How I Learn to Speak Any Language in 24 Hours

Check out my language learning masterclass here: streetsmartlanguages.com/mast...
And here’s the link to get my magic sentences that I always learn first whenever learning a new language: join.streetsmartlanguages.com...
And get speaking practice with my AI tutor here: yourteacher.ai/ (currently under maintenance but reopening very soon!!!)
It takes me about 10 to 15 hours to learn the languages that I showcase in my videos, and I’ve done this with around 56 languages to date. Obviously that is not going to get me fluent, but it’s enough to have basic conversations and impress people with the little that I do know. To be clear, because you naturally forget languages over time, I do not actually speak 56 languages at any given time, but even if I didn’t forget any of them I would still speak them all at only a basic level. I only speak 3 languages fluently at the moment (English, Mandarin, and Spanish) and my English is WAY better than my Mandarin and my Mandarin is WAY better than my Spanish.
0:00 I was bad at learning languages
1:45 The problem with how languages are currently taught
3:24 Part 1: Speaking practice
4:58 Part 2: Sentence mining with Anki
8:22 Study a language with me!
10:20 Summation
LEARN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE WITH MY METHOD!
✉️ Join my newsletter and discover how I pick up new languages quickly
(and learn how you can do the same):
👉🏼 www.streetsmartlanguages.com/...
📚 Check out my Street-Smart Language courses:
👉🏼 www.streetsmartlanguages.com
Subscribe to my channel: / @xiaomanyc
Follow me on Instagram: / xiaomanyc
Follow me on Facebook: / xiaomanyc
If you guys like the music in my videos, you can check out all the AMAZING music Epidemic Sound has at my affiliate link here: share.epidemicsound.com/xiaomanyc

[@xiaomanyc]

Want to learn a language with me? Check out streetsmartlanguages.com/

[@rock4glory713]

I love you Xiaoma but I tried this like a year ago and it's a scam for what you charge, not cool man

[@cerspence]

We don't ask infants to learn to write, read, and spell before we start teaching how to speak. Makes sense.

[@Edward_smithh]

Arabic is the hard language ever

[@LilMiggySoundcloudRapper]

Cer Spence?!! In this Comments section. BRO I AM YOUR BIGGEST FAN!

[@miraichampion3366]

Adults aren't kids. Kids are spoken to 16 hours a day in a dumbed down way with no expectation to reply. They get thousands of hours of free input Iver the first few years. Not making use of the cognitive faculties you've got as an adult just because you didn't have them as a kid is like saying "kids can't drive so walking is better". They just didn't have a choice, and they had all the time in the world to get there. Learning to read and listen opens up the language to be consumed. Once you can consume content in your target language your learning will increase. I know I sound like a dick but learning 50 phrases just to make a KZbin video isn't impressive at all. What Ari used to do with Chinese was incredibly impressive.

[@Edward_smithh]

@@miraichampion3366 Your words are amazing :)

[@zrosix2240]

It’s where the myth of “kids are the fastest language learners” comes from. Children learn languages naturally while schools try to jumpstart you into the semantics of the language. If you learn a language as if you were a baby, you don’t start with the alphabet, you start with speaking and listening. Literacy should be the LAST thing you learn, not the first

[@keiredwards9583]

But children suck at learning languages. My 6 month old nephew can't even introduce himself yet. If it takes you as long to get to B2 as a child does, even just doing 2/3 hours a day vs their 16, then I'd be worried for you.

[@zrosix2240]

@@keiredwards9583 “but” brother I literally called it a myth no shit

[@_DKE]

I get what you're saying, however, for myself I need to read and write in order to understand a language. I can learn things here and there like 'on the street', and know people who can reach fluency that way, but it doesn't work like that for myself. I'll always speak toddler level of the language, unless I learn to read and write. Because for me the visualising of how the sounds first 1) perceived by ear, then mimicked by mouth is one thing, but the moment I learn to visualise what kind of syllables are given to those sound 'forms' it helps me distuinguish them. Because initially there's a blur of sounds, or there's some slight nuances, like some suppressed 'letters' or less stressed tones, but that are important to the native's ear. Once I see it written, in combination with the spoken, then I can start to grasp it. I think it really depends per person. I'm a writer myself and learnt most of my English through reading. I heard it on tv and the likes, but once I started reading seriously, is when I started to question the things I didn't know yet. Or contemplate more deeply about the meaning of words that I may have been familiar with, but hadn't fully grasped. The written word gave me more variety and more distinctions to think about.

