20 Secrets of Successful Language Learners: How to become Fluent in Chinese & Japanese

[@OrientalPearl]

When people ask me how I learned Chinese and Japanese, I want to show you exactly what I used. All of the apps, textbooks, and audio lessons in this video are the exact same materials I used for years to get fluent. I was a customer of Pimsleur and Japanesepod101 for many years and I really liked their lessons. -Anming

[@旮旯北京]

Could you please make a video : what are the essences for an East Asian guy to chase a West blondie girl?

[@davidmyemail]

I wonder what you think about immersion programs. There's a language immersion summer program near me, and I'm wondering if it would be a great way to learn, or a frustrating experience (once on campus, you're not allowed to utter a single non-taught language word). Currently, I'm working on the Michel Thomas course, and it feels right for me. Oh, and Pimsleur too. And I gotta say, when you said "Don't be afraid to make mistakes", I felt you were one crumbly rocky misstep away from a disaster falling off a cliff. Glad you made it.

[@Markver1]

Oriental Pearl

[@Pattoe]

@@旮旯北京 It helps if you're not a creep.

[@OrientalPearl]

旮旯北京 Ha ha, a lot of female youtubers did that video. How to get a western girlfriend. Lol

[@resilenthero9851]

The goal of language learning is NOT to focus on fluency and how native-like you sound, but rather on the journey and the process of gradually getting better each day. Counterintuitively you’ll end up reaching a level far beyond what you expected with this mindset. Also like what she mentioned , try to somehow make it fun and enjoyable for yourself that way you can continue doing it without burning out or giving up.

[@karansinghania5074]

What's the point in learning if I won't be able to sound like a native speaker.evwn if I learn the language I will never be able to perfect it to the point of a native speaker.so what's the point

[@brendonjoseph4763]

👍🏼😍❤️

[@CalebConyers]

I met my wife of 3 years on Hello Talk.. What started as just a language learning experience, turned into a wonderful experience and a life long partner. All thanks to learning something new! I can't agree more. Thanks for the video.

[@OrientalPearl]

WOW! That's amazing! I hope to have a happy ending to my hellotalk romance too.

[@旮旯北京]

@@OrientalPearl I met my first ex wife 32 years ago....

[@ronniejamesdio6889]

Wow! That's actually amazing! Hope you are doing well man 😊

[@ronniejamesdio6889]

@@旮旯北京 为什么跟她离婚了呢？是因为不适合你吗？她是中国人吗？

[@CodeProvider]

so you were a "hellotinderer" ;)

[@FoxinsoxVT]

I really liked what you said about using your downtime. I've noticed lately how much time I spend just waiting for things, waiting to get to a destination, waiting in line, etc. I definitely want to make that time more productive.

[@OrientalPearl]

That's right, even people that are really busy and have families can get some studying in throughout the day by using that downtime.

[@111milltown]

@@OrientalPearl I just started watching your videos and I am learning japanese. thank you for all the tips they are very helpful and you are beautiful.

[@dragonshrilldragonkill8534]

The most important tip that you gave to your audience was the need of a tutor to help with pronunciation and structuring. To many of us are secure in our smugness, and refuse, or feel we have no need for correction. When any well educated student will tell you they have been helped by a mentor correcting their viewpoint, or their pronunciation. Thank-you for the great video, and hope you find a rainy day friend.

[@OrientalPearl]

Not wanting to be corrected is one of the biggest things that holds people back from improving.

[@campkira]

@@OrientalPearl you set yourself to failure.... as a guy who speak 3 lang... i would said you had to adjust and relearn form time to time...

[@lostmarine6328]

I felt like I needed this video. I’ve been on and off with my target language and it’s been frustrating. I also like to note that the Genki series for Japanese language learners is a good book/audio to buy for those who speak English. KZbinr, Aboard in Japan, recommends the two-series books as it focuses on conversational Japanese that’s used often in Japan

[@OrientalPearl]

I used genki before, but it has too much English in it. Pimsleur is really good for survival phrases (see video description). I bought their entire series. The problem with books is that they can't talk to you. It's hard to get the pronunciation right.

[@stuartbrookes7785]

I've been learning Mandarin at home for a few months now, 我 自学的. Every time I get a lull, your videos fill me with inspiration! 谢谢！

[@AccountInactive]

If you use android, give Immersive Chinese a try. It's by far my favorite app.

