My Lithuanian Language Journey: Part 1

This video is going to be a little more of a vlog video - since I decided that I’d like to document my journey of learning the Lithuanian language. Hopefully, you’ll take a look - especially to hear some of my Lithuanian tutor’s initial thoughts and feedback regarding our first two lessons together!
My Lithuanian language tutor is @TalkLikeAntanas
talklikeantanas.com
/ talklikeantanas
/ talklikeantanascom
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[@Leakable]

I am a native lithuanian speaker. And i can say that i am impressed you are already this good. Happy to see your progression on learning lithuanian in the future!

[@spage80]

Since I don't live in Lithuania and only have visited it four times I use Apps and KZbin video to study Lithuanian. The Apps I use are Memrise,Clozemaster and Mondly. The problem with all three is there isn't any should videos with native speakers and there isn't much gamification in these apps. I watch " Lithuanian for you" for grammar and "Beatos Virtuvė" and "Čia mano sodas" as programs about cooking and gardening. I am interested in these subjects and gives me a chance to hear Lithuanian at normal speaking speed. I don't expect to ever get fluent but I do enjoy the process.

[@zodziumisraine]

I also learned with Antanas. He’s an awesome teacher and human being 😌

[@robot6703]

As a Lithuanian, I love how you help more people know about our beautiful country! Good luck with learning Lithuanian! Edit: Happy New Years/Su naujaisiais metais!

[@litd3x411]

I know it can be difficult to learn Lithuanian to non-Lithuanians, so I'm really grateful for your efforts to learn Lithuanian while you live here. We Lithuanians appreciate that a lot, thanks and good luck on your Lithuanian language journey

[@RichieLarpa]

I have also learned something, I just hope people in Lithuania won't automatically start speak to me in English during my visit, while I will do one tiny mistake, claiming they want to "help me". That would be a waste of time for me, to struggle with a language for many months, only to find out that they will speak English to me anyway (speaking from my own experience).

[@anzelmasmatutis2500]

@@RichieLarpa Let them know that you do not want to switch to English :)

[@RichieLarpa]

@@anzelmasmatutis2500 Yes, I was thinking about that too, even if it's bit aggresive for my personality...however, is the sentence "neišmokau lietuvių kalbos, kad kalbėti angliškai Lietuvoje" correct and fine?

[@InternetExplorerer]

@@RichieLarpa you could say that but its not entirely correct. Using "neišmokau" would state that you haven't learned lithuanian. I would use "nesimokiau" instead. "Nesimokiau lietuvių kalbos, kad kalbėčiau angliškai Lietuvoje."

[@marieljackman1850]

I do not know if I am right, but I feel like the Lithuanian language is quite regular. It may look intimidating when you start, but it makes sense as time goes by.

[@looberykirss]

When you learn English and Lithuanian at the same time, this video becomes even more useful.

[@thefuture4756]

I am a lithuanian. And im impressed that u speak very good lithuanian Sekmes patirti dar daugiau lietuvisku zodziu.

[@Catapillah]

Sėkmės! Lauksim pirmo lietuviško video ;) Another challenge you might come across in casual conversation listening comprehention is that we imply a lot of things and cut our sentences short. For example, meeting someone on 31st December we would say “Su artėjančiais” and leave out “Naujaisiais metais”. So you have to already know what the natural ending to that sentence would be 😅

[@LithuaniaExplained]

😆

[@robot6703]

Yeah like, į lauka (to go outside) gets cut short into laukan

[@DS.J]

Your pronunciation of Lithuanian words is actually quite good. I noticed a lot of (most?) native English speakers really struggle to correctly pronounce words of any unfamiliar languages. So well done.

[@rafalkaminski6389]

Polish here. Thanks about mentioning kas kodel, if you know any other links with lithuanian pronunciation, just let me know. ❤

[@manometras]

Antanas is a good teacher. I hope you both will enjoy the process and achieve the results you want.

[@huzzahh]

Good luck, man :)) As a native I've tried teaching Lithuanian to a friend, and his curiosity dried up since it was too difficult, hah. Your pronunciation is top-notch, I could barely tell you're a foreigner most of the time. I totally agree with how there should be an app for Lithuanian. Man, I'd want to upload simple lessons on basic words, but I know it would be difficult to explain, I've already realised how hard it is to teach. Nenumirk!

[@povilzem]

Don't give up! Never surrender!