[@fredirecko]

yes but also kids do have more plastic memories...so it's a combination

[@zrosix2240]

@@_DKE well part of my point was learning at the toddler level is the first step. I didn’t say literacy was unnecessary (like Xiaoma implied) but I don’t believe it’s the first step as the education system tries to shove in peoples faces. I think most people find it very difficult to learn the reading and writing grammar rules for a language before even knowing what those words or sentences actually sound like when used practically

[@CraiiZeD]

My French teacher in HS was amazing, she started off class day one by only speaking French and no English at all unless it was absolutely necessary. We were all assigned French names and she made us feel comfortable with the language very quickly because she put us in a position where we had to adapt and learn by watching her and listening to her and just repeating everything she said with small conversations or little games.

[@friedchicken892]

I wish. That wouldv’e gotten me fluent back then

[@orangotango9231]

i feel like getting to the level of saying hi how are you im hungry its not that hard, but gettin actualy able to understand others when speaking is just hard asf

[@HeyJD123]

Yeah the hardest part of language learning is for me is the listening. I have learned 1000 words in two different languages but can't have conversations because I don't understand anything

[@peteck007]

When you've gotten fluent in basic phrases that's when you start learning and later reading the script. If you're not familiar with script then you'll still stay at those basic phrases.

[@benisrood]

That's why you practice listening as well

[@boazreinders459]

You do know he went on norway national television speaking norwegian in just 2 weeks or so of learning right?

[@boazreinders459]

Id say make an ai character who speaks both ur native language and the language you want to learn and have conversations with it. That way you can learn pretty fast

[@onionslaps]

Try writing a daily journal in your target language for a week. You’ll naturally use the most relevant vocabulary to your life and learn a ton of grammar.

[@rovajaroo5997]

"HOW I LEARN TO SAY A FEW PHRASES OF EVERY LANGUAGE WITHIN 24 HOURS"

[@miraichampion3366]

Yeah this video kinda gave me the ick tbh. XiaoMa got to where he is because his chinese got good by spending a LOT of time with the language; he lived there; lived in china town, has a chinese wife. That was his "oh wow thats cool!" thing, like Chinese people admire him, language learners admire his progress. This video is going the way of those really cheesy lanugage scam artists like that Benny guy from "fluentIn3Months" and that Wouter guy where they "speak to strangers in their language" the conversation is always the same 3 sentences before it comes to an abrupt awkward end. XiaoMa is just working his hustle like everyone else; fair play to him, but the product he's pushing is NOT how he became good at 1 language; its how he maybe became fairly bad at lots of languages. You can't learn a language in 24 hours; you can learn like 100 pleasantries and some core concepts in 24 hours (of active study)

[@FitProVR]

literally

[@Nihilist_Owlman]

Yeah as much as it saddens me to say it but I agree there’s no way he knows 56 languages I can say a handful of things in Russian doesn’t mean I speak Russian

[@aidenwinter1117]

I personally see it as the gateway to connecting with people in order to gain easy access to improve your language skills. Yes it's annoying hearing him say "I know 56 languages" because no he doesn't, but what he does is that he's opened the door to learning more vocabulary in a natural way. So overall, I approve of his approach to starting a language learning journey.

