Lýdia Machová - Ten things polyglots do differently [EN] - PG 2017

[@mgspunk]

1.Polyglots don't have a special talent! 15:07 2.Every polyglot has their own method 16:34 3.Polyglots learn languages mostly by themselves 17:08 4.Polyglots create their own language material 18:31 5.Polyglots learn one language at a time 19:12 6.Polyglots spend much more time listening and speaking 20:32 7.Polyglots are not afraid to make mistakes 23:12 8.Polyglots have mastered the art of simplification 24:50 9.Polyglots learn in small chunks 26:20 10.Polyglots enjoy learning languages 27:10

[@Aritul]

mgspunk Thank you!!

[@sharkrec2155]

thank you

[@narata1541]

mgspunk Merci beaucoup! :-)

[@massimilianosarto6472]

Thank you, saved me 40 minutes

[@LiborSupcik]

Is not the polyglots' gathering an instance of paralel-multi-lingual learning when her focus jumps among her tongues? It is about focus favoritism. Naturally one tongue is the winner of that focus. The BS is in her excluding learning using methods, materials and contents among or between our L2 to Ln tongues where L1 is the tongue of the environment. Also No 6. has its mavericks such as Emanuele Marini who when beginning a new tongue, habituates himself with passive methods' boost.

[@diegoferreira6556]

Every time when I feel tired of learning another language, I try to watch polyglots. And I get energy and I change the way I am learning. It's work. Thanks for sharing.

[@Languagementoring]

Happy to help!

[@kishanchali8752]

@@Languagementoring Most of those so-called polyglot aren't polyglots at all. They're just attention seekers who are trying to show off as a kind of special breed.

[@keegster7167]

@@kishanchali8752 That’s true but Lydia is a real one

[@ellenorbjornsdottir1166]

@@kishanchali8752 Yes, most polyglots exaggerate their real language skills. The flags displayed by so many are the flags of the countries (or similar) where a language is spoken which they have at one point spoken well enough. It's easiest to keep active English, Esperanto (language with its own flag, no country) and the language of the country you are currently in - because those two/three are going to be the easiest to find people to speak to in (there are lots of Esperanto communities on the Internet, the rest of the Internet all uses English, and the country you're in speaks its own language, which is sometimes English).

[@gregtomkins5938]

Language skills aside, she is a superb public speaker!

[@Tina-wk2pr]

Agree! I love listening to her! She's self-confident, skilled with a positive and pleasent presence. 👍👍👍

[@letsgomario]

@@Tina-wk2pr How odd. I found her to be condescending, not engaging and a little full of herself. I speak 4 languages and I was looking forward to this talk but as much as I wanted to, I just couldn't watch the whole thing. English was the first language I learned and it is the language that I use everyday. It is true that you have to make the process fun. Music has been a huge way for me to get involved in a language.

[@nikolaia7893]

@@letsgomario I know, right?! I agree with your opinion about the speaker. She also seems to be more concerned with quantity over quality. My native tongue is English. My language-learning goal is communication, but also for the purpose of understanding nuance, culture, idioms, expression of emotion, etc. Music is helpful for me, as well. Pictures also help me. I often label items in my home to help with natural identification of characters instead of letters.

[@lenorewiggins1823]

@@laraspecter5653 she had a ton of examples of different styles different people use, as opposed to most presenters who just relate what works for them as if its self-evident that it should work for everybody. Even if her style was unappealing to me (which it wasn't), I would have wanted to watch the whole thing. I think maybe some people are threatened by such a confident Eastern European female.

[@briribalta3698]

I agree! I like her self confidence. This is my third time watching this video.

[@andreismolko9935]

Languages cannot be taught, they can only be learned. That's true! I liked her speech a lot.

[@highstandards6226]

How very, perfectly, true!

[@StalkAlexHere]

My biggest key to learning a language is to find a way to communicate an idea with the vocabulary you have.... even if it is not how you “properly say something”, the key is simply finding a way to express your feelings and ideas, and NOT FEAR THE MISTAKES. 👍🏼

[@syedalifahadzaidi]

Not just language, if you want to learn anything you cannot depend on a tutor or a class. Ones dedication to the learning is what matters most.

[@msaali3179]

*Summary* Initial Insights - Polyglots manage quality of time, rather than quantity - Polyglots have personalised system, though have common traits e.g. of systems - Speak from day 1(bennie) - Material (Steve kaufman) - High frequency words (Lucas) - Flashcard system w/o translation - Robin McFernon (dissection) - David James (Re-write vocab list) - Phrases *then* fun, material, consistency, priorities (Lydia) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. No special talent 2. No one-size-fits all method 3. Independent learners 4. Create own material 5. One language at a time * 6. Polyglots spend MUCH MORE speaking and listening 7. Polyglots love to make mistakes 8. Art of simplification (e.g. Lucas' High Frequency method) 9. Diligently consistent 10. Polyglots MAKE language learning their addiction (key: find material YOU find important for native speakers) *Personal approach is what matters, so try to add and revise your systems* -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quotes: -'Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right' -'If you do what you've always done, you will get what you've always got'

[@keegster7167]

thanks, that's a good summary!

[@meusisto]

Gratias ago!

[@keegster7167]

+meusisto Latine scio?!?! Optime! Nostrorum non multi sunt.

[@meusisto]

Ita est, rex Keegster, latine loqueris! Latine etiam ego loquor. Magnam laetitiam mihi dat scire te latine loqui posse.

[@keegster7167]

perquam bene! :) Obiter, si mecum Latine loqui uellis me offendere possis in Discord aut Skype.

[@Xx-xk7xu]

I read fanfics 😂😂😂 I have this guilty pleasure of reading fanfiction, and it helps me learning languages. Today, after six years of reading fanfics, I can read them in five different languages :)

[@sofisoria4569]

AWESOME

[@rebbecachunn]

Do you have suggestions for fanfic sites?

