The RIGHT Way to Learn Grammar with Stories

[@saraimontserratvazquezlope786]

I was actually discussing this with my sister the other day. I’m C1 in English and after years my sister is stuck in B1, the difference lays in me reading lots LOTS of novels in English when she finds it boring and too energy consuming. But it’s interesting because she was telling me that she remembers the exact grammar rules as we were taught but I can’t remember any, sentences just come out. This was a very enthralling video, thanks

[@BryanAJParry]

I have had tons of students who can explain the grammar but simply cannot produce or understand any of it!

[@pinkfurryhat]

If someone wanted me to explain english grammar to them i wouldnt know where to start and its my first language lmfao

[@crazylab5078]

I relate to this so much....t

[@alexandra.v]

If you are obliged to read those novels... it does not work. I need to read some novels and short stories for college and I don't feel I'm improving my language at all.

[@jimdonovan3092]

The main point is to read something - anything - you enjoy and is maybe a little challenging. Then you might look at the text ask yourself about the word choice, turns of phrase, conjugations, … I.e., grammar.

[@elifgun8614]

Years ago, when I was learning English, this was how I did it. After a full day of school, which was specified only on English, I would go home and watch lots of drama series, and read countless books. My friends, on the other hand, they would just go to school, try to learn and then go home to idle their precious time away. They would go crazy, that I, who never studies more than a night before the exams, and watches drama series all the time got higher grades. Little did they know that I was putting all the grammar and ways I learned in school into practice by watching TV and reading books. Now, they still think it is a miracle that I learned English and they didn’t 🤷‍♀️. Lots of input takes time, and it is only for those people who are really adamant to learn a language. I use this method for my students as well.

[@storylearning]

It’s really hard to understand for those who have never done it... but people like you who HAVE done it know it to be true!

[@amadeusmalonje8263]

Your English is great :)

[@paper2222]

i'm a thai person living in thailand with fluent english and i can vouch for this input is powerful

[@a23oj28]

I'm always so amazed by people like you lol. I watch sooo much content in my target language(s) but it never sticks at all:(( I like this structured approach in the video so hopefully it will help.

[@peterwilkins7013]

But hold on... 'all the grammar I learnt at school'. So you were learning grammar and rules at school?

[@Sammy-yq8ix]

I cannot believe that i followed his advice and learned a lot of German in mere couple of weeks Also, in my opinion grammar will come automatically, vocabulary is the harder part (as it is boring)

[@storylearning]

I agree completely!

[@muttlanguages3912]

My problem with vocabulary is that new vocabulary just bounce off my brain leaving very little imprint. I sometimes have to do Japanese flashcards ~20 times to get them to stick for 10 minutes. German fortunately isn't quite so bad.

[@coconutpineapple2489]

Basically sentences in grammar books are boring. So I read grammar explanation by natives on the net after I got English reading skill. It's much interesting than explanation written in my first language.

[@zuzannaw5742]

Can you share what you read or what you watch at beginning in German

[@muttlanguages3912]

@@zuzannaw5742 naturalich german and naturalich deutsch are both good beginner channels. Naturalich german makes a video a day because she is relentless.

[@teedoubleu9602]

This week I've been focusing on reading and left the grammar grind behind. Upon reading 3 stories I noticed the same grammar structure and had no idea why it was being used. So, I looked it up, applied that rule to my reading text and I understood those sentences much better. I've felt less stress this week and less pressure by approaching grammar like this.. I now understand my aversion to sitting with the grammar book only and why I was soooooooooo bored by it. Thanks for this video Olly. You've helped me so much.

[@edonamorina9410]

Please can you tell me the rules?

[@edonamorina9410]

Please can you help me ? How

[@didierlambertzanger7134]

I Just started learning spanish true stories as an absolute beginner. I am a 64 years old man from Belgium and flemish is my mother tongue. Thank you for the videos

[@diariosdelextranjero]

Learning grammar comes only after absorbing input. Grammar helps make sense of what you read. Learning it beforehand is often frustrating and counterproductive.

[@jamjunctionfm]

Agreed! You'll end up losing interest and then giving up that way! So just absorb, listen, speak and read. Comprehensible Input all day. Vocab Vocab Vocab, words and phrases. Then grammar comes later.

[@diariosdelextranjero]

@@jamjunctionfm ( Add to that a LOT of patience 😅)

[@jamjunctionfm]

@@diariosdelextranjero yes bags of patience

[@faithbwire9164]

That's where am I am after feeling like am losing it in my korean studies.... Reading and listening is what am doing... Because I know some grammar I can see them now easily but this why is simpler...

