The Fastest Way to Learn 2 Languages

[@mattvsjapan]

*THE STORY BEHIND THIS VIDEO* This is the first video edited by MIA’s new official video editor! As some of you may remember, a few weeks ago we asked those interested in editing videos for the channel to submit applications. We asked the most impressive applicants to test-edit a video for us, and our favorite test-edit ended up becoming this video! The original footage we provided for the test-edit comes from one of my bi-weekly Patreon-exclusive Q&A videos ( www.patreon.com/posts/36401117 ). We wanted to challenge the applicants as much as possible in order to clearly gauge their skill level and sensibilities. We figured one of my stream-of-consciousness Q&A rambles would be perfect for this purpose! Hope you guys like it.

[@MidosujiSen]

Whoever edited it did a great job

[@LittleMissMadeline]

I like it

[@erco_64]

great editing job considering it was taken from a Q&A video, looks like It's gonna be way easier for you to make new videos now :)

[@daysandwords]

I actually came to the comments to ask if it was the new editor because of the new graphics and everything. Great job to the editor.

[@PeterMazur]

I can see why this video won over my submission, honestly the thought and creativity behind it was inspiring. I hope one day my both my language and editing abilities reach that of which this video articulates!

[@daysandwords]

Man, I am starting to believe that Matt's focus, meditation and Japanese is at such a high level that he can send thoughts to other human beings without them knowing, because my task for today (it's morning here) is editing a video that I filmed 3 days ago explaining why I have put French aside to just focus on Swedish, and the reason is basically everything present in this video.

[@chilael6892]

Something similar happened to me, I had literally the same idea for immersion that was: creating a youtube channel to watch videos in the target language then boom, Matt makes a video with the same idea. Like, I know other have had/will have the same idea but the timing is just so funny and surprising.

[@jasonfredensborg7646]

Awesome Lamont, glad you picked Swedish...very close to my L2 Danish. Can't wait for your new video, keep up the great work man!

[@jahayrac8636]

This exactly the reason why I stopped studying Korean last summer. I really had to think about what I wanted out of the language so I needed to adjust my focus. What I wanted out of Korean would take more time than I could spare. With that in mind and learning so much on language acquisition I felt my time would be better spent getting a grasp of Japanese before going after another. (Plus I felt like I was cheating! 🤣). Btw, I studied Swedish way back when and I remember it being a fun language to learn. I look forward to your videos and updates on resources. I have a Swedish friend whose thoroughly insulted that I chose Japanese over Swedish lol I might have to study it before I tackle Korean, we'll see 😁

[@haraldfuruholmen4654]

Well here's where it gets weird, cause I just started watching your videos, then I got into thinking about learning two languages at the same time, and now this video comes up... det er jævlig random haha

[@coconutpineapple2489]

Japanese and Korean are similar. You will be confusing. I tried Italian and Spanish before. I was confused.

[@MigakuOfficial]

Hype for more frequent uploads now that we have an official editor!

[@buradoplays]

English isn't my native language and I don't have a lot of opportunities to use it as I live in Russia. My English is very far from perfect but it doesn't stop me from trying to learn Japanese using English. I feel like my English is also improving.

[@dragonleasenuts]

Privet, brat, same here. I started learning Japanese using English as basis, cause all the good stuff is in English, like Anki decks, online dictionaries; heck, even Discord-channels and stuff.

[@essennagerry]

Fist bump my digital native Slav brothers. I'm a Bulgarian living a double life. Online everything is in English, even chatting with my best friend with whom I speak German irl is in English. Offline it's Bulgarian and German, as I live in Austri. Idk if natives can tell if we're natives over the internet. I wouldn't have been able to tell you guys aren't.

[@arletvargas634]

In my case, I'm using English to learn Chinese haha

[@caviarchiang9162]

Same here. Studying Japanese from textbooks written in English, consuming Japanese and English content at the same time. Feeling good!

[@woah5333]

same here. I just kind of need to find learning resources through english. It's not even because I want to learn both at once

[@wolfemooney7188]

Never clicked so fast. I’ve had this question for a while, too.

[@jurassicmurricorn7139]

Same

[@mcmodmod5533]

I am loving the frequent uploads recently!

[@maiasolaris3255]

I am learning French and Japanese, they are both so different that they do not interfere with each other and I am progressing very fast, in fact switching to another language gives me a break and fun . But I can't imagine studying French at the same time as German or another European language, it would burn my brain *-*

[@amandar3467]

Wow do you have an update? I kind of think everything he says in this video makes sense but I want to believe it’s possible 😂 Currently I’m trying to do Korean and German since I’m currently in Seoul and going to Austria next month, and want to get a little better in both. Maybe in this circumstance I could try to do both (maybe alternate days) but when I get back to the states, I might try to do one of the other for longer intervals so I’m engaging with just one for longer stretches.

[@clinel]

@@amandar3467 I‘m doing Korean and German as well but I am a little more advanced in German than Korean (I still classify myself beginner in both) but I think it’s way more possible than what these youtubers say especially if you work harder towards your goal

[@Netmamuh]

I really like the way your new editor goes for a minimalist approach. Also, I don't recall you using graphs in your videos. It feels more engaging to see things like that.

[@HeffeFrank]

3:42 I got in to language learning because I got bored of my native language 😂

[@rafa-ep1ps]

Whats your native language and which one are you learning?

[@MatheusHenrique-li7cv]

@@rafa-ep1ps I feel like he's an english speaker but, i'm not sure

[@ARCANODESINE]

@@rafa-ep1ps we will never know

[@biophr34k]

I've been using MIA to learn Finnish for the last 2 months and the results are blowing my mind. Let me give you an idea: I've been to Finland twice, and while I was there I took a basic Finnish course at the local uni where I was studying, bought textbooks and all that. After about 1.5 year of traditional studying (both in Finland and in my home country) I was basically stuck at a complete beginner's level. After 2 months doing MIA, with around 1000 sentences in my Anki deck, things are finally starting to click and I can now more or less follow Let's Play KZbin videos. It's insane, especially if you consider that Finnish is deemed to be one of those impossible to learn languages. Mind you, I'm still a beginner and there's still A LOT that I don't understand, but I do feel that I've made more progress in 2 months of MIA than in 1.5 years doing the traditional stuff. Kudos to you Matt, I think you're really onto something here! And thanks!

