Why We Struggle Learning Languages | Gabriel Wyner | TEDxNewBedford

The only barrier to learning a language is memory. - The process of language learning is the process of forming memories. Nothing more, nothing less. If you understand that, and you understand how memories are formed, then you can make progress in a way you've never dreamed possible before. Gabriel Wyner is an author, opera singer and polyglot based in Chicago. After reaching fluency in German in 14 weeks with the help of the immersive Middlebury Language Schools, he fell in love with the process of language learning, going on to spend two months in intensive Italian courses in Perugia, Italy. Searching for ways to bring the immersion experience into the home, he began to develop a system that rapidly builds fluency in short, daily sessions. In 2010, his efforts paid off. He learned French to fluency in 5 months, and then Russian in 10 months.
Born in Los Angeles, he graduated summa cum laude in 2007 from the University of Southern California with dual degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Vocal Arts Performance, and was awarded the Renaissance Scholar’s prize for excellence in unrelated disciplines. He then moved to Vienna to pursue triple Master’s degrees at the Konservatorium Wien in Opera, Lieder and Voice, and graduated with honors in 2011.
Currently learning Japanese, he's learned Hungarian and Spanish over the last few years. His book on language learning - Fluent Forever: How to learn any language fast and never forget it - was published on August 5, 2014 (Harmony/Random House). His most recent project has been the development of a new language learning tool, which became the most successful Kickstarter for an app in history in September of 2017. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@espanolconmanu6240]

"If you want to learn a language efficiently, then you need to give that language life." I won't ever forget that sentence. I totally agree.

[@mariemonroe5172]

How do you give it life?

[@marcingruszka4414]

We can't connect all words we learn to scents, tastes and emotions. It's impossible. For me it's not the problem to learn a new word but to call it from my head when I need it in real conversation. And when I can't call it and conversation halt and someone tell this word for me I know immediately what it means and that this is exactly the word I was looking for. The only way to start speaking other language is practice because this way we get experience in pulling words from our heads. I hope that I explained it clearly because english is not my mother language :-).

[@xCorvus7x]

@@marcingruszka4414 I think the main point was to not memorise translations, but to internalise what a word means, which in the example given turned out to be the association of the according sensory perceptions.

[@matiasjacobsen2647]

Thanks for the inspirational quote! 😀

[@IceSpoon]

@@nunenuh "Moktor" is still more memorable to me :P

[@sarahmatthews7]

Why did no one laugh at his jokes :/

[@MHSUPER30]

Sarah Matthews 😂

[@ficklepickless]

Maybe the audience’s volume was lowered in the editing so you could still hear him(?)

[@dongiovanni1993]

Watching sitcoms is a great tool to improve your language comprehension. But there are some genres where editors don't add audience laughter and applause ;-)

[@clevelandphil]

He's telling jokes?

[@clevelandphil]

It is hard to listen to polyglots when they babble on and say nothing.

[@kass2512]

As a bilingual person I can conform that when I speak Spanish I dont think of the English translation i think of the thing

[@graceandglamor]

Mismo

[@anniebanannie4542]

Yo también

[@chefcuhdon33]

Aussie boi it’s hard to think of the thing when for me only like nouns give me an image in my head. If that makes sense. I’m learning Spanish and it’s starting to flow more normal now but like I still usually tend to think of the English equivalent to “check myself” and almost translate it in my head.

[@Doitallgp]

El same-o

[@Maya-so5yk]

same, but with french

[@brutevilgax777]

"...because Japanese is endless." God that's accurate. I'm a year into studying Japanese and I have soooo much ahead of me.

[@tublike]

6 years and just OMG I know nothing

[@cloudybrains]

@@tublike It's all fine and good until you hit the Kanji. It all goes downhill from there...

[@tublike]

@@cloudybrains kanji is easy, grammar tho..

[@cloudybrains]

@@tublike There are several thousand kanji characters to learn though, and only a handful of grammar rules.

