The Fastest Way To Learn A New Language: The XiaoMaNYC Theory

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What is the fastest way to learn a language? What is the best method? The perfect routine? The best theory? I recently interviewed XiaoMaNYC, a fellow KZbinr with more than 6 million subscribers who learned intermediate, conversational Spanish in less than 3 months. In addition to Spanish, he is fluent in Chinese and is married to a Chinese woman. I asked him to share his secrets and let us in on his strategy for learning languages fast. What advice stuck with you the most? Let me know in the comments. Thank you for watching, you're awesome :) New videos every Saturday.
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👋 Hola, I'm Nate. I used to not know any Spanish at all, and I had no interest in learning the language. I thought learning Spanish would be boring, a waste of time, and would provide no value to my life. Then I started taking Spanish classes in high school and everything changed for me. I struggled with learning the language a lot at first, but thanks to my teachers and my Spanish speaking friends, they helped make the learning process fun. Within a few months, I had gotten to a conversational level, but more important, I had become a more confident person. The real win for me, though, was the friendships I made and strengthened. I discovered that not only did I have higher self esteem, but being out in the real world with people, whether old friends or new ones I met, made me feel more alive and connected with the world around me. Now it's my goal to create videos that make you smile and inspire you to learn Spanish or another language!
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:45 - Meet XiaoMa
1:15 - Great Program to Learn a Language
2:20 - 8 Hours in the Life of XiaoMa
3:25 - Top Two Rules
5:00 - Find True Love
6:25 - Words of Wisdom
Some of the above links are affiliate links which help support my channel. I believe in all products or services I promote. ¡Gracias!
#spanish #education #chinese

[@SpanishWithNate.]

¡Gracias por ver el video! 谢谢！Check out my Fluent Spanish Speaker Academy: spanishwithnate.com/

[@theymademepickaname1248]

He said speak early and often. There are other language gurus that tell you not to speak until you can understand a lot. I'm just going to do what feels right for me.

[@travisbower3856]

Exactly. Everyone has their slant. Do what is fun, do it often....without entirely neglecting the not-so-fun stuff.

[@devenmiller4459]

If your goal is to learn to speak then you should speak early as possible. Get down the basics like the alphabet and simple conjugations and immediately start speaking. It’s the same way when we were growing up learning English. You spoke before you knew all of these grammar rules.

[@theymademepickaname1248]

@@devenmiller4459 who said anything about grammar rules? It's pointless to speak if you have very limited comprehension. You would be like an NPC in a video game that just spews a preprogrammed dialogue tree

[@JabbyMayoCD]

His Chinese accent isn't good, that's why a lot of people have started suggesting not to worry about speaking until you've listened to enough of the language to actually know what the sounds are.

[@Rick-rl9qq]

the best way to learn a language is to be under a stress-free mind state. In other words, do what's motivating and fun for you. I'm now watching anime with japanese subtitles, reading manga in japanese and playing games in japanese while just being a low intermediate student

[@chiefpanda7040]

The fearlessness is extremely key in learning a language im glad you brought this up

[@SpanishWithNate.]

Glad it helped!

[@tarafarah7]

💯💯💯

[@kirstenchavez2211]

My husband is from Mexico and we only spoke in English for 13 years. Our children do not speak Spanish either. And now I am learning and talking to my kids the Spanish I know. They are learning slowly with me and now my husband talks to me in 80% Spanish daily. It’s mentally exhausting since I translate everything in English in my head and learn so many different words and rules everyday. Watching this video really helped me get my moral up! Thank you. We will be moving to Mexico as well so I have a need to learn it and my children too 😊

[@skeingamepodcast5993]

Thats so important. My dad spoke Ukrainian and German and he never spoke to us. It really robbed me and my siblings of a big part of our background and a relationship with his parents.

[@josephobonyo2]

Interesting perspective. I delayed trying to speak until I could hold simple conversations. And even then I didn't try to speak very often. But I also had no necessity to speak so I focused on making sure I could understand perfectly (listening and reading) and speaking just came naturally.