[@OrientalPearl]

That's great! You are staring off the same way I did. Give some of the audio lessons I put in the description a try. My main problem when I first started is that I taught myself to say words wrong and natives couldn't understand. That took a lot of re-learning later on.

[@theocrevon6374]

Believe it or not, what helped me a ton moving my japanese forward was watching Terrace House...

[@robertlewis3021]

With Japanese captions or with English captions?

[@mikep6726]

@@robertlewis3021 as a beginner, watch with JP audio and EN captions, in my opinion. Try repeating some of the simple sentences you hear. You should definitely do some more intense learning alongside this, though!

[@youmustbefibbing7376]

Learning is a lifelong process and you're setting a fantastic example. If I was to start learning a new language now I'll forever be looking at those bottom shelf basic textbooks.

[@OrientalPearl]

Basically any apps and books are good. The main factor is how much the student studies and uses them. Time is number 1!

[@nlee4724]

Great ideas! Shortly after I married my husband 27 years ago, I could not find ANY written or recorded instruction or classes or even tutors or guidebooks in Cantonese. There was no internet at that time. The problem was my husband only knew spoken (family only) Cantonese but no Mandarin. My in-laws knew both. We tried learning Mandarin together but couldn’t stick with it. On the other hand, my in-laws went to Panama when they left HK, so my husband and his sister grew up speaking Spanish as well. We always went to Spanish-speaking countries for vacation and since I took Spanish in school, I think I’m closest to becoming fluent in this. I recently had renovations done in my house that took a month, and had the same 4 or 5 guys in and out all day, and I practiced my Spanish with them, all day long. Two did not know English, so we both used google translate and kept going back and forth practicing. It really helped me but I can still understand way faster than I can speak, so I get frustrated. Listening to kid shows in the language you want to know is def a good way like you said - much slower

[@OrientalPearl]

That's really cool! I totally failed at learning Spanish when I was a kid. It all comes down to hard work.

[@staywell1682]

dear anming, you just up'ed the level of presentation 100 %. you are so right about what you know and say. sharing it for others to follow is commendable. no shrink influence as education often is being infiltrated with. we don't want'm. thank you for the efforts to help to make this a better place.

[@OrientalPearl]

Thanks so much. I was never a fan of indoor videos. I want to show people the city where I live while talking.

[@クロエーさん]

Thank you so much for this! My mother loves watching you and also because of your videos she wants to start learning Mandarin Chinese! I have been wanted to learn Japanese and Chinese (Mandarin too) to go to college in Japan ! I can't wait for what the future holds for me. You inspired me to be less anti-social! Thank you :D

[@OrientalPearl]

Awww, I’m flattered that your mom is watching these too.

[@kappatrappa9048]

this channel is amazing, so glad i found it, i am at about 3 years of learning japanese and it is very hard to keep motivation. Thank you for the informative videos. Seeing your success makes me want to try harder!

[@OrientalPearl]

Happy to hear that! Keep going and never give up. There were also many times when I wanted to give up.

[@heartsofgoldenrod]

I love how you incorporate your fashion sense into your videos. You know, you could ask the companies that you love if they’d sponsor your videos too!

[@OrientalPearl]

A hair salon contacted me recently. I'm going to do a video there on Monday.

[@jjb2655]

Anming, I love your channel. I became fluent in Chinese using many of the methods you described from 2003 to 2005. I too had a Ms word document of Chinese of over two hundred pages. I even used the same Chinese textbooks you used. It’s very interesting how similar our methods were. I also wrote a lot in a blog and would “自言自语” intensely in preparation of my speaking sessions and did a homestay in China. I would recommend this in addition to what you mentioned. I too met my partner this way and we have been happily married ever since. For the last 5 years I have been learning Japanese on my own, but now I have a family and career and like you said finding the time has become difficult as I don’t have time to enroll in a language school. Having a bf/gf/so is such a game changer too. I spoke only Chinese to my partner for 5 years straight, but this is not option for Japanese for me now. I am interested in understanding how much do you attribute your fluency due to having a bf in Japanese? And if you have any additional specific tips for people like me who are learning languages while juggling careers and family life.