[@tublike]

@@cloudybrains I know about a 1000 individual kanji (you need around 2000 to read newspapers) +their combinations, so believe me, I know. :D There are so many grammar rules tho and depending on which culture you grew up in, they might not make sense to you at all when you first see them haha My level is somewhere in B2 (I think it's inbetween N3-N2), we have learned grammar in class that you can't even find easily on the internet so if you learn on your own, it might seem like it's not that much.

[@edogaktop]

Tough audience

[@isaac10231]

edogaktop I think they just didn't mic the audience.

[@prod.hxrford3896]

No they did because you can hear them laugh a lot at one point.

[@ricochet4674]

IKR

[@guybrushgood3717]

I thoguht the same, while he was making the moktor acting, that was funny but the audience didnt laugh

[@mashamitchell9574]

He's not funny

[@TheSassi14]

To be fair, moktor is way shorter than falehskkwjow

[@tirzxh]

Well gotta practice

[@njuvanrui2951]

Watch out your language! The Great Khan Attila is watching ya!

[@adeleazpuruaragazzoni650]

thought the same xD

[@tollpatschny3346]

TheSassi42 True, plus he repeated Moktot like 20 times

[@evigyorke2041]

TheSassi42 Fényképezőgép. 🤣😂 ( light-picture-machine)

[@leRadicidelPiacere]

"If you want to learn a foreign language you have to give that language life."

[@IanHollis]

TL; DW: We learn language through context, not memorization.

[@alexshih3747]

@@lorax121323 Then how do babies learn their first language? They don't memorize anything.

[@babygorl9541]

@@alexshih3747 intentionally no. but so many phrases, words and grammar repeats naturally in what they hear, watch and read that they eventually memorize it.

[@heartandmindovercome3214]

@@babygorl9541 got em! Yes, not deliberate memorization. Repeated learning, repeated exposure for the basics, and associations.

[@HL-SBR]

Then you just missed out on how fun this presentation is.

[@user-jl5ks7yj6y]

@@alexshih3747 babies don't learn their first language they aquire it, its a natural process

[@dongiovanni1993]

That's quite fair point. I've once realized that you must _understand_ the word, not _translate_ it. And from then I use flashcards (electronic only) with pictures, and with context (phrase, where I first met the word). And it's way more efficient for me. Never translate words to another language to remember them. Use images and other senses instead.

[@loluoresegun5844]

Well, you'll have to do some kinda 'translation' upfront.

[@dongiovanni1993]

@Lolu Oresegun, no, negative. Say, I know a bunch of languages. And I'm trying to memorize some new word. To which language I have to translate it? There is no right answer. All you need to begin to use the word, is the sensation in your mind, that corresponds to hearing this word (or a phenomena associated) in one of your known languages. Moreover, you can use a word in particular language, if you know (feel) its meaning, but you never know the word in any other languages you know. When you think in that target language, there is no need to translate words to any other language. So, you know the word, you can use it, you understand its meaning, but you cannot translate it. I hope this example makes it clear, that knowing a word doesn't imply any translation.

[@dongiovanni1993]

I just came up with an even better explanation. :-) You can know a word in any single language. It means that you know it and you can use it in this very language. On the other hand, the fact that you can do some translation means that you know the word in at least two languages. It's clear and simple. :-) Both scenarios are legal and make perfect sense.

[@Correctrix]

Translation is actually perfectly fine. People with a certain mindset get confused by translation, but not everyone. I don't need a picture of a _chien_ to stop me mistakenly thinking it is a surefire, 100% drop-in equivalent of "dog".

[@Correctrix]

Well, I don't always translate French to English. I may translate Chinese to Spanish, or Italian to German. It exercises the brain more. You are wrong in thinking that translating impedes me in thinking in any particular language. I am a professional translator, and I no doubt think more deftly than you in French, Catalan and the rest.

[@karelkohout]

Very good TED talk. The best thing is the story about the interview in French. That says something about the school system of teaching languages - it's actually totally inefficient...

[@lepredator189]

It's not inefficient (ask French speakers in France, for example). It's just that the goals of high school/secondary school learning are different.