[@khalidofthesand5920]

Bro that's what i'm saying. It's literally impossible to learn a language to an Advanced or even a conversational level in 24 hours. Dumbest clickbait shit i've ever seen

[@ReasontoLiveAdventures]

I am definitely going to try this approach. My Japanese used to be pretty decent, both verbal and written. But in 2010 I had a brain tumor removed from my parietal lobe. Two years later I was working in Wuxi, China. I began to have bad headaches. The school I teaching English at felt it was best I return to the US for treatment. When I got back home, an MRI revealed that the tumor a growing again and radiation was needed. Long story short, treatment has damaged long/short term memory. Now I am returning to university or an MA in international relations. So I am going to have a language requirement. Either Mandarin or Japanese are the two options for me. Sorry for being a chatty Kathy. I’ve enjoyed your channel since before the lockdowns. 🤙

[@breezeh1127]

Wow your story is sad and hard. I'm sorry this happened to you😢 I hope you don't give up and still practice and maybe even carry cards to help you remember. Anything to keep moving forward in something you showed progress in before ❤

[@ReasontoLiveAdventures]

Thank you for your kind note. Since coming out of the coma back in 2010, things have been difficult, to put it mildly. However, my favorite little mantra comes from Shawshank Redemption. “Either get busy living, or get busy dying.” I try to foo the former every day.

[@MichaelMoellerTRLInc]

@@ReasontoLiveAdventures incredibly positive attitude considering the challenges you've faced. Best wishes in your fight to overcome cancer and to live your best life. You're inspirational.

[@breezeh1127]

@@ReasontoLiveAdventures That is a great Mantra. Even tho some days are hard, I'm glad you are choosing to live your life the best you can 💜

[@ZachdOh]

“The school I ‘taught’ at..”

[@brothabarone]

So fluent and well learned in so many language as well as camera friendly you are a standout person indeed. Love your videos

[@apaul9776]

The approach of being spoken language first makes sense for someone like Xiaoma who has great auditory memory but it is much less good for someone who is more visual and needs the written language as a support. There is also a personality component - he is obviously quite extravert and feels very comfortable speaking to strangers even when not fully understanding what they are saying. This is admirable, but not everyone is like this.

[@_DKE]

It is the same for me indeed! But I've also come to learn and appreciate the combination of both worlds. I lean towards reading and writing for a rounder and deeper comprehension, however, in the 'engagement' with people you learn at times to grasp the meaning of things better due to context and a lot of the non-verbal communication that we use as people. But I'm certainly not very extraverted or chatty which makes it not that easy to shift into that space. But listening is definitely good as such.

[@Willwantstobeawesome]

there's little evidence for different learning types. I think it's a self-limiting belief or an excuse for most people

[@itsmebuzzz7322]

True all sorts of background factors play a part in language learning.

[@the_doomcliff]

I think this was just very recently debunked, guys. Don't delve into this and use as an excuse, instead try to do it as the OP does.

[@elizabethmonroe2290]

​@Willwantstobeawesome genuinely so true. While some people have a tough time learning how without learning the why, ultimately, the best way to learn anything is to do the thing. Use whatever part of a languge you already know and you'll learn so much faster than just getting stuck in the theoretical knowledge of the language.

[@PhilDancer]

This was actually very informative. I'm now using Anki which is perfect for my Mandarin practice. Turns out that I've been instinctually structuring my learning in the ways you're describing so I feel like what im doing is valid now.

[@AndresGomez-ct7qb]

I've had to learn a few languages for work (German, English & Japanese), and learning languages is ultimately about learning about yourself. You know, how you retain information, what resonates with your interests and makes you look forward to it instead of it being a chore... "The thing that anchors you discipline without it being a burdening thing you're forced to drag", is a phrase a friend told me and I thought it was fairly accurate.

[@elizabethmonroe2290]

Learning is it's own skill, and it's the hardest one by far. It's also the most rewarding skill and can be different based on what it is that a person is trying to learn.

[@billybob-ge2ql]

I really resonate with this. I feel like you need to experiment with different learning styles and methods and do what works best for you. Probably why I prefer learning independently to structured lessons in formal education

[@qchomes]

Your channel (you) today ,compared to a few months ago and a few years ago is night and day in terms of confidence and personal growth.

[@servantofaeie1569]

The alphabet/script is the funnest and easiest part for me. I wouldn't dare skip it. I'll gladly spend hours learning a new way to write.

[@JJ_6036]

I don't think he said skip it. He talked about conversational vs. Literacy. You're studying to become literate.