[@mikajapanesemia346]

Tsemppiä suomen opiskeluun! :) Just out of curiosity, what are you using for resources?

[@biophr34k]

@@mikajapanesemia346 Kiitti Mika! So here's my current setup: - Textbooks: Suomen Mestari 1-3 (I'm using those to copypaste example grammar sentences) and Harjoitus Tekee Mestarin (more example sentences). - Websites: Uusi Kielemme (super recommended for grammar sentences), Wikisanakirja (bilingual dictionary) and Kielitoimiston sanakirja (monolingual dictionary) - Input: 1) I try to read the news on YLE and Helsingin Sanomat every day. 2) I also have some Donald Duck comics in Finnish which (thank god) are getting easier and easier to read. 3) A Grimm Brothers' fairy tales book "Grimmin Satuaarteita". 4) Sorjonen on Netflix, which is super useful for getting used to the particularities of the Lappeenranta dialect. 5) Random let's players on KZbin and finally 6) some engineering textbooks that are actually useful for my studies. Cheers!

[@mikajapanesemia346]

@@biophr34k ok sounds great! I have watched very little Finnish media for a long time but if you want Finnish TV/vod then maybe check out YLE Areena (noncommercial, tax funded), ruutu dot fi and katsomo dot fi (these are commercial and have ads). I'm pretty sure they are region locked but hopefully a VPN can get around that (have not tried that myself). For reading, depending on your level, there's also "uutiset selkosuomeksi" (news in simple Finnish) and maybe selko dot fi for various topics in simple language. Hopefully that can give you a few ideas!

[@jame254]

same boat in Japanese got nowhere with traditional studying in 3 years of learning the language. In about 3 months my sentence and grammar structure is improving. to where my tutor, she is shocked. that i could make that leap of improvements. now she wants to use it for her Spanish and English. so I recommend this way of learning languages.

[@k.5425]

The MIA website is shut down. What EXACTLY are the steps/processes for MIA.

[@raulcurcuma7830]

MIA is about to blow up with this excellent editing!

[@michaelsmith2833]

And it did!

[@gregpotter2278]

I'm currently studying Czech and Russian simultaneously. I have a background with Russian, as I was a Russian linguist in the USAF many years ago. I took a trip to the Czech Republic in late Feb/early March, right before the corona virus mess hit and it really showed me that there is a need for English teachers there for Czech and Russian speakers (LOTS of Russian people live in the Czech Republic). As soon as the borders reopen, I'm attending school in Prague to get my TEFL certification, so that I can become an English teacher and live there. So I can say its definitely a driving motivation to study two languages at once, but I love languages (aside from English, I also speak Spanish and a little German, as well as Czech and Russian). One day, I want to tackle Arabic, Urdu, Japanese, and Chinese...but first things first...Matt, you are an inspiration for me and many of your fans too!!

[@RR2905]

I just decided to put Japanese on standby for now, because I decided to focus on French, and what you have told us is reassuring my decision, thanks a lot. Also, for some reason, I also noticed that when I retake a language, I improve a lot more than when I don't rest for a bit, so that keeps me motivated for when I retake Japanese :)

[@anonymouslakernerd7214]

This assumes you can learn a language once and for all. You never “know” a language entirely. (Hell, I’m a middle-aged native speaker of English and I’m still learning!) If you wait until you’re done learning one language you will never move on to another.

[@jvu2ilj26]

As much as I admire people who learn multiple languages at the same time, I could never do it myself. All these polyglots who speak like 20 different languages, are only really fluent in maybe five or six. Why would you half-ass a whole bunch of languages when you could learn one and reach perfection (almost). Maybe I'm just that type of person, I dunno...

[@keith6293]

Two cases (two reasons). You have the types that just really want to engage with natives asap and enjoy exchanging words with many different cultures. And you have the academic nerd who just enjoys deep diving and comparing different languages (cultures through language specificities is more like it i would say). And there is different levels of fluency (native levels). The native that grew up where the native language is actually spoken, the one that grew abroad but spoke it at home and the one that grew up abroad but had to use it in school as well because it's a special school for these kind of kids or the kid just frequently go back to where the language is spoken. All natives, all different levels in the same language, but all fluent if you drop them in the middle of a city where only that language is spoken. For most people, beeing conversational is what matters so they don't even need to get remotely close to basic fluency. For someone who really wants to be native like (the kind that grew up in the country) then basic fluency won't cut it. Steeve always goes for conversational levels for exemple. But he also read a lot so he can get somewhat basically fluent in some domains he is particularly interested in. I think history is one of them. He does not need more than this and that's fine. But I get the frustration you might have. I also can't stand to stop in the middle. It's hard to go the longer road but when you reach the top you have a damn awesome view ! And then you go back for more because you know there is always more to learn...damn it ! xD

[@daysandwords]

I'm the same... and if you look at my channel name, you'll see I kind of "outwardly" disagree with you, but in fact I've just switched to basically "ASATT" (All Swedish All the Time haha) because the weight of all the good arguments for one at a time just became too much.

[@pabliiiiitox]

Just because it's funny, you know,you don't need to be at a native level to engage with people and and be understood, they just see it as a way to engage with different people from different countries, I guess they are just two different ways of looking at it

[@keith6293]

@@daysandwords Your channel is dope. You put great efforts in your videos and it shows. Keep up the good work ;)

[@DD-vu7ir]

Days of French 'n' Swedish I like that you’re keeping up with your fellow language buffs.

[@uchuuseijin]

One way I've found to sate the impatient feeling while staying focused in a language is by reading textbooks that explain language C in language B. In the same way that many people feel like they're learning a language when they do textbook study despite the fact that they're only really learning *about* the language... You'll sate some of your curiosity for the next language while what you're really doing is getting input in the language you should be practicing. For example, I recently picked up a book called 中華ヲタク用語辞典, which takes roughly 1-2 pages to introduce and then explain the history behind Chinese otaku terms in Japanese. This way, I'm satisfying my curiosity to learn Mandarin by learning about it, but really what I'm actually doing in terms of language study is getting a lot of written Japanese input.