[@LithuaniaExplained]

😆 ačiū!

[@MikuTMs]

Me not living in lithuania, its hard for me to read and write since ive not been to school ik lithuania but grew up with my parents so i know how to speak it, though i sadly have an accent.

[@jura9484]

"I think one way to improve on these things is to find solid Lithuanian entertainment to watch" unfortunately Lithuanian entertainment kinda sucks 😅 when i was looking for things to watch to learn french i was already struggling, because subtitles were phrased slightly differently from the spoken text everywhere, and i shuddered in sympathy for people trying to learn Lithuanian. One suggestion i have is getting an audiobook and a printed version of the same book, and reading and listening at the same time? possibly of a book you've already read and like, if you could find one. i've never tried this specifically, but i got good at English mainly by reading, so i tend to see it as a good way to learn.

[@duckman2b]

im lithuanian and im strugling with lithuanian and a bit with english to i talked spanish most of my live.but yea lithuanian isint easy but time will get it for you

[@pijusbacevicius8797]

3:48 The funny thing is that english word "jokes" in lithuanian is written "juokai". Coincidence? Or old indo-european roots? Who knows...

[@krubzbubz]

Happy New Year and congrats on (almost) reaching 8k subscribers! Nice video too!

[@markust7709]

I will start my comment with wishing you a vey Happy New Year! This video of yours is very inspirational. The most important is not how much we know but how much we are willing (ready) to know with action added to it. You could be an example to many! Lithuania has little English-speaking scene on KZbin and I am sure your channel will be a smash hit in no time. Meanwhile I would like to add that I am learning English pronounciation from you. Canadian English is perfect for understanding. Thank you for being You and for what you do. Best luck with learning Lithuanian! ❤️

[@SirAdamUK]

Ahh, we have similarities. I learnt French at school and dropped this in favour of Spanish. I remember little bits of these languages. I have also acquired some German and Polish but my biggest learning curve has been learning Russian over the last couple of years. Sadly it’s only been passive and nothing formal, however my thoughts have turned to more formal education. For sure learning a language is much easier when you have a need or reason and clear goals. The desire and drive is there to maintain momentum. All the best with your learning 👌🏼

[@LithuaniaExplained]

Thanks for sharing your experience! And putting money down is also a good motivator/help with accountability… for some people. I guess there are a lot of unused gym memberships that would suggest otherwise 😝

[@MrArturiukas123]

Hey bro. I got an idea for you. You should visit the center of Lithuania Jonava.

[@shadilay9138]

Nice vid!

[@Laurynas_LTU]

Hey! It's wonderful to hear that you're starting your formal LT language classes! Most of us (or at least those born after 1990) can speak or at least understand English and will automatically switch to English. But be patient with us and keep reminding us that you want to pratice your Lithuanian. I think the motivation could be the feeling of beginning to really understand what people around you are talking about and being able to have a deeper, more meeningful conversation with every passing month. Regarding the listening practice with visual aids, maybe this YT platform might help you. You can select any video in LT and then simply slow it down in settings (playback). I've just spent 3 months learning a new language, even its purpose-made language lesson videos were too fast, so I just selected 0, .75x or even 0.5 playback speed and that helped a lot. After a few slower speed attempts you can change it back to the normal speed for that particular video. Sėkmės! Edit: grammar

[@ApasTalaz]

since you've mentioned gaming as part of a learning process (which is essentially how i've learned english being lithuanian) i would highly encourage you to try the video game „Kelyje 2“ "Barmalėjus" is something more cartooney but it has a wide variety of lithuanian words also. Have fun learning :)

[@Danny-Leogue]

I’ve started learning Lithuanian over the last few months too, and recognise a lot of the challenges and ways of learning you seem to have experienced. Let’s keep it up and impress our Lithuanian friends and loved ones! Even if we sound strange at first … 😅

[@RichieLarpa]

Just out of curiosity, do you plan a video, where you speak only Lithuanian?

[@LithuaniaExplained]

I might include a few Lithuanian sentences in future videos but nothing that is only Lithuanian.

[@RichieLarpa]

@@LithuaniaExplained Okay, I understand. Good luck with learning!

[@arasv3974]

I think that listening to songs is a good "cheat" for learning a language as even if you can't understand the lyrics you'll soon be able to distinguish different words and eventually just remember them even if you don't know the meaning and then you can just look it up, and unlike drilling words from a list this is probably way more fun.