[@OrientalPearl]

We have a lot in common! I didn't learn Japanese from my boyfriend, but we use Japanese together so it cements what I already know. I would suggest getting your family into learning Japanese too and you can all do it together and bond over it together.

[@jjb2655]

Oriental Pearl thanks again Anming for your inspiration, great recommendation, they do support me but unfortunately they are not too interested in learning along with me. One day I plan to move us all to Japan for at least a year though for the experience. I am interested to see if I can overcome this challenge. Learning a language fluently while raising a family, having a full time career, and not having a spouse/partner always available to practice. So far I have not been able to find someone similar to my situation that has done this, but will keep searching.

[@lightwithin5581]

Today is the first day in over a year that I sat down and spent an hour studying Korean vocab. Felt so good! Sometimes you just have to stop putting off things for the next day and just sit down with the language and go for it. I've found that once you get started with a study session it's a lot easier to continue to go strong, the hardest part is simply GETTING STARTED ^^

[@OrientalPearl]

That's right! And don't let that momentum die. Do it every single day for the next year!

[@nhuthaonguyen1610]

I'm learning English, Japanese and Chinese at the same time. I'm not an advanced english learner and just a beginner in Chinese and Japanese. Your videos are really amazing and exactly what i'm looking for. Your videos not only help me improve my english but they also offer a lot of super useful tips for my Chinese and Japanese learning process. Furthermore, you motivate me a lot. Thank you very much for the videos. Wish you have a wonderful day and i always support other new videos from you.

[@OrientalPearl]

Thank you for being so supportive!

[@matthewraya4246]

Learning Japanese is something I’ve been thinking about doing for a number of years. This video has pushed me to finally do it 👍😃. My sister introduced to me to the Japanese culture when I was a child-she taught English there for two years back in the ‘70’s. She brought me Japanese children’s books when she returned home. I also studied Karate for a few years when I was younger as well. Studying the language is the next step for me.

[@OrientalPearl]

I'm so happy to hear that. Hold on to that excitement because it will keep you going when things get hard. I started off in Japanese with the online programs in the video description. They gave me the base I needed to start full immersion language school.

[@chingho3842]

Another way of learning language which my tutor told me many many years ago. If you can, stay at the country the language is spoken. For at least good few years. That way, you are forced to communicate with local people with their own language. I'm talking of experience. Born in Hong Kong, moved to Sweden when I was 5. Lived there for 15 years before moving to UK. So I speak, Cantonese, Swedish and English. If you really want to learn. Go out and see this world. It definitely helps.

[@OrientalPearl]

Wow, you are so international. I love it!

[@peterxyz3541]

Agree! I’ve said before: all that time perfecting Guitar Hero, they could had learn an actual guitar. Same goes for language.

[@северныйкролик-ш8л]

In the beginning it's all fun and not so hard, but then you continue and you hit a wall. And it's hard getting over that wall. (i'm learning russian)

[@OrientalPearl]

Russian grammar is really hard! OMG!

[@simonbernard4216]

oof

[@liammclaughlin1692]

I've watched a lot of videos on KZbin giving advice about learning a new language. This is probably the best one I've seen. Straight to the point and very down to earth. Thank you.

[@OrientalPearl]

That's wonderful! I'm glad it helped you.

[@brilliantlightphoto]

Thank you for making this video!!! I am just starting to learn Chinese and I have fallen in love with this language. I'm only 2 months in and 我的中文不是好 but I am having sooo much fun. I really appreciate your tips, as I am just starting to self learn as a 27 year old and need all the help I can get.

[@OrientalPearl]

That's wonderful! I hope that this helps out. Keep on going when things get tough.

[@brilliantlightphoto]

@@OrientalPearl thank you so much

[@malblount1792]

You're amazing to follow "Anming"...your streams are always so interesting and inspiring. Thankyou once again. And stay safe.😘

[@johngatliff7648]

Thank you for your positive influnence and never quit attitude. I enjoyed your videos.

[@JAMES-zi3fr]

Thank you for sharing the secrets I found it helpful. I'll use it to improve better.

[@jlcemf]

Based on your recommendation, I started using Pimsleur 3 weeks ago to learn Korean. It’s so convenient to listen to the audio and practice while I cook or exercise! I feel very productive, haha.

[@OrientalPearl]

That's amazing! I want to start with their Korean course as well!