[@petra1995]

That's actually a brilliant idea! Once I get an itch for Italian again I'll just read about it in French or Spanish 😍

[@arjunmehta3786]

I laughed 3 seconds into the video because the word that was written to say "hindi" was wrong. If we were to sound out what was written "हीन्दी" It would sound like HEENDEE, rather than the correct spelling which is "हिन्दी". Just a nit pick that I felt like I had to mention since I did not study hindi in college for nothing!

[@iliaantipin9919]

I haven't seen that character. Is it in RTK?

[@strahinjamacesic3974]

@@iliaantipin9919 that is not japanese. It is hindi writen in devanagari script.

[@niket527]

It seems like it's actually different than "हीन्दी." The first top curve aims the other way in the video. There's also a stroke on the bottom present. And the last letters are different in the video. But yeah I get your point lol.

[@arjunmehta3786]

@@niket527 Yeah! You are correct (-: The top arrow should curve to the left for the spelling to be correct. The stroke on the bottom signifies a conjunct between the two characters, so that part is actually correct in the spelling! It is just a different way for the two letters to be written. I just thought it was a funny thing to mention! No bad intentions of course! (-: I love your observations! You are very perceptive!

[@arjunmehta3786]

@@iliaantipin9919 LOL, sadly it is not in the RTK deck because it is a different language, but I am sure there is an RTK equivalent for hindi! (-:

[@aliasjon8320]

I have a question within this idea , I'll use the example French and Japanese. Say you have a much stronger basis for one language ( as far as grammar and script, and it maps onto a language you already know better) to the point if you were to begin the MIA process in this language you'd be beginning at a higher a stage than your second language ( which may require to starting from scratch). Does it then make sense to learn two languages while giving more immerision time to the language you're weaker with ? It would sorta be like in one you have higher base comphrension so you're probably coming cross more 1T sentences in your immersion and it's working out like filling the holes in your linguistic ability for that language , so a smaller chunk of tims in that language is more fruitful than it would be in the languages you don't have a basis in. For the other it's more like you're building up linguistic ability from nothing so it demands more immerision time. so if you did an even split between it and the other language you'd seriously slow down your progression in it, but if you come up with a split that gives one more time than the other you can potentially still make rapid progress both?

[@montseglz3242]

I have the same question, about the same two languages 😅

[@hunogo]

Since the discussion has been opened i think there are some important aspects that must be considered before coming to a conclusion: 1) Most times people are not starting both languages at the same time and the learning curve flattens considerably the further it goes to advanced levels; 2) Some languages are closer to your native language than others and go through different association processes; 3) background processes are still in motion during other daily activities, bridging recent events with other experiences. I'm Brazilian, so my native language is Portuguese. I learned English when i was a kid, i'm 30 now. I started learning French in 2018, i'm somewhere around B2 now, I guess. But I started learning German when quarantine began. So right now i'm learning two languages, French and German, and it has been a blast! I practice French through messages and videochat with two native speakers i met on language exchanging apps, they help me with structures that are hard for a portuguese speaker to master and by teaching me new vocab and expressions during our conversations. When I have to drive somewhere, I play a french audiobook, I don't understand some parts but by repeating it i'm slowly clearing the fog. My online friends say my french has improved a lot and I feel much more comfortable writing in French as well. Phrases i get stuck on become one the subjects of our next talk. BUT WHAT I'VE REALLY BEEN PUTTING A TON OF EFFORT ON IS LEARNING GERMAN! Doing Busuu lessons and vocab lists, understanding the grammar, and writing sentences that i submit to correction (I send it to the Busuu community and to a german friend). I think I made some significant progress in both languages doing 80/20 (80% German/ 20% French) and I noticed a few things. - German is still tiring for me. Sometimes I finish some lessons feeling like my head will explode. There is just an amount i can learn on a daily basis because it's a system completely different from my native language which is of Latin origin. French isn't tiring anymore, except when it comes to reading more complex texts. The mistakes I make while speaking are old habits that i'm slowly correcting or more complex phrases involving conditional tenses and some less used structures. New vocabulary come amidst fun social interactions and makes it much easier to memorize. Also because French is closer to Portuguese than German, I can guess much more accurately words that i don't know, while in German I simply can't, at least not yet. - I make associations and comparisons between both learning processes that I feel like they boost my experience and absortion of content, instead of messing it up like people think they would (this is where point number 3 matters to me). Some german words aren't similar to portuguese but are similar to French or English. Some word genders are not similar to French, but makes perfect sense in portuguese. Die Küche (kitchen in German) to me is memorized as a fun mix between la cuisine (FR) and kitchen (EN). - I feel much more uncomfortable not knowing sentence structures than not knowing some vocab. And learning both feels very different to me. Vocab feels like memorizing and associating it with experiences and situations. Learning Grammar structure is more demanding to me and it helps when I can associate it even slightly with other languages I know. I might not know much vocabulary in German, but knowing if a phrase is on the past tense, future tense, and how the conjunction changed the word order really helps me figure out what i'm still missing. I'm talking about it because it they're are not conflicting activities to me. You won't force a new word into long-term memory in one day. But you can learn how a relative pronoun looks like in a language. So going through an anki vocabulary deck daily and then doing a german grammar lesson doesn't feel weird nor diminishes how much i retain from it all. - Mix ups do happen, but not nearly as frequently as people warned me about. In fact, they are very rare. Gabriel Poliglota mentioned in one of his videos that this would be a huge problem if I was studying something from the same origin as French, like Italian, and I completely agree with him. - I can clearly see that starting both from scratch would've been a mess. The beggining is the hardest part, where making sense of the new language is most difficult and fatiguing. In this case, i think Matt is right, dividing your time there seems very prejudicial to me. So honestly, from my experience, studying two languages at the same time is not being a problem for me, but I know i'm working with different competences in each language and I'm making sure they don't conflict in terms of absorption. This is an interesting debate that takes into account each persons particular learning styles, native languages, target languages and their objectives with it. So please take a good look at the situation you're diving into before simply deciding to learn 2 languages at the same time.

[@JustinArmstrongsite]

I like how the editing felt very seamless with the content. It was never distracting. I also appreciated the Little Prince reference as a French learner.