[@brittany810]

Rebbeca Chunn watpad

[@sal_strazzullo]

Hi, what is fan fiction? (I'm too lazy to google it)

[@salem1585]

How?Do u learn vocabulary with writing down them somewhere?Can u explain it, please?)

[@njabulob373]

I love her accent. She has a calm, soothing voice.

[@cyprianuslilikk.p.7937]

Totally agree

[@adrianaj682]

@Elielson da Rocha she is from Slovakia :-)

[@ricardoshillyshally1741]

My first French language teacher was from a Ivory Coast. He could speak German and English (so, he claimed, at least) but not Spanish. So, the first month he spoke French only to us. Some students quit. I learnt French big time thanks to him and never forgot what I learnt.

[@namjuok7203]

Her voice is too good, soft, melodic to just ignore. Such a powerful ability to make others concentrate! The contents she presented were also wonderful. Inspiring speech indeed.

[@bemdav]

I was born in Slovakia. When I was 15, I moved to Ireland and I had to do the Irish equivalent of secondary school graduation in 2 years time. As my second language in school (third for me, English was my second) I had chosen German, starting from scratch. Compared to other students who had 5-6 years to learn it, I knew I was up for a challenge, but I believed I could do it. I spent time in school, doing assigned homework, writing essays, etc., after about 1.5 years I noticed this was not good enough and at this pace I wouldn't be able to graduate well. My writing skills were okay, but 50% of the final grade were based on a 10 minute spoken conversation with the examiner. I wasn't great at that. I had decided to move in with my aunt who speaks German very well as she has lived in Germany for 7 years (and met her, now husband, there. Whose first language is Spanish). She also has 2 children who speak German a little bit, mainly from watching cartoons or from listening to their parents' conversations (Even though they speak Slovak/Spanish to the children). I lived with them for 2 weeks and all we did was speak German. Every day, whether it was regular chat, getting groceries in the store, or me babysitting the kids. My aunt refused to speak any Slovak in front of her children. I have to say, this was the best spent 2 weeks I ever could. I learned way more German than I would have during the 2 years in school. When I returned to school, some of my classmates thought I was German. I graduated with a B!

[@rolfw2336]

Great story :-)

[@23gregorius]

very courageous ! Why did you not apply for a grant or a scholarship with the German DAAD ? The problem with the crucial German language lies in its history and the dialects. The only persons who speak well German are the teachers and professors. I taught to Thai administrators German and used the method which no German teaching course entails: old songs (Volkslieder). Singing gives you a feeling of a language's melody. Each has got one - more or less articulate. In the USA there is a program to teach children born with grave brain damage. They never learn to read and write, but by singing a text memory is created and that helps in the long run to speak. In my long career I came to Tehran and observed that there are groups with no academic background, mostly selling food and goods. They all speak fabulously 5 to 8 languages. So, I guess, there are genetic patterns which help learning a language. I wait for a respective genetic infusion letting me speak 30 languages without any accent.

[@Aritul]

bemdav Great!

[@Karl_with_a_K]

Maith an fear! ;)

[@renierbonthuyzen9703]

Well done. Are you and your family still living in Ireland? We are blessed to have such a beautiful country.

[@petrophilip2279]

First off all, besides being a polyglot, Lydia is an amazing and an effective public speaker. Listening to her speech is a pleasant experience. I am going to listen to as many of her speeches as I can. Secondly she is an inspiring person. She has inspired me to learn what I have been trying to learn for professional development. These methods of learning can be applied to learning different skills or habits such as public speaking, playing the piano, programming or working out. Just do it consistently.

[@tiborikk]

Absolutely brilliant attitude towards language learning. That's exactly what I needed to hear. A lot of polyglots on KZbin presentatinons try to push forward their own methods as if everything else was not good enough. This lady put it right - everything is good as far it is enjoyable.

[@dragonswordmountain2908]

+Tibo Rikk Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, good taste is in the tongue of the beholder, fun is in the eye of the beholder. What is your trash is my treasure.

[@chrismicho2684]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIfNnYWDfLuJbZY

[@sealand000]

Not every native speaker of a language is blessed with a special talent, so you don't need a special talent to learn a new language. But you need exposure to the language, and motivation.

[@cyprianuslilikk.p.7937]

I can hear her voice for hours. Calm, shooting, but smart and energetic.

[@noblelies]

One of the best speeches I have ever heard. Very useful.

[@Languagementoring]

Thank you for your kind words! :)

[@jeanjaz]

The internet has made learning a language SO much easier. I wish there had been the variety that's on the internet now for my first 3 decades of life!

[@vampoftrance]

I learned a lot of Bengali online and in chatrooms for two years

[@MovieRiotHD]

Her point of listening is key: The french I was taught in school was completely different from what actually is being spoken in France.

[@korana6308]

Same for other countries. There's a huge underlying problem in the languages that are taught in schools around the world, because majority of them are "taught by the book" and do not represent real world languages. And sometimes even mistranslating things , because of missed cultural contexts. As a native Russian and English speaker it pains me every time listening to those translations , even at the highest levels (Putin translations are also very vague and are contextually wrong alot of the times ) they miss alot of stuff... There's also this famous Russian evening show called "Vecherniy Urgant" and I will never forget how some "professional" translator from that show translated one of the most famous Arnold S. quotes "get to da choppa" as "get to the chapel" in Russian, I was facepalming so hard🤦‍♂️...

[@alisabah6185]

she's speaking clearly and smoothly she's a fantastic and have a good ways to learn languages incredible videos

[@Nostalgia-pc6hb]

I speak Portuguese, Spanish, English, Italian, French. I have knowledge of German and Swedish and now I am learning Romanian. I use everything she said.

[@danielblue4460]

If you speak a Romance language, it will be easy to learn its siblings.

[@Nostalgia-pc6hb]

@@danielblue4460 Definitely.