[@MrTioung111]

These motivational videos are great. I am learning Chinese and something technical at the same time. The key thing is the perseverance to acquire muscle memory. The effort needed in amount and duration is, to be honest, beyond overwhelming. But as you said it so WELL, the view at the top is beyond beautiful. Thanks.

[@OrientalPearl]

You're right. It took me one year to get some of those hard pronunciations down.

[@timothyy7]

Pimsleur is my holy grail at the moment for mandarin. I only care about listening, speaking, and communication focus. Why? because, before i got into learning languages, in this case mandarin, i would completely be unmotivated to even start with all the overwhelming "i have to learn to read, write, listen, and speak in order to know Chinese", thus not even starting at all. So i decide to stick with social communication-based only because that's more of my priority than reading, writing. That's my advice to absolute beginners.

[@OrientalPearl]

It's a little overwhelming to take all of that on as a complete beginner. I didn't start learning to write Chinese until 6 months after starting to learn it.

[@timothyy7]

Oriental Pearl wow nice. I might have a change of heart and want to learn how to write but I don’t see that happening for me anytime soon

[@chopstickemporium]

What level are you on in Pimsleur? Have you been able to use it in everyday life yet?

[@timothyy7]

chopstickemporium it’s been 53 days since I’ve been on pimsleur aka Level 2. I haven’t skipped a day considering most of us have more time than before. But I’m committed to sticking to it until the end. Then I’ll move on to Cantonese in pimsleur and other different apps for more mandarin speaking and listening. I definitely can speak at a basic level with some Chinese people. They help me out in return i help them with English. It’s a win-win and more real life based than just sticking your head in the books.

[@deepfax8]

I just can't ignore your videos keep it up 😊

[@OrientalPearl]

You are the best

[@deepfax8]

@@OrientalPearl ❤

[@SteveSpanish411]

This is great advice. Anyone who's learning a language can use this advice regardless of the language he or she is learning.

[@easyChinese]

You’re right, listening something is very important! For myself, I think radio is helpful. 真的，听广播非常有用！

[@FC-EXTRA.]

Thanks this video was useful in helping me with my Japanese

[@care2share994]

Best tip & advice I’ve ever got. Thank you so much Anming 👸🏼

[@OrientalPearl]

You're so welcome! I'm really glad to hear that. These are honestly techniques that I used.

[@CJFGames]

Love this style of filming! And thanks so much for all the tips! I'll be borrowing them :)

[@OrientalPearl]

I'm an outdoors kind of girl. I don't like to sit in a room and talk.

[@keiko4043]

thank you for this! i downloaded Hellotalk a few weeks ago to practice japanese and I'm loving the community there. I'm still a beginner so I'm not using the app to its fullest potential, but it definitely gave me the confidence to form sentences. side note: thanks for the chinese textbook recommendation! I'm more comfortable reading english but i figured it makes much more sense learning Japanese using chinese textbooks.

[@OrientalPearl]

The best thing you can do hellotalk is to use the search feature to look for language partners in your area. Send out mass messages (40 in a day is the limit) and I guarantee you will get responses.

[@jackest4114]

Thank you for the video, it gave me so much motivation to keep going! Loved the way you talked with us while climbing up the small mountain 😄💛

[@OrientalPearl]

Thanks! I used to visit that place a lot while I was going to Japanese school. That temple is right next to the school. I went there to clear my mind.

[@jlcemf]

Oooh, the dictation suggestion is one I hadn’t thought of! Thanks for the tips :)))

[@OrientalPearl]

Any time!

[@adeline6799]

The final message was so inspiring! thank u, i'm already learning chinese through english lessons on youtube (and my first lenguage is spanish so lol) . There is a lot of material here on internet and i'm gonna make things happen, thank you and congrats for your success! :D

[@OrientalPearl]

Thanks so much for watching to the very end! Most viewers don't.

[@emilykoi3111]

Thank you Anming for the 20 tips. I just got genki 1 and the textbook. It came with an audio CD! So I'm very excited to use that soon. Thank you!

[@OrientalPearl]

I used that series in the very beginning. It's popular in America.