[@diariosdelextranjero]

You can never really be sure of your level or how "fluent" you are. Although I have C1 in Spanish, I was recently humbled by a book "El Coronel no tiene quien la escriba". There are more than 10 words on any page that I do not understand.

[@pabliiiiitox]

Pues que basura el c1 de español, eso es un timo

[@superallreview]

well that book was written by gabriel garcia marquez(The Nobel Prize in Literature 1982) ///no es para menos es un nivel mas alto.

[@victorrascon1716]

Quizá no es que no tengas un nivel alto de español, simplemente hay autores que utilizan palabras complicadas y hay autores que no lo hacen. Tal vez un nativo no entienda 8 de esas 10 palabras que mencionas.

[@augustus2834]

si sirve de consuelo, te dire que mi lengua madre es el español y aun asi hay muchos libros de garcia marquez que no entiendo del todo.

[@victorrascon1716]

@@NestorMandela No tiene por qué bajar tu nivel de inglés/español, me pongo a mí como ejemplo, cuando me encuentro con una palabra que no conozco en japonés, digamos que no conozco 蝶蝶(ちょうちょう). Lo que haría sería buscar la definición en japonés y encima de eso buscarla en inglés que es la lengua a la que se suele traducir de manera más exacta. Ahora que vi que chouchou es "butterfly" me sirvió como repaso de ambos inglés y español. (Español porque el lenguaje al que quiero traducir es al español, así que siempre procuro conocer la terminología correcta en español.)

[@dmand2353]

I think laddering is the best thing to do. Get good enough in one to be able to learn the other in it. This is my plan with Korean after Japanese.

[@eh5430]

Exactly, plus after you master one language, learning another gradually becomes more easier after you’ve learned more, I have the same plan with Tagalog after Japanese then Spanish after Tagalog

[@marfincabuyao5337]

@@eh5430 You want to learn Tagalog? Cool. But learning it thru Japanese may not be easy... There's hardly any similarity between the two languages. I'm a Tagalog learning Japanese btw

[@Vampyrisk]

I’m doing this! Didn’t know there was a word for it. I learned Japanese a while back and now I’m learning Korean, slowly realising that it’s much faster and more intuitive to just ditch English and learn through Japanese. I’m rather shocked about how much I can transfer directly.

[@ziggynezumi4268]

@@marfincabuyao5337 I learnt japanese through english and hey two languages couldnt be more different

[@jahayrac8636]

This is what I hope to incorporate into my plan for learning Korean in the future. I wasn't aware that it's called laddering, interesting turn of phrase! Plays really nicely with the idea of taking one step at a time rather than rushing to a goal. 👍

[@kaeyeet]

Wowww the editor did a great job! Such great visuals. And as always love the vid Matt!

[@tomususan]

Thanks for the video, it was something I knew, but it made it easier to say „you will have to wait Japanese” and focus on French full force.

[@meerkatmonster1000]

My degree is french and Spanish and I’ve studied them both now throughout high school. And I’ve found that learning both at the same time has actually helped because the grammar and vocab is similar. At the start I found it difficult and got them mixed up but the level I’m currently at I can study both fine.

[@fergem33]

My case is kinda particular, Im learning Japanese and English, but since I already have a good level of English, Im more focused on Japanese, and I think that it works for me only because I already have a lot of progress in one language, Im not in the same stage of learning

[@TristanPanemic]

I think he was talking about starting from the scratch, if you already is at least irtermediate at one language, then it does not count.

[@soggyRATUwU]

The visuals were really great! Simple enough for my brain to instantly comprehend and they really help me aquire the information presented in the video

[@mattnguyen1125]

Dude I went to highschool with Matt at WHS… dude was always had a knack for the Japanese language, we took Japanese together in HS for a bit too! Random fun fact, I remember being so fascinated at how well he could spin mechanical pencils in his hand at crazy wild speeds. I stumbled upon his channel through xiaomanyc. I’m glad your doing well Matt, you were always super creative✌️

[@jw-mp9yp]

For me, I know that the absolute most important factor for language learning is interest. I still have lots of interest in Spanish, which is the main language I'm learning at the moment, but I also have lots of interest in Korean, Sanskrit, and Japanese, and I want to capitalize off of that interest without sacrificing my Spanish progress. The way I'm doing this is by doing just one hour of script practice a day (since they all use very distinct scripts), which is about 20 minutes per script, per day. Meanwhile in Spanish, I'm doing a lot more: an hour of SRS and 1-4 additional hours of immersion a day. I found that this effectively satiates my desire for these other languages (AND prepares my brain to have a much better foundation for learning when I get to them eventually) while also only spending my brain's capacity for finding speaking patterns, learning new vocab, and developing listening ability on one language. I love reading, I love writing, and I love phonetics, so this has been really effective for me and I haven't seen any downside on my Spanish learning journey. That being said, if I was learning a language with a different script as my main language, I wouldn't be doing this since I'd want to devote my brain's capacity for script recognition to just that one language. My main goal is to make strong progress in whatever language I'm learning, since the more progress I make, the more motivated I become, so reducing my effectiveness in learning would just make me less motivated even if I was enjoying the novelty of learning two languages at once.

[@puccarts]

I think everyone has their own reason, really. For example, I started learning Japanese 2.5-3 years ago.. and my current partner came along (he's Chinese) that re-ignited my passion for Chinese culture. I also thought it would be so useful to learn the language to better communicate with his family, pass down the language if we were to have kids, etc.. I wanted to start studying Chinese but I didn't want to throw away my Japanese progress completely. I was toying with what to do for months.. and ultimately I decided to learn both at once. It's been 8 months now and my Japanese progress has slowed but I have had SO much fun in Chinese that it's been worth it.. and I still make little wins in Japanese.. so I'm happy with the results.