[@user-uk5qm5fm8g]

Same why miss out on all that fun haha

[@ZalbaagBeoulve]

Just checked out those magic sentences. That's really cool. Thanks!!

[@BertoPlease]

3:45 from finding your channel about a week ago, and seeing around a dozen or more videos of yours, I had a strong suspicion this was a big part of your learning experience when learning a language for a video. You usually have your default phrases you go to, especially when ordering food or buying things, and a cheat sheet is certainly a very handy way to get started, like following a script. But what always makes me respect your approach is that you don't just do the bare minimum, you do your research as well, trying to learn the unique cultural cuisine they have and such. And yeah I fully agree that practical phrases and words are far more important to start out than all the nitty gritty details. I imagine the main thing that makes you far more proficient in learning faster is that not only do you probably pick up on patterns far more quickly, but you also just GO for it. You apply your knowledge immediately with little hesitation, and aren't afraid to make mistakes and learn on the spot. I imagine that'd be the part that scares a lot of people when intending to apply a new language, like studying for an exam for weeks/months. Just for some context, I'm bilingual (native Spanish, English second as a pre-teen) and just started learning Japanese a few months ago, and I definitely found the process more enjoyable and easier to swallow if starting with basic, practical phrases and words. Hiragana and Katakana can be learned alongside it but there's no *need* to learn it all upfront. I took French class for 4 years; barely retained any of it. But I also partly feel like learning a language AND attending school can be a lot to handle. I'm just learning Japanese in my free time and it's stress free and I don't need to follow any curriculum and learn at my own pace

[@Jeelmin]

That's a very useful and interesting video! Thank you for all these tips! 😁

[@Blisken81]

I can eat a whole pack of chips in under five minutes.

[@alexander9339]

Crush bag, pour in mouth 😅

[@kevinlaguna2023]

Brilliant ​@@alexander9339

[@coolbrotherf127]

I use a similar method for Japanese but with a bit more focus on reading since I needed reading for JLPT. I watch a lot of Japanese KZbin and TV, making Anki cards for words I want to learn. Every show I would practice reading the Japanese subtitles before and after hearing the dialogue. It really didn't take that long before I could read 80% of common Japanese vocabulary. I then started reading things like short news articles, easy manga, and kids stories. Then I moved to things like young adult novels and watching shows with no subtitles. Every day I still made sure to make at least 10 sentence cards for Anki until I had learned a lot of words both through Anki and just naturally from reading and watching a lot of shows. I would say the entire process going from absolute beginner learning hiragana for the first time to proficient speaker and reader took about 4 years of daily study. I'm still not perfect but it's to a level that I can communicate most topics I know in English in Japanese as well. I still work my day job in English here in the US so there's only so much time per day to study Japanese.

[@KizumaTrading]

I am from italy, I've always been interested about learning english and I felt that my level post high school was very poor. I started watching movies in English language and subs in italian. At the same time I moved to the UK, which helped to push myself speaking and interacting with people in English. Then with time, when I felt comfortable, I started to remove subs from movies and I've started to be way more fluent since then. Btw welcome to Jersey, I probably live in a building next to yours lol. See you on the waterfront.

[@7eye7]

Thank you for existing b, this is amazing to know, thank you. Eye have this on my list of things to get done.

[@Upsideround]

Been waiting on something like this

[@jasonarnold6273]

Well said Ari, great info and great way to learn!! 🙂

[@yikebendan]

My epiphany was when I realized the key to master a new language is to remove my native language from the role of the middleman and be able to think in the target language.

[@jayski6813]

smart, im abou5t to do that

[@nothinbutms]

neuroplasticity, semantics, literacy, writing, speaking, listening... all lead to one result = total immersion.

[@caniacstevehenderson7115]

Well said & done sir !!❤❤❤❤

[@jahanas22]

Those are good tips. I love studying languages and very few of them am I fluent. I’ve learned enough to understand and can pick up new things as I go.

[@lifeoftwonels8148]

Cool!!! You use a app?

[@jahanas22]

@@lifeoftwonels8148 I’ve used Babbel and Duolingo but most were just reading and remembering.