[@karelkohout]

Different? If one learns a language there is only one goal - be able to use that language. What other goals can they have? Pass the exam?

[@abdeljabar88]

Yeah, unfortunately it's mostly about exams. It is considered more like another subject we need to pass, unless you make the effort to sign up for a language class yourself and commit yourself to it. Other than that, it's just another school subject.

[@DTux5249]

Karel Kohout you just realized that...

[@Correctrix]

I taught myself Italian ten minutes a day for a year, and then the same with Spanish, and similarly aced the oral exam for both (not having spoken Spanish before, and only having spoken Italian a bit during a one-week stay in Rome). I didn't use his method at all. I abhor flashcards. I think pictures are for kids. I used the traditional grammar-translation method. I analyse the syntax of each language like a fascinating logical puzzle. I approach them the same way I approach programming languages. I now pass for native in those two languages, plus French. I speak another dozen or so to some extent. I'm a professionally accredited language teacher, translator, and interpreter. This bloke makes the mistake of assuming that what worked for him will work for others. What is very noticeable about successful language-learners is we they have barely anything in common but dedication. We each have a radical method that sounds like a "this one crazy trick" sort of scam, and it works perfectly for us, and not necessarily for others.

[@ponyjumperr]

if anyone is interested, he has a book, 'Fluent Forever', which I really enjoyed

[@Abdullah-de5ln]

❤Notice to diverse language lover : I'm a native Bengali speaker,you know what!Bangladeshi people sacrifices theirs life to save theirs beloved language on 21 feb 2020 and this is the reason why 21 feb is called international mother language day.I think a lot of story that we Bengalis have to share with outsiders and the same way all the outsiders have. I'm trying to learn English and to be more fluent like a native English speaker.I'm also a good known Hindi and Urdu language. If anybody who is interested to learn Bengali,Hindi or Urdu language and to teach me English language or other language. pls contact me over whatsapp [phone].

[@AbdulRahman-vz2ng]

I hv his book.Bought last year.

[@edd338]

His book is great and I read it several times when it came out some years ago to learn French. Today, I am fluent in French and I'm studying Japanese. However, I am now using his "Kick-started" app which goes by the same name. I would recommend it over the book if you just want to go straight to the learning using the science. The book would be a good supplementary reading.

[@SianaGearz]

Yeah i was wondering what he was selling. Because this talk sounds like the typical veiled advertisement, which is fine, i guess, it could have been worse. He has an app too, apparently. Not sure whether i should sign up...

[@ponyjumperr]

@@SianaGearz I never tried the app, but I did buy a $10 pdf book of 625(?) most used verbs(?) for my TL and I liked it. Every now and then I think about purchasing another one for a different language.

[@decodingspanish4608]

“Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things.” - Flora Lewis As a Spanish teacher with German and English proficiency, I totally agree with this.

[@user-dn8tm6jz3f]

I completely agree too, but sometimes I don’t know how to give life some grammar or sentences😮

[@bababashqort5109]

This could at least partially confirm Sapir-Whorf

[@mehmet_albayrak_offa]

Flora Lewis outlines it very well

[@user-jm5te3xx4e]

nice sentence.

[@iwonka2709]

XCcddxddbded😢 5:50 5:51 5:51 hei 😊gfg😮😊 T

[@panzerkami2381]

"Never get between a man and his moktor" Ancient Swedish saying.

[@MrMickeei]

If only 'Moktor' was Swedish...

[@softbushware]

Yeah... moktor isn't swedish though.

[@shreyajoshi203]

PanzerKami what is the meaning of that saying?

[@default632]

@@shreyajoshi203 it's a joke.

[@themelancholyofgay3543]

Dead Fish Wine?

[@adriandennhoefer7988]

I came to Ted for advice on learning Japanese, and he literally says, it's endless... Right.In.The.Feels.