[@storylearning]

Amen!

[@mep6302]

I've reached a point in my English where I just make sentences without thinking about the grammar. I just say/write what makes sense to me. If I'm not sure, I'll try to google it. The same thing I do in my native language. One of the reasons is I've watched a lot of videos in English and I started reading in English almost one year ago. I remember something my parents used to tell me when I was a child: "read, it will expand your vocabulary and help you express yourself better. If you don't know the meaning of a word, write it down to look it up after finishing your reading". I can confirm it's true, not only in your native language.

[@isabellebernard1903]

Thanks for this video. I'm a native French speaker. A lot of people give up very early on learning French because of teachers starting bombarding them with grammar on their first week of class. That's the best way to kill the learner's interest. Sometimes, people think they must START learning 5 verbs ending at the present tense before they pass to a second step. Sad.

[@diariosdelextranjero]

Jais ecoute la radio franceinfo pour amèliorer mon francés.

[@Sosui2]

you are 100% right, grammar is the fastest way to kill the Fun and the desire to learn a language. I never care about grammar, just massive amounts of input and the grammar will be learned by Osmosis

[@isabellebernard1903]

@@diariosdelextranjero oui c'est une bonne façon si tu comprends assez pour que ça soit compréhensible :)

[@isabellebernard1903]

@@Sosui2 I know, I learned English and Spanish without learning the grammar at all at first and improved a lot faster that way. I did look at rules later and understood what I already was applying. That being said if I had to pass a test in English asking me a question like: please conjugate the verb 'to walk' at the first person plural in "the type 3 conditional" I would fail. I have no idea what that means.

[@Sosui2]

@@isabellebernard1903 Very nice, cool to hear that you have learned 2. I am norwegian and I am learning spanish at the moment !

[@anna-wt2tz]

I love the way you seemingly choose to say words, "lift a vail", "conscienceness", things I've tried to explain to others but couldn't quite find the words to explain. People ask me how I learned Spanish, and one thing is definitely to be present, and Conscience when learning, be active. thank you

[@mandy145]

I love that you say the reading, exposure and curiosity should direct the grammar focus (and order?) and not the other way around. I thought it was wrong or undisciplined of me to want to do it this way! I would force myself to do it the other way and lose momentum. Now I've been spending last 5-6 months on lots of input through reading and active listening and it is so much more intuitive and CLARIFYING to work on grammar on a case by case basis afterwards. Language learning this way is an interitive, experimental process that is circular and not linear, where learning happens in the doing. The only thing I would kind of disagree, which is a matter of perspective is that grammar is finite but vocabulary is not. I struggle with how I should go about prioritizing vocabulary because I recently realized how important a role vocab plays in you being able to practice the grammar in action or being able to notice the grammar in input. So vocab, unending. Grammar finite, which is a good thing, it's just a matter of refining.

[@storylearning]

Yes you’re right, but we also run into this problem in our native languages, don’t we? I’ve had to dabble in the medical world recently, unfortunately, and I’ve realised how woeful my knowledge of medical terminology is, even though it’s my native language. The solution here is to read around your topics of interest, so that you develop your vocabulary in a more focused way. If you read things on different topics all the time, that’s the fastest way to get overwhelmed!

[@mandy145]

@@storylearning That's true! Although I do have a much wider base of vocabulary in English(L1) , even about things I have no interest in, but become used in communicating myself in different areas (uni, work, social etc). They're not specificialised areas yet like medical or scientific jargon but I have yet to build (in process of) this general vocabulary base in Spanish. And I still want to develop Spanish vocab in specific topics I find interesting like architecture, biodiversity etc. But I do get your point! I would like to say though that your storylearning method has been really influential on how I go about learning a language. I recently found an Italki teacher whose teaching meshes very well with the storytelling approach that I like to practice! Thank you Olly!

[@kayleeson509]

I'm currently training a new team of people how to do my job at work. The work is highly technical, in a STEM field, and very context specific. Exposure and curiosity are the only ways to train. I can write documents all day, and sometimes that helps, but honestly the only way people remember content is through exposure, curiosity, and then teaching the concept.

[@GirlFriday68]

Your short stories in Italian has really helped my learning, along with noticing grammar, also collocations, native phrasing, sentence order, it also really really expands your vocabulary, thank you

[@bildeglimt]

This, in my experience, is spot on. I like that you recommend occasionally doing lookups, but only if something in your input has made you curious about a specific point. To me that's the perfect ratio of input-to-grammar. I know some immersion learners also recommend occasionally glancing through structured textbooks to help solidify some of what they've noticed but not explicitly looked up. I've not done that (yet?) but it seems like a reasonable thing to do.

