise based on my own way of feeling it: • Learning words is not language, it is a mnemonic exercise; • Repeating phrases is not language, it is gymnastics for the mouth and vocal cords; • Studying grammar is not language, it is knowledge about the language; • Speaking by thinking about how to combine grammar rules, words and other things that have been memorised is not language, it is a logical exercise; • Language happens when you are not thinking about language itself but rather about the message, be it while understanding the message or producing the message. This last one is the state and the activity that we should be aiming for when learning a language. In fact, the only aspect that I think this video is lacking is a stress on the importance of comprehensible input. Cheers!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Hi Matteo. Many thanks for that - a very insightful summary.

[@Johnconno]

That's what Wittgenstein didn't say. X

[@bazingacurta2567]

And how are you supposed to convey a message through a language new to you without doing any of the other stuff? You're insane.

[@polyglotpress]

The big tell is beginning to dream in the language. The semester I was studying three, I had lavish dreams that justified all their uses by situating me in an international airport! 😅 And I was flying about between stations.

[@resourceress7]

​@@polyglotpressYES! I have found this to be a turning point in progress with my language learning, too. Brain can dream in it = leveling up. I even talk or sign in my sleep in my L2 languages. The signs that touch my face usually wake me up. And during sleep, arms are heavy and gravity is sideways. Smack!

[@hakeem1170]

I want to learn Wolof because I move to Gambia and I like the way you taught the Wolof with the structure and it made it easy to understand, so please make more Wolof videos

[@rickpoynter2618]

Thanks very much Dave. Simple, clear and sensible. I'm a Kiwi of European descent, nearing 80 and find myself pleased and impressed with the progress made over recent decades in reversing the evolutionary direction of the Maori language, from headed for extinction, to a vibrant and healthy recovery. I'd love to become functional in "Te reo" (the tongue), but none of my feeble and ill advised start up attempts has ever made any real progress. Your comment about the importance of first determining why you want to learn the language, and what you want to be able to do with it, started to clear the fog. Having been born in NZ and lived most of my life here, I've inevitably picked up a certain amount of vocabulary. Lot's of places and geographic features have Maori names, which are generally very descriptive, so that provides a useful starting foundation. I had decided that in my case, I needed to find a source of literal translations of Maori phrases and sentences into English, to understand the general grammatical structure. Either I haven't been able to find it yet, or it doesn't exist. It would suit me better to use an on-line tutorial than to physically attend group night classes, or wade through text books, but again, I'm still looking for the "Goldilocks" option. The Duolingo app seems to enjoy good ratings, and although it does include one Polynesian language, Hawaiian, Maori is still a work in progress. Any suggestions would be most welcome. Incidentally, if you didn't ever play rugby, you should have. Your skill dodging those balls of fire, was exceptional!

[@xf3s_]

i would like to start learning american sign language alongside a few friends. none of us are Deaf or HoH, but we find the utility of a non-verbal language quite striking :-)

[@DavidZennaro]

I think the first thing to appreciate when you are learning a new language is that people are not going to laugh at you. In fact, I have never experienced that in my life and I speak a number of languages (badly). Eg. I learned Spanish by speaking Italian with a Spanish accent in Gran Canaria and everybody was were helpful and patient with me. I made a lot of good friends that way. I don't make any mistakes in my mother tongue, Danish but I will do that in all other languages.

[@davidpaterson2309]

This is either a coincidence or it must be “a Danish thing” - speaking one language in the accent of a related one. We had a Danish friend here in the U.K. when she worked here some years ago (she’s now retired and lives in Spain). We went on holiday together to Italy and she insisted she could “speak Italian”. Now, I speak reasonable French and understand enough Italian to know what it sounds like, and even I knew that what she was doing was speaking Spanish with her idea of an Italian accent. She got some strange looks but could make herself understood well enough. I guess if you come from a place where your own language is close enough to other neighbouring languages (Norwegian, Swedish) to have some degree of mutual intelligibility then that’s a solution that comes naturally to you?

[@DavidZennaro]

@@davidpaterson2309 There is probably some truth to this because I learned Swedish and Norwegian as a child watching their television. I think that when you understand the shifts in sounds between the languages it helps a lot.

[@TokyoBlue587]

I completely agree with you that there needs to be a reform in how languages are taught! So many times , I struggled in Spanish & French classes because it was, indeed, learning long lists of useless things like names of animals or colors, and only present tense. So all you can do is talk is like a child: “The cat is orange.” Rather than teaching you phrases you will actually use in a conversation!!

[@andyharpist2938]

Much of language teaching seems to be about ordering a restaurant meal, a double hotel room and a taxi to the Opera. Yet in my years of being in my 'other' country, of Norway, I have never felt I could afford to go to a restaurant. Twice I have ordered a beer ( £17) .

[@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131]

​@@andyharpist2938 Surely that would be the price of 2 beers...🍻😲 Right ? 😳 Who in their right mind would charge that much ? Love from Oslo 🇳🇴

[@andyharpist2938]

Takk for siste. Jeg husker det koster mye på Finse Hotellet. Men for et år siden tok jeg en øl på Art Pubben oppe i Gruneløkke og det koster £12. Norges regjeringen er redd for alkohol tror jeg. De ser på det som en farlig ting. ( how's my norsk?)

[@cyrug4021]

Dave, am a Ugandan squarely a multilingual who speaks English, Luganda, Samia and some lutoro all local languages spoken here. But my love for learning new languages is sparkling, and now am focusing on kiswahili, not an easy one though.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Keep up the good work! What do think is making Kiswahili not so easy for you?

[@cyrug4021]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages The cvcv formations are commonly applied in local Ugandan dialect where as in Swahili they have ccv formations eg MTU for a person in kiswahili has no vowel btn m and t, whereas in Luganda its mutu for a person. Also another variation is that in kiswahili there is cvv formation for example a word for fine " poa" , matokeo for results, kuoa for marry etc.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I'm sure you will overcome those differences. I wish you every success.

[@dannymars]

On grammar. Many people who speak English as a second language use “incorrect” grammar, hardly ever would anyone correct them. But almost universally they are understood despite this. Very interesting.