[@RichieLarpa]

In my case, I have watched this video, which is in English, but the owner of the channel is a Lithuanian and since there are multiple languages in subtitles (and I am sure that the Lithuanian wrote Lithuanian subtitles himself/herself, that is logical), it is a great tool for learning more. I have learned a lot in there.

[@zodziumisraine]

True. Also then you have premade sentences in your head for which you already know the cases to apply with what verb etc.

[@aiste8099]

good luck, hopefuly motivation wont leave you :DD maybe gustavo enciklopedija could be helpful? since its a childrens education show the host speaks clearly and slower than soem game hosts. also rewatching it now gave me major nostalgia and im also surpried how creepy the animation can be, i loved it as a kid

[@cheslxy]

I need some source of learning… Duolingo is useless (I’m learning Polish tho) but this one is a priority.

[@gintarasskuzinskas6967]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@erik7999]

Yeah learning languages can be painful at times. It should help you quite a bit though, the fact that you are living in the country which language you are trying to learn. Speaking the language casually is what really helps to progress through the overall learning process, while these lessons with a tutor are more of a wrap-up. Best of luck to you with your learning trip and happy new year!

[@gedog77]

I can really relate, word retrieval and managing the endings of verbs and nouns is hard. Using well practiced phrases is much more comfortable but limit’s communication. I liked your spreadsheet. I’ll probably steal that idea myself. Also I can recommend Mondly. It’s not Duolingo but it’s a start.

[@alnothere]

It takes at least ~10 years to learn the language, while living in the land of the language. So, good luck.

[@botronas6039]

Linkiu sėkmės Lietuvių kalbos mokymesi :D. Labai smagu matyti kitašalius mokantis mūsų kalba. Tikiuosi, kad suprasite bent dalis mano komentaro be vertėjo, bet suprasčiau jei ir ne. Good luck :)

[@manometras]

I hope, you got the idea that another language means it’s a language that has some really different features and structures. This is “having feeling” for languages. Different language is a different way to achieve the same results, different way to see the world and express your thoughts.

[@JreOmania]

I lived in UK for 9 years and i can give one advice to avoid biggest mistake what english people do in learning other languages.Forget english rules for wen you speak other language.

[@linaziulpiene6592]

Was the market maxima?

[@LithuaniaExplained]

The market footage in the video? I think it was IKI

[@matushka__]

More power to you and good luck! Us Lithuanians struggle to learn the damn language ourselves, you've picked the hardest difficulty.

[@blufloorgoblin1256]

sėkmės!/good luck!

[@markplenty2631]

I've been learning lithuanian for many years and I would love to have a tutor to help me along. Duo lingo don't have lithuanian is so bad.

[@angelstuff7608]

Su naujaisiais!

[@LithuaniaExplained]

Ačiū! Tave irgi 🥳

[@naturallanguageacquisition]

What's your overall strategy? Comprehensible Input? Reading? Lots of vocabulary and then content immersion? Early speaking?

[@LithuaniaExplained]

I don’t think I’ve developed a strategy yet. Still trying to find what works and what will keep me motivated

[@weaseled4118]

Buvau mokęs (mokytis?) lietuvių kalbą už šeši mėnesius. Man labai sunku, bet esu laimingas kad galiu sakyti ir suprantu daug daugiau nei manau kad galėsiu. (Galėčiau?) Darau viskas vienas, nes neturiu šeimos nei draugo kas kalba lietuviškai. Todėl galiu suprasti daug daugiau nei galiu sakyti arba rašyti. Tikiuosi (žinau kad yra klaida, bet pamiršau kaip rašyti lol) kad ateityje turėsiu mokytoją kuris gali man padėti ir galėsiu ištarti geriau nei dabar. (Ar galiu rašyti galėčiau čia?) Sekmės! (Tried to translate the English below without a translator and dictionary, so I changed some stuff so I could express it easier hopefully it's comprehensible lol) I've been learning lithuanian for ~6 months now, and while it's been a struggle I'm pretty happy with my progress. I've been doing it all on my own so far because I've never been to lithuania, and I have no family members or friends who speak it. Hopefully one day I'll be able to get a tutor because right now I can understand way more than I can produce. (and my pronounciation sucks) Good luck on your lithuanian journey! It's really hard but rewarding. edit: šeimo -> šeimos

[@miyani6]

You're doing great job! For the first sentence, you could say "Aš mokiausi lietuvių šešis mėnesius" it's better, easier and less to write/say and is more correct grammar/structure wise ("už" doesnt really fit there) . Also you wrote "tikiuosi" correctly there was no mistake. As for the sentence where you asked if you could say "galėčiau" there, - no. What you wrote (Galėsiu) fits perfectly though !