[@artemsapoznikov823]

Love your vidéos great example for new generation!

[@PortugalDoor]

Thanks man! 我开始学习汉语 because of you :D

[@NamelesshunterGaming]

I love that you live in Jersey now, This way we get to see only the beauty of NYC.

[@alexanderduff6018]

You’re my inspiration Ari. I’m still trying to attempt learning Hebrew. I sure wish I had a personal trainer

[@CanalSDR]

Oftentimes we get frustated for not being able to find someone who can guide us every single day when we kick off learning but I understood that learning a language is a lone process, and from time to time you are going to have somebody else to help you or to practice with you. however, it's a process that depends on us only.

[@alexanderduff6018]

@@CanalSDR well yea, I would like to practice with someone else also learning Hebrew but not on a video camera or to an ai

[@mooonsi323]

I totally agree. Speaking is essential. I'm Polish and was learning German and English for 10 years at school. I came to Scotland and I was scared to say a word. I was communicating very poorly using hands and gestures. After 10 years of learning! I started watching movies in English and speaking as much as possible. Then finished Art at college and now after 13 years in UK I can say I'm fluent. I'm learning Spanish now for 2 years and I struggle a wee bit, I wouldn't pull even basic conversation, so this video was helpful to remind where to start.

[@Petr_97]

Hi Arieh ! Totally agree with you, speaking from day 1 allows you to get a hang of the language way faster. That happened to me with Spanish. However, our memory can wear itself out over time and we tend to unlearn some languages. Otherwise, could you make a vid where you give tips on how you've monetized your language skills ? I'm myself a French polyglot 🇫🇷🇬🇧🇩🇪🇷🇺🇪🇸 but language skills are undermined down here in France...

[@connorchiselko]

You convinced me to subscribe to the teacher AI! Let the speaking begin!

[@DubsBrown]

Magic phrases is a good term for my theory of a cheat sheet of words I often encounter while traveling. After putting together my Japanese one I slowly understand certain phrases in foreign media and how a word can be used in different context

[@Angell_Lee]

Amazing! 💖

[@cgtatted4145]

Yurr. I hope all who read this are blessed beyond measures! One love !

[@silverstudios6916]

If your comment blows up, I’d expect some debate brain people to show up

[@g60force]

@@silverstudios6916 I was in a good mood today, normally I don't care for comments like this... but I genuinely appreciated this one.... especially with all the wars currently going :/ PEACE TO ALL!

[@chrisparra7459]

I remember watching his video speaking welsh where he subtitled stuff to make him look way more proficient than he was, and some subtitles were just straight up not what he said, more like what he implied. There’s a part where he just says “Cennyn Pedr” which means “leek”, but the subtitle shows “Saw some leeks over there”. Another example was when he said “Pa blasus?” which transliterates to “Which tasty?”, but is subtitled as “Which one is good?”. What he said was grammatically incorrect and should’ve been “Pa un yn flasus?” Alot of the video had all these tiny things in almost every subtitle that made him look (to non speakers) way more proficient than he actually was. Most of the time he never even used articles but put them in subtitles. He really is the biggest language subtitle catfish of all time. Also I’m pretty sure he deleted a youtube comment pointing this out ahahaha

[@justmusikbr7395]

best method using anki i got. My flashcards are made of native speaker's audios, I save phrases capturing audios and i put into the anki in front side, after that , i write exactly what was said to show as back side. I never seen nothing better than that. You wont find this on youtube, nobody teachs this correctly

[@Ramenko1]

Please explain your method with a little more detail. Thank you.

[@thetaekwondoe3887]

posting so I don't miss further comments regarding this

[@EndyGuerrero_]

Thanks for the idea, I've seen that Anki app let you add audios, but I only have used images. I'm going to start using audios from now on!

[@Ramenko1]

@@thetaekwondoe3887 I'm learning Japanese with anki, and the flashcards I'm using have native speaker audio directly from anime and J-dramas. It's awesome

[@CompleteIdeal]

The time one spends banging one’s head against textbooks is not wasted. On the contrary, I have found studying charts to be very helpful in laying out a foundation for language learning, even as a skill beyond that particular language itself. Memorizing charts helps you organize your mind. You don’t forget that, and although you may forget details, just encountering them once can leave an impression in memory that contributes subtly to learning.