[@lfmb4real]

what worked for me was to build a very basic vocabulary, such as I want, I need, I have. then learn the second person such as can you? do you? would you?. and if you do not know the rest, just point to the object in question and the other person will name It, after that it gets easier, as you learn to add, the " he, she, we, they", and some of the structure. when you are pointing you are hearing the pronunciation aplicable locally. language is such a beautiful concept, I have seen a lot of different children, playing together, each speaking their own language and all understanding eachother, it was wonderful, there was, no color, no language barriers, no preconceptions. we as adults can learn so much from the children. and you are right!. each has to find what works for them. and do not be afraid to make mistakes, practice makes perfect.

[@dragonswordmountain2908]

+lfmb4real Tim Ferriss style, "Give me the apple, i want the apple, he ate the apple, she has the apple, they gave me the apple, we have the apple, who has the apple?, it is my apple".

[@truvy_5544]

I should've did this!!!!! My method was treating other languages like it's English and adding it to my English vocabulary so I'll learn 10 words a day and I'll put it in a sentence (I only do that with nouns & verbs) overtime it gotten stressful. Im definitely doing this method

[@WhyYoutubeWhy]

@Jonas Felipe Modena de morais The thing with those is that they are not really spoken, but written.

[@billywade7794]

I'm almost 54. I'm now learning French again for the 4th time. 9am I too old to start? Your seminar was amazing. I still dream of being a polyglot even though I don't speak any other language fluent yet.

[@magorzatamargaret294]

Don't mind your age. It doesn't matter so much. Most important things in learning in general are: be fascinated about what you learn and want to know it at every price (feel it) Learn when you relaxed and rested. Drink a lot of water. Eat light, nutritional food. Don't distract yourself with thinking about some other stuff during learning (concentrate on your learning). Have a fresh air (open window from time to time). Think in a language you learn, talk to yourself in that language. During learning listen to music that synchronize brain's lobes - when your lobes are in perfect balance you absorb everything much faster. Enjoy :)))

[@billykranberry6077]

I apologize in advance grandpa, you're old, not dead. That dude Lucas learned a language in one hour!

[@magorzatamargaret294]

@@billykranberry6077 - he is not old, ok ? I modern society many people in their 50-ties look and are in better condition than those in their 20ties and 30ties :P

[@magorzatamargaret294]

@@billykranberry6077 - typical answer of pseudoscientist, like you. Real scientist is open-minded - you are not. I am not going to waste my time as you have no the foggiest idea what I am taking about but you necessarily want to be right. Ego. And you are not the first person with such an attitude, so again - I am not going to waste my time with you anymore.

[@ellenbj356]

@@billykranberry6077 I'm 77 and I'm learning French and loving it. I took it in school years ago, but I really understand it now. Listening to podcasts and practicing with DELF exam material has helped. Has my rate of learning slowed down? Yep. But it's certainly possible. You can do it.

[@jmurphy4975]

This video is 5 years old and yet, it's eternal! Well done, Lýdia!

[@charosmoyliyeva894]

1mo11m1k

[@luiz11340]

Hi! I am from Brazil. When I writte I can to learn English much more. I AM 60 years old and I AM almost fluente in English. I hope I' ll be fluent this year.

[@bobbymidha3901]

Luiz Carlos Sá excellent. You are an inspiration to do that at your age. I'm naturally no good with languages

[@chicoti3]

Bom trabalho na força de vontade, eu ainda consigo ver muitos erros na tua escrita e com todo respeito acredito que tu estejas um tanto quanto distante da fluencia, não falo isso como forma de te desmotivar, mas como a Lydia mesmo falou no video: "Poliglotas não tem medo de errar porque é corrigindo-os que ficamos fluentes". Não deixe que te digam que está velho demais pra aprender, não existe essa de gente mais velha ter mais dificuldade, todo mundo tem dificuldade principalmente quando estão aprendendo a primeira lingua estrangeira. Está aí Steve Kauffmann para provar, ele tem 65 anos, salvo engano, e é um dos maiores poliglotas, inclusive aprendeu russo aos 60 anos para acabar quebrar esse paradigma. Um abraço e boa sorte aprendendo Ingles.

[@Correctrix]

Parabéns. É bom continuar apesar da edade.

[@bobbymidha3901]

do you really think I will take the time to make my youtube posts grammatically correct?

[@mep6302]

I'll just correct you to help you (I'm a non-native speaker). *I can learn (after can you don't need "to" for the infinitive). *fluent. Good job. Keep going! Your English is very good. I'm sure you're going to be fluent very soon.

[@arein9716]

She is amazing, i love the way she is speaking in public

[@danielac8497]

It's all about self-confidence. When you are self-confident you seem cleverer than you really are.

[@randymartens1823]

This presentation is absolutely riveting and 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 motivating for those trying to learn a language totally new to them.

[@alexds8452]

The best method is to combine them all. 1. Vocabulary is the backbone of language, 2. Visual learning works faster, 3. Repetition is essential, 4. Input quality (via meaningful Reading & Listening) set the socio-linguistic bar 5. Social Interactions provide 'natural' context, 6. Pharses facilitate fluency 7. Intensively focused learning has been shown to foster improvement 8. Ongoing maintenance is essential to limit language loss

[@rosavicwilliamson478]

TV

[@rosavicwilliamson478]

TV as

[@antigen4]

the 'timekeepers' are those who learn a language in school without actual immersion. I was a 'timekeeper' for a LONG time - did several years of french but couldn't really figure out how to speak it because i wasnt' really expose to real french - not in a 'working' environment anyway- but then on a lark i moved to germany and was forced to learn german 'on the street' - this completely 'upped' my game a LOT. Not only did i learn functional german within a year or so - but actually i figured out how to 'do' french afterward ... you really have to reach out and thrust yourself in a functional linguistic environment IMO ...! ok good luck

[@highstandards6226]

Funnily enough, so was I. 7 years of french and I still can't carry a simple conversation without a great deal of effort and concentration! Yet my accent fools most into believing I'm a native speaker, which gets me in WAY over my head, TOO OFTEN!!😳🤦‍♀️

[@katarzynanowak9017]

I think learning a language in school most of the time doesn't achieve great results. I did French for 5 years and Irish for 10 and I am still at only beginner level. The difference is that in school you have like 8 different subjects with homework from each so time and brain energy is scarce. I was never introduced to things like Duolingo or encouraged to use resources other than my books. Now I am doing my masters so only have 2 subjects at a time and much less homework. I am learning German for the past few months because I want to get a job in Germany when i graduate (bf is German). Now I have huge motivation and I already know more German than the other 2 languages. Being fluent in Polish helps also because some words are similar.