[@BahaariTV]

Keep going. I'm learning Japanese too. It seems endless because of Kanji, but haven't so many foreigners already mastered it? Don't give up I got more encouraged, cuz I love achieving impossible goals (It's absolutely possible to learn Japanese)

[@blackwidow4759]

Bahaari TV do you have any study tips or resources??? 😫

[@LuiZ-jy1pi]

Every language is endless. But that doesn't matter because we dont use it all anyway. No need to feel frustrated. Even in your mother tongue you may find yourself searching for words on google, dictionary or urban dictionary from time to time.

[@sabrina3138]

Of course it's endless. Every language is endless. But that doesn't mean you won't reach the fluent level. You are unique in your own way.

[@arnonymous7356]

you dont need to master the whole japanese characters to fully use it correctly even japanese nationals cant master japanese 100% in their whole life.

[@Preuen-zs1fz]

Children are so good at learning languages that they make up their own language

[@ek4530]

Probably one of the best Ted talks I've ever seen. It didn't even feel like 16 and a half minutes, it felt like 5. Truly enjoyable and inspiring

[@alicemilne1444]

Except that there is nothing new in his methods. Full immersion and interaction with others in real situations has always been the easiest way to learn languages. Context and motivation are key.

[@endm_]

@Alice Milne Just because it’s not new to you doesn’t mean it’s not eye opening for someone else. Language classes can be notorious for just using flash cards and textbooks to learn a language, to the point many students feel like languages are impossible and have little ambition to continue learning.

[@alicemilne1444]

@@endm_ Poor teaching, then, especially with all the options available today via the internet.

[@pixelzebra8440]

THAT WAS 16 MINUTES??? FELT LIKE 3

[@pixelzebra8440]

@alicemilne1444 So you’re criticizing him for bringing up a point that is completely true that some people might’ve never heard of before? Personally I don’t get it

[@1wolfwoman]

i watched this video yesterday evening and i was surprised this morning. i was at the bus stop waiting for a bus and out of nowhere the word Moktor came to my mind, i wasnt even thinking about the video or anything and the word and the whole scenario came to mind out of the blue. am definitely going to give this method a try while am currently learning Korean

[@getcrafty8251]

How is it goin??

[@1wolfwoman]

its actually going pretty good. am doing a korean course online with coursera and i try to use a storytelling method. so when i get new words i use them to tell different stories to myself and its actually bin helping me to remember the words. of course right now there are more english words in my stories than korean but as i learn more vocabulary and grammar i think i wud be able to form more korean sentences.

[@kpopgrrl]

I highly recommend the KZbin channel "Motivate Korean"

[@faegibb4043]

Hey! I'm learning Korean too. It's such an interesting language but I'm finding it much harder to learn than French or Spanish, obviously because it's a language isolate but also because it is such a grammatically focused language. Each sentence meaning is conveyed by different verb conjugations which seems to be endless and often subtlety different or interchangeable! My friend who learnt both English and Korean said to me once that with English they could often throw vocabulary together and convey their meaning but with Korean they had to know the specific verb conjugations. But I really really love Korean, it's such a beautiful language and the writing system is incredible. I'm lucky because I live here and I have an amazing language teacher Keep going, we got this!

[@1wolfwoman]

thanks. i listen to him as well kpopgrrl

[@Ken-ci8fo]

He's spoken good speach. I go to USA tomorrow to study International relationship and languages. He taught me good things to learn them.

[@faegibb4043]

Good luck, I hope it is all going well for you! I lived in Japan for a year, but I regret not learning enough Japanese :(

[@theasmrveteran8453]

sounds fun

[@DTux5249]

旅はどうだった？

[@anneliec.4526]

I know it's been a year, but I hope you're doing well!

[@loismensah9293]

fallinlove language relations or relationship?

[@violinperson1835]

"And i became addicted to the feeling of thinking in a completely new way" that was exactly me and my spanish journey.

[@KevinGarcia-ty4lp]

Necesito lo mismo pero en Inglés :'/

[@theasianpolyglot]

Language is all about immersion... After learning 6 languages, I have met so many people who study a language but never dare to speak it. That to me is the biggest pity - to miss out on the capstone and benefits of language learning!