[@sorinev]

I do use apps, but not just one, and not exclusively. Each one has a specific purpose. I have one that's a really great flashcard app to learn vocabulary (which has helped immensely with picking up new words while I'm listening to something). I have one that's a massive conjugation lookup app. Then I have one that only presents various news articles in Spanish, but you can click anything or even highlight sections and it will translate for you, if needed. I also listen to a Mexican talk-radio station as often as I can, and I say random things around the house and to my kids (who are in a Spanish immersion class all day at their local public school). The other day I was mindlessly saying things in English, and then suddenly said the equivalent thing in Spanish without even consciously thinking about it. It was amazing. I do need to speak it more. Reading, listening, and speaking are all separates skills that need to be individually cultivated.

[@RyanSemmel77]

Always love the Nate and XiaoMa collabs. You guys are goated.

[@Alex55455]

I’ve been doing tons of comprehensive input to learn Spanish. I do at least 2 hours a day (quite often I end up doing 4 or 5 hours) of watching KZbin videos (mainly Dreaming Spanish) and listening to Spanish podcasts for learners to get my input. I also do 2 iTalki lessons a week focused on speaking, spend about 5-10 minutes on Anki a day, do 1-3 Busuu lessons per day and narrate what I am doing around the house in Spanish. I also set all my devices to Spanish. Occasionally if I am focused with a grammar point I will find a 5-10 minute KZbin video that explains it. I intend to start doing daily reading now as well. I found getting input through listening that you can understand is by far the most important aspect of learning a language. You still need to spend time on practicing stuff like speaking.

[@SyreeseOfficial]

How many hours of input have you put in? And how are the results? I’m currently in Dreaming Spanish premium trying to get through all the super beginner videos.

[@Alex55455]

@@SyreeseOfficial I’m at 163 hours now and the biggest results I’ve noticed is I can pretty much listen to anyone speaking in Spanish now without needing any visual aids and understand what they are saying provided they aren’t speaking too fast (I can understand people speaking slightly faster than the intermediate videos now) and not using too many words that I haven’t heard yet. I can now also read and understand simple stories without much issue. I can also now construct sentences to describe in simple terms and if I travelled to a Spanish speaking country I would able to have simple conversation, be able to order food and drink, buy stuff in shops, check into hotels, ask for simple directions or where things are etc. all in Spanish. I’m about A2 level currently.

[@Alex55455]

@@SyreeseOfficial Also I should add recently I’ve started to get the hang of both the past and future tenses which expands what you able to say quite a lot.

[@kimchi2093]

Ive done the same as you, but I don’t do any speaking practice. I’ve found my comprehension is awesome in my target language (by my standards lol) but my speaking is still basic. I know practicing speaking will help me learn, but I’m afraid of “developing bad habits” with accent like Matt vs. Japan says. What do you think, should I start outputting?

[@Alex55455]

@@kimchi2093 Matt vs Japan probably has a valid point if you try to speak too early unsupervised such as without a teacher to guide and correct your pronunciation. I think if you want to start outputting early you need to have regular sessions with a language teacher. I have 2 iTalki teachers who are great and make sure I am pronouncing words, constructing sentences and choosing the right words correctly.

[@FelipeGarica37]

The collab that i needed. 🙌😍

[@El_Soldado]

Qué lo que carnal, gracias por sus vídeos!

[@danielmedina9205]

My 2 favorite language KZbinrs!

[@RoadyPacking-CyclingAdventures]

Taking the plunge and speaking to people in spanish was the biggest thing for me. I'm constantly making mistakes with my intercambio de idiomas pero as long as you don't mind taking the micky out of yourself it's great fun. My listening has improved so much!

[@Rick-rl9qq]

guys don't forget to have fun. more than being efficient, staying motivated and not giving up are the most important aspects of learning a new language. do what is fun for you. if watching dramas, listening to music is your thing, then build a study method around . look for the meaning of the words and try not too hard to understand everything. What you need the most is output and then input to solidify the new acquired knowledge

[@CultureCrossed64]

This. Fun is very important- though I am concerned that sometimes people use "Fun practice" as a way to avoid really studying. Changing the Voice to Spanish and keeping English subtitles, for example, really won't help your Spanish listening. Listening a 2nd time with Spanish audio and NO subtitles (now that you know what they're saying having read the english), however, will help immensely.