[@makkni]

Whenever I watch his videos I always feel like he really wants to explain it in the best possible way so we truly understand it

[@chunktionary7525]

The number 1 thing I've taken: I knew this natural way of learning in other fields and topics like math, but didn't recognize it could be useful and practical about languages. Thanks.

[@sebastiendumais4246]

Older video but still like to comment… My experience with grammar learning in a second language is with Japanese. My first language is French, and I did learn English the way you suggest through input…. And it took a massive amount of time… My experience has been that to be able to start and still make progress in a reasonable amount of time is to learn the structure of the language to make sense of more complicated but also more interesting work. What I’ve been doing is to “cram” vocabulary about subjects that I like (economics, politics, etc…) and then try to read about those subjects very much the way you suggest. But having some vocabulary “in advance” kind of speeds up the process of enjoying something interesting and getting the gist of it. Yes, many of the crammed words will fall out of memory because I don’t come across them much but that’s ok… just means these words are “useless” and I’ll pick them up later on. For Japanese grammar, the grammar is so simple that I didn’t spend much time there. The “grammar points” are basically just vocabulary instead of really grammar and this is how I’m approaching it…. Cram a bunch of them, try to read something and whatever is useful will stick around….

[@ejt321]

I agree. I see many videos where they say just consume comprehensible content, but I find that learning grammar and vocab at the same time speeds things up hugely. I'm learning Dutch and if I don't know the vocab and sentence structure it's just all a blur. I think you need all three: vocab, grammar, and lots of content in all forms.

[@VietnameseShortStories]

I have been doing this for learning English and it really helps me to communicate with people efficiently. Thank you very much for your message, this would save language learners lots of pain!.

[@EUPHORIANIMABBA]

Your English is excellent! Keep up the good work!

[@nanaak8617]

Wonderful English, by the way. I'm glad this was helpful. I'll try it as well.

[@hopperhelp1]

So it’s funny situation. Technically my first language is Portuguese, however when I came to the US when I was a kid I was able to read early on very quickly. It fact growing up, I’d usually be reading something, to the point I’ve cleared up entire fictional sections at my local library. Back when we had the high school exit exam, I got a near perfect proficiency on my test. When I studied French for four years in high school the traditional way, I’d struggle to say anything because I’d be translating in my head instead of dealing with the language naturally. Reading a lot of French helped me be able to retain quite a bit of the language over ten years of not speaking it. And now I’m studying Japanese with Olly’s method. I’m managing. It’s the first time I’ve ever read a language so slow but I can see my comprehension improve as time goes on. And with it my vocabulary is improving. My grammer in Japanese doesn't feel isn't as forced in my French and Ive even gone back and started to read some Portuguese because despite speaking it for a long time I've made some grammatical errors here and there. Reading has helped fic some of those errors. This method has been amazing to say the least.

[@muttlanguages3912]

I think ideally language learning would be about 80% reading and listening. 15% practicing speaking with a good source to imitate. And about 5% some kind of instruction about grammar and vocab.vocabulary. I have no evidence to support these numbers.

[@Prostopyotr]

👍

[@chriswixtrom6514]

Research supports these percentages!

[@uraeusayeri764]

I agree

[@stehen]

Zero dislikes! you are really doing a good job man.

[@kirstenallen1900]

All natural learning is like this…exposure to the input…it sets the deeper learning over time. Thank you. Learning is effortless and guides itself and motivation for details gradually.

[@faithbwire9164]

5:22-5:47 my AHA moment. Thank you so much am always grateful for your advice

[@storylearning]

Awesome

[@nisa9327]

6:04 so right! If I know the words in the sentence I can usually guess the meaning without knowing the grammar.

[@JB-fu5he]

I wish Olly had created these types of videos when I was learning Russian in college. This video sums up semesters of learning the hard way that, we oddly learn grammar in the periphery of our focus.

[@BennyBoi_07]

Ive learned some vocabulary in spanish over the past few months, but once I saw your videos of reading stories to learn naturally ive started to answer some questions i had about grammar that i couldnt understand by watching tons of videos on. I can now understand some of what im reading and start to paint a picture of the stories. I still learn new vocabulary, but introducing the stories and music has started to help me even more!