[@Adam-uz3hj]

It's a long time after you wrote this so not expecting a response. But how do you find people to speak the languages with?

[@simplyzed8966]

@@Adam-uz3hj Try to absorb entertainment in another language as much possible, watch dubbed movies and shows and try being around the language as much as possible, there’s really no trick to learning a new language, it just requires patience and practice but being around native speakers definitely helps

[@amandam480]

@@Adam-uz3hj try italki

[@emmahollings4985]

This guy believes in teaching the exact same way my very first french teacher taught me and my class, from when we came in the door on the first day she told us; to learn a language you have to become fully immersed in it. And it worked. there are two french classes in my year, usually one, but so many kids wanted to keep doing french in this way. you can see the difference between students of one class and students of the other, if you think about it, what's the sense in learning one language in another?

[@annadang5811]

Outdated educational systems is all I can say...

[@putinsgaytwin4272]

Idk, I feel like I need to understand the grammar. Even in English, I think I would be able to speak so much better if I understood the grammar behind how I speak.

[@RaffaellaIT]

I am a polyglot myself and agree on every single word he said in this talk.

[@pathmaram]

Please share your tips on learning languages

[@antispiritanimal3467]

I myself speak about 5 languages on intermediate or higher level, I highly agree with his thoughts about the benefits of total exposure, as I did a school exchange in France three years ago, without any real knowledge, but I learned Norwegian without ever speaking to a Norwegian, so it's well possible to learn a language without always having a such strong connection to it, as he illustrated with 'mortor'. But still very delighting talk, I am now done with school, but I hope the way languages are approached will change in the next years, there would be so much more potential!

[@techjunkie133]

Antispiritanimal im learning Norwegian currently!

[@espositogregory]

Are you sure that's not "polygloat" ?

[@crzxr]

'Agree WITH' every word...

[@jakhongirsubkhonkulov296]

He is the great narrator.

[@victor6010]

moktor!

[@HT-ye3py]

Victor Ulhôa what does it mean?

[@martins12345]

I am Norwegian and understand Swedish and Danish and I have never heard that word. Doesn't even sound Scandinavian.

[@dermus666]

MOKTOR

[@DrErnst]

it's not a word in swedish.. Could be the barkeeps local word for his weirld drink: mörktår.. His prenounciation of sweish is terrible Dark tear? Dekaying fish: fermented hearing..

[@jozsefkalmar7054]

Fényképezőgép!

[@DocDoesGamingYT]

"Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" Yes.

[@noveaskar]

I wish I could really thank this guy. This is such an amazing TED Talk - one of my favourites. His method has really blown me away, especially learning Japanese where sentence structures are like puzzles. I have suddenly memorised over a hundred new words in half the time it took for me to learn one sentence. I will never forget those words because I have memories, feelings, sights and connections with those words. And... I will never forget the word moktor, because it reminds me of this inspiring speech :)

[@cintiaserban3971]

Write him a short note on LinkedIn if you really want to give him positive feedback :)

[@BullNBearTalk]

The way I’ve understood what he’s said in german without having heard a single word in german before. Unbelievable. Magic.

[@Vokalplus]

Man, this guy is such a good storyteller! I still don't know what Moktor means though, what is it?

[@sentient_soul1919]

You’ll never know.

[@marcuscole9430]

An alcoholic beverage

[@ingerjuni]

I am scandinavian and I have never heard of motor either, must be a swedish og danish thing then

[@biblesimplied2321]

I looked it up and it said motor in Swedish but what does that have to do with his drink? 🤷🏽‍♀️🍺

[@raffles5398]

He says something similar in his book, I think it’s just a nonsense word he made up to illustrate a point

[@bupechikumbi3082]

Tough audience... Great speaker. Superb message

[@naturalanguages]