[@JeremyLawrence-imajez]

Re being a [language] genius - With rare exception we all learnt our native tongue no problem and did so without grammar or vocab lists. It was all context based learning by complete immersion in the language and culture. When visiting French and German Unis, I would meet British language students doing their year out. They'd often say that they learnt more French/German in last few months than the previous 7-8 years of formal study. Sadly I've never stayed in anywhere long enough to get the hang of local language, plus everyone wants to practice their English. My personal, rather dismal experience of formal German learning was that it was all rote based, zero context and bafflingly never showed how similar in many ways German was in fact to English. Particularly cases which were an alien concept to us, but one us native English speakers used all the time without even releasing e.g. he his, him. I, my/mine, me. Years later I however learned to read and write Japanese Hiragana and also a fair chunk of basic Japanese, in just one week. This was via a brilliant interactive book that was basically context based learning, with some guidance notes after the fact i.e. grammar tips that weren't rote based.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Yes, it’s so sad that languages are taught so badly. Thanks for sharing your story of how good materials, and I imagine a bit of motivation, can make such a huge difference.

[@jgfreer8322]

@JeremyLawrence-imajez Well done with the Japanese! I would be most grateful if you would share which (or how to source) the interactive book, please?

[@JeremyLawrence-imajez]

@@jgfreer8322 I really wish I could, but it was a friend's book [she was studying Japanese at our Uni] and I've never been able to find a copy of it since. Not looked for years, maybe I should try again. Didn't think to note name/author at time. 🙁

[@jgfreer8322]

@@JeremyLawrence-imajez Ah what a shame! But thank you - I appreciate you taking the time to reply.

[@MariaFlores-qn8yv]

I'm learning German and have several reasons 1) I love the language 2) my family has history with this language 3) my niece (2 years old) was born and lives in Germany and I would love for us to have another language to communicate by.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks for sharing! I wish you every success.

[@Lisa224224]

quieres estar compañeros de lenguaje? hablo alemán nativo y quiero aprender español.

[@RAMAFASTENAMONATO]

/ðə ˈfɜːst ˈθɪŋ tə ˈduː tə biː ˈeɪbl tə kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt ɪn ˈɪŋglɪʃ ɪz tə ˈlɪsn tə ˈneɪtɪv ˈspiːkəz əv ˈɪŋglɪʃ ˈspiːk ˈɪŋglɪʃ əz ˈmʌtʃ əz ˈpɒsəbl. juː kən ˈlɜːn ˈɪŋglɪʃ ˈæksents ən ˈfiːtʃəz əv kəˈnektɪd ˈspiːtʃ, ˈneɪmlɪ prənʌnsɪˈeɪʃn, ˈstres ˈpætnz, ˈstrɒŋ ˈfɔːmz ən ˈwiːk ˈfɔːmz, ˈelɪʒn, æsɪmɪˈleɪʃn, ˈdʒʌŋktʃə, ˈɪntəneɪʃn ˈpætnz, ˈlɪŋk ʌps ən ˈbeɪsɪk vəˈkæbjʊlərɪ. ɪn ˈʌðə ˈwɜːdz, wiː kən faɪnd ˈaʊt ˈhaʊ ˈɪŋglɪʃ ɪz ˈspəʊkən ɪn ən ˈɒrɪdʒɪnl ən ˈnætʃərəl ˈweɪ. ˈlɒŋ ˈtaɪm əˈgəʊ, aɪ ˈlɪsnd ɪn tə ðɪ ˈɪŋglɪʃ prəʊˈgræmz əv ðə ˈbiː biː ˈsiː, əv ˈviː əʊ ˈeɪ ən əv ˈreɪdɪəʊ ˈɒstreɪlɪə ɒn ˈʃɔːtweɪv. ɪn ðə ˈmiːntaɪm, aɪ ˈtraɪd tə ˈriːd ˈsɪmpl ˈɑːtɪklz ɒn ˈɪŋglɪʃ fəˈnetɪks ˈfaʊnd ɪn səm ˈbʊks. ət ˈðæt ˈtaɪm, ɪn ðə ˈmɪd əv naɪnˈtiːn ˈeɪtɪz, aɪ wəz ˈəʊnlɪ θɜːˈtiːn ˈjɜːz ˈəʊld. aɪ ˈlɜːnt ˈɪŋglɪʃ wɪˈðaʊt enɪ ˈtiːtʃəz. ðə wəz ˈnəʊ ˈɪntənet ət ˈðæt taɪm ən aɪ wəz əv ə ˈpɔː ˈfæmlɪ. ˈevrɪθɪŋ wəz ˈhɑːdə ət ˈðæt ˈtaɪm ɪf kəmˈpeəd baɪ ðə sɪtʃʊəʃn təˈdeɪ. ɪn ˈmɪd əv naɪnˈtiːn ˈnaɪntɪz, aɪ wəz ə ˈstjuːdnt əv ə juːnɪˈvɜːstɪ ən aɪ ˈlɜːn ˈlɒŋ fəˈnetɪk ˈtrænskrɪpʃn. aɪ ˈfaʊnd ɪt ɪn ˈbʊks ˈrɪtn baɪ ˈdænjəl ˈdʒəʊnz ən ˈeɪ siː ˈgɪmsn. ˈðiːz ˈbʊks ɑː kənˈsɪdəd ˈaʊtdeɪtɪd baɪ menɪ ˈpiːpl, bʌt ðeɪə ˈgʊd ˈsɔːs fə ˈlɜːnɪŋ ˈspəʊkən ˈɪŋglɪʃ, ðəʊ. aɪ dɪˈsaɪdɪd tə ˈfəʊkəs ɒn ˈbrɪtɪʃ ˈɪŋglɪʃ, rɪˈsiːvd prəˈnʌnsɪˈeɪʃn tə biː spəˈsɪfɪk. ˈleɪtə, aɪ traɪd maɪ ˈbest tʊ ˈɪmɪteɪt ðə ˈweɪ ˈhaʊ ə ˈnjuːsriːdə əv ˈbiː biː ˈsiː ˈspəʊk ˈɪŋglɪʃ. aɪ ˈniːd θɜːˈtiːn ˈjɜːz tʊ əˈkwaɪə ən ˈɑː ˈpiː ˈæksent. ən ˈɪŋglɪʃ prəˈnaʊnsɪŋ ˈdɪkʃnrɪ wəz ˈɔːlweɪz bɪˈsaɪd miː. ˈɑːftə ˈlɜːnɪŋ ˈɔːl ˈðiːz ˈfiːtʃəz əv prənʌnsɪˈeɪʃn, aɪ ˈwent ɒn ðə ˈriːdɪŋ ˈteksts tə ˈnəʊ ˈmɔː vəˈkæbjʊlərɪ ˈentrɪz. ˈhɪə, aɪ ˈstɑːt tə ˈlɜːn ˈɪŋglɪʃ ˈgræmə. ðə ˈlɑːst ˈstep ɪz ˈraɪtɪŋ. fə ˈðɪs ˈwʌn, aɪ ˈpræktɪst maɪ ˈnɒlɪdʒ ɪn ˈjuːzɪŋ ˈgræmə ɒn maɪ ˈdaɪrɪ ˈbʊk. aɪ ˈrəʊt daʊn maɪ ˈdeɪlɪ ˈæktɪvətɪz ɪn ˈɪŋglɪʃ. aɪ ˈθɪŋk ˈɔːl ðɪ ˈæktɪvətɪz ðət aɪ ˈdɪd ˈlɒŋ ˈtaɪm əˈgəʊ wə laɪk ðə ˈsteps wɪtʃ ə ˈhuːmən ˈtʃaɪld ˈteɪk ɪn əˈkwaɪərɪŋ ə ˈlæŋgwɪdʒ, ðə ˈfɜːst steps ˈbiːɪŋ tə ˈlɪsn tə ðə ˈpærənts ˈspiːk, ðə ˈsekənd tə ˈlɜːn ˈrɪtn ˈlæŋgwɪdʒ ən ˈgræmə ət ˈskuːl./ .

