Language Learning: Getting Frustrated

[@Thelinguist]

I learn my words through listening and reading. It is enough to move your areas of interest. I have never found it useful to study word lists. When you study them they at best going to your short-term memory.

[@matthewstall6987]

Thanks Steve. I have been living in Vietnam now for about 2 years and working on the language. Your videos have been very helpful to me...not only due to the content but also your positive attitude is very inspiring. Keep up the good work.

[@rafaeltlv1795]

I agree with you, I am fluent in 6 languages and I have started Greek recently. When I get tired of the grammar and learning vocabulary, I listen to Greek Music on KZbin which means that I keep studying the language while enjoying the music. One has to be emotionally connected to the language so as to avoid the frustration that might arise once in a while.

[@Thelinguist]

I use LingQ.

[@mrefforvescence]

This video came up in my suggested list at the perfect time. I've been learning several languages for years and in recent months I've been feeling mentally exhausted, but this video has re-injected some inspiration and motivation into me, to help me keep going. Thank you so much Steve! :-)

[@ahmedmahdi9140]

I do agree with you steve that reading & listening are the best method to learn a language for I have gone through it myself in my struggle with English.

[@jrdking1]

Steve you have made many videos over the years and this one in my opinion is one of the best, very informative & motivating.

[@Thelinguist]

@JadenENZ I do not do a lot of it, it can be entertaining. I mostly listen and read to learn. Occasionally watch movies or videos. With subtitles I can't easily understand and later without.

[@tauceti8341]

I completly agree. I took a german course for a semester, and hardly learned anything (mostly because I couldn't spend the time I wanted too on it with other classes). But now I'm just doing lingq translating songs and reading kindergarten books I'm learning a lot more and have learned more in this time just being relaxed then being forced to focus on an area.

[@Thelinguist]

@xixablo Interest is key. At first it is difficult of course but eventually the same vocabulary repeats..but I am driven by my interest.

[@Thelinguist]

@Sillilesshells The only one I know is the one I use Echo Moskvi

[@CreateYourWorldBooks]

You're right on not reading grammar books if they bore you and concentrating on what you like. The fun is often lost in language learning. Thanks for reminding people to enjoy themselves. Hmm, no phrasal verbs in academic papers in Poland? I think most English speakers don't even know what a phrasal verb is and wouldn't know how to avoid it in an academic paper.

[@magnus00125]

i should listen to this language sensei a lot more often. thx for the motivation

[@Thelinguist]

Glad to hear it.

[@vwilsonuk]

That's excellent - thank you for sharing your experience! I feel perpetually at the start of my own four months of hard work, but hearing that yours paid off is definitely motivational.

[@Thelinguist]

Nice to hear. Your written English looks perfect.

[@GiuseppeGrasso89]

always motivating .i've come a long way in my italian learning, and it all started with these videos.

[@vwilsonuk]

When studying a language with a different alphabet I would recommend learning the new alphabet at the earliest opportunity. There's a degree of "just do it" intrinsic in this - sitting down with flashcards and practicing writing odd shapes over and over again is not the most enjoyable passtime in the world. The sense of achievement can be good, though, and it's not a sprint but a marathon. With 20 minutes a day you could learn the Japanese hiragana pretty quickly, I'd say.

[@ahmedmahdi9140]

Learning the vocabulary of a language is bound to pay off when the words are learned in their proper context for words have different meanings in different situations.

[@Altiveda]

Thanks for this man. My passion became a thorn for me at times. My family and my wife's family and all my friends speak Mexican Spanish and I get so embarrassed and frustrated trying to speak to them because I'm the smart guy and they like that I'm not as knowledgeable at something for once

[@Sonsydemec]

Great video, Steve! Truly inspiring words for someone who feels he's not making much progress in a language. Thank you :)

[@Thelinguist]

@akvaakva And now I am enjoying reading about Czech history in Czech even though I really cannot speak yet.

[@JReed1985]

I know the frustration of learning a language, I'm learning 3 languages German, Russian and Japanese. At the moment I'm going through the frustrations with Russian, I go to Russian class and there are students that are way ahead of me and I'm feeling really beat down. If I'm being really honest with myself my most devoted and favourite language is German which I don't know if that's to blame for why I'm behind on the other languages.

[@Thelinguist]

JReed1985 The more motivated you are the better you will learn.