[@lurklingX]

I just want to point out that some people have ADD, and their brains work better by multitasking. It’s better to make even small improvements in multiple languages, then to hyperfocus on one, burn out, and then leave it. I personally am learning several at once. And when I slow down on one language I just pick up one of the other ones and dabble in it for a bit. I prioritize Japanese as my main. French as my second. And some Chinese here and there for interest. I might burn out a little bit on Japanese, brain slowing down, and I’ll take a break by studying French for a session, day or two, or a week. This way, I am always in the mode of learning a language every single day. While still being able to take a break. I think there is value in what you were saying about the brain making connections, and the SRS affect. However, I don’t think that all people that do multiple languages are “impatient“ or just “bored”. I think that certainly might be the case for some people, but not all. Just like some people might learn better while doing multiples at once, due to having a different brain, such as ADD. Just be a little careful with assumptions :) they can get us into trouble.

[@alfredomulleretxeberria4239]

Even if you have ADHD, you should be able to get lots of input from lots of different topics in only one language. You could stick to French, but occasionally read about Chinese history, about Australian Aboriginal mythology and culture, about metallurgy, about mathematics, watch action films, watch comedy videos, look at dumb memes, etc.

[@scarletovergods]

Hey Matt! Have you tried reaching Stephen Krashen for a discussion about MIA's ideas on language acquisition based on MIA/AJATT-ers experience (as opposed to Stephen's research)?

[@strahinjamacesic3974]

That would be a very interesting interview.

[@Muhammad-xo4tv]

He did one already

[@JayAreAitch]

Zo97bi ...where?

[@Muhammad-xo4tv]

The background music and the editing are sick 🔥🔥 keep 'em coming 💪🏼

[@CalebJacobsYoutube]

Yea this great man. Good job editor!

[@heavenculttt]

you read my mind, this is just what i needed

[@Blizz4everWoW1]

I agree. I am very motivated to learn another language, but I did that with Spanish and French. I ended up giving up before fluency and doing far better in Japanese as my focus years later. Your videos help a lot!

[@hanniballecter5983]

Wow I've been binge watching your videos from years ago for a few days now, and now you post a new video.. Hell yeah

[@pandie4555]

I like the edit!

[@Pianistos]

I learnt Dutch and German at the same time. It was a huge mistake because these two languages have similar words that have completely different meanings.

[@ironpython1492]

How do you "learn one, then another?" There's no set point where you've mastered your first target language, it's a continual process

[@the_Rincewind]

When you reach your desired level or you put it "on hold" for a while. If you wanted to completely master every langauge you'd still be learning your L1.

[@user-Korpan]

its up to each person when they think they are good enough in one to to start another one.

[@miiiwu1999]

The editing In this vid with all the charts and stuff look so good :0 hoping Matt’s channel will blow up lol

[@latinavenger7472]

I love your content Matt! Really nice that you bring up the stuff more frequently.

[@prog112]

Really good editing!

[@nimapatoot]

This is the best explanation we can find on learning 2 languages at the same time, thanks a lot Matt !! cheers from France

[@elliottmcfadden6261]

I agree with this if you are starting both at the same time. If one is already fairly high, say B2 or higher, I think it’s ok. At that level in the first language you are entering the refinement stage of improving flow and learning less common vocabulary, not struggling to understand basic sentences. You are still taking a time hit; but it’s not as big a deal as you are in the stage where it’s already going to take a long time to see incremental improvement. This is what polyglots like Luca Lampariello and Lýdia Machová do who make it a point to learn their languages to a very high level.

[@tikaal]

always eye-opening and motivating. thanks mat

[@gregpotter2278]

Sorry Matt, one thing I did mean to add is that if you study two different languages like I am, with Czech and Russian, there is a LOT of cognates between the two languages and my base knowledge of Russian is actually helping expand my vocabulary in Czech quite a bit. So I think if you study two different languages which share a lot of cognates or are very similar, I think it is conceivable to make progress faster than if the two languages were diametrically opposed, like Finnish and Arabic, for example...

[@Aywusgod]

That last argument makes so much sense, thanks.

[@Thalespoliglota]

Yeah, it's totally reasonable! But in my own experience I found that if I didn't have learned multiple languages at the same time I wouldn't be able to speak these languages nowadays... The way I approach languages it's a bit different than you and other Polyglots say but it's totally suitable for me! No pimsleur, no teach yourself, no travels, no money at all, I just learn languages here in Brazil on internet using free materials for the most part of the time. To summarize, I don't think that it really exists a perfect method for everybody and I'm conscious that the way I study it's the best way for me not for everyone, let's be honest. Of course, there's some stuff that are universal like, focusing only on grammar won't make sense if your goal is to communicate naturally but learning 1 language at time it's not always the best or faster way to learn 3 languages for example... There's so much more to say... But anyway It's just my personal experience. Peace.

[@HRU202]

Can give me your schedule for learning english please 🙏🏼

[@mikagaphelochiusiwa9195]

Awesome video. Cool editing too!

[@littlefishbigmountain]

I studied French for two years back in high school, and even tho I didn’t really immerse that much (but I did talk in it, including with a foreign exchange friend) to this day whenever I learn any language I tend to get random French words popping up in my head to fill holes in my vocabulary

[@AndyJugglesLanguages]

I was learning three languages at the same time, but I've taken on another !!! I am so addicted to learning all those languages that I can't let any of them go. Some days it's a bit confusing and other days I make really good progress. I'm learning because I work in a shop and want to be able to speak to cusotmers in all the languages I'm learning. All the languages are at different levels. For example, I've gone back to Arabic to brush up on that one and to try to level up. Chinese I started just over a year ago because I have a Chinese colleauge and we can practise at work once a week when we meet up. I started Polish about 6 months ago and have dabbled in that language rather than studying it properly, but now it's lockdown, this is the one that I've made the most progress in recently. We have a lot of Polish customers and I have another two colleagues who speak Polish. The final language is Kurdish (Sorani) and that has been the hardest because there aren't too many materials to learn from. I started that one about four months ago. I have Italki teachers for all four languages. It's fine. I might be fluent by the time I'm 60. By the way, I'm 59! :-)

[@trevkyleaa]

As long as one of the languages is stronger than the other, and there is a general overall focus on one language, you can make a lot of progress learning two languages at the same time. My recommendation is to attain at least a B2 level before taking on a new second language.

[@jackneals5585]

Dope beat in the background.

[@simiyachaq]

This applies to learning two languages from zero. He didn't explicitly say that, but that's what I got from it. There is no way you will reach "fluency" (B2+/C1) in either French or German in just two years. You will, though, be at a confident intermediate level that will allow you to use the language and continue learning without deliberate study.