[@johninnapoli4906]

I'm learning Italian because I live and work, as an English teacher, in Naples. A mutual colleague, Roy Boardman, suggested this video. I love your presentation style. I found the whole thing really informative and very enjoyable. I'll be watching more of you, Dave. Many thanks for such a refreshing perspective!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Hi John. I just came upon your comment in the 'potential spam' folder! Can't think why. Wishing you all the best with your Italian. What's your biggest challenge? And big hugs to Roy,

[@polyglotpress]

Dave also got me thinking about learning relevant language--of a profession--is what came to mind. Having originally learned the language of couture in French at home from my maman, I had to learn the terminology in English in the NYC costume shops (with plenty of Yiddish thrown in!) as well as to teach in California. Then I had to relearn it in Joual when teaching in Montréal. Because my mother invented an ideophone for a "seam ripper": (un "pic-pic"--that she may have picked up from her Walloon mentor who had had a dressmaker's shop in Congo?), well, the heck with it, I used it with my Joual students. (I've had ample opportunity, in our isolated, multi-lingual family, to observe the spontaneous creation of a dialect!). The lovely, but utterly professionally unaculturated Korean translator I was assigned to assist me in a costume shop in Seoul, was actually pushed aside by the première (not me !) so that we could more efficiently communicate in a more show-than-tell language. That said, I learned the vocabulary for colours pretty quickly when shopping for fabrics. The tactility of fabric was much more show-than-tell (especially when each stall specialized in one fibre or another). Somehow, colours were more difficult. I am not sure why. But having to plead for "purple" silk, I have never forgotten the word, 보라색 (borasaek), which for some reason sounded like "bulrousak" to my ear. ??? What a trove of linguistic memories you have opened!

[@BassPhat]

My sister learned Bahasa Indonesia at school (like me) with little result. Then she spent a few months working on a building site with an Indo crew and became proficient very quickly.

[@peteymax]

Go raibh mile maith agat Dáithí. Estoy aprendiendo español porque me encanta la lengua (no puedo decir porque) y también me gusta viajar por España. I have given up on learning lists of words or stock phrases out of context. I just listen to native speakers (the radio, series, etc.) and I attend a class which helps me build a foundation and apply my self-learning to everyday life. But lots of input has helped me. When I am in Spain I persevere with keeping interactions in Spanish as much as I can (the Spanish people are probably amongst the kindest Europeans to language learners, the French and the Germans tend not to be patient and the Dutch seem like they are purposefully unhelpful). Thanks as always.

[@natalieyancy4203]

I'm learning Mexican Spanish for my job. I speak very broken Spanish so far but I'm working on it.

[@andyharpist2938]

I looked at taking the listening B1 exam in Norwegian. The practise question was more or less as follows: "Jens took the 05.45 train to Oslo with 240 passengers on the train, stopping for 35 minutes at Tønsberg to pick up 40 passengers, ten of whom got off again. Whilst there was a delay of 30 minutes so 25 passengers got off. So now it was long delayed arriving at 07.30. How many passengers got off at Tønsberg was it 340, 40, 30 minutes, or 8.45 in the evening?" At which point I gave up the idea of taking an exam ever again. Sometimes I think teachers and examiners hate those learning languages and make it harder than it should be.

[@polyglotpress]

What a weird thing to do: That is an algebra problem.

[@andyharpist2938]

I exaggerate for comic effect, but it was certainly a test of mental recall that I would find hard, even in English.@@polyglotpress

[@rjendall2711]

Another very informative and entertaining post Dave. Keep them coming! Your enthusiasm for learning languages is infectious (in a non-pandemic way)!

[@taipo101]

Agree 100%. Gave up with Cantonese course because I was learning 100 articles of clothing. Watching soap operas does help with the "music" of a language. Korean, learn to read hangul in 24 hours so I could order from menu and not be ripped off. Learning Chinese more difficult but not impossible. My 6 year old niece speaks fluent Cantonese but can't yet read nor write. So you are correct. PS love the L S Lowry picture behind

[@l.pineda1576]

I want to learn Brazilian Portuguese, as a Spanish speaker, because I've always loved Brazilian culture and music, and even though both languages are mostly mutually intelligible, Portuguese has a rich variety of vocal and consonants that Spanish lacks and I'd love to learn. I also have Portuguese-speaking friends whom I'd love to talk to in their native language. Also, I've just started watching your videos and they're all incredible. I've learnt so much more about linguistics in the past hour or so than, ever, probably. Thank you!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Wow. I’m so glad to hear that. Thanks so much for letting me know. Desejo-lhe todo o sucesso nos seus estudos de português.