[@eonsinz7995]

спасибо этой доброй милой девушке за столь познавательную открытую, чудесную лекцию. Thank you very much to this girl for this wonderful, beautiful, open lecture. From Russia with LOVE!

[@ericnolle5195]

Her point about taking a class and expecting to learn is so true. I've made that mistake.

[@ninanesic3757]

I am a piano teacher and found many of Lydia's points quite applicable in teaching/learning a musical instrument. Thank you for providing a different perspective.

[@polyglot8]

If there were a tenth circle of Hell in Dante's "Inferno", it might include watching reruns of "Friends" in six languages.

[@wadepatton2433]

Ha!

[@ExShaker]

Jajajajaja

[@briribalta3698]

😂😂😂 I'm laughing in 3 languages.

[@WhyYoutubeWhy]

ROFL nice one! Seriously, i barely could bare watching it once...

[@daytonamesss]

I've watched friends 9 times in english (and I didn't even know english, that's how I learned it), and now I'm planning to watch it in german. all people have different tastes, can you guys believe it? for me 10th circle of hell is "game of thrones"

[@VRWarehouse]

Damn.... she nailed it. All the teachers, lecturers and students should watch this. Here's to trying again in 2018. Muy Bien, Tres Bon.

[@AZZapper1]

As a polyglot, I can tell you. Need is a motivator. Just like necessity is the mother of invention. The languages I speak (Spanish, English, German, French, Italian) I learned because I needed it. When you need it, you are not afraid to speak nor you set your self a time to have reached a certain milestone. The news, the newspaper and going to the local community to "speak with them". The best feed back is when you ask for cake and coffee and you get cake and coffee in any language. Languages are not learned with books nor in a grammar classroom.

[@CouchPolyglot]

Thanks a lot for this 😍😍😍. I speak seven languages and the points I agree most are: polyglots have fun while learning, polyglots are not afraid to make mistakes and polyglots spend a lot of time listening and speaking. So have fun, gets lots of input and do not be afraid of making mistakes 😄

[@solidus784]

Beautiful accent and a beautiful mind I could listen to her speak all day.

[@leandroduarte9323]

Congrats Lydia for sharing this excellent video about learning new foreign languages with us. I'm watching this video in 2025 and it continues very good. I'm a Braziliam who dreams of speaking English fluently and more confidently.

[@tromboneJTS]

Her accent becomes more and more prominent during the lecture. Go "all in" and try to speak more like a native is one of my primary goals.

[@Tanerion]

I actually find that listening to people speaking with accents is a good way to learn a language though. For example; if you listen to a native Japanese speaker and you aren't very familiar with the language it can be incredibly difficult to decipher what they're saying and figure out where a word ends and another one begins. If you speak English and hear native English speaker speak Japanese with an accent it's suddenly a lot easier to relate to because they'll typically speak slower and clearer and pronounce words in a way you're more used to. Which is not to say that you shouldn't try to sound like a native but learn the language first. I don't mind accents myself though.

[@kangaroo9816]

If you want to sound like a native, that's great! Definitely a valid goal. But for me, personally, it's primarily about understanding and being (easily) understood; everything else I consider expendable, unless you're a spy or something and need to blend in lest you end up killed. :p

[@jxm1677]

Let's face it, you are either smart or you are not. This guy she is talking about learning a language in one day is obviously some sort of genius. IQ and or hidden talent are what these people have in common. I am envious of people with this ability. What a gift.

[@ethanoyamawang]

Totally agreed! The foundation of a language pyramid should be listening and speaking. Writing/Reading system takes each civilization thousand of years.

[@williambudd2850]

Its very important to define what “ learning a language. “ means to you. There is a whole range of capabilities that can be acquired, from just learning a few tourist phrases to being able to fully function in the language as if you are a native speaker.

[@sciarrinofan]

Amazing presentation which just about summarises and reinforces everything I've come to learn about language learning. I just managed to obtain my DELF B2 in French following Steve Kaufmann's method and I'm looking forward to advancing in Italian. My only regret is not watching this video earlier. Thank you.

[@adamnugroho7496]

Hi @Skylar Lim..Did you teach yourself to obtain DELF B2 or you took a "traditional" course?

[@sciarrinofan]

@@adamnugroho7496 hey! I basically did 8 months of self study mostly reading and watching authentic French content to absorb the language then I took private lessons for about 4-5 months which is when I started to speak more and solidify my grammar and pronunciation!

[@letsgomario]

I changed my review from a negative to a positive one. The first time I heard this talk I was impressed but not inspired. I am a native Spanish speaker and I am very fluent in English and have tried to learn French and/or Italian for so long. I am finally motivated to do it. I just turned 60 and it is never too late. I want a 3rd and 4th language to visit Europe and have a blast.

[@PierreMiniggio]

If you want to visit Europe, in northen Europe you can get by only using english (as long as you respectfully ask people if they speak english before starting a conversation). Northern europeans in general speak really good english. For the southern parts of Europe (and I include France) you'll find a lot of people who speak english in the most touristy cities, but if you step out of that then you'll find a lot less english speakers. Bon courage pour le français en tout cas :P

[@ahmedguid]

A gorgeous lady giving an outstanding presentation. Thanks a lot lady !