[@wolfrig2000]

Hey Xiaoma, I've watched every one of your videos and I don't want you rushing new content, BUT I want to see more! Can you recommend any other polyglot KZbinrs like yourself I can watch too? I already watch Ryan Hale speaking Chinese and the German guy spekaing Vietnamese, but I want more content like yours!

[@TheStickCollector]

It feels easier when you already know how to by now.

[@magvs_maestro216]

I stared learning Spanish for 9 months, switched to German on Duolingo. I know more German in the 4 months than I did in Spanish. But like you said, It's easier once you practice 2. The 3rd and 4th languages come way easier

[@nysportsfan2576]

@@magvs_maestro216German is easier to learn for English speakers than Spanish.

[@MANMORTAL33]

@@nysportsfan2576 Spanish is also not hard to learn for English speakers. With comittment, you can easily become fluent in spanish within a couple years.

[@m_ron2742]

@@nysportsfan2576that is not true at all

[@ronnielovell6280]

​@@nysportsfan2576 to some it can be, the German word order and modal verbs are incredibly tricky for monolingual English speakers, while Spanish has scary verbs and indirect object pronouns that confuse me haha

[@fcycles]

Thanks Xiaoma! Just like exercises, I guess most of us felt that we kind of know and guess what we should do to learn and what we need is the commitment... Personally, the first 10 days work out great and after what I got hard time is when my learning start to confuse where I start for example to confuse 2 learning elements... which make me feel that I am actually getting worst. But, I guess the exercise analogy is good where when the progress slow down, we still need to do exercises, but perhaps need to adapt the learning program at that point to solidify the previous learning..

[@Coby_Got]

Thank you for sharing! Been wondering how you do it….

[@peaceofpiety]

Thanks, Xiaoma!

[@datastorage-tz8wd]

you look good mate! just turned in after some months the first time. gj :D

[@davidjumper55]

So come to Cherokee NC and learn our language pls!!!

[@kimwarnock11]

You are amazing

[@jaksida300]

Learning the bare bones basics for a language in a day just isn’t enough to “know” a language.

[@Yas-sx6rm]

Looking forward to the Scottish Highlands episode! I hope you will learn Gaelic (Irish) too, it is one of the most beautiful languages in my opinion.

[@GordanAnndra]

If you are coming to Scotland to try and speak Gaelic/Gàidhlig you will need to go to the islands in the Outer Hebrides such as the Isle of Lewis to find speakers. Will be hard to find speakers in mainland Scotland unless you arrange before. There are much less speakers compared to Welsh and Irish which you have done before.

[@brandonnavedo9848]

Love your Videos Ari!!! Just wanted to say too that I think it would be a cool video to one day see you go over to Louisiana's cajun country and New Orleans to speak Cajun French and/or Louisiana Creole. I think it would be cool to see that you don't need to travel far to find a new culture and language that could be right in one's country. 🇫🇷 ⚜️

[@StevenT-nj7cu]

As a Scotsman, I am looking forward to seeing your video in the Highlands. It's such a beautiful country but a bit like your Wales video, I think you'll be surprised by how few people speak Gaelic. Definitely more speakers of it in the highlands than in Glasgow or Edinburgh

[@yickyhite1725]

Hits ya with the masterclass at the end 😂😂😂 common my guy.

[@arloloul]

hey thanks for sharing the magic sentences! is there a possibility you can share the 50 -150 common sentences you mentioned that you save on anki ?

[@SpaceBean0]

Very nice 👍🏻

[@gcelite36]

Great vid, Thai is kicking my butt

[@linsees]

New Jersey suits you. Beautiful views over there!

[@user-245er4ud]

Gonna say when I had some aha moment in calculus it was only due to treating it like exercise. I think the same problem applies in math education where the curriculum is too focused on moving forward than helping people progressively attain a comfortable level.