[@krystal4378]

I was learning pulaar because I was living within the community. (Plus a few of the other local languages) Just learning the greetings in the different languages helped so much. Then because of me being me, learning how to joke around in the language helped me so much in learning the language and building connections with people. And just basic life stuff (I am hungry/thirsty/tired/etc) My grammar sucked, but was still able to have conversations and understand and be understood. Would it have helped, yeah, but people appreciate you just trying and learning

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I love it! That, for me, is the essence of language learning.

[@DeSlagen8]

I trust you the most to help me on my journey to German fluency.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I’m honoured. What’s your journey like?

[@JewelsGraham]

😂 I absolutely loved the "grammar fireballs!" I can relate to having tried all the methods you shared and learning phrases is definitely the best approach. Vocabulary words and verb tenses will be picked up more naturally when you have a base to work from. Sorry for ending that sentence with a preposition ☄️

[@paulmallon7375]

Inspiring. I will specialise in useful phrases

[@endima6204]

I agree with your learning technique

[@maddyhurricks5122]

Very helpful advice! The language leared out of personal relationship stays best!

[@geraldhoban857]

This is great stuff. There is a massive shortage of guidance on the practical perspective of language learning.

[@user-oe1bu5qw1w]

The best way for words memorizing i know is linking. A word should be related to some event or remind some word from native language. An event or a word from native language should be memorable or funny.

[@samudroprem6936]

Lover-tongue vs mother-tongue. 😂 Having a foeign lover or spouse is definitely the best way to learn a language. Living in another country and working with foreign language speakers are also good motivations. In this way I've learned Russiand and Mandarin Chinese, to conversation level. Then Japanese and German to some level also. Now I am slowly learning Turkish. I agree that topic based learning works well enough. But the single best way to learn a language is to enjoy. To have fun is the best way to teach also. I was breifly an English KG teacher for 4 year olds in Taiwan.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Absolutely!

[@PJTraill]

Did you have 5 lovers for those 5 languages?

[@samudroprem6936]

Why only 5 :) :) :) :) :)

[@polyglotpress]

😅@@PJTraill

[@EstebanJavornik]

Hmmm, very interesting… I can truly relate to what you’re mentioning about vocabulary, since I find myself going directly towards the “hard/advanced” stuff first. Like. I don’t want to say “I go to the supermarket”, I want to say “I used to go to the supermarket with my friend only to buy tea, but then I found great tea at a small tea shop”. Honestly, there’s only 4 nouns in that frase (supermarket, friend, tea and shop). But it sounds like something that you would say to someone you meet in real life. Generally, I prefer to see directly how tenses are formed (specially in languages where it’s an easy thing, like in Hindi) and specially memorizing (in this case it’s useful) connectors, which I feel is of vital importance not to sound like a robot (to keep it classy)…

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

That sounds like a very good strategy.

[@barnbersonol]

I learnt welsh because I wanted to be a Welsh speaker and preserve the language. French to pass exams Spanish to not be another thick tourist. Catalan because I related to the whole ethos as a Welsh speaker. Plus it was a total freebie after French and Spanish. Polish because I was Curious to learn how a Slav languages work. Case and aspect mainly. My tips are to start off learning just individual words. Nobody minds "tarzan" French or Spanish. Learn the verbs, grammar etc in your own time. Interesting vid. Thanks. Am bingeing on these!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I’m more into phrases than individual words, but overcoming the fear of making mistakes is crucial. Who do we think is going to care?

[@peteymax]

Welsh is a beautiful language

[@barnbersonol]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages that can be dangerous game imo You could learn that ile masz lat? Means how old are you? But you don't know what the constituent words are. Spoiler: lat doesn't mean "you"!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

@@barnbersonol There is nothing stopping you knowing what the constituent words mean while still learning the phrase as a chunk. I just did a quick exercise. I found out your sentence was in Polish. I found Ile on ma lat and Ile ona ma lat. I guessed that ile must mean how many/much. Lat must me years. Ma is from the verb to have, which needs pronouns in the third person but ‘you have’ is masz, without a pronoun because you can tell it’s 2nd person from the ending. I then tested some of these hypotheses by looking up ‘How many cats do you have’? I see that is Ile masz kotów, which confirms my hypotheses. Because I know Russian, I guess that kotów is a genitive plural, so lat must be too. Because I worked all this out with out boring grammar explanations and drilling, I feel I have actually learned it and will remember it.

[@barnbersonol]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages that's because you're a language person and you immediately suspect that other languages don't correspond word for word with English. Kids actually gain good gcse grades in French by learning parrot phrases but can't construct their own sentences in the "field". Old joke about 2 bikers in the Dordogne: Right you've got A grade French. Go in there and ask if you can borrow a plug spanner. ..... how'd it go? .... er not great but I did tell them that I'm thirteen, have a cat and a goldfish and like swimming!

[@HeidiSanToro]

Cannot wait for your next video ❤

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

So glad to hear that.

[@nicolerosen7957]

Very enjoyable. You deserve more views!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you!

[@cazzi1929]

This is the only video I've watched that's convinced me I want to learn a second language

[@PJTraill]

English as mother tongue; German and Dutch fluently to live there, work, make friends (and my wife is German); currently learning Russian (despite Putin) because my wife always liked it and wanted a challenge in retirement; retain a fair amount of school French and smaller smatterings of Spanish and Italian - have worked my way through _The Lord of the Rings,_ which I am quite familiar with, in all those languages. Also learning Japanese kanji and kana, but only to read, because I wanted to challenge myself with lots of new shapes, and because of its use in the game of Go, which people occasionally suggest is a language too, and at which I also struggle to improve! Dipped into _Winni-an-Pou_ (Cornish), _Hobbiten_ (¿Danish?) and _Hobbit_ (Turkish) with little to show for my efforts, and also possess _LoTR_ in Modern Greek and (partly) in Serbo-Croatian, but have not got round to them seriously yet.

[@Peacefrogg]

School really destroys learning by grading and punishing kids for their mistakes, bc fear of failure freezes the brain. Doing things wrong helps us learn so much more and quicker than doing things right. When i realised i could celebrate my mistakes and laugh about them, that’s when i learned to learn.