[@kmradosevich]

you can definitely reach b2 within 2 years maybe even c2

[@spacevspitch4028]

I did all 3 levels of Pimsleur Russian, couldn't really figure out how to progress from there (I tried some language exchange stuff but Pimsleur didn't get me far enough to really dive into conversation and none of my interactions evolved into anything long term), so I dropped it and forgot it. I began Spanish Pimsleur and Memrise and later realized after a while I'd forgotten most of my Russian! So I went back through all the Pimsleur lessons again. Then, I dropped it AGAIN because I was still mostly focused on Spanish. Now, after a couple years I realized I've done forgotten most of my Russian again! So I went and added Russian back to my daily routine, which is like double the workload. I realize it's a bit too much but I spent a lot of time "catching up" my Russian again. I'm afraid I'll lose it all again if I drop it again and go back to Spanish exclusively. Also, Matt vs Japan reinvigorated my interest in Japanese and I've begun spending just 15 mins or so a day on the initial steps of familiarizing myself with the writing systems. I don't think that's such a big deal because it's just a slow paced introduction so that when I finally move on to Japanese in earnest I'll have a little head start. It's hard to let stuff go and say...ok, let's just get super serious about this one language until it's gotten to a certain level of fluency!

[@joshuanelsen8602]

I am not impatient on language learning, but I cycle on and off languages way too quickly. It has more with me be a very fickle person who can't make up his mind. I wonder if there are a lot of others like me. At any rate, good content Matt! Your perspectives make the YT language learning community more enjoyable.

[@Otome_chan311]

I never had an interest in learning anything but japanese until really recently, when latin piqued my interest. So naturally I was a bit curious about this video and clicked. Good to know that I should probably not try to sink too much time into it.

[@paulwalther5237]

Not the answer I was hoping for but the one that makes sense. I’ve studied French, German, Spanish, Japanese, and now Korean to variable levels and I the difference I feel when I focus one seems exponential as opposed to cumulative to me too. For people who say they lose progress if they switch back and forth, I say you are switching back and forth too quickly. You need to spend years on one language to make real progress that will stay in your long term memory and won’t just go away if you switch to doing something else.

[@Adrianology101]

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I'm primarily learning Japanese while dabbling with a little Spanish on the days I don't work (I'm an essential worker). I eventually want to be fluent in both. Once my Japanese is at a high level, I plan to focus more on Spanish. Thanks Matt! Shout out to the editor too.

[@TheDrunkMunk]

I think it does make sense if you've reached a high intermediate level in one lang, then you decide to take up another. I'm at the point in my German where I can understand most things a person will say in a conversation, and follow TV shows very well. I figure I'll be at this late intermediate stage for a long time now and the grammar and linguistic system is second nature to me, so it won't be Co fusing or interfering to pick up Japanese, so I've been doing rtk since the start of the lockdown and am almost finished

[@chilael6892]

rtk?

[@lakersrull]

yeh though what everything Matt has said is absolutely correct and I've often felt this way too. I'm currently learning Chinese (3 days) and Arabic (4 days) a week, though before I studied Chinese for 2 years so the grammar, comprehension and reading are pretty much second nature to me, I know that if I just leave Chinese and study Arabic for the remainder of the year my speed to fluency would rise exponentially, more listening hours, reading, speaking, etc. But I just can't give up Chinese because I miss it 1), want to maintain my retention 2) and continue to get better 3) (because I'm not content with it). So I like the variety of content both languages provide. But Matt is still 100% correct here and I would like to drop Chinese and focus on Arabic for a while but I don't know tbh I guess it's like what he said what are your goals, what do you want in the language.

[@futurez12]

Great points. I'll never understand the people who dabble with multiple languages, never really getting to a strong level in any of them. I feel like some people might be addicted to the fast gains that come relatively easy during the beginner/early intermediate stages, and so rinse & repeat that process over and over for some kind of endorphin hit/ego stroke. As soon as it starts getting harder, and those quick gains start to diminish, they bail and start the next one.

[@bunnyteeth365]

I primarily atudy Hebrew. Sometimes when I get frustrated with it or I'm trying to make a new routine I'll briefly dabble in other languages. I never really expect to make real progress in the other languages and I do learn quite a bit about language learning when I dabble a bit. It also shows me how much I've progressed in Hebrew which does help a lot with motivation. When I'm really focused on a routine and making good progress, I only really feel like studying Hebrew. I'm definitely interested in many other cultures and language learning in general, but nothing really beats being focused on one task.

[@Strixs]

May not be the fastest to click on the video, but I'd say I'm proud of myself.

[@narutardednerd]

Some Patreon answers are too good to leave behind the pay wall. Glad you decided to share this with the broader community.

[@JayScissorhands]

Throughout Highschool I’ve learnt Ojibwe & French and now I’m thinking about learning a new language.

[@SevenStopGaming]

What happened to MIA interview 10? I saw it appear but then when I went to watch it later it was gone.

[@amhanson_]

I recommend learning multiple languages, if you do, of different families(is that the right term) such as a romance and an indic, or a Germanic and a Slavic.

[@singerwithabass]

My issue 🤣 my husband has family in brazil, I studied portuguese many years, I love the French language and have french friends I studied french many years too and still speak to some on zoom each month. We bought a vacation place in mexico so I have studied alot of Spanish too. Always confusing all 3 when I switch around. I do find that if I try to set my brain in Spanish only mode it helps but then I'll have a french zoom call the next week, so I will try to shift to french a day or two before. Then we visit family in brazil, so switch again. I just love all 3 and I guess it is what it is.

[@obscurus1344]

Also one of the 20 rules states that you should reduce memory Interference, which I completely agree, I'm currently studying Arabic for uni entrance and japanese which can get really frustrating. Btw the editing in this video is really awesome.

[@lastkeyblade]

I've started taking the whole mass immersion more seriously. Initially, I didn't realise how effective it was because I always watched anime. And when I actually started learning Japanese properly, I realised how many words sounded familiar (because I heard them before!). I'm now currently watching J Drama and clips of TV shows here and there. Do you have any recommendations as to what to watch to help in my Japanese learning? Great video, Matt vs. Japan!