[@KleinOfficial]

We need a collab with Languagesimp

[@amito441]

This makes sense 100% I instantly remember myself struggling to writ in English but I could speak it I was 10 from Uganda because surrounded by people I learned how to speak English within 6month but struggled writing.

[@Soohaesun]

THANK YOU THIS IS USEFUL IMA TRY THIS OUT TOO

[@mattyoung3785]

Two things: 1. What service do you typically use for speech tutoring? 2. How do you direct the tutor when you use them? I tried Baselang for a while, but found I was having trouble instructing the tutor to help me just get better at the speaking. Is this where your magic sentences come in?

[@JaTjr32]

Quick shout-out to Ari's arms in the thumbnail. If they get any bigger, this is gonna be a gym channel! Keep up all the hard work, dude! Looking great!

[@perfectchaos0078]

There's a lot of new Chinese restaurants for you to try in New Jersey to surprise with your Mandarin skills. Go get em!

[@jonasbuble8295]

Hi Xiaoma, You mentioned once that your dad is an Lithuanian- american. I want to ask you if you can speak Lithuanian or do a video where you speak Lithuanian in one of the many streets in NYC. Thanks Broliai❤

[@itzdaylan4796]

Can you do the Aztec language? I watched all of your Mayan videos. Awesome stuff!

[@kbck884]

In elementary school we had a French teacher who had to work under these rules: no reading or writing, ten-minute daily lessons per class, no homework. He had trained using the Defense Language Institute system at Monterey which uses lots of homework--hours of listening to tapes. So, on the fly, he had to develop a whole new approach to teaching and learning. Our grammar was terrible (I thought the infinitive "to be" was "soir") but our pronunciation was quite good. Later he based his approach to teaching lower-division French at UC Berkeley on his improvised teaching system. Even months into the course, he was careful to introduce new vocabulary by sound first, with the written form at least a day later. I have noticed that a lot of English speakers who try to learn French get really thrown off by the spelling.

[@anniebygrave9300]

I agree, the spelling throws everyone off when learning French. So many rules and so many exceptions to rules, and remembering them is a near impossibility. So much grammer! I was getting on better last year just by reading aloud in a group and translating the paragraphs, but now I'm in a grammer class and I have gone backwards. Now I panic, I cannot even speak a few words. I can't learn that way - I need to learn phrases phonetically and speak them. I got really despondent and gave up on the classes a month ago and I didn't know how I was ever going to get back on track. Then I came across this video and I'm really inspired to try again. Well done to this guy. I've been following him for a while now and am amazed at what he does. It could be the answer for me. I hope so.

[@METALFREAK03]

Pratice makes perfect. The phrase didn't come out of nowhere. But yes textbooks make you learn, but doesn't make you know. This is applied in everything I think, not just languages. Good video.

[@tb20million]

Amazing! How do you go with retention of, say Creole, after learning 10 other news ones? Seems like there’s a lot of cramming, as for an exam, which might then disappear quickly. I did hear another polyglot say he learns a new language vis a recent\known one to kinda double-up.

[@zelarics]

Are ever going to learn Finnish? :) would be facinating to see your progression! I understand why you are learning languages that you are. You live in USA where is many many ethnics, languages nearby! Love you content!

[@PidongCasiple-bg9vw]

through listening and watching like playing .❤

[@jhaas68865]

I like the movie the 13th warrior and the way he learned the language. Forced on a boat with a foreign language being spoke and he just sits there listening starting to pick up phrases. The other great trying to understand a language show. Star Trek TNG. Darmok and Jarad at Tanagra. Great example of thinking you know what they are saying and having no idea what they actually mean.

[@Cyrath89]

Youre English is very good!

[@RefuseOfMeditation]

😂 he is american

[@ronikorkmaz9097]

hey man i was wonder if you can do a kurdish (kurmanji) video sometime in the future, since from all the language learning app/programs etc I have seen it is not on any of them.

[@karlmakhwa4182]

There's plenty of Kurdish people on Tandem but if you're talking about courses then no, I haven't seen any either

[@theorthodoxapologeticschan9378]

actually, this is a pretty cool learning method.