[@TheNutmegStitcher]

I teach Latin to middle and high school students. One of the benefits has been gaining an understanding of English grammar. Native English speakers are capable of correctly using highly complex grammatical structures with zero understanding of the rules or names, but learning those develops confidence and cognitive growth. Understanding English grammar has given me the confidence and drive to tackle French. The context of Latin was the vehicle I stumbled upon. I wish I'd more fully grasped English grammar in college when I was struggling with the subjunctive and other conjugations. Latin was my key to English, which in turn has opened a door to French. Context and enjoyment are crucial. I'm reading about history -- and Harry Potter. Not as overly complex as a classic novel, but more engaging than young children's literature.

[@richardgray8593]

This seems to be a really good strategy. I've been focusing mostly on single-word flashcards.

[@derekgreen7319]

I think some learning some grammar rules does help, you want some early on, then you have alot of input and then finally review the rules again.

[@beaudenefinger3312]

I've been using the StoryLearning learning method with Japanese since January with great success (at least I think so). Something that I found really helpful was to start reading the dialogues AND reading sections of both Genki 1 & 2. Then I did what I would call BACKLOGGING. After finishing ALL of the readings in Genki 1, I went and looked over the grammar points and took notes on ones I didn't absorb. This massively helped me properly understand the grammar after absorbing it, and allowed me to properly output it in conversation too. I hope this helps somebody!

[@Nicholas6563]

The question is how to determine my level. I can read a German mystery with great difficulty and yes stress. I have purchased your beginner to intermediate book and am reading. So the question is , how does one determine a level and find books or material at that level. By the way, I love your channel.

[@ocaminhodoingles]

man, your content is so rich, I learned a lot in this video, thanks a lot!

[@janerussianchannel4669]

First of all, I want to say that I love your videos. I absolutely love your videos and you have a lot of useful information in them. Your videos are a treasure Trove of information for people like me who is learning another language. Thank you so much for taking the time to make these videos and put them on KZbin for people like me to watch. They are extremely helpful. And very well put together. I'm learning Russian. It's actually not that hard to me. It's very fun. I too was focusing way too much on grammar and wasn't learning anything. Then I started learning how to understand the language and not so much on grammar. Grammar is important but it should come after you learn the language. I am nowhere fluent in Russian but I am getting there. I'm thinking about adding Ukrainian and Bulgarian to my list. It will be much easier to go from one Slavic language to another Slavic language opposed to from Russian to Spanish or something.

[@sadhbh4652]

Hey Olly, I just finished your book of Portuguese short stories and wanted to say thanks! It was great.

[@gemmagreene362]

So, I have taken the plunge. My French is not fabulous, so I have bought the physical and audio versions of the intermediate French short stories. I will edit later to tell you if I feel more confident in my French after spending a while with them.

[@KTRDOIMO]

I personally like learning grammar. It's interesting to find out how another language works and rules I wouldn't have thought about. Plus it's easier for me

[@jillaroo1986]

I love the short stories of yours so much. I used the swedish beginner one and the Korean intermediate one. I was hoping so much, that you would release a Thai intermediate one as well, as I know that you studied Thai yourself. The ressources for Thai in terms of good stories is so limited, not even LingQ added Thai so far. Same counts for Tagalog :(. I love your content and advice so much, as it is right up my alley. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. Lots of love from Germany.

[@dr.corneliusq.cadbury6984]

Grammar books teach you ABOUT the grammar but to actually LEARN it you must get mass exposure to the language itself. Hence you want to spend most of your time getting that exposure (which I think is the key point being made here in the video). BUT. I think spending some fraction of your time on deliberate grammar study has an indirect benefit because it will affect the way that you PERCEIVE input and will help you NOTICE more. I've gradually learned more grammatical concepts and terminology over time and I find I learn better with it than without it. Now if I look at a sentence my brain will start picking it apart grammatically (that's a third person plural, that's the past participle, that's a subordinate clause, etc) whereas back in high school they were all "just words." For monolingual beginners, I would say trying to study a reference grammar or something without a decent knowledge of general grammar is often counterproductive. But personally I like to go over the basics of the morphology, syntax, and phonology right at the start. Then from there I will mostly just look things up here and there as I go. And do major reviews at sporadic intervals.

[@glenn3440]

I have two of your books and they're very helpful. Thank you for the videos!

[@storylearning]

Glad to hear that!

[@william_shakespeare]

You are a legend, Olly, and a blessing to the language learning community. Thank you. ❤

[@pinkfurryhat]

As a native english speaker, i cant only recall a handful of grammar rules that were “taught” to me. I totally believe the rest is comprehensible input and just using it and seeing it being used

[@Hellojsm8823]

I can’t agree more.Stories will be more helpful for us to learn languages and also, it is more interesting than those examinations and tests. Plus I recommend audiobooks will be better because the sounds, correct pronunciation, will definitely strengthen our memory.