[@HingYok]

If we think about bilingual families, I think it's not impossible to "acquire" (instead of to learn) two languages at the same time with comprehensible input. However, one language might be more dominant than the other if we don't use both often.

[@g-radiation7154]

I only partly agree with this video. Yes, you get added (not sure if "exponential") benefits from focusing your attention on just one language. But there are also benefits from learning more than one language at a time. A prolific linguistics teacher I had at univerisity who was using scientific literature in about a dozen langauges for his publications, stressed the benefit of using a dictionary of language A in language B. Hell, I learned English mostly while using it to learn other things, as a tool.

[@vanessameow1902]

0:03 The correct way to write Hindi is हिन्दी

[@BallisticaMetal]

I'm a native Spanish speaker and at the moment I'm learning Portuguese and German. I think I did this unconsciously, I just got to a level in Portuguese where I can communicate and read/listen to some material, but then I just put it to a side and focused on German more! Now that doesn't mean that I won't use any Portuguese, I'll use it but I won't be focusing on the language as much as I do with German.

[@tylertolman1957]

Maybe we're overlooking the concept of varying levels of proficiency. If you're a beginner in German and intermediate in French, and both languages receive 1 hour or more of input daily, I'm not sure there'd be much difficulty distinguishing between the two systems or slowing down the progress. This idea also assumes all time spent on other languages would naturally combine into several hours on one language. Personally, after 1-2 hours, I'm pretty tired/done anyway. Language learning is such an individual process. Whatever keeps you excited and consistent, in my opinion, makes a good method. 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@victorrascon1716]

Lmao those 2 you picked are actually the ones I’m learning simultaneously. I’ve already learnt german, I’m rather reinforcing my previous knowledge, but still seems like quite an odd coincidence lol

[@aymanbelhaj2853]

can i ask what are some good shows to watch in german cuz most of the time i have trouble finding content and sometimes its super boring maybe some vloggers and things lkke that thanks in advance

[@victorrascon1716]

Ayman Belhaj Of course! A lot of my vocabulary comes from this TV show called Galileo, (can be found on KZbin) it may not be the most entertaining thing to watch, but since they cover a lot of different topics you might find some of them interesting. At the moment I am reinforcing what I previously learned via this channel called Easy German, since I skipped a lot of grammar explanations at the beginning of my journey I’m finding this channel very helpful, I’ve noticed they have improved their content ever since I first found them. Something I also used to do was to simply search “doku”, a lot of german documentaries would pop up, and I would just turn on the subtitles (in german) to read along.

[@victorrascon1716]

@@aymanbelhaj2853 Sorry if it sounds super boring, I just remembered the channel which I used to watch at the very beginning, the name was Freshaltefolie if I'm not mistaken, this was back in 2015 or so, so I don't know what's happened to it.

[@aymanbelhaj2853]

@@victorrascon1716 i already know them but thanks a lot for your answer i appreaciate it man maybe if sm1 reads this thread can reply and share some other youtube channels :))

[@victorrascon1716]

@@aymanbelhaj2853 I hope so! Maybe it will be useful for me as well.

[@Loovellyyymeee556]

Can I dedicate a week to each language? Or study them day by day?

[@jame254]

damn this new Editor is top notch Matt!!

[@nebelung1]

I've put German aside for Japanese! It's still fun to stumble across German every now and then, but I don't actively seek it out or study it at the moment! All my focus now is on learning kanji.

[@st4r336]

I’m recently struggling between learning French first or Japanese so I wanna learn both at same time ;-; The problem is I sometime mix them when talking for example instead is saying why in French I say “nande” which means why in Japanese Or I say kon’nichiwa ca va? XD i keep mixing them together

[@MemetastorTheGreat]

LoL

[@juliussamelo1008]

😂

[@futurez12]

100% agree with this. When I first embarked on language learning, and heard about people attempting to study multiple languages at the same time, I instinctively _knew_ this wasn't a good idea. I also felt, like you do, that it was a question of impatience, but also an indication that they probably aren't that serious about reaching a competent level in any of their languages. I feel like some people get addicted to the big gains one makes during the beginner/early intermediate stages, then when the _real_ work starts, they bail and run off to a shiny, brand new language with that low hanging fruit awaiting them once more, for another round of quick and "easy" gains. They rinse & repeat this over and over, then one day they start a KZbin channel, where they do nothing but talk about how they "learned' X language, using all the same, familiar vocabulary for every video. Then before you know it, they're calling themselves a polyglot without even reaching so much as a solid B2 level in any of their languages. I'm sure you know those whom I'm talking about. At least someone like Steve Kaufman has attained a high level in French and Mandarin; he doesn't claim to be fluent in many of the others, but many other internet "polyglots" do. They're usually trying to sell you something. Nowadays, I only tend to watch channels like this one where the creator has clearly gone through the "full" process and knows _exactly_ what it takes to get to a genuinely competent level. I don't trust any of those channels I've described. Unfortunately, thousands of unsuspecting people hang on their every word. 🤦

[@mariokoukla1]

thanks for your insights!

[@turmat01]

Alright, so from one Matt to another... I'd like your advice on this. Sorry if I type too much, I'll try to keep it short. I've always been fascinated by the Japanese culture. I have tried learning Japanese, and I have a couple of basics down, I am... kinda okay with Hiragana, I sometimes refer to a chart for reassurance to it's really still decryption more than reading... and Kanjis other than the good old "sun". "tree", "root" and "person" are the death of me. I have a huge lack of vocabulary but I have the pronunciation down pretty good, and I understand the way sentences are formed. So a couple of basics down, but I cannot hold a conversation by any means. Now here is the problem. I live in eastern Canada, and there are very few Japanese people around here. So learning and practicing is not easy. I have recently picked up an interest for Mandarin as well. We have a lot more Chinese people around here, and I am a big asian food enthusiast and visit the oriental markets often. That would give me so many opportunities to practice in my everyday life! I'm thinking of doing a mix of self-teaching along with a few classes here and there with a private teacher just to make sure I'm on the right track. I still dream of learning Japanese though. So that's the thing. What do you think about this situation? I know there are other ways of talking with people other than meeting people on the street, you got VR chat, discord servers for language exchange and stuff. But I am looking for real life interraction with store owners, etc. That way I can use it in an everyday scenario and not just people looking for a language exchange online. I tend to be good at learning languages though.