He makes some really good points such as the power of stories and context, the idea of replicating the principles by which we all acquired our native languages, and the fact that traditional grammar classes take you nowhere. However, I'm a bit tired of listening to people say that they learnt "x" language in 7 weeks, or 3 months..., that's simply not possible, there's no shorcut to learning a language, it just takes more time than that. I've actually recorded how much it took me to learn some of the languages that I speak now and he'd need around 10 hours of exposure to German daily in order to be able to communicate in 7 weeks (getting 10 daily hours of comprehensible input when you're just starting out is highly unlikely, if that's the case I apologize) , but there are just not enough hours in a day to become FLUENT in a language in 7 weeks. I'm as passionate a person on languages as you're gonna find, I speak 7 of them as of now and I can tell you without the shadow of a doubt that nobody becomes fluent in a language in 7 weeks. I do agree though on the fact that learning languages is totally possible and it's actually fun!! But I appreciate honesty and I never tell my students things like that because I believe it's misleading, so that's why I'm a bit tired of people saying you can achieve "x" in a few days, or weeks or whatever (not just for languages). Great talk overall though!!

[@sutercete]

As a Brasilian I entirely agree!!!Learn language is a process …so it’s slow and gradative

[@samstromberg5593]

Just like running a mile in less than 4 minutes is “simply not possible”? Just like humans achieving flight is “simply not possible”? Just because pretty much nobody knows how to do it doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Some people are simply smarter than others. And some methods are far better than others. Put the smartest and most determined people with the best methods and what’s possible will truly blow your mind

[@DanielColageo]

I love how he bowed at the end...because he's an opera singer :)

[@wontaeklim9580]

The speaker is a genius.

[@edram4051]

A year and half later I am running into this video again. I see I have liked it. And to this day, I still remember the word "moktor."

[@MaxEnglishCoach]

Came into the video with the mindset of "here's another opinionated dude who will share bunch of anecdotal information on language acquisition and will somehow try to prove he's onto something" I have to say I'm sold. Solid arguments all throughout and heck his storytelling+delivery was on point and it's what elevates this talk to another level. Planning a video comparing this and other TED talks on language learning. Come over and watch.

[@asma_6752]

The way that you explained how do you learned languages was amazing to me. You give life to sentence, words and even every small letters. Outstanding speech.👏

[@filip93]

This has to be one the 5 best ted talks I've seen, really motivates me to learn a new language and describes how to do it in a good way

[@najafmammadov5288]

I know 7 languages and i agree with everything he says

[@fo5867]

nert momly Woah! Are you fluent in all 7?

[@chaoticfanboy347]

what languages??? I’m okay in Japanese...I started like three or four months ago

[@sypwer]

Which languages?

[@forrest128128]

I know 8 languages and i agree with everything he says

[@eduardodelvalle4711]

I speak 4 fluently and 3 perfectly well. I don't agree 100% with what he says but he has a good point.

[@user-ux2gz7sm6z]

This TED talk is actually one of the most informative one that I've ever seen. Thumbs up!

[@marcelljoshua]

Gosh this guy is such a great storyteller. He kept every second of it interesting

[@penn6173]

That was fantastic and captivating! I’m learning Korean right now, and this talk has been so inspiring and helpful. Thank you so much

[@HoaLe-xd7rm]

Thank you for your talk. I’m currently learning English, Spanish and Mandarin. It inspires me a lot on the way to be fluent at those languges

[@nikita0106]

His speech tells the way of how we learnt our native language but didn’t realize it because it was just natural. It’s a great reminder of how we can acquire the culture and the words.

[@kipyatkovm]

Totally agree with Gabriel. At the begin learning language I put a lot of effort into memorizing lists of the words. Some years later I totally changed internalizing word's model to the way, where I connect the expression with literal and figurative meaning.

[@MONDERU]

Fantastic talk!

[@amapparatistkwabena]

Gabriel, you just changed my language acquisition LIFE!

[@Jennifer-nv9li]

Tough crowd, that guy is funny!

[@jennycafts2527]

Such an inspiring talk. I totally agree that every word have to be connected with out feelings and emotions. Since you start to internalise words this way, they won’t be just “writing that means some kind of word in other language”. They’ll be part of yourself and your own story. You’ll speak using them and every time you’d remember that new word that you’d learned recently, you would remember all the emotions in the past that are associated with this exact word.