[@ralfj.1740]

Most teachers should watch this video!

[@hm-cs2ho]

I think a good tip besides reading is usisng AI Chatbots. Snapchats AI Chatbot is speaking every language I'm learning at this point. The conversations are natural, even in my native tounge and the tounges I'm relatively fluent in. You can try it, by just starting the conversation in the language you want to learn. Good luck and stay motivated! 😊

[@cpnlsn88]

I have a couple of experiences that back this up. One os Interlingua, a conlang. I am interested in learning it and find a lot of input comprehensible and enjoyable. But if I watch a video or read about grammar I switch off immediately. Even though it's both easy and familiar I just can't tolerate it. I literally switch off and my brain says no. Similar experience with reading New Testament Greek. I'm making quite good progress by reading. Again I have been defeated by grammar translation text books. Many try and then conclude they don't have the gift of languages imparted to a few. If youre learning technique doesn't work with 99% of learners don't be surprised if you fail, or it puts you off. Grammar has a role, but only when you're ready for it. My attitude to grammar is it is there to cement what i already know or partly know. If I already know it - great! If it slots into place then that too is great. If it's too obscure then I'm not ready for it and might never be, and that's OK. I never do grammar drills, they're a waste of time. Also they are tedious. Broadly my attitude to grammar is like my attitude to salt and vinegar on chips. It really adds something but too much and it's revolting.

[@elainepotgieter9403]

I gave up trying to learn grammar ages ago, lol. I have to learn the form of each verb as if it were a new word when it comes up in a sentence, usually in a story / podcast. I can really relate to what Olly is saying here. I remember words so much better and easier if I use them in a sentence with other words I know already and it's way more fun and I remember the grammar much better that way!

[@kevinjones2145]

I like your advice to "trust the process." I find that to be encouraging. Great channel!

[@DouglasSilva-ys6lw]

I am reading books that I like in the target language already but I confess that I can easily follow the message of the plot, but I am kind of in some automatic mode for grammar. In my case with French when I am speaking I still have to think a bit before using Subjonctif or Imparfait and so on. I will try to do some reading sections where I specifically look for noticing grammar. Thanks Olly

[@WhiteSpatula]

I admire your approach, Olly. For me, I find it fascinating that infant minds, within months of birth, enter a phase of heightened absorption that results in the acquisition of a native language well within their first decade. From an evolutionary standpoint, it makes perfect sense that this phase then gradually winds down, because our brains are programmed (to use the term loosely) to expend energy parsimoniously rather than extravagantly. Take “perfect pitch” for example. Many (if not most) musicians will say that this particular skill is innate. You’re either born with it or you’re not. But others, with whom I happen to agree, will disagree and assert that it can indeed be learned, albeit with increasing difficulty as we age. I most definitely do not have perfect pitch. However, after decades of music studies, piano lessons, and a persistent love and appreciation of music in general, I’ve found that after several hours of hearing no music -and this is especially true when I first wake up in the morning- that I can pluck any familiar song from memory and begin singing it precisely on key virtually every single time. This leads me to believe that it is NOT the case that adults brains are simply unable to acquire heightened states of absorption comparable to those that evolution bestows, if only temporarily, upon our minds during infancy and toddlerhood. But rather, such states are a manifestation of our brains naturally and gradually moving from extravagant to parsimonious energy consumption in areas where feedback indicates sufficient success. Think of it like a light switch that can slide between bright and dim settings as opposed to one that can merely be set to “on” or “off”. And from this vantage, I believe it’s simply a matter of tricking our brains into sliding that switch back toward its heightened absorption setting, which allows us in adulthood to learn with nearly nascent levels of apprehension. For these reasons, I find your advice on language acquisition quite astute. I’ve found that reading stories in another language, especially stories I’ve already read in English and for which I therefore already have a general knowledge of the plot and dialogue, well beyond advantageous when studying a new language. I actually prefer to listen to books on audio at first, imposing no greater expectation upon myself than exposure and enthusiasm, and then delve into its written form later. And I can attest: I have never finished a story in a new language with equal (or lesser, for that matter) comprehension than when I began it. From front cover to final phrase, my understanding has always, and reliably ALWAYS, improved. Cheers, mate, and good on you! -Phill, Las Vegas

[@AkashaOConnell]

This actually makes so much sense. Thank you. I can't wait for you Irish stories book to come out.

[@iancardenas-spanishbutcomp4074]

I usually just stay here lurking around but just let me say that I really like your content and appreciate the information that you give. Thank you PD. 11:30, I'm still here

[@storylearning]

Thank you - I appreciate you commenting!