[@babyboy4570]

Hello Anming! I just wanted to say that I find your videos very inspiring and fun to watch! Also I want to THANK YOU SO MUCH because I was learning japanese awhile back and along the way I lost ALL motivation to continue but ever since watching your videos recently, I've gain the courage to start learning again and I just REALLY appreciate you and I'm really crying rn writing this. Please keep doing your videos also stay safe and healthy! ありがとうございます。

[@AndyHiepVu]

You are very down to earth and your video points out all of the key elements required to learn a language. Thanks for the video !

[@OrientalPearl]

You're very welcome!

[@NerdyOneIsOne]

Since lockdown began 4 months ago I started to learn Chinese and Japanese, but mostly Chinese for me it's like being stuck in an infinite loop, the most difficult things I've found is Pronunciations & saying certain letters it's a long road ahead and thank you for the tips. Keep up the good work and amazing videos

[@OrientalPearl]

That's how it was for me in the beginning too. The more time you put into it, the more you will get out of it.

[@DecrepitBiden]

No mask nor lockdown here for me. You know it's a HOAX right? An overhyped flu. Fauci is NOT wearing mask nor social distancing as he preach to you on day 1. Though he has started wearing mask recently to make it more convincing.

[@sweetyjones1756]

I have been very lucky to come across your videos and this particular one. I am in the early stages of learning Japanese and have been wondering about the different methods of learning the language and what would be best. Thanks to you and your sound advice I am now fully equipped to get going properly! So thank you :) x

[@OrientalPearl]

YES! That's great. There will be more advice to come.

[@sweetyjones1756]

@@OrientalPearl I look forward to that 🙂

[@LyNguyen-ds7qd]

Yay, another great video. 👍👍👍 Love from Vancouver B.C

[@OrientalPearl]

Thank you Canada! Neighbors forever!

[@Kanjicafe]

You delivered a powerful set lessons with this video. Outstanding!

[@Adonisrose7493]

I’m so happy you put this out. I’ve been studying a lot these last couple weeks and Ive made decent improvement. I’ll try some of these out though. Thanks!

[@OrientalPearl]

You got this! Just keep yourself motivated when times get tough. I had many frustrations too.

[@cairnwest287]

Late to this video. But this is great! Motivating as well as honest! It takes dedication as well as sacrifice, there is no quick fix.

[@OrientalPearl]

I’m glad it was helpful.

[@Bullmannumber4]

Good pep talk at the end. I am learning Finnish, and about to embark on Japanese 😍

[@OrientalPearl]

YES! That's so cool.

[@WhereMyChicken]

So proud of your efforts especially on this one! So pleasantly helpful!

[@OrientalPearl]

Thank you so much!

[@rdr21776]

Thank you for the great tips!

[@FrankDeFelicecasan]

Love your videos, a Sunday morning treat. Much better than church!!!

[@OrientalPearl]

Ha ha, go to church 😊

[@jasonliu7958]

You are very smart on this. And what you said is make you success in a lot of things. God bless.

[@OrientalPearl]

Jason Liu Thank you! I hope it was helpful!

[@lauritachani8648]

I love all your videos!! I'm learning English and Japanese so they're so motivating to me!!!! I'm going to do a Cambridge exam next week and I'm using your videos to practise my listening hahaha Thanks😋✌💖💖💖💖

[@OrientalPearl]

That's great news! I wish you the best of luck.

[@my32pints]

I've spent great time finding the motivation to learn Japanese and in taught myself most of your techniques but only on a smaller level because I was just going from what I created and had not heard another person say all the things back to me . I feel stronger today than ever in my endeavor to make it to the top .

[@tmartinsdacosta]

Amazing! I love it! Thank you for this wonderful video!

[@OrientalPearl]

I hope you like the outdoor filming style.

[@_lemonny]

Pimsleur is the best (just finished Japanese Unit 1)! It's nice to hear someone at your skill level recommend it! Here's what I'm currently using: Pimsleur (speaking/pronunciation practice) Japanese From Zero (It's well structured, but doesn't feel like a "textbook", so it's easy to get through) WaniKani (Kanji/vocab with built-in SRS. By the time you finish it, you will know over 1500 kanji and 6000 vocab words) Kanji Study (Kanji stroke order) Satori Reader (Reading/listening practice, plus it syncs with WaniKani to update kanji you've learned) Anki ConversationExchange/InterPals (for finding language partners)

[@OrientalPearl]

I wish they had some advanced stuff. I would keep listening to it then.