[@weaseled4118]

@@miyani6 ačiū!

[@giedres797]

Great job! Seek for an opportunity to come to Lithuania!

[@classifed1]

As a Lithuanian I can understand you.

[@tom4stream]

Dėkui už pastangas išmokti kalbą šalies, kurioje gyvenate. Laimingų Naujų Metų!

[@scemer771]

good luck man, you'll defo need it when it comes to naudininkas, galininkas and other ininkas, theyre the reason why words sometimes end difirently, ex. namas - namo - namui - namą - namu - namuose - name (btw the last one, sauksmininkas, isnt really relevant and not even used much)

[@bluealchemist7674]

I have been supplementing my lithuanian language learning with the Mondly app. While the app isn't perfect it's helpful for learning vocabulary. Thank you for another great video. 💙

[@arnasaliukonis6240]

first

[@SimonT_ua]

You can try the Ling application, it's better than Mondly IMHO.

[@justas9624]

In regards to Duolingo, while it would be really cool if Lithuanian was an option on there, from my and some of my friends experience it's a pretty slow way of learning, as well as with pretty much any game type of thing and what I had happen to me on multiple occasions is that when you do the same thing repeatedly for weeks or months, you get really burnt out of it. And here are a few things or tips that were helpful to me when I learned English and might be useful in reverse, is that you can listen to songs in that language as there are a lot of options and variants you're likely to find something you like, and sing along to practice pronunciation and whatnot. And another thing that was quite helpful is watching dubbed movies or tv shows where you can hear both English and Lithuanian, so you can watch media you're already used to and enjoy, it still being in Lithuanian and hearing English in the background as a live translation that doesn't get in the way.

[@gabija2401]

It's easy to act nice to make someone feel better, but you truly seem like you have good potential at learning Lithuanian very well! Since I live out of the country, I still need help too but with determination and patience, you'll be a very good speaker (your accent was so clean too) Sėkmės!! 🇱🇹🙌

[@LithuaniaExplained]

Thank you! 😃

[@NB-lw4sm]

After learning German in high school and now starting to learn Lithuanian, I’d say it’s best to get the grammar down first with enough vocabulary to get a sentence started and from there you can fit new words in as you pick them up

[@dmitriyk6142]

Now you also give me courage to learn Lithuanian, I’ve been here for 10 month and know maybe 20-30 words, no more :(

[@mingailezemaityte1222]

Good luck with writting it gets tough

[@Pauliusm1985]

Keep it up! You doing great!

[@redacirvinskaite9115]

I like the "kaip lėtas" at 7:34 almost got it right

[@rumbaycachestyle8668]

I am learning:):) I am fluent in English and Spanish, and decent in Italian..--and hopefully, I will live in Vilnius one day...I love it here. Originally from the USA, but I had it with our society. Thank you for your very educational videos-They have taught me a lot!

[@RichieLarpa]

Mister, you need to forget a little about not being able to understand the television, honestly, television is not that needed in order to survive, no need to be that harsh on yourself. Have goals, but be proud on what you have been able to learn, to be motivated. At this moment, I would say that you belong to 30%-60% percent of people, that are already doing better than the other 40%-70% and that is a hell of an achievement! Remember that with every smallest thing, you become the best version of yourself, every day. The most important thing is to know to ask for help, know few emergency sentences, to know names of groceries, prices, laws and some basic communication (in every language), the rest might be learned automatically and naturally, you wouldn't even notice that...

[@classifed1]

First viewer!

[@shadilay9138]

ur not🤡

[@cilindras2952]

I suggest you try watching some lithuanian youtubers, for example demiko if you know of him. His vocabulary and phraseology are vast and unusually gramatically correct (for an average lithuanian) so it might help you learn some words that are less used and are more advanced.