[@andyharpist2938]

Learning a language is simply about 10,000 embarrassing moments.

[@pattiskidmore8792]

LOL at the bowls of fire! Bravo, Dave. As one who has studied many languages, learned a few, spot on observations and suggestions.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks! Yes, I had fun with those.

[@dominikaboziow4741]

I’d love to learn Russian so I could read books (fantasy novels mostly), that are not available in English or Polish. I want to learn spoken Bulgarian for family reasons:-)

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

So what are you waiting for?

[@HeidiSanToro]

I would love to learn chinese/mandarin for that reason...I love the chinese dramaland and wuxia and xianxia books and dramas ❤

[@brunobbigdongzhong]

I’m learning German purely because it sounds good and it’s actually quite easy

[@andyrules999]

Wrongly Haha 13:03 had me in stiches. Love you and your channel Dave

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you!

[@Living-the-retirement-dream]

Hey Dave. You make a lot of fantastic points in this. I have tried and succeeded to learn a little bit of some languages whilst on holiday in about five different countries. I used the method of just deciding what I wanted to say and only learning that. My only other experience is with watching my own kids learning to communicate, and I think the same rule applied to them.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Well done you! Which countries?

[@Living-the-retirement-dream]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages Spain, Portugal, Italy, Tunisia, Morocco, France and Egypt

[@vinceturner3863]

Dave, you look great as Mozart! Another great video!

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks! Maybe I'll try to develop that look!

[@kmac7249]

As of now I'm in gambia, and learning wolof and mandinka, and I'm taking a small trip to bosnia, so I started researching bosnian online. It's quite easy, like Russian but different. I think the Latin varieties spoken in the Balkans influenced the later Balkan Slavic languages.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Cool! How are you doing with Bosnian?

[@Mike-rw2nh]

I was expecting this to be a rather dry upload, but this gentleman’s humour shines through at 0:34 😁👍 Edit: Subbed, subbed & thrice subbed.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thank you and welcome!

[@kocinski8734]

Very impressed that you answer so many people in the comments. I'm learning Norwegian - just because it's there. I love the sound, love the links to English and boy is it much easier than French! I had to learn French which kind of always made me resent it. I don't need to learn Norwegian for any reason, and am loving it.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

That's great to hear. I really hope more people can discover the joys of language learning.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

That's great to hear. I really hope more people can discover the joys of language learning.

[@andyharpist2938]

Hi I thought I was the only person in the world to learn Norwegian just because its there! Its easy and fun and if you ask to use it they will not immediately overspeak you in English.

[@tombesson4948]

Different languages require different amounts of attention given to grammar. I have studies Czech for many years and still remember my first attempts to communicate in the Czech republic after six months of study. Without proper declination I was not understood. I agree that memorization of long vocabulary lists is not as helpful as one would think, but without proper attention given to grammar one will never be understood. Perhaps when learning romance languages, which have similar structure to my native tongue of English, grammar can become less important, but when moving to another place on the language tree it becomes essential.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Hi Tom. I hear you on Czech as I have studied Russian. My focus was still on “How can I say X” rather than “What are the five uses of the instrumental case”, though. My teacher definitely gravitated towards the latter and would launch into lengthy explanations when I made a mistake. I preferred the reaction of people on the street who would just repeat what I said, but with the correct forms without making a big deal of it. That’s what parents do. “I goed to the swings” “Yes, you went to the swings!”

[@matteosposato9448]

Of course grammar is important, the point is HOW you learn what grammar is trying to tell you. Grammar is the description (because let's always remember that grammar is descriptive and not prescriptive, which is a hugely important nuance) of how a language is produced by the community of those who speak it. This means that it's not as if first there are some rules to abide to, and then you are allowed to produce language by elaborating those rules. The other way around: first there is language (comprehensible language as per the way it is used by its community), then there is grammar explaining how that is. Studying rules is learning ABOUT grammar. The idea that first you learn rules and then you use such knowledge to combine them and produce/understand something so vast and complex as language, is cumbersome. It may work eventually, I guess, but with a lot of effort and inefficiently, and only if you get there before being descouraged by the task. Now the question is: is there another way to learn THE grammar (i.e. to learn how a language works without having to memorise rules and lists and exceptions, i.e. to make language come first and its description later)? Turns out there is. Things that go by the name of "natural approach to language acquisition", "comprehensible input" etc are meant to guide exactly in that (the distinction made by Dave in the previous comment, between the two types of correction, is a wonderful example of how that could work in real life and/or with a wise language tutor!). And know that I like to have knowledge about grammar in fact, I find it fascinating and I think it can improve the learning process if handled in the right way and at the right time. The point is using it as an aid to understand things that either you find interesting, or that you feel you really need to know based on some experience you had of the language. That is, again: language first, its description later. This is, in my opinion, what a good chunk of people try to say when they talk about redefining the role and prominence of grammar in the language acquisition process

[@vincenzo-zocca]

My "trick" -if you like- is trying to speak or write about something you are interested in. If you like humour, try cracking a joke in the language you're learning. Through that acquiring the "difficult" bits is easier and much more enjoyable. This coincides with what you said about saying things you want to say. I think I "acquired" the languages I speak reasonably well through trial and error and by actually applying language. Your tips benefit anyone taking up the task of learning a new language.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Hi Vincenzo. An excellent point. Thank you. Which language(s) are you learning?

[@vincenzo-zocca]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages Currently I'm not learning any new languages. I was thrown into the deep end of language learning when I was 6 and I learned to cope, so to speak. When I was young I didn't consider myself to be any good at languages; Dutch I learned and French was close to my mother tongue but any other language I didn't grasp at all. I decided to learn English in order to be able to read about computers. Later on I had to learn German as I moved to a country where it was spoken. In my view languages are acquired. The necessity to learn, slowly widening your interest/proficiency scope, and applying the learned topics are IMHO powerful when acquiring a new language. However, not everyone agrees to that. Proper, solid videos you make! I'll be forwarding several of them.

[@denni7173]

Finnish, because we plan to move there. Ive wanted to move there since i was 6, but had to wait until things were right. Grew up in an Irish speaking home with smatterings of Scottish Gaelic.