[@retinamaharjan6127]

This is so true!! Studied in an English medium school, had to compulsorily speak English inside school premises, yet couldn't speak fluent English my whole school life. However, now, many many series and movies later, I've improved so much in pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary!

[@istvanzoltanmelegh4345]

The best presentation I've ever seen

[@i4004]

do you really think she can teach anyone any lang. as she seems to think?

[@frenchimp]

She doesn't teach.

[@saltycrotchwhiff3946]

She is just a show off

[@VRWarehouse]

he's not wrong

[@SleepyCity0001]

if I knew a ton of languages I'd be a show off too

[@viktor133100]

"learning each language in a different way" is something i hadn't considered yet

[@erikaeriksson9840]

I think that the main problem with learning a language in school is that the teachers and the other students are all constantly telling you what you do wrong. You use the wrong word, the wrong grammar and get laughed at for getting it wrong. After learning English in school for years and years I still did not speak it. I had no confidence. After moving to Ireland all by myself I spoke English in three weeks... By far the easiest metod for me. 😊

[@markokuk327]

Jestem z PNG północ Australia, teraz uczę się języka polskiego w Polsce. Polecam twoja prezentacja, wspaniale!

[@JFBradfields-Axed-n-Answered]

Yes. Those of you who have hit on this already, correct. Any form of education -- langauge learning or mathematics or economics -- is only learned to mastery by an individual who personally pursues it. Education in anything is not an inoculation that someone shoots into your arm after you pay them a fee. You can't go to a "teacher" and say, "Educate me to proficiency." You must go get it. You must ply yourself at it. Or ... it never comes. Learning is not something you receive, it's something you go SEIZE.

[@grtxgrtx]

My parents pounded a few things into my head!

[@HENRIPOL4]

I am proud of me to understand about 80 % of your very pretty speech in English. Thanks very much!

[@abegailamandoron3815]

I just started learning Spanish French,English and soon Polish wish to learn it well.Very encouraging video and now I am motivated to do so.

[@augustosantos6003]

I speak Portuguese(my native language), Spanish, English, a little bit of Italian(much more I understand than I speak), and I try to learn Arabic language now. At moment, It's my biggest challenge. :D

[@beatrizpalacios5776]

Great speech.as good as usual. Thanks for your Time AND advices. Greetings from Venezuela South America.

[@wordwords762]

Public speaking at its best ... superb presentation

[@areruben10]

Salam/ Hallo! Mistakes are proof that we are working. Great job!!! Warm regards from Mexico

[@dreanki]

How i learn (starting) is very young children's cartoons and children's books. Words that stick out i look up in a dictionary. I build my vocabulary this way, learning as a native child would. This is really similar to how i learned my native language.

[@keegster7167]

The problem with that method is that you might spend too long on easy material, tho, and it can be very boring, because what interests a child is not what interests an adult.

[@AlecBrady]

King Keegster That's true, but you should progress as fast as you can - I've done this, moving on to older children's books and teenage books. But you need other material, too, like newspapers and television.

[@dreanki]

It's not isolated to just that, children's books are just a starting point. I watch children's tv, listen to the radio, talk to people in the bar, watch other tv shows that look interesting. I just said i felt it was a good starting place. It's helpful to get examples of proper grammar early.

[@meusisto]

Excuse me, does that take you much time?

[@dreanki]

I didn't feel that it took much time, while i was in the native country i was able to learn rapidly and had no problem communicating with people. I got to 6 year old speaking level in about 4 weeks. I'm actually going back there next week for 3 months. I'm hoping to get some level of fluency this time.

[@tayrinecoelho2242]

Everyone in the world should talk as clearly as Lýdia, because I can understand basically everything that she say, with a few months of learning, it makes me feel so good *_*

[@fernandoleon2321]

Great presentation. Thank you for your inspiration. From Chile.

[@AlinePascholati]

Amazing talk! I am a polyglot from Brazil and I do many of that things you said but never noticed it! I will definitely share some of these insights with my French and English students.

[@adrianmoisa2281]

I have learned english by gaming a lot on the home PC around 5th grade. Up to that point I knew almost no English despite continuous effort from teachers and relatives. I simply despised school methods. Zero attention span... What seemed like a massive problem (gaming) later saved my carrer. I finished school with subpar grades and severe knowledge gaps. My math and my French are trainwrecks. However I was always curious about stuff. Slowly this habbit of consuming desirable content accreted in my solid programming skills that I posses today. Almost all knowledge that makes me successful today was gathered outside of school environment. I am deeply saddened to have discovered that school made me hate learning and only after finishing school I finally found the right environment to study hard and have a good time while at it. Seems ridiculous what I am saying but it fits so well with all the points that have been expressed in this video. I fully endorse the methods described. Currently I am learning German at a rapid pace after stalling for two years with classical methods. The secret was watching the entire Star Trek TNG series on Netflix with german dubbing and english subtitles. First 2 seasons were totally white noise at first glance. By the forth season some words started making sense. At the end of it I could understand 70% of the dialogue. Currently I am at 90% level of comprehension without subtitles. Already able to understand native conversations in the office and formulate replies. All in just 4 months. Curently I am planning to go for French and Italian, which is quite convenient while being in Switzerland. By the way, I have zero grammar knowledge. So... immersion really works! Find whatever feels fun, and expose yourself to that activity daily. Results will happen fast! Und jetzt, muss ich zu den deutschen KZbin kanälen gehen! Viel spass!

[@pythonatearubyonrails3541]

Che buono! Stai imparando l’idioma con il modo più efficace! Good luck!

[@robertoenrique3162]

Contento estoy de sentir la presencia de este circulo de amantes de la diversidad linguistica . Saludos a todos presrntes y no presentes

[@wozitoyadude138]

How many languages requirements to be a polyglot. I speak Cantonese and mandarin Chinese, English, Spanish, Japanese and French. I know most of the polyglots learned the languages at their early age. But, I am old at age of 70. Can I still learn and mastery of these five languages in a year or two ! Please, wish me good luck and let me join the polyglots society.