[@chinabill379]

I gotta learn from you to learn English. But I am a Chinese dude in China, so I don’t have that exposure environment, which really impedes my learning

[@OrientalPearl]

You can always find ways. I learned Japanese in China at first lol

[@heartsofgoldenrod]

I love pimsleur! Learned the first set of Russian from pimsleur tapes! ❤️

[@OrientalPearl]

They really do have the best start from zero audio lessons the market.

[@mendellalvarado4285]

Great video! 😀 Prob the most informative, too. Thx! 👍

[@OrientalPearl]

This one was long overdue.

[@Hunikengt]

Oooh Anming thank you so much about the post it notes idea!!! I seriously need to use it. Also writing about each word and the flash card is great! ありがとうございます あんみんごさん

[@OrientalPearl]

My friend used to put them on his ceiling above his bed so he could see them when he woke up everyday.

[@Hunikengt]

@@OrientalPearl wow now that's dedication!

[@tommyboy500]

You are a true teacher and an inspiration....love your videos

[@OrientalPearl]

Thanks so much 😊

[@helenkeller6630]

THAT SPEECH IN THE END LITERALLY MOTIVATED ME MORE THAN ANY OTHER MOTIVATIONAL VIDEOS THANK U SO MUCH

[@OrientalPearl]

No problem. I wish you the best with your studies.

[@helenkeller6630]

@@OrientalPearl THANK UUUU

[@kieranmcneff2173]

Great video and great advice about learning a language and studying in general. Very impressive.

[@magiccourt]

Thanks for all of the tips! I'm learning Spanish and agree Pimsleur is great. From absolute beginner to feeling like I'm well on my way in just the first month. Now I'm in the process of looking for a tutor (or two). I'm missing the real time language exchange and won't get too far until I find a way to get it. I speak German from having lived there a decade. That was relatively easy with full immersion. I'm finding, with Spanish, it's much more difficult to learn without full immersion. Stay safe and healthy out there.

[@OrientalPearl]

That's great. I really used the phrases I learned from Pimsleur the first time I came to Japan. It helped a lot for getting around.

[@Rhayzahr]

You, Xiaoma and JJ have inspired me to learn chinese. Thank you for you content!

[@OrientalPearl]

Thanks for watching! I wish you the best of luck with your studies!

[@yakeylee]

Truly enjoyed listening to what you had to say the first minute of this video. Funny how language and life are an uphill battle. I needed to hear that. Thank you.

[@OrientalPearl]

I’m so glad that this video helped you!

[@joecheck986]

明珠说的很对，会中文的学习日语会好些，很多单词是相同的。我学日语也是这样想的。

[@OrientalPearl]

是的，汉字很类似。

[@xyz-pf1yz]

this lady is so smart. by what she is wearing, I can tell that she is learning Chinese and Japanese to own the languages.

[@nesrinahmed3461]

小5年漢字の勉強が終わりました！ I've been learning kanji grade by grade, going to Japanese chat rooms to practice and watch Terrace House on Netflix 🙊 Though I still need to work on my 会話力 lol Well, talking to myself in Japanese it is 😂😂😂

[@OrientalPearl]

That's really great! A language partner might be able to help you a lot with speaking.

[@nesrinahmed3461]

Yes true, but getting one that sticks ain't easy even on Hellotalk 🤣

[@DeezNutz-yg8io]

*grade by grade edit: You're welcome!

[@nesrinahmed3461]

Ohh heck spelling error. Thanks @Deez Nutz

[@mikaelap.hernandez2244]

Thanks for the tips and the encourage! I can relate that listening a lot to a language can help you get used to it a lot and trying to speak with native speakers helps the knowledge stay in your head. 加油💪 everyone

[@christopherclark4862]

Love your videos! So happy to have embarked on my Japanese language journey, thanks for the help

[@DanielLeoSimpson]

So many great study tips and recommendations, thank you!

[@Jerry113]

pearl dropping knowledge today

[@sparky42]

I love the view , Just beautiful from here !

[@OrientalPearl]

I used to come to this hill during breaktime at that Japanese school. It always calmed me down.

[@1982spqr]

Such a necessary video... so many people only see the finished product. The reality being that language ability is the result of hard work,over time. Some great ideas btw... I'm going to try some.