[@JReed1985]

Thank you for the advice mate, I will try and pull myself together. I just need to be in a better position and decide what I'm going to do different. It's better than pulling my hair out and acting up.

[@craigs6045]

It seems as though you are spreading yourself too thin; I mean languages are incredibly complex and require an immense amount of time and drive, I think it may be best to focus on one language at a time.

[@JReed1985]

Erich von Manstein yeah that is what I am currently doing, just focusing on German and trying to eventually relocate to Germany. That is kind of how I got into languages.

[@maxjahnke]

Hi. I agree with you, there is no reason to be frustraded. I "learned" a lot of English just playing video games and watching movies and TV shows in English. For me, it is the best way to acquire a good vocabulary. I think I learned thousands of words just watching "Friends" and other TV shows. Today I understand spoken and written English without problems. But I still don't know a good way to learn how to write properly (properly to publish an academic paper, for example). I just read a lot...

[@abdosiddid158]

i think reading english it is not an easy but at the same time it,s wonderful to know the other language very and knew what they are running on i hope to see more videos at speaking english thank you

[@KhallDrake]

It is both true and false that you will progress faster if you do things you like doing as opposed to things you don't like. I am learning piano along with Mandarin. There are many pieces that I like to play. There are even more that I don't like to play. However, the ones that I don't like often have very good introductions to specific techniques that I will need to know to play advanced pieces. If I were to play the pieces that I don't like and learn the techniques I would be better off. The problem is that, when assigned these pieces, I end up playing less and less because I don't like them. A catch 22

[@Ketcoota98]

Omg this is exaaaaactly what I think !!!! I compleeetely agree with you ! Im trying to learn Japanese and so Iv been watching these videos and stuff but a lot of them I dont really enjoy so I dont watch them and I only watch the ones I enjoy ! And I really enjoy listening to pimsleur and even though I feel like Im not making much process I know that since I enjoy listening to it I know I will make process and I will get better since I enjoy it !

[@Miracle67]

Hi, thank you for this video. By the way, which app are you using not only to underline words but also to listen to the pronunciation ? Thank you in advance

[@garierbos]

What you say is what I've been doing in learning que 3 foreigne languages that I speak, before I''ve wached you videos. So, i'm sure you are right. I'm un autodidact and i've been happy with that.

[@BrentStrathdeePehi]

Tough job Steve but someone’s gotta do it right! 😂

[@Thelinguist]

Just join LingQ.

[@EstreitoCaminho]

Muito obrigado Steve!! Estou sempre acompanhando seus vídeos e seus ensinos de idiomas. É sempre uma alegria a motivação recebida!

[@ParkerMooreAKAparkr]

I really liked this. Vielen Dank!

[@44yyBBaakk]

thank you i have an ugly situation - my school english teacher is not as good as i want.if american talked to her,she wouldn't understand him (thats my opinion).we always do all exercises from workbook, classmates are not interested in english, my only way is to learn by myself, but since that month i attend english courses,again. i am not intersted in school lessons, but in other i am interested, what should i do? thanks

[@duelarm]

as always awesome advise

[@Mr420rush]

Such a great video! You are very intelligent.

[@Missgailie]

Hi Steve, missed you on YT lately, glad ur back! :) i like to listen to what you say, doesn't matter, it motivates me to go on with my french! Bedankt, je motiveert echt! groetjes Gail

[@vwilsonuk]

Thanks for the great video. The approach you've described sounds really strong, and as a language teacher and student I would agree that harnessing genuine interest is the best route to fluency. The problem remains, though, that some students have specific, time-bound goals that require study of language inconsistent with their interests. People wouldn't choose pain, but these students don't have time spare to wait until interest returns. Can anything be done to help ease the process for them?

[@MayTheSchwartzBeWithYou]

Just curious, for that Miss Chinese Vancouver contest, was it more Cantonese, more Mandarin, or equally split between the two? I'm guessing maybe it was officially trilingual but most of the informal conversation (like at the gala) was in English and Cantonese, but I don't know for sure.

[@SailorRocket]

The only way I know formal from informal is by actually being in a situation that requires one of the other. I'm formal to certain people here in America - because that's how I was raised. With my friends and family, I'm informal. I don't know which words are formal or informal, I just speak the way I grew up hearing from my parents...