[@KirstenBayes]

Come for the knowledge, stay for the meteors! Good stuff.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Always!

[@CosmicDoom47]

I've learned 4-5 languages to various degrees of fluency and eventually stumbled upon the method you've been describing. If only I had this video years ago I would've saved myself so many mistakes T.T. Fantastic video

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks Ash. So glad you enjoyed it. Which are your languages?

[@CosmicDoom47]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages Excluding English, I'm learning Hindi, Gujarati, Mandarin, and Spanish (some I speak very well, some less so haha)

[@andrew4635]

I'm learning Dutch because I watched Drag Race Holland and fell in love with the sound of it. They spoke English and Dutch in the same sentence, and it was music to my ears. I wanted to understand the other half of the conversation! I live in Montreal, and love hearing and using French and English interchangeably with people.

[@user-eb1ic6vi1x]

Very interesting video indeed! I’m a Northants lad, living in Rome studying theology and philosophy. I want to learn Italian but difficult as live and study in English speaking college…too easy to be lazy. 🇻🇦

[@seanfroudistwalsh3870]

Hi Dave, I love your videos and always learn a lot. I am a neuroscientist, lecturer and language speaker/learner, so I am interested in your insights into learning & languages for various reasons. I admit I learn individual words using anki flashcards, which uses a spaced repetition schedule. This is because being forced to retrieve items from your memory strengthens the memory. However, one important technique that I use when I am not too lazy is to not only retrieve the tested word, but to use it in a sentence. This turns this into a form of active learning, where you have to use the information in a new context, away from the specific context in which you learned it. This is also shown to help understanding and later ability to recall. One danger is that my newly formed sentences may be wrong, or not sound right. An improvement may be to learn a word in an example sentence (audio/written), and use this as a queue to form & speak out loud your own sentence with the target word?

[@andyharpist2938]

What do you think of practising out your spoken language on other learners? I have found it rather bizarre as no one knows what is really correct.

[@seanfroudistwalsh3870]

@@andyharpist2938 I think it depends on what the alternative is. If the alternative is to not speak at all, then better to speak. That way you will practice 1) retrieving the appropriate words from your memory, 2) arranging them in grammatically meaningful ways, 3) using the language in a new creative way for a meaningful conversation and 4) practicing the physical skill of producing the sounds. What you will probably lack with other learners is high quality feedback, which a teacher or some native speakers can give you. Quick and precise feedback is great at speeding up learning. So if you can speak with a teacher or native speaker, and ask them to correct you, then great. If you don't have the option, speak with whoever you can!

[@timbuktu8069]

I see nothing wrong with memorizing words -as part of the learning process. It is an aid. Much like a forester learning the types of tree leaves as part of his overall education.

[@klondike3112]

If I had seen this beautiful video the year it was posted, I probably would have not wasted so much time trying to piece Japanese vocabulary together... I gave up entirely due to the intimidation from completely unfamiliar syntax, forgot all of my hard-earned memorized handwritten kanji and oral vocabulary, and now I still don't speak Japanese! Phrases are just so much more efficient because of their information density. Languages are near impossible to learn through lists of grammar rules and memorized vocabulary. Language is just too complex for classroom-style memorization. Forming a sentence in a language you don't understand is like trying baking something you're unfamiliar with, from scratch and without a recipe, by learning the individual molecular interactions between ingredients. It takes way too long and you can't just fumble through a real flowing conversation like that. p.s. i want to learn filipino/tagalog to connect better with a prospective lov- i mean totally platonic friend ;P

[@rowansumner9088]

Im a bit late to this but oh well! I'm learning Persian to speak with my partners family. I've come to really enjoy the process

[@olivermoore7020]

I'm a Brit currently living and working in Sweden. The working language is english and one can get-by easily in English. But I'm trying to learn Swedish to try and integrate better. And because I think it's a useful exercise given that I don't already have a second language. This video was useful. Thank you.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Glad to hear it. Keep up the good work with Swedish.

[@andyharpist2938]

Its an easy language. Stick at it. Its fun!

[@massmanute]

My goal is to learn French at a B1 level so I can acquire dual US/French citizenship and to communicate with my spouses relatives.

[@tomharrison1849]

Thanks for your interesting video, Dave. I’m trying to learn Luganda because I run an NGO in Uganda. It’s a challenge because they have adjectives that have to agree with the noun - and ten groups. So if you’re saying ‘the good church’ or ‘the good boy’, the form of the adjective will change. You sound like a small child if you get it wrong. But generally I have followed the approach you outline here (without thinking it through as a method) and I agree it seems the best.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

It must be a challenge to develop that as a habit. Once you do though, you can learn other Bantu languages.

[@woutervanr]

Thanks for this. I tried learning spanish for a while now with duolingo, but it just got more and more annoying with every update. And while I learned a lot of useful stuff, I did spend a lot of time learning stuff I probably rarely need. I'll try some if your tips and see how it works out for me. After that, maybe some Japanse to be able to watch anime without the english subtitles or some Ukrainian to be able to communicate with more people when I'm on holiday.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Good luck with those. Duolingo can work for learning vocab, but you need to start using the language. Read , watch videos, soap operas. Try to find a speaking partner on iTalki - swap some Spanish chat for conversation in your own language.

[@alanwann9318]

I can read Spanish and understand the vocabulary but I'm not up to speed speaking. My experience is the Spanish speak quick joining words without pause. My best achievement is I ordered a taxi in menorca to return to the airport. The driver did not speak English and I was booking in advance

[@PJTraill]

I think you will find few languages where words are not run together in speech - we certainly do it in English! Russian has only one stress in almost every word, which helps a bit - except that several small words have none at all, and Russian stress is not determined by volume, pitch or duration, but by vowel quality!

[@margaretfriederich9731]

I agree. I have been living and working in Germany for over 40 years and speak and understand fluently. However, I am still struggling with the finer points of the grammar! Articles and adjective endings and... 😱

[@b.h.bentzman]

Welsh. Thought learning a second language might postpone dementia. Also, for earning the respect of my Welsh friends. My Welsh friends don't care if I succeed, they respect me for even trying.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I hope you’re enjoying the language too.