[@beatricei.gardiner13]

Wozitoya Dude it is so wonderful and encouraging to me that you are seventy years young and still want to improve the languages you speak and I believe you will improve. All the best to you.

[@beatricemukiri2415]

Wozitoya Dude, I'm a 17 yrs old Kenyan girl and wish to tell you that we have a similar goal. So far I'm conversant with 4 languages but still thirsty for more e.g. this language I'm typing with, I learnt it. It is not my mother tongue. Success!!!!!!!👍

[@neuropakho]

My rule of thumb: polyglots are those who speak 4 or more languages.

[@patrickrusso8881]

I applaud you! I am several years older than you and have had a challenge in learning only Spanish well (I am a native English speaker). The older you get the worse your short term memory becomes. So eventually you will forget as much as you learn. At that point you will be at a Mexican standoff thereby going one step forward and one step back. Good luck!

[@erturtemirbaev5207]

all the best

[@petergrman3205]

Pani učitelka je pekná a vzdelaná ! All best in future for Her ! And all students there ! Und fűr alle polygots !

[@rajbahdoorbaba]

Mellifluous voice, marvelous speech modulation and wonderful presentation. I would love to watch all of Lydia's videos.

[@wadepatton2433]

IN all her languages no?

[@languagewitch6442]

I am a native English speaker and a teacher who works in bilingual teaching environments. Honestly, she needs to work on her English enunciation. A lot of her syllables are garbled. It's a common problem with many polyglots who follow the "one language at a time" approach. They learn a language up to a point where they are confident in it and then don't maintain it very well, even if they use it all the time.

[@bertsanders7517]

@@languagewitch6442 A pretty harsh assessment! Compared with a lot of native English speakers who have gabbled through presentations at conferences I've attended she speaks English very clearly, with hardly any syllables that could be called 'garbled'. I imagine you would be very happy if you could give such a clearly enunciated talk in a language which is not your mother tongue.

[@김보경-i2k]

@language witch she speaks English fine. Better then a lot of native English speakers I know. She just has an accent, and accents and dialects in different languages are valid. Everyone can understand her, and that’s what’s important.

[@김보경-i2k]

You act like you are the god of English, you’re English isn’t perfect either, no one’s is. “Garbled”. 😂 lol wtf she’s speaking English fluently without grammar mistakes. You’re critiquing accent, which isn’t a valid critique when it comes to LANGUAGE. Stfuuuuuuuuuu 🥰

[@smartzbablu9156]

Lydia is very nice at explaining how to learn any language at one time

[@piedadlorenserrano196]

I like so much her tips to learn a language, I have been learning English language every day, I practice my listening, speaking, reading and wreating skills every day, also I listen to audio with video in English language and repeat over and over in order to improve my listening and speaking skills the above it's very important for improving our pronunciation.

[@OlekW]

Piedad Loren Serrano American or British pronunciation?

[@piedadlorenserrano196]

Olek Walczy POMOC DLA OLKA, I have bee learning American English however, I have learning some words in Brithis English, I think that if a person Learning American English can understand Brithis English, I know that there are some difference between American and Brithis English asociated with the pronunciation and some words written. However a person who have learnd American English can unserstand the UK English. :) Regards.

[@sandy-un8qy]

I noticed that you are commented on so many lydia machova video.✌ I'm learning English by myself. Can you give me some tips on sources/apps to improve my Speaking, Writing, Reading and Listening

[@joaovictormiranda7146]

I'm from Brazil and i've tried to learn english for some months. This was one of the best lectures that i have seen. Thank you so much!!!

[@legitprowrestling6653]

João Victor Miranda boa sorte

[@eduardmitioglo4288]

I like you're clear speech, nice job 👍👍👍

[@gregoryconnor9333]

When you told me I was a polygot you shot me into language hyperspace, everything came together and I realised I was not a dysfunctional learner but a polygot. Now those books those films all just fell into a neat pile for me to learn from. Thankyou thankyou. And yes speaking is the best way to learn no matter what.

[@brunileshi]

The 10 tips are listed at 30m38s

[@carloseduardonaranjosuarez5917]

Thank you very much Lydia

[@Mijigua193]

About the ways of learning foreign languages, no.5: polyglots learn one language at a time, with me things were different. I was born in Brazil so my native language is Portuguese. When I was 15 I moved to Japan and started to learn Japanese from ZERO. I learned Japanese, The Ryukyu dialect and English at the same time. After I learned other languages such as Spanish and Chinese.

[@BeGioBijoux]

Awesome talk! So proud to see a Brazilian representing is so well ❤️🇧🇷

[@cupakm]

I'd say the same principles apply to learning in general. Not only languages. Playing an instrument, for example, too. Or just anything that requires some skill(s).

[@esl_fluency-mike]

Marek Cupák By the way, learning a language is very similar to learning playing a musical instrument, there are many common points.

[@LiborSupcik]

I was learning piano and guitar both without any structured focus at the same time ... which she says the polyglots do not do

[@tsenavi]

well some people may learn 2 languages at once but it'll definitely slow down your progress

[@PizzaManager101]

Libor Supcik kaufman and lucia do, but the others at the conference don’t

[@pythonatearubyonrails3541]

Io parlo italiano e spagnolo Yo hablo italiano y español I learned Italian and Spanish at the same time, Italian took me a year only and I can converse. It just depends on your method and preferences

[@plk98]

Большое спасибо. Вы изменили мою жизнь!

[@alexeysilver3139]

what an accurate accent, I am enjoying listening to it :)

[@vliegendehollander]

Алексей Сильверов. Her pronunciation is accurate, but the accent isn’t perfect.

[@partaker76]

I would be grateful if this young lady showed her Spanish speaking skills as i am passionate spanish learner.