[@dannielletylr]

I'd love to hear you speak Scottish Gaelic, I was born in Cambridge, England but grew up in Midwestern america. Ive been learning for about a 1 1/2 years, it would be amazing to see other people speak it.

[@Ghuridnasrani]

Scripts are some of my favourite parts of learning new languages. Because it feels like a code.

[@ClaudeDiamond]

This is your best video. Language learning should be fun and practical. I can find a bathroom and order a beer in 5 languages because I want to. Spending hours Conjugating verbs in school is ridiculous.

[@eat_pray_porg8450]

Absolutely floored that Xioma/Ari is learning Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic)! Deagh obair a charaid!

[@haitiancreolewithluciano]

That's insane! Congrats on your accomplishments!!

[@IAmAnNorseGael]

hey, i was wondering if you could learn Faroese? My friends in the Faroe Islands would love to see it happen!

[@abdulalshibly3930]

I love the enthusiasm and the amazing commitment he has for learning and teaching but man chill out with the clickbait

[@nox6855]

In conclusion: how do you learn to speak a language? How to speak a language: by speaking it

[@edeny6560]

Could you try Taiwanese Hokkien? It’s a harder compared to mandarin and a dying language

[@raiNofchAosFPS]

Have you learnt how to speak Afrikaans or isiXhosa? if so ill love to see! Much love from South Africa!

[@aboxoftentacles1395]

Learning a new language is insanely difficult, this guy has a special gift. There are words you can learn but you don't know how to pronounce them, so to anyone else it sounds like gibberish.

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Ahh this is amazing news, I’m so excited for you’re going to go to the Scottish highlands! I hope you’re visiting the western / outer Hebrides where they most commonly still speak Gaelic?? (Glad you said gah-lic and not gay-lic) 🎉

[@yesenia.bocanegra]

I taught myself basic french by speaking in French group online chats (when those were a thing back in the early 2000’s 😂) and listening to music. I would have a translator and dictionary to work on my simple sentences and then would create my own vocabulary list taken from the conversations. I would then listen to french songs, print the lyrics and sing them to practice pronunciation. (Pronunciation only because my singing is awful 😂) I also changed all of my tech devices to French and would only think in French while speaking instead of translating it in my mind.

[@VixtoriaVixen]

My hubby’s brain works best studying languages by learning grammar, parts of speech, etc (he speaks 6 languages) but not me! lol needed to hear this! Thanks!

[@sandrad.8092]

I'm still waiting for you to do POLISH ! the grammar is hard.. are you up for the challenge!?

nothing beats talking to native speakers. great video, thanks!

[@zguy95135]

Yeah it makes sense, you learn through immersion much quicker from everyone Ive talked to who knows more than English and especially lived abroad. My three year old niece can’t read yet but we can have a conversation in english. I always thought that they taught it backwards. How are you supposed to have the context of the alphabet and grammar without having basic speaking skills yet.

[@thejedioutcast804]

I just speak Spanish (im half Mexican so I had a decent grasp of it growing up, then filled in the rest with self teaching) and Japanese. (self taught in my room, it was a tough year but changed my life) I don't really care to learn any more languages but I do like seeing other peoples language journeys and polyglot reaction content of course.

[@FTodaF]

Yeah, I guess this method works fine. The issue with learning languages at schools (at least in Germany) is that they are too much focusing on the written language. If oral speech was as important as written speech, it would be more useful.

[@zb2363]

You mention your teachers, how do you find people to teach/speak to online? Apologies if I missed this part of the video

[@hyunisalive_pov9394]

First! Thank you for this

[@lindaandersson3430]

Have you tried "Elfdalian" / " Älvdalska" ? Norse/ viking language only spoken by 2000-2500 people in Sweden. Its called a "dialect" here in but they are debating if it should be a language of its own.

[@thomaschan1986]

加油。我知道你在挑戰 老鼠先生的事，雖然他不在了。但看到你繼承了他的遺志。很高興

[@Echobolty]

Im trying to learn japanese and its quite difficult but i am going to japan in less than a year so hopefully that could help me with speaking it and learn it more