[@pisaniforprez]

Great stuff; do you recommend learning as a reserve of words in different areas so that you'll sound more like a native; say in cooking, school, business, countries, and so on? Or do you simply concern yourself with an area of interest?

[@JadenENZ]

Hey Steve! How effective do you consider watching something on tv or on the computer with subtitles? Do you consider it a good idea or a bad idea to have subtitles? I can see it being all too easy to fixate on the subtitles and not get much out of it. Thanks!

[@serajstyle]

thank you man, it's good point, when I feel frustrated I just try to watch movies or play games, it helps me to enjoy and in the same time memorize new words, and I'm good listener and reader and even writer, but in conversations I'm going down since I broke my friendship with Canadian friend, if you have good tales with sounds, just give me a favor please :) I have one site but it's for beginners

[@learnenglishwithyourears5527]

How do you learn language ? Please make a video doing this

[@xixablo]

Hey Steve, is there any reason why you're reading a history book in Czech? Do you think that a history book or technical books are easier for beginners in a language than a novel or so?

[@HookemHorns972]

what's the name of that app? is it available for japanese?

[@JadenENZ]

@lingosteve Thanks for your input and quick reply!

[@HookemHorns972]

@swissgirlxD thank you, do you happen to speak Czech or German?

[@GH123XL]

So, how do we cope with language whose alphabet we can not even read such as Japanese? In my humble opinion, we need to memorize them and practice writing them right?. By the way, can you also write the languages you already mastered or are you just speaking them?. Apologize for asking too many questions.

[@andersongalvao314]

Hey Steve, thanky you so much for content that you show here, It's been so important for my learning. I could would know about this app that you use in IPad for read, which show links of translation of the words?.

[@iancardenas-spanishbutcomp4074]

It's his app LingQ

[@pisaniforprez]

Oh, I didn't quite mean 'word lists', but rather looking a little bit into each topic of every life, such as cooking, school, etc. Another thing, do you aim to become "fluent", or conversational in a language that you learn? What is it (to you) that indicates that you're done with a language, and ready to move on to a new one?

[@wilsonsuero38]

sir,I would like to know how can I remember the vocabulary?

[@Diotallevi73]

Wilson Suero There are several videos on this channel about this topic. Steve relies mainly on the words he needs to know to appear in the texts he is working on often enough to stick. Reviewing flash cards is only a secondary activity to him.

[@NetAndyCz]

I think the key point Steve often makes is that you do not. You forget. But if you keep in touch with the language, you wil learn more new words than you forget so you should always be able to work your way round any word you cannot quite recall. And most likely you forget words you do not see often, so they are not often used and it is unlikely you will need them and it is not worth your time effort trying to memorize them, you can spend your time better learning more new words (and interesting and enjoyable things) through reading/listening. I think that flashcards are handy when you are starting with the language, I view them as quick brute-force learning technique to speed my way to the point I can read (more or less) and then I read and do not need them any more, they just delay me from reading. Flashcards are handy if you really need to remember some vocabulary, but usually you actually do not need them your brain takes care of things on autopilot if you spend enough time in the language.

[@yallkn0w]

@duelarm Totally agree, also the word you are looking for is advice Great "advice" as always.

[@TheStrataminor]

Miss Vancover Chinese? haha,,thats funny for a slightly 'older' gentleman! I love his advice though as a fellow linguistics!

[@Sillilesshells]

exactly, thats wht i try to explain to my mum . i cn't concentrate on my school work bt i cn concentrate very well in learning russian. and i'm not ecvevn academic and my school is btec art work bt i cn concentrate and i'm doing well aparently with it CAUSE i care abt it passionatley. Steve: i wander if you cd recomend some online russian audio. not music.stories or something. i only know one tv statoion that works and if you knew any i would really appriciate it if you had time to send them

[@jimmyswaggard1581]

Goddamn this guy is awesome.

[@ArchetypeXE]

06:30 Academia is a language of its own. ^_^

[@alkantre]

Du sagst die reine Wahrheit

[@moonpatrol2]

lucky guy!

[@Alexander-te4ue]

Американский - So, American may mean Yankee?!?!

[@korumu]

You can speak Cheque? Is that some money language or what?

[@AlexWitoslawski]

Can I enter the Miss Chinese Vancouver contest if I'm a Polish-American man who identifies as a Chinese-Canadian woman?

[@4eStojanSim]

they r both horrible