[@katiepetersen4929]

Thank you. This was very motivating. I have been learning Spanish at home and have just now started going to an academy to help to have someone to practice with. I have learned a lot but putting 1 - 1 1/2 hours aside to practice everyday I think will lead me to my breakthrough. I do it with my fitness program and so I will apply the same dedication to my language learning.

[@rachidlasfar9653]

Great rey try to get a Spanish speaker wants to learn English Language exchange method helped me a lot

[@Lisbonized]

Great talk. I’ve always found that trying to translate what you see and hear from your own language into your target language helps. Whether it’s a song or an advertisement etc.. This helps you to prepare to speak that language. The important thing is to understand and be understood. If a toddler wants a biscuit, he will generally say “biscuit” and not “Excuse me mother but I would like to eat a biscuit”. Both statements mean the toddler wants a biscuit.

[@jaimecarrillo4755]

In my experience and in my personal opinion, I believe that in order to become highly fluent in a different language, first you must have thorough and complete knowledge of at least one language . A kid cannot keep jumping languages if she or he still has undeveloped knowledge of his first , parent's native language.

[@Maria-jt7hu]

Everyone has enough mastery of his own native language

[@nana-ld4cr]

​@@Maria-jt7hu you would be surprised, but where I'm from, a lot of people make mistakes when writing or speaking our own language haha

[@magorzatamargaret294]

@@Maria-jt7hu - no, not children who can't speak well yet. And many of people of modern generation who don't read the books they are very poor at their own language....what a pity.

[@bigkhansen2150]

OK, your point 3 really made me drop my jaw. I am a Dane married to a Polish girl. When people ask me how I learned speaking Polish (and assume that my wife helped me) I tell them she only got me started. The rest I did by myself. People think that I am this otherworldly super language talent, but I agree that the approach makes all the difference. Cheers.

[@JudgeHill]

great speech: clever and insightful

[@kathleenmontgomery2470]

I watched this video 5 months into the pandemic and was inspired to learn my first 2nd language. Thanks for the inspiration!

[@EspinmcBlogspotMN]

Traditional methods combine meanings=translation with text. Nontraditional methods turn the meanings itself into sound-voice. The former is just a translation, but the latter is highly versatile. Great video. Thank you Lýdia.

[@LiamPorterFilms]

NeuralNetworks but where does the meaning first get learned, if not through translation?

[@EspinmcBlogspotMN]

In some way, we also could learn the meaning through translation. But meanings is the accumulation of our experiences, and usually the translation skips the process of it. In my opinion, if we try not to skip the process of accumulation as much as possible, the meaning can be learned from the composition of the experiences.

[@LiamPorterFilms]

NeuralNetworks that’s a beautiful phrase! I must say I’m thinking more of the first stages of learning, when you don’t have any experience and wouldn’t be able to cope with it if you could get it. At an advanced level, you can learn meanings from contexts or rephrasing easily, it’s undeniably a better way to gain vocabulary than dictionary work. However I’m dead against the notion of “learning like a child” since I’ve never met anyone good at a language, learned as an adult, who HADn’t learned their first 5000 words through honest toil, learning the translation of each word.

[@gabrielfigueiredo8757]

a quick translation , in my opinion, is the best aproach when you see the word for the first time

[@AlecBrady]

Retinend When I was learning German in school, nearly fifty years ago, or teacher had us write our noun lists in a notebook alongside a picture of the thing. So, yes, he'd tell us what (say) "Wagen" means in translation, but we would then write the word in our notebook and draw a picture of a truck next to it. His intention was that we would connect the German word directly to the thing, rather than going via an English word. So, there's nothing wrong with getting the meaning from a translation the first time, but you shouldn't make that the basis of your practice.

[@fullyfledged1389]

What a lovely vocie.

[@johndillon5290]

I'm a time keeper, been trying to learn Italian for years but just cant retain the information. I've been working in Holland for some time and have been inspired by the ease which the Dutch can jump from one language to another with confidence. I keep looking for a formula to accelerate my learning. I will look into some of the suggestions on this video. Thanks for posting.

[@overlandkltolondon]

How did it go John? What formula did you end up with?

[@ComprehensibleRussian]

Also: study yourself before studying. Knowing yourself, how you work boosts your progress in learning enormously: if you are slow or fast, if you like to study alone or interacting with others, if you are more efficient or excited with music on or without, when you are the most productive, how often you need breaks, etc. When you know how you work you don't wander around, doing things that you don't enjoy or that do not work for you for some reason. I love the point about a very important soft skill that was mentioned in the video: the ability to simplify. I would add: try saying what you CAN say instead of trying to say what you WANT to say. Good luck with languages, everyone!

[@chiregio58]

A very very,,,, MOTIVATING video !!! Thumbs up from Mexico,,, ;)

[@frankb1]

Good presentation Lydia!

[@ramapatitiwari3927]

Very practical and applicable.. Thank you Lydia.

[@amitthakur6905]

I just love the way you talk. You may not know but your voice is really soothing.

[@Tommygrl1327]

I love this! Also, I have recently returned to learning a language and it's true -- you have to learn a language. You can't be taught, and you just have to believe that you can do it!

[@Naturmuslima]

Thanks so much. This Polyglot idea changed my life so much. Language is simply a key to soooo many things. It pushed me to an extend İ couldnt dream of before

[@VMRVid]

“Like some of you, I don’t dabble in a bunch of languages.” Loll the shade

[@languagewitch6442]

That smugness gets pretty tedious. First, I loath to be around people who mistake curiosity for a lack of discipline. Second, dabbling helps relieve boredom and can fend off burn-out. When I stayed hyperfocused on one or two languages, I always got burnt out. I would get sick of studying for months, sometimes years, I was stuck at B2 level in those languages and couldn't understand why I couldn't improve, and it was costing me valuable time I cannot get back now. Today I study multiple languages and dabble in others and I don't get burnt out. It's enabled me to improve my advanced languages beyond what I could before and get past basic level in others simply because I'm not getting burnt out and not going for long stretches without studying or maintaining my languages. My progress is slower in each languages but so what? I doing it because I love learning languages, not to impress people like those at these conferences.