[@Lisa224224]

estoy estudiando español porque me encantan la cultura, la lenguaje y quiero vivir en un país donde se habla español el próximo invierno.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Te deseo mucho éxito con tus estudios. ¿Ya sabes en qué país quieres vivir?

[@theresabradley4716]

I am learning Scottish Gaelic. I want to be able to speak it when I visit the islands and Highlands in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿, and help preserve the language.

[@resourceress7]

Nice FSM cameo :)

[@pippalucy]

I’m learning Norwegian because I love the sound of it and want to go there when I win the lottery! I’m using duolingo which is sort of working… When I tell people the reaction is “huh!? Why?!!” 😂

[@mckohtz]

I am learning Scottish Gaelic because I love the music and have some Scottish ancestry. I have learnt some Japanese in high school and while living and teaching English in Japan. I have learnt some Spanish while living in the US for the past +20years. I hate learning grammar because it is often taught in a rote manner and I don't remember things that way. Just give me lots of example sentences and dialogue. Preferably audio with pictures and video!

[@a2012sansan]

I like your video... I'm Latin American and its Really difficult for me undestand and speak English words correctly... Thanks for sharing

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

My pleasure, Alejandro. You might also find this useful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5_JZo2foJipjrM

[@a2012sansan]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages great! than you again

[@joecandy6490]

I’m trying to learn Italian as I moved to Italy from the UK for work and decided to stay for an early retirement in 2021, but i am really struggling and its frustrating because all i want is to be able to chat with my italian neighbours… after 2-years of study and practice i don’t feel like i’ve learnt anything and i just get lost and confused in the most basic of conversations…

[@squintoncarbusier4963]

I agree with learning vocabulary in context is the best way to learn modern languages. But what about "dead" languages like Ancient Greek, Latin and Hebrew. Quite often the only in-depth materials you can find involve memorising vocabulary on a per chapter basis, and learning paradigms for conjugation and declension. Would the approach be different for such languages?

[@RAMAFASTENAMONATO]

'Human-child' Method for learning a language: 1. Much listening 2. Much listening 3. Much listening 4. Much trying to speak, although with errors 5. Studying grammar with vocab 6. Much reading 7. Much writing

[@alisonrosemorris2524]

I started speaking but never learnt Italian by chatting and memorizing phrases I needed to use to be understood. The grammer came on it's own because the phrases just did or didn' t sound right.

[@roncouch]

A favourite way I extended my German language usage was, strangely, by memorising Sprichtwoeter, which I found both entertaining and informative.

[@laurabasola4081]

What is Sprichwoeter, please?

[@roncouch]

@@laurabasola4081 Sprichworter: Alles was glitzt nicht gold ist. Means: All that glistens is not gold. A proverb. (Have ‘addressed’ the German spelling)

[@JP850LM1]

Toujours aussi fort Dave bravo pertinent juste et fascinant. En souvenir de notre rencontre dans le royaume des sables où tu m’as appris à l’écrire l’Arabe amicalement Jean-Philippe

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Merci Jean-Phillippe! Je suis content que ça t'ait plu. Je ne me souviens pas de t'avoir appris à écrire l'Arabe. Le royaume des sables - j'adore cette tournure! - c'est le seul pays où j'ai vécu sans avoir appris la langue.

[@JP850LM1]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages tu m’as appris à lire les mots en arabe je me souviens en lisant les publicités 😃 Si tu viens en Corse tu seras le bienvenu chez moi et tu pourras apprendre le Corse aussi 👍🏼

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

@@JP850LM1 Oui, j'ai appris à lire l'alphabet mais je ne comprenais pas ce que je lisais, sauf les marques étrangères telles que بيبسي كولا J'aimerais beaucoup venir en Corse un jour.

[@JP850LM1]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages you are welcome any time👍🏼

[@saltwell]

I've tried (probably not hard enough) to learn some Italian to use on visits to Italy, a country I only started to discover 5 years ago. Having "got by" in Spanish for 40 years, I've found Italian both difficult and confusing and I keep lapsing into Spanish when trying to speak it.

[@cliffkolinger395]

I took Spanish in High School, didn’t have any interest in learning it. While working as a chef I began to pickup certain words to help communicate with our staff. I still work in commercial kitchens and would love to become proficient in Spanish. What is my best option for learning how to speak and understand the language.

[@The_SOB_II]

I started learning Spanish in middle school because it was either that or French and I was more interested in Tex Mex than baguettes. 23 years later, with sporadic attention, I'm still at half fluent. I can have some conversations, mostly about food. I started learning Irish on Duolingo because I wanted to connect with my heritage, but I started getting really frustrated with The artificial phrases, the repetition of basic crap, and especially once I learned that the pronunciation was incoherent I stopped using it. So basically

[@MikeLindup42]

German. I have tried Duolingo, Memrise, Michel Thomas and listening to SWR Rundfunk. They've all given me something, but not the ability to have a fluent conversation with a german speaker, and from your analysis I'm starting to see why not. How did you learn German, Dave?

[@Nick_G7IZR]

I wanted to learn Greek (and still do). I learnt it for 5 years at nightschool, but when we practiced it with Greeks, they said we spoke like their grandparents rather than modern everyday street Greek. So no idea how best to pick it back up again.

[@cheyennepetersen3417]

I'm learning German right now because I'd like to do my masters there. edit: I don't have a hard time learning a language, even when it has a different writing system, but my problem is speaking. I'm autistic though so speaking in my native English to other English speakers is a challenge already. It's even more difficult when I'm trying to speak with native speakers of a language I'm not fluent in. I get anxious about getting stuff wrong and just lock up. Do you have any advice to help with this? edit 2: (I should really watch a whole video before commenting lol) I think you answered my question.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Hi Cheyenne. Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply. I think it’s a common problem for people to get anxious about making mistakes. It’s definitely something I’ve had to work on. One way is to ask yourself what’s the worst that could happen if you make a mistake? Unless you are a spy who’ll be shot if your true nationality is discovered, the consequences are not that dire.

[@lugo_9969]

A question Dave. Learning lists of animals....futile. how about dolch lists or adjective lists or common verbs ? THAT IS....LISTS of very common popular words ?