[@Rick-rl9qq]

@@CultureCrossed64 I'm currently studying japanese and I use japanese subs and check for word I don't know. I know it'll build up overtime and I'll come to understand the more I do it

[@AnthonyGarcia334]

Honestly, the best advice I've seen on YT

[@BlacksmithMcLovin]

A huevoooo Nate!

[@SpanishWithNate.]

¡Gracias hermano!

[@sophiaschier-hanson4163]

Lmao I once made the mistake of answering “A huevos yeah!” to the very prim n’ proper Catholic 60something wife of a Spanish Literature professor inviting me over and offering me a free grammar lesson. If looks could kill… she told me I needed an etiquette lesson too because I “talked like a farmhand!” 😂

[@karlizdemarco146]

Aside from having immersive lessons and being fearless in attempting to converse with someone who's fluent, I find that it's also easier to learn a new language by listening to music and watching TV shows/movies in the language(s) you're learning. I mean, in addition to immersion and fearless conversations, this is also helpful, and it's a good way to pick up new vocabulary words. 😊

[@LanguageKing333]

You were actually part of the video you did with xioma when you guys where in Mexicali. That video inspired me to learn Chinese. The part where xioma spoke to the Cantonese women and see only spoke Spanish was the seed that sprouted my Chinese journey!❤

[@lakeleaf9]

no sabía que ustedes eran amigos wow qué fuerte

[@travisbower3856]

Once you determine how many hours you want to invest per month, then decide if BaseLang is worth it. It is for me. I will be taking CSET Spanish III April 20 and if I don't pass, then again June 3. Echarle ganas.

[@zachasnacks7036]

Nate is absolutely right. YOU SHOULD go get a spanish speaking gf, hopefully by natural cause! I met my gf, knew no spanish, now I get like 90 mins of input everyday and am at B1-B2 of listening! Having her and her family has made it so incredibly fun

[@SpanishWithNate.]

That’s awesome my friend!! Happy for you :) Gracias por compartir.

[@theymademepickaname1248]

And what would be considered an unnatural cause? Asking for a friend.

[@TylerLL2112]

So uh... I guess I'll return the GF I got from an unnatural cause and try again.

[@comounaverdura]

Que padre.

[@JoseYuri]

Do you believe speaking one language more vs. another can be beneficial in business? For example, would learning and speaking Chinese be more beneficial as a business man compared to Spanish since so much big business comes from China? Probably a dumb question but I've always been drawn to learning Chinese for business purposes.

[@LanguageKing333]

Xioma is right about the language bug. I had an interesting phenomenon with it. I started out learning Spanish and I identified as a gringo. But the bug got me too and I wanted to expand to other languages like French, German, Russian, and Chinese. Initially I felt uncomfortable doing those languages because their not “gringo” languages, so if I tackled them they would be outside the self-image of gringo. So the lesson it taught me is don’t put limits on your self image, and always expand even if it’s uncomfortable or unfamiliar❤

[@SpanishWithAdil]

Spanish ❤🇪🇸

[@shanesmith5551]

This AI tool is insane. Literally 24/7 access to a perfectly patient teacher I can speak with. Absolutely nuts

[@GmoneyMozart]

Good try bro. Maybe a trial version where you can actually see what it is before you shell out 20 bucks a month lol pathetic.

[@gidmanone]

scammers yeh?

[@Sordemith]

Chat GPT 4 with speak is completely free ​@@GmoneyMozart

[@BlacksmithMcLovin]

❤

[@coolbrotherf127]

I like the idea of "speak early speak often", but I feel that phrase doesn't explain why it works. Research has shown that the speaking or production of the language isn't what we learn from. We learn from the careful observation of natural communication through the context of what we know. Put simply, the speaking is not creating improvement, but it's the listening to the response back from the other person. When our brain hears that response, it says, "They used that word like this, and used this verb form to mean this." In order for our brains to be able to do that, putting in the work to know those words or those verb forms to give context to how the words are used which increases comprehension and improvement. That is why some language teachers don't rush early speaking, the learners don't have enough comprehension of their own words to know if that they are saying makes sense. Just observing communication through active study and immersion is how we teach ourselves what sounds correct or incorrect. When the time comes to speak, it's far easier with so much more experience with the language to draw from. Producing language shouldn't be completely abandoned through. It's still crucial to learn proper pronunciation and how to type it write out sentences. Production should just be a small portion of the focus of study until the learner has reached a solid level of comprehension. At that point mastering production is usually the main focus as they work to match their level of production to their level of comprehension. Although, even most native speakers have a rather large gap between how well they can understand language and how well they can produce language. Not everyone can be Shakespeare after all. It's perfectly normal to understand more than we can outwardly communicate.