[@OrientalPearl]

I’m glad this was helpful to you.

[@Mikeys-pf3kr]

Lol! Hellotalk is where I met my ex Japanese girlfriend and all of my Japanese friends. Been a member for like 1 and a half year and it was hella a lot of a great experience. haha. Love your videos and they’re so inspiring and encouraging. :)❤️

[@OrientalPearl]

Wow, so you dated people on hellotalk too? lol

[@icurhuman2jorgensen679]

Sound advice from an expert must be very helpful for learners. My feeble attempt to learn Bahasa involved a pocket dictionary and daily mingling with fellow workers. But as they all came from various islands their dialects confused the task. My motivation was mostly to be able to converse with women with the intention of "dating them" (a powerful motivator lol). After three years I was able to speak only at a low level of conversation. I've been told that I speak well enough but like that of a child (not exactly high praise).

[@OrientalPearl]

Pocket dictionaries are really tough because you never know if you are saying the words right. That's why I like online dictionaries. The online dictionaries have a feature where it says the word for you and you can listen to it.

[@archaon593]

12:55 that’s the right slogan, for everything in life. The only difference between people is the amount of dedication and sacrifice they are willing to put in.

[@phd8296]

I my self is struggling to learn chinese and I my wife is chinese. I showed her your video one day and she is so impress that your chinese have no accent. She is also from Shanghai btw. I think your channel will grow fast. I’m so glad that I found your channel. I will keep following all your videos.

[@OrientalPearl]

That's cool that's she's from Shanghai. I wish you the best with your studies!

[@keithstarkey5584]

Roll on, Pearl. (For us motorcycle types, rolling on is upping the throttle!). Thanks for another great and inspiring video. The one thing I appreciate about your vids about learning languages is you don't short circuit it with the idea that it's easy; just a few hours here and there and you'll be up in no time. How not true! Yet, you reveal the light at the end of the tunnel, not leaving us in the dark, groping around, hunting, hoping. Thanks for that.

[@OrientalPearl]

That's a technique language learning software companies use to trick people lol

[@jworne79]

Loved the ending. Thanks for you video 💓

[@OrientalPearl]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@heathervenkat1414]

I really needed this. Thank you!

[@OrientalPearl]

You're so welcome!

[@teachergerthaslanguagelearning]

Thank you!! I can truly relate to your intro statements. However, I am not giving up(:!! This is why I recently started my KZbin channel. Congratulations on your engagement!!

[@santiagomino6494]

Thanks a lot! Your advices motivated me to find new methods for learning japanese. I really like the one with post-it notes, will do it. Also, I agree that the language you are learning should be part of your life in a funny way. Greetings from Argentina!!

[@OrientalPearl]

Hello Argentina! I'm glad this was helpful.

[@kevinp8108]

Hi Anming, I'm learning Spanish through a technique called Comprehensible Input. Have you heard of it? It's a system where you learn a target language by acquiring it through lots of story-telling and gestures. This system allows you to naturally acquire language rather than consciously learning it. Correct grammar is not important until you acquire the language fluently. It's supposed to mimic the way a child learns his/her native language.

[@OrientalPearl]

I haven't heard of that method, but it sounds really interesting. Story telling is a great way to learn. That's kind of like the podcasts that I listen to. They are always telling stories about living abroad and I pause and look up words that I don't understand.

[@enjoyhiking9845]

yeah, read or listen something every day is important, it is relax, not too much pressure, and keeps yourself connecting to that language without disruption. Thanks for the tips and the step of writing the new words hundreds times is very impressive, but for me I don't have too much time (or to say I don't have enough patient) to do that so I use a dictionary app to collect all the new words in a list then go over those words again and again when I have some time during the day.

[@OrientalPearl]

Writing words may not be the most efficient way to learn, but doing it enough times works eventually.

[@MrAmor-wh1rm]

I try everyday. I hope one day to be fluent in Japanese like you

[@OrientalPearl]

You can if you work really hard and never give up.

[@gaijinhakase1575]

You mean conversational? That’s not super hard, you can reach her level in about 6 months of dedicated study. Becoming truly fluent takes years, there’s no way around that.