[@urnavpal3667]

what you said made real sense after struggling to try learning for a year now

[@mariabarking1751]

I've just started reverse transcription with one of your books after watching your video on it. Heard of RT before but your video shows how to do it ☺️. Thanks my aim is to get good enough to do your Intermediate course🤞

[@vtheory7531]

Great video, definitely important and a different approach to language learning for sure. I think the native speaker experience is being better at using the grammar than explaining it 😂 understanding the theory of grammar rules is a more academic goal, rather than being crucial for proficiency. You don’t need to be an academic to be fluent. You just need to be able to communicate.

[@michaelbolen2118]

Nice video. I am enjoying your graded reader series for Russian, would you consider expanding or addending the series with versions that include brief notes that illustrate general grammatical concepts at the end of each chapter? I think this might be very useful.

[@storylearning]

That's an interesting idea, Michael, but I wonder if it would detract from the simplicity of the book. In any case, this is exactly why I made my Grammar Hero courses: www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/grammarhero

[@derpauleglot9772]

I started studying Russian maybe two and half years ago. My "method": No grammar, no vocab practice, only reading and listening. After a year or so I took a placement test consisting of grammar, reading and vocab - with strange results. According to the test, grammar was my *strength* (B1), my vocab was a bit weaker and I only got A2 on the reading test.

[@abhinavchauhan7864]

How do you read when you dont know any word ?

[@Anonimo205i]

ANKI is missing in your method!

[@ThisisFerrariKhan]

@@abhinavchauhan7864 the Russian alphabet is phonetic and you can teach it to yourself in 30 minutes. Once you do that, learning to read Russian can almost become a full self-study.

[@abhinavchauhan7864]

@@ThisisFerrariKhan but how do you read when you dont know any word ?

[@josebenito15]

"Don't trow the baby out with the bathwater" Every time I hear that idiom I always think of a short film by C.Chaplin. Great Video. Thanks so much for your help. Greetings from Spain

[@Drachenschnauze]

What i feel works for me is basically skimming the educational texts about grammar, with the fokus of not getting frustrated if i don't understand something and then i read, or watch tv and suddenly i understand a lot more of the grammar-structures and my brain fills in the things i did not understand while reading about grammar. There is a finite amount of grammar rules, i can read about and i read them once from one book and then start over from another book that explains them differently and consume other input afterwards until i feel safe.

[@aysgl2666]

language comes first, grammar after :D You hit the nail on the head

[@ThaiIsland]

Ok boss...looking up reading materials for my target language. Thank you sir!

[@RosanneLoriMalowany]

“Notice Grammar” is my number one take away from this clip. I have tried reading your book “Short Stories in Spanish” for beginners. I found it too difficult to follow and to get the point of any story. Yes, I would stop to look up a word once in awhile but I followed your guidance and simply read it through twice and still did not get what the story was about. I abandoned this approach and looked at other methods and other polyglot systems. However, their system is quite complex. So i now entertain resuming your approach and shall just trust that, in time, it will land in me. I am a visual learner first then auditory. Any feedback from you is welcome.

[@willkumwenda]

Your KZbin channel is amazing. Keep up the good work!

[@karinaestrada6802]

Olly, have you thought of, or have you done doing a “Short Stories” for English?! Id love something for my mom. Thanks for the insights!

[@stevemelnicola]

Reading is a great adjunct to learning a language because correct grammatical models are repeatedly presented. This is hinged on reading at a level that you can manage. A little reading should be rather challenging but most should be relatively easy and for enjoyment. If Dr. Seus is a challenge you are not yet ready for Harry Potter! This is as true in additional languages as it is in your first.

[@e.j.2279]

I've done Italian Undercovered and in Capitolo 13 I noticed that my understanding started to deteriorate and I had to read previous chapters - I though have read and listened whole Luomo col cappello many times - I don't learn Italian; its structure doesn't reaveal itself to me. I need a teacher to teach me the rules of Italian (grammar). German I learned quite easily when the structure of the language was explaned by a teacher - then it was just to grow German vacabulary. I have that Italian grammar package but have been weeks totally demotivated.

[@jocolcris]

Thanks Olly! Really needed this!

[@nr655321]

I speak four languages and what Ollie's saying is accurate.

[@myselfme767]

I don't understand why people don't like Grammar. If you gotta learn it, just learn it. 🤷‍♀️ btw, Olly, I bought (well my husband bought it) your Greman book and it's really interesting, I love it. 👌

[@eklipsebloodless]

It's easy for me to understand where you are coming from because I agree 100% since this is the way I learned English. I wasn't the best at grammar but the amount of time I spent reading and listening to English on KZbin or the internet overall is insane. I can't say I'm a pro at it but I'm more than good at it. And the "sound right" part got me laughing so hard because of how true it is and how much I can relate to it haha.