[@AmaliaAlbinaru]

@@languagewitch6442 The problem isn't dabbling in languages if that's what makes you happy, the problem is the sheer amount of people who claim they speak 8 languages or something and only know some basic phrases in the language they claim to be fluent in. I see no problem in learning whichever way works best for you, I do find people who claim to speak a bunch of languages but can usually speak 1 or 2 fluently and a tiny bit of the other ones tedious and beyond pretentious. There are plenty of examples of this on youtube, I can see a video of a woman I've seen like this who claims she speaks 12 languages in my recommended videos literally right now. It's obvious to the native speakers of those languages that she doesn't actually speak most of them. Nothing wrong with not being fluent yet or taking a while to learn a language, but the fact that some people are so disingenuous in bragging about speaking languages they obviously don't speak is absurd. I once met a girl who claimed she could speak French and German and it turned out she could only understand some basic medical terminology because she worked at a hospital, and she couldn't even come up with a complete sentence or two. Why lie? To seem ~worldly or some such nonsense? This isn't tedious? I very much doubt the woman in this video learned languages so she could impress people at conferences, especially since she already speaks a couple of languages simply because she comes from another part of the world and her first language is obviously not English. Especially since she helps people in her country to learn English and other languages, which they do so can get jobs in the west. I'm familiar with these programs. Yeah, I'm sure she does all of this and helps people just so she can brag about knowing multiple languages at conferences. You think she doesn't do it because she loves learning languages? There's no need to get so defensive, especially when the "shade" of the original comment wasn't really directed at you to begin with. But since we're being honest, Anglo or western people who want to base their whole identity on knowing languages because they think that makes them seem more interesting and go around calling themselves "language witches" seem oddly smug to me too. I simply LOATH to be around people who try to base their identity on the fact that they like learning languages, I also loath to be around western people who treat languages from Other regions of the world as obscure/rare gems to collect and brag about knowing, and these people are increasingly common.

[@bertsanders7517]

@@AmaliaAlbinaru A lot of envy and frustration in these comments! 'Just so she can brag about knowing multiple languages?' I don't think so - it's also her profession (interpreter etc.) Try not to be so resentful just because someone is successful in acquiring languages seemingly easily.

[@AmaliaAlbinaru]

@@bertsanders7517 Your reading comprehension seems to be a bit off, try directing your comment to the person directly above me, they seem bitter because some people genuinely learn languages instead of just dabbling? They're the one who called the woman in the video "smug", not me. I didn't say the woman in this video learns languages just to brag about it, I said the exact opposite. I was raised in a multilingual family of immigrants so I have no reason to be resentful about people speaking many languages and being able to learn other languages fairly easily as a result, because that describes my whole family. It describes a lot of people who speak multiple languages as a result of their experiences (like the woman in the video) and not just treating languages as something to collect. As I said, the issue is not actually learning languages, it's "dabbling" and not doing much else, being able to say a couple of basic phrases and then claiming you're fluent in all those languages. Being able to say "hi my name is" and "how are you" in a language does not mean you speak that language. When I only know the very basics of a language, I don't claim to speak it. This is out of basic respect and common sense. There's no shame in being a beginner, these people can just say that: "I speak this language at a beginner's level". What's so hard about that? What I take issue with is people I've come across who just seem to want to "acquire" pieces of languages so that they can collect tiny bits of other languages and cultures they find "exotic", as if they're collecting pretty rocks. It's embarrassing and it can even be disrespectful. I believe the term for that is "culture vultures". Plenty of people all around the world find this trend obnoxious. So in case you need it spelled out even more clearly for you, here is the point: people can dabble all they want but if you can't actually speak a language, don't claim you do. Simple. I know plenty of people who can actually speak the languages they say they speak, so people learning languages easily is not something I have an issue with. Which is what I said above, and is what the original commenter (Victoria) is also implying with her quote. Therefore I agree with Victoria and I agree with the woman in the video who said "I don't dabble in a bunch of languages" to begin with! Try reading what the other person is saying before giving out life advice.

[@oruemulgrew9187]

@@languagewitch6442 She didn't say anything about lack of discipline, you read way too much into that. i think she was just stating a fact. Smugness?

[@mariaderidder-kenyeres8406]

Dear Lydia! What an inspiring and interesting lecture! I enjoyed every minute of it. Even if it was registered a couple of years ago the insights presented by you remain basically relevent, I adore learning languages as well. At this moment of development of my language skills I speak fluently Hungarian, Dutch, English, -French, Italian, Spanish and I have been studying for a while German, Greek and Latin. I expect to be fluent in them in a couple of months. I am also repeating these days Russian, a language which I was as a child obliged to learn at school... It is such a wonderful feeling to be able to communicate in different languages!

[@faithbwire9164]

When you réalisé she's your age mate that A-ha moment kicks in... Don't you just love her.. She speaks graciously and with authority... This is what I call goals🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 and she learnt Swahili

[@ThandoAfro]

Amazing. Kazi safi sana

[@oahdsfoahfdaaeguho]

Your notion of learning languages was superb. Since I want to be a polyglot, your lecture was perfect for me.

[@jeff3741]

She has an amazing ability to concentrate. Excellent presentation. (How many ways can you translate "Obtrusive photographers?")

[@raccoon6072]

J Babb or "can you give me your flashlight for moment? ", in Slovakian

[@AndyQuintana1]

:D I think the photographer couldn't understand English and was bored to death!

[@tonyfletcher150]

Jeff most unprofessional photographer I’ve ever seen.

[@ralphy3393]

I’m currently learning Hebrew and I stumbled across this video. I’m going to try all of these learning methods! Thanks Lydia! Great stuff!