[@konradswart4069]

I want to begin by saying, that I like very much to watch the videos of Oriental Pearl. I have no interest in learning Chinese or Japanese, although I am interested in Japanese and Chinese culture. . But to be honest, many of these 20 'secrets' sound much to me like a joke of one of the most well-known Dutch writers of the past. . Once an amateur pianist asked a world-class pianist how to become really good at playing the piano. . The pianist then said the following: 'If you practice for 8 years, 5 hours a day, then afterward, you can say that you have improved.' . Having said that, I found the first advice very good. She recommended beginning with the Pimsleur method. I did that with German, all 5 levels, and it took me about 7 months. Now I can speak and understand German fairly well. Every day I watch a German Krimi on KZbin and listen to the structure. That is also one of the things she recommends. . On Netflix you can also install a plugin that can help you in practicing any language. I use it to practice German. It is pretty tough, though to do it. To learn more about the Netflix plugin, look at this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJLKqmt3rNR2a5I There is also a similar plugin in development for KZbin.

[@OrientalPearl]

You are exactly right! Hard work is the biggest factor. There are no short-cuts.

[@konradswart4069]

@@OrientalPearl !!!! . Thank you, that you responded personally. . I really appreciate that! . Keep up the good work!

[@mcarbone4]

Ok question - Japanese and Chinese can be written in both our alphabet as well as kanji? Do the native Chinese and Japanese students growing up always learn how to write out kanji? Like can all of the population write it? or is it something special you have to learn. Are all the books, newspapers and anything else written always in kanji? Or do they use our alphabet as well.

[@OrientalPearl]

In China they start with Pinyin in kindergarten and 1st grade then learn Kanji. In Japan they start with hiragana and katakana in kindergarten and first grade and then more to kanji a little later than the Chinese students.

[@louierivera2634]

Great guide for start learning. Love it .

[@pktlogic]

I love these videos! Thank you!

[@ThoseBackPages]

Time IS precious! Thank you for sharing yours with us! Stay Safe!

[@athmaneyahiaoui6778]

You are amazing. I have a lot of respect for you.

[@charleswendt4868]

I just want to know enough to win your heart. “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.” ~ Helen Keller

[@OrientalPearl]

Nice quotation!

[@charleswendt4868]

@@OrientalPearl thanks

[@kira5612]

I really love what you said about watching tv and listening to music in your target language. When I first was introduced to Chinese (mandarin) I was watching a drama called MARS, and that's where my interest grew and because it was fun watching tv/dramas/ reality tv etc. I didn't realize I was learning anything until one day I heard someone talking in mandarin and I realized I knew some of what they were saying. It's also great like you said to hear native speakers (especially for me I struggle with the second tone) It's also really fun for me to read bits and pieces (like poems or children's books) because I can pick out a select number of vocab for the day and I remember it more because I can relate it to the story I enjoyed.

[@OrientalPearl]

Tones are really hard with Chinese. I struggled with them for a long time. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

[@denniscopper]

This video was jam packed full of information on learning a language!

[@OrientalPearl]

This one was long overdue.

[@salg1747]

Nerdy? Maybe. Gorgeous, incredible, hilarious girl tips. You are very inspirational and motivating. But, also incredibly fun to watch. I love your sense of humor.

[@OrientalPearl]

Oh thank you so much!

[@salg1747]

@@OrientalPearl You're very welcome.

[@laurastrange9208]

I really appreciated your video and it made me even more motivated and encouraged to keep learning languages that I am studying.

[@OrientalPearl]

I'm so glad to hear that. I know language learners need a lot of motivation to keep going. There were many times when I wanted to give up too.

[@takashinishida9113]

Hi there！ I studied Chinese by myself long time ago. In 1980s I backpacked China several times. Since nobody in China at that time spoke English, I had to

[@takashinishida9113]

... speak Chinese. China has changed drastically in these thirty years. You would never imagine how China was like. These six or seven years I repeatedly visited Thailand. My Chinese has gotten very rusty. Now, I can communicate in Thai much better than in Chinese. Learning foreign language would be boring repetition work. So I suggest you study history of Japanese. You would tell original Japanese (和語 or 大和言葉) from borrowed words, like old Chinese words from some regions in China, Portuguese, Dutch, English, etc.

[@OrientalPearl]

Wow, China in the 1980s would be totally different from today.