[@chalokun1]

Hi Olly and thank you for your interesting videos as always; here , nonetheless a qucik comment, at 5 minutes 50 seconds : yes but here you take an example in a language(English) where the order in the sentence is already grammar; if it was a language with case, it would be obvious that endings would be required but in a svo languages as English, order is key....Here ORDER is GRAMMAR already...

[@Ewan_Smith]

This was basically what I was doing with Korean - I would read and listen and reread and relisten to a lot of content, and when I saw the same patterns occurring again and again, I would find out what it was (either looking it up online or asking a native speaker). I progressed much faster and ended up with a better understanding than friends who learnt the grammar first and then started to consume content. Although I love grammar and really like understanding how the language functions, I admit that it gets in the way. Perfecting grammar should be left until later, once you can already speak the language.

[@worrellrobinson4332]

Cheers Olly the take away (4me) is read read and read kind regards Worrell Robinson form London.

[@storylearning]

Excellent takeaway!

[@evanmaclean943]

20 seconds and cant get my eyes off the woodstock Van Gogh T-shift, totally reminds me of Woot shirts in the US. awesome shirt bro!

[@pierogi6549]

Hi Olly! Thank you for sharing ur knowledge! Just got some of ur stories! Cant wait to start them. Are you planning to make in the future audios accompaning these books? That would be great! All the best! Kat

[@ibrahimali9564]

I've been waiting for this video 😀 great video as always Olly! ❤️ I agree with everything that you said 👌💯 thanks for making this video

[@storylearning]

I like it when people disagree some of the time... but that’s awesome! 😅

[@catherinedeutscher2421]

Thanks for your encouragement Olly. BTW, love your t-shirt! Going the Imagine Van Gogh in Vancouver, Canada in July!

[@vitorbrasiliano1524]

My native language is portuguese and i'm istudy eglish i'm gonna need to listened for far to long because your langage is not easy to understand but let's go guys✊✊✊

[@MMmk1]

This is true. Thank you for assuring me I was doing it correctly ;)

[@jamestscottjs]

These week, my wife and I are trying to read our first book in Japanese. VERY DIFFICULT, but I am starting to see how it is helping me learn new words. Quick question: We have been looking up almost every word that we don't, and although we feel like we are picking up new words, do you feel like we should not be doing this? When is the right time to look up new words? I have heard some say that when I find a new word I should put that sentence into a Anki deck. What say ye?

[@storylearning]

Glad you asked. Here’s the answer: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fH64m6iAfc52sNk

[@jamestscottjs]

@@storylearning Thank you!

[@joelpettit25]

Olly, just noticed that Intermediate French Stories book! I ordered on Amazon, but have to wait until Sept! Anyway I can get a copy sooner?????? I need to boost my French before July.

[@storylearning]

It’s available in digital format everywhere, but paperback is only currently on one side of the pond till September I believe.

[@EUPHORIANIMABBA]

There are less than 10 paperback copies of the Intermediate French Stories book at www.hive.co.uk I have bought a lot from Hive, which supports your local high street and the book you're after says that it will be dispatched to you within 48 hours. Postage is free or you can pay £1.99 and usually get the book delivered to you within 2-3 working days

[@joelpettit25]

@@EUPHORIANIMABBA Thanks! Unfortunately, I'm in America, so the cost of shipping would probably end up being too much.

[@EUPHORIANIMABBA]

@@joelpettit25 Oh, sorry- my bad! I thought you were in the UK.

[@joelpettit25]

@@EUPHORIANIMABBA maybe @Olly Richards will send me one. ;)

[@ShaneGodliman]

Fantastic video Olly! Really well explained

[@otacilioneto6925]

I've started learning grammar like this not long ago. In fact that's the most effective way to do it, stay away from the rules.

[@The2dandre]

Olly, nowadays I'm trying to learn German. It's the third time I try it...What's your approach to languages like German and Russian which have a more complex grammar because of the different cases? I believe that learning through stories is very effective..Congratulations for the content in your channel..

[@Themindofreyrey]

When are you releasing a Mandarin book?