[@RichieLarpa]

4:55 Yeah, that unusual vocabulary...some words are really random and even funny to me, but of course that is the very thing that makes Lithuanian unique and beautiful in its own way. But sometimes, with enough fantasy, something could be easily remebered. Lithuanian "ruda", which means "brown", corresponds to Czech "rudá", which means "dark red" and red color is not that distant from brown, so it could be fine.

[@seanshepard2000]

agreed, agreed and agreed! :) The knowledge of a 2nd language helps a TON! Without having studied German for 4 years, I would never have learned Dutch in a 90-120 day period, and I would argue that without my knowledge of Dutch and German, I would have been totally lost with Lithuanian! It doesn't seem like the knowledge would 'transfer', given then HUGE differences, but trust me, it does! The pitfalls are rea, my friend! Too confident (like I was in the beginning) can lead to the age old, "I know just enough to get myself in trouble" while being too intimidated makes it hard to want to speak up and bolt out those mistakes with pride! (which is the only way you learn! I learned THAT the hard way in Holland when, instead of saying VERtrekken, i said AFtrekken - 2 VERY differnet things! lol). Entertainment on LT TV is (one of) the BEST ways to learn! The dubbed stuff is awful, but original LT stuff is great! Programs like KK2, Valanda su Ruta, TV Pagalba are great places to start (only because they are entertaining, lol, so if you don't quite understand what they are saying, you get alot of context clues!) - As an American who speaks Lithuanian, I would say my BIGGEST piece of advice is as follows (agree or disagree, it's my opinion) - speak up and boldly make mistakes! Dont be shy and think you have to formulate the perfect sentance! Sometimes, it's the mistakes you make, which can confuse people, tha turn out to be the biggest learning moments! (i.e. the whole vertrekken vs. aftrekken thing, lol - the dutch speaking audience will get it, but next time we're in LT and you're in the area, I'm buying the coffee and I'll tell you the story) - the point is, it was a memorable teaching moment and I have never forgotten it in 18+ years. Good luck, it's a tricky language, but you're giving us North Americans a good name by learning it! I promise, it will come in handy and it WILL get easier!

[@AnimeJuggz_]

as a native I would say dont worry about how quick or well you pick up the language, because we don't know what we're saying either 😅

[@Elhant]

Would love to buy you a beer! Feel free write if you're ever in Klaipėda!

[@lithuanian_guy]

Oh boy you chose the wrong language to learn... Theres a reason Duolingo doesn't touch it with two foot pole. I joke of-course. Its probably because we are a small country after all. Either way its nice that you want to learn our language. You dont "have" to. It will help you tremendously since you are living here. And speaking more that one language helps your brain against illness like Alzheimer's but i digress (and yes i watched whole video). From native point of view you "should" learn a language after a set amount of time spent sure. But like i said you dont "have" to - its simply just nice. Nothing more. We will still love you no matter what you know. Some battles dont have to be won. I joke again somewhat. Best of luck and happy new year! :D

[@RichieLarpa]

Learning languages prevents from getting Alzheimers? So I should be way cool, if that is the truth. 😀

[@Spursfan8147]

I also wanted to learn the Cyrillic alphabet and my god I got addicted to it In fact I like other Languages using it And the reason was mostly because I wanted to learn Serbian but I also like the Latin alphabet so I also learned the Serbian alphabet

[@Karliras]

I would recommend watching lithuanian dubbed movies or series with english subtitles. There are many, if you know where to look.

[@Kunigunda897]

You may try 17minute languages to learn more lithuanian, there is a free trial which lasts for 7 days as I can remember

[@ZorroComputers]

Mokytis lietuviskai is Surskio? Na na.

[@Aidan_Au]

I hope that one day you or someone can start a Lithuanian Language school to help more foreigners to learn the language and become more integrated with the community

[@talitahorn4043]

Two game-like learning apps which have Lithuanian you might enjoy using: Mondly and WRD learn words 😉 They help me a lot and are fun to build a daily routine. Both focus more on vocabulary.

[@frankgradus9474]

I got my mojo working baby, and I'm goin' to try it on you, Woah yeah, I got my mojo working baby, and I'm goin' to try it out on you ...

[@vecktro7501]

Antanas shoulda dissed him in Lithuanian, missed oportunity

[@vecktro7501]

Try doing a video in a diffrent language.

[@benaslapinskas5107]

If you want to check out some entertaining lithuanian creators check out Whydotas on youtube. Alot (maybe even most) of the videos have lithuanian and english subtitles.