[@marissalongo4483]

I was just thinking about this topic. I don't really need to learn another language so I'm more about enjoying the journey but this is giving me something to think about.

[@lava-ru5ue]

Do you think this effect is less pronounced when one language is already at an advanced level? Ex: Input stage Spanish and early sentence mining japanese

[@daysandwords]

I used to think this and I still do, but now I am of the opinion that one should be of a VERY advanced level. Like so advanced that you could quite easily learn the new language THROUGH the good one, rather than your native language. I have just switched to "Swedish full time" because I realised it should be in the C levels before I do anything with French again.

[@lava-ru5ue]

Days of French 'n' Swedish Thanks for the reply! Do you think that actually trying to do this (learning through the other language) is worth doing? I find it interesting but I always seem to find resources in English. To be fair, this would only really be for grammar or little concrete things I need to find, outside of immersion.

[@daysandwords]

@@lava-ru5ue Honestly I don't think it makes that much difference. I think any advantages you gain through studying L3 through L2 are negated by the fact that L2 is going to be a little weaker than your native language.

[@TomKilworth]

I hope the editor was remunerated well. It’s good

[@baronvonbeandip]

4:15 This has to do with flow state. When the motivator is exotelic and the person has hit their challenge or boredom threshold, they try to task switch to something else subconsciously and come up with a conscious validation for it. Tha real OGs make the goals autotelic so that, even in times of extreme challenge or boredom, they stick in the flow state or move the flow channel up or down.

[@riberium1739]

I am Russian. I study English by studying Japanese, I write unfamiliar words in my own, and so slowly and learn.

[@ChuckstaGaming]

I'm gonna stick with one language until I get to the point where I can watch a film/show without subtitles. I'm aiming to go Italian (my mother's native tongue) then French (I leaned at school + good knowledge of the grammar), then try something brand new if I am up for it (either Spanish or German). I watch a hell of a lot of Italian, French, Spanish and German shows/films in their native tongue. Too many, probably, lol. This language learning is giving me a good reason to watch them 😁 Subbed!

[@GalaSalv]

Great idea!

[@samuelnorwood7133]

I’ve been doing MIA in Japanese for about 2 months now, but through a weird series of events I’m actually enrolled in a Chinese class this fall at college. I plan on studying Japanese all summer and then maybe doing both for that semester and then drop Chinese to revisit it at a later date after my Japanese improves. What are your thoughts on this? (I currently speak English, Spanish, and Portuguese)

[@chilael6892]

Português? Tu é nativo ou aprendeu depois de criança?

[@samuelnorwood7133]

【 Chilael 】 depois, comecei há 3 o 4 anos. Foi muito fácil depois do espanhol

[@elishevabarenbaum5319]

The thing is that if you are aiming high you never really finish learning a language. Even in one's native language, you still come across new words and expressions. If you want to be a polished writer or eloquent speaker, you need to practice these skills and hone your craft.

[@andresduarte9347]

good video . i like the new interface of the video . keep it up

[@comradeedwin1006]

What if you study two langauges that are very similar like Norweigan and Danish or Spanish and Portugese, since they have a lot of similar vocaburly you could remember words better by creating relationships between the smiliar words.

[@irenemcnamara9699]

I could study French for 2 years and still not be able to speak it. Then I would have lost all that time learning German, and I would have been able to speak it. I can't give up on either language. I dont notice anyone getting younger. You have to use your time wisely.

[@GalaSalv]

Agree Irene!

[@connorgioiafigliu]

Very insightful!

[@字幕なしで]

good editting!

[@aurallistine]

What if my goal is to achieve fluency in Japanese while self-studying French for my exams in 2 years because nobody else in my school picked the subject? Over the summer holidays I've been immersing in Japanese, it's fun and I have made a lot of progress despite it only being ~19 days so far, but the downside is I've forgotten so much French. How do I get my knowledge of French back (+ learn more) without forgetting Japanese or getting confused with both languages? Bearing in mind my schedule will be busy with practicing digital art for hours a day and going to school

[@nootics]

I was pretty much always thinking the same thing. In my opinion it's kiind of the common sense approach, like the reasons you mentioned are just pure common sense and you don't need any special points to justify your reasoning. I'm learning Japanese as my first self taught language and to be honest I don't want to learn another one like Korean right now. There is just too much I need to pay attention to in Japanese that I couldn't focus on if I were receiving new input in another language at the same time.

[@Lyper15]

Pretty good insight. Thanks.

[@joelip4396]

What level would you recommend getting to in one language before you start another one? (for the best efficiency)

[@ichbinhier355]

when you are at least at an intermediate level and feel comfortable with the language (b1/b2 zone) and can have conversations without problems. yet that depends on what languages you wanna learn, so in general Asian languages takes longer than European ones (if your native language is a European one) also keep in mind that the most important is being consistent :)

[@MatW1lson]

100-200 hours (2-4 months) with the first one just so you can get accustomed to a consistent routine that becomes a long-term habit. Then you can start on another. Also: You can study multiple languages at the same time for increasing your listening comprehension and vocabulary. However, keep one in your mind as the one you focus most time and attention on while the other(s) are more recreational and just for fun. There is no reason to create some artificial barrier that you have to reach B1 level in French before you can listen to and read some German audiobooks once a week or even 30mins. per day.

[@MuEnViFitness]

No such thing as best efficiency here as they are two different languages. If you want to start learning a language you at least want to get to basic conversation. If you want more then study for longer. No one can tell you how much time you should spend in a language as learning pace cannot be guessed. What you should try and think is how good you wanna get and when you get there just start learning the other one.

[@robinkuster1127]

I'd wait until you get out of the grind phase. For example, I dislike reading in a language I'm not that good in during my commute on a bumpy buss. I'd always do this at home where I have space for note taking, a dictionary, the book and can write comfortably (my handwriting is garbage so I need pretty good conditions if I ever want to be able to read that again). But I still have my commute. So I could start with getting through core vocabulary of a second language on my commute.