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Lists of useful words are better than random lists, but I’d still say they are a sub-optimal way to acquire vocabulary. It’s all about which bit of the brain they end up in. If you learn a list of animals, you may eventually get to talk about them in a real context, read about them or recognize them when you hear them. The will then become part of your vocabulary. I’d suggest skipping the list and going straight for the language use. Write a short text about your favorite animals, memorise it and tell it to someone. Watch videos or read stories about zoos. At least nouns for concrete things tend to correspond more or less across languages. List of verbs have the extra problem that there is less likely to be a direct correlation. I don’t know which languages you are familiar with, but let’s take French and Spanish as examples. In a verb list, you might be tempted to have think=pensar=penser; believe=creer=croire. In fact, both French and Spanish use their believe words far more often than English does, in many contexts where English would use think.

[@lugo_9969]

In summary.....we should all try to learn the way infants learn. YES. BRILLIANT IDEA.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

But we can make up for the lack of full-time infinitely patient teachers by using our intellect, knowledge and analytical skills.

[@sksk-bd7yv]

I'm only fluent in two languages, the rest are in bits and pieces. I thought I ought to brush up on my French, and then started Korean - for the love of Hangul. Hmm... Logic isn't forced on either life or language - that's part of the charm. I grew up with Swedish and English as equals in my brain - but as I was thoroughly bored at English lessons in Swedish mandatory school, I always was told off by Swedish teachers that my grammar was very lacking... That convinced me grammar isn't worth the hype. It's just easy to test when the teacher isn't properly fluent in the language. But IRL... Nah... Never mind the bollocs, sorry grammar tests...

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

I've heard other stories of bilinguals clashing with language teachers. My favourite was the son of a friend of mine in Italy telling his English teacher his canary had had chicks. She replied, "No, in hEnglish the children of hall hanimals are called puppies."

[@LittleNala]

There is a huge difference between learning Chinese and Japanese characters, even if they look very similar, and often have similar meanings. In Chinese, it is one character, one sound. In Japanese, there could be any number of sounds for the same character. Two or three is normal, but some characters have many more than that. Plus for Japanese you have to learn two syllabaries! I speak Japanese much better than I speak Chinese (no-where near fluent in either, but enough to have a simple conversation etc.), but Chinese has been the easiest to learn - not just because of the characters only having one sound, but because the grammar is very straightforward. (Tones are tricky though!)

[@gallowshade8565]

Hello, i learned German by listening and practice ,believe it or not ,i watched a film that i knew of by heart ,in Geramn and it helped, just a tip if it helps use what you can.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Good tip.

[@Casmael01]

There is a really high buzzing noise on the audio track for this video, probably around 15khz or so. Right where my hearing tops out.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Oh no. Sorry to hear that. I’ll check it out.

[@Casmael01]

@@DaveHuxtableLanguages really enjoy your videos man. I’ve always wanted to learn a language but felt that I lacked the aptitude due to experiences in education. This video was really interesting - particularly the idea of picking and choosing what aspects of a language one might want to learn, which somehow I hadn’t ever considered. Great buffet analogy too!

[@Parents_of_Twins]

I would love to learn to speak Japanese mainly because I'm a big fan of anime and would love to visit the country someday and want to be able to talk with people at least a little. My biggest issue is my hearing. I've had multiple operations on both ears and have had my ear drums ruptured so even while I can hear alright I don't always hear properly, especially with similar sounds. So language teaching aids like Pimsleaur don't work great for me because I can't always hear how the word is being pronounced regardless of volume. Can't think of an example at the moment but had plenty when I was listening to the course, realized I was mishearing a lot of pronunciations.

[@tonyhall699]

Estoy aprendiendo Espanol pero tengo que mucho aprender. Por que? It has easier cognates and the wide number of countries that speak Espanol.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

¡Suerte!

[@StillAliveAndKicking_]

I’m English: Trying to move my French from B2 to C1. Learning German from scratch for fun. I learnt a little Welsh 35 years ago. The pronunciation is very easy for an English person. Welsh speakers said my accent was very good. I first studied French for five years at school, I hated it, I was useless and learnt little. Then I learnt more in my twenties, and moved to Montreal for two years. I didn’t become fluent, though my comprehension of clear standard French was good. Contrary to Stephen Krashen’s opinion, input alone was for me not sufficient. I did not acquire language. Over the last year I have learnt far more than ever before thanks to massive amounts of comprehensible input, and study of grammar and vocabulary. Yes, I need to study grammar. I use Anki to learn vocabulary and kickstart my skills. I hear words in podcasts, put them in Anki, and learn them. Then when I hear them again, I understand the podcast. I also learn words of interest to me such as le héron, l’étourneau, le merle, le moineau, la pie, le pigeon, la hirondelle, l’alouette des champs, le rapace, le blaireau, le hérisson, le mulot, la souris, le rat and so on. These are all creatures in or near my garden. I am sure you are right that phrases are more useful. The famous Hungarian polyglot Kató Lomb liked learning phrases. I find that verbs in isolation can be misleading. Verbs in context show how to use them. I’ve known many people completely fluent in four or more languages. One could even speak English with a standard English accent, a perfect hooray Henry accent, and a perfect American accent, as well as several Indian languages and French. Our language education system in schools is all wrong.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Thanks do Much for sharing your learning story. The input has to be comprehensible and in my opinion you have to engage with it. I wonder if there’s any way in Anki to input phrases or sentences rather than isolated words.

[@paulmallon7375]

I am learning Russian to communicated with people here in Central Asia.

[@madelainerichardson7324]

Italian. To speak to my friend

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

In bocca al lupo!

[@JeremyLawrence-imajez]

No one will mind if you say something w̶r̶o̶n̶g̶, sorry w̶r̶o̶n̶g̶l̶y, nope I meant incorrectly. 😄

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

😆

[@Kurdedunaysiri]

I want to be a linguist and polyglot to be able to protect the minority languages in the future.

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

That's a wonderful ambition to have, Mehmet.

[@maclarke74]

I'm learning Polish because I'm a Polish citizen and because I like learning foreign languages....Uczę się polskiego bo jestem obywatelem polski i bo lubię uczyć się języków obcych!

[@mysteriousDSF]

I learn languages purely out of cultural curiosity