[@JoelByars]

Has anyone tried the AI yet? I'm curious how accurate it is?

[@snareprod.2319]

a couple's of months ago it needed polishing but was quite interesting

[@JoelByars]

@@snareprod.2319Awesome thanks!

[@NickKravitz]

I studied math not languages. I wish Spanish and Mandarin were as easy as calculus.

[@Charizard205]

I subscribed for a month and when I click on the space bar to speak it redirects me to pay for another subscription.

[@Charizard205]

The support team fixed the issue. It works now. It's a great website. Thanks.

[@rhettvaughan1937]

Stop using English and you'll get fluent pretty fast.

[@Werkschatz]

A.I. again

[@rafacs1.63]

Step 1: Immerse yourself in the language (watch anything in your target language) Step 2: Be consistent, is the best way to keep you learning in the language, don't be motivated, just be consistent, Step 3: Do anki everyday, if you don't use anki is impossible learn new vocabulary. Step 4: Don't take class in the languages school, believe me you gonna waste your time memorizing tabs of vocabulary and grammar That's all

[@khalalw]

Impossible to learn vocabulary without Anki? I agree it’s useful but it’s not the end-all be-all

[@zombienectar]

Memory and recall. Not everyone has that advantage.

[@NathanielHendry1]

Memory is like a muscle that can be trained with practice, but is worsened if you don't use it. If your memory is poor, you just have to work hard and practice memorizing things so that is becomes better, like a muscle that becomes stronger through exercise. Imagine how silly it would be to say, "I don't want to go to the gym and work out because my muscles are weak." It's the same with memory. My memory greatly improved when I was memorizing long sections of text for a competition, so that, over the course of several years, the time needed to memorize a long section of text dropped to maybe one third of the time that it took when I started.

[@danielray5477]

I love nate.. but man I wish it wasn't $1000 a month to learn from this guy. Jeez.

[@MotivAce_co]

try being brown and not knowing Spanish they already think you know it and laugh at you all the time

[@addohm]

Speaking to having a chinese wife and how it helps, it depends on her. My wife is just not helpful at all and doesn't want to be.

[@unshapingtheearth7916]

I disagree, (as a monolingule), i believe comprehensible input is everything and speaking practice is less important

[@kenzie-gb]

Monolingual means you speak only one language, bilingual = 2, trilingual = 3 etc etc

[@AlexESPL]

This focus on speaking a lot to learn a language is so misguided. Speaking in and of itself does NOTHING to teach you anything. However LISTENING to the responses does teach you. You don't learn a language by speaking it. You need to listen and read ALOT. And then a small amount of speaking practice to train your mouth to move the muscles to produce the sounds correctly.

[@RoyHoy]

I learned a language using Duolingo. He is wrong & untrustworthy.

[@async3626]

I highly doubt it. You can read the language but you can’t have a conversation. Highly highly doubt it.

[@RoyHoy]

@@async3626 I learned to read & listen Japanese using Duolingo in 5 years. I can kinda speak it, with a bad accent. I consider myself 90% fluent.

[@async3626]

@@RoyHoy read? sure. listen? I call bullshit straight up I don't believe it.

[@ibRebecca]

I’m a Duolingo defender too lmao I can read and have conversations in Swedish thanks to Duolingo. I watch Melodifestivalen every year, I went from just knowing the numbers to understanding the jokes in the show so I will defend it lol

[@kimchi2093]

You can almost speak it? What does that mean? Did you use just Duolingo? How did you verify you understand Japanese? I also agree, I doubt you can get to listening fluency using Duolingo alone. What’s your level, can you watch a slice of life anime without subtitles and understand it? Example: can you watch an episode of Teasing Master Takagi San and understand at least 80-90 percent of it?