[@estellasaville1610]

Dear Olly I love the idea of your method and can see how it works and could work for me. However, I live in Turkey and am learning Turkish and as you might suspect am getting bogged down with grammar. What a breath of fresh air your approach is and I would love to use it but my problem is finding the texts that are not too hard or too easy. I have your book on order and a couple of your competitors too but being an avid reader I don't expect that it will take me long to get through those. Could you please suggest alternative reading material that I could use? I am OK ish with local papers but the stumbling blocks come when I look for suitable reading material. I am probably at B1 level should I now turn to school reading books, some I can plough my way through and I have learnt amazing things like the danger of drinking cold water after exercise but often because they are designed for native speakers I get a little lost. If you have any suggestions I would be very grateful.

[@monicabartmer8362]

OMG! That was exactly what I did when learning English!! The first thing was my interest in HP 😂 and I couldn’t wait for the translation in portuguese, my best friend at that time was the dictionary 🤣 Ik my english is not perfect but I can understand and make myself understandable 😆

[@blingblingdog6958]

As a native English speaker, I can say that I never really learned that much rules, it just feels natural. By that I mean that something doesn’t feel right when I speak with or read wrong grammar.

[@ralfj.1740]

At school we were tortured so much with grammar rules, it was horrible, I lost my joy of learning languages, until I went to the US the first time to visit my relatives, then I decided to study English in a way I enjoy, and it worked so well for me. Meanwhile I've learned 5 foreign languages, I don't learn grammar rules, grammar comes naturally with exposing yourself enough to the language.

[@michaelashe6546]

Hi Olly Quick question ⁉️ When you read are you listening to the auto as well? Cheers y

[@cryptobref]

Reading only worked for my English but only when I actually studied the grammar itself did it click for my Polish.

[@DialoguesinRussian]

That's what we do, as far as Russian is concerned!

[@Soulskinner]

@Vesper Core Ну. Такое себе. Может на начальных этапах это помогает, типа чтобы понимать хоть что-нибудь. Но на более поздних получается какая-то фигня. Да и изучение слов по карточкам получается слишком уж тормознутым занятием. К тому же, способность понимать прям с порога, совершенно другой скилл, нежели быстрое угадывание карточек. Я бы вообще посоветовал бы побольше читать, смотреть Ютуб (русскоязычный Ютуб - второй по размерам) в целом просматривать контент на русском и будет всё пучком. ^_^ Так гораздо эффективнее и быстрее учатся слова, чем с помощью карточек.

[@giusax89]

Dear Olly, first off, thanks a bunch for your courses, I'm having a ball with the Danish one. My question is: can reading a lot in the beginning interfere with understanding/speaking a language (just like danish) which is quite distant from its written form?

[@storylearning]

No… you can never read too much. Reading gives you a complete foundation, and from that you can learn any spoken variation you want.

[@zara8537]

I agree with you

[@ChinwonderFC]

Im sorry that first sentence had me rolling. Reminded me of all my Chinese restaurant visits

[@storylearning]

What level are you at right now? 👉🏼 kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3O3m56PpLadaqc

[@SuperRand13]

I'll be honest, i'm fluent in my native English, passed my exams with a B, but I still don't understand "grammar". Despite learning it for well over a decade in school it just didn't stick. However I can use the language well enough on a daily basis for no-one to question my proficiency. I'm hoping the same will be for acquiring Spanish. I love consuming Spanish content, but I just know the Studying the grammar specifically will just throw me off completely and leave me more confused.

[@kristinawelch4522]

Would it be a good idea for building vocabulary to take sentences with the words you don’t know and study those like on anki?

[@romchikyoung6863]

Okey, that's right. but, how do I use this method from scratch in language journey? For example, I've started to leaen Japanese, all I know is Japanese alphabet. So I wanna to learn it throughout reading and listing to. How is ir possible if i don't know what it is sentence about?

[@Bavubuka]

I find when I’m reading in my target language I’m actually translating everything into English and I’m not sure if I’m actually marinating in the target language and fully putting the vocabulary in my head because as I’m reading I’m hearing myself speaking the English words translation in my head. Not the French target words that I’m reading. Can you comment on this? Should I be doing something different? Doesn’t seem quite ideal. I want to be reading French, hearing French in my head and understanding in French… if that makes any sense.

[@jas-jr3rv]

i rarely ever studied spanish grammar because i found it frustrating and annoying so i've likely spent less than 10 minutes total over 4 years of passive learning looking at grammar, that's how much it bored me. i mostly read spanish, and i've noticed as i picked it up more and more lately i'm starting to be able to form my own sentences with more complex grammar that just *feels* right, and when i look it up to be sure i'm incredibly surprised I actually knew. it wasn't even this feeling of knowledge, it felt deeper than that. like automatic

[@russ2991]

Where is the link for reverse translation?

[@JuanPablo_RDM]

La manera correcta de aprender gramática con historias. 🧐