[@romaissadjdls3789]

Learning a new language gives me a chance to live a new life, so that I feel like I am in another country talking with French, Italian, Turkish and people of different nationalities.. When I speak French, I feel that I can see the Eiffel Tower in my mind, when I speak Brazilian I can smell the coffee of Brazil and Listen to their songs and see their green oases there..

[@user-ke3nw9vl6e]

Yeah, can relate you. Imagining London streets and views of the City during speaking English often touches me to the heart. Happy that I familiarized myself with the basics of that interesting and beautiful language)

[@polinasavenkova5571]

If you want to learn a language efficiently, you need to give that language life. I absolutely agree! Many people had different language classes at school. But how many of them can use these languages now? If you don't have a good reason for learning you'll never be able to speak fluently. You need to feel this language with all your heart. And definitely, we have to do something with our fears and embarrassment because they are brakes on learning.

[@username92193]

That's quite inspiring. I've definitely internalized a word "Moktor", this story probably touched me to the heart. Although usually new words seem to go in one ear and out the other. His method undoubtedly works.

[@oncho603]

Surprisingly, this story touched me to the heart. If I heard it a few years ago, I would never believe in it cause how could anyone learn how to talk on language for three months! But now I understand that the key factor is to give a language life. Moreover, I absolutely agree with the statement about close connection between our feelings and words that we want to internalize.

[@lauramoreira4439]

finally someone who knows what they are talking about

[@marcoaureliocavalcante]

Great video! I've been teaching English for more than 35 years and I keep telling my students that oral production comes from feelings, words have no meaning if one doesn't feel them. Memorizing vocabulary just make us a robot. If there's no feeling there's no natural oral production. Unfortunately, language courses focus on grammar. People are trained to be afraid of making grammar mistakes. The worst is that students want to be sure that they are not making grammar mistakes. And most of them are afraid of expressing feelings. Feelings connect us to sound, meaning, experience, when to use a word, live language. Learning languages from what you like in your mother tongue can make one's learning process easier. But pleasure is not related to the learning process, to the ending of it, though. While learning one needs to be a good observer, persistent, and take risks. LOVE, LIVE, LEARN n LAUGH MAC

[@Louderlivecaptures]

Thank you for doing what you do! Your students sound lucky to have you

[@eduardoreis8443]

Well, I can see that you're a very good teacher :) I'm struggling to learn English

[@marcoaureliocavalcante]

@@eduardoreis8443 dear Edu, where do you live? What city? What native language is it yours? Maybe I can give you a helping hand.

[@eduardoreis8443]

@@marcoaureliocavalcante I'm from Brazil

[@macloud51]

@@eduardoreis8443 How long have you been struggling to learn English structures? How often do you practice them in real situation? Have you ever thought about creating your PET, I mean, your Personal English Task? Mine is my KZbin channel - English for Life. It's something I create to have fun and force me to practice real situations in English. I love lyrics and I search about the lyricist and give my viewpoint about the meaning in the lyric in a critical way through the visual communication. By doing so I'm not only practicing English but having fun and learning about the song, the singer and everything surrounding the environment that created it. Love helps you learn. By the way I live in S. Paulo. LOVE, LIVE, LEARN n LAUGH MAC

[@bobbab5759]

This is a great talk. I speak Japanese as an intermediate. The words I will never ever forget are actually from experiences in Japan. Of course, I'm still learning and having just been in the hospital I have learned words for bleeding and examination that are not the casual/laymen words I already knew. My son, OTOH, has been growing up in Japan. He sort of surpassed me by 2nd grade. *But* he had about 10K hours of exposure in daycare and grandma's house before he even started school.

[@katyoutnabout5943]

I needed to see this. I moved to france 6 weeks ago and my french learning has been quite slow and i needed a new perspective on things.

[@lepredator189]

Finally, Gabe gets a Ted talk! Nice.

[@user-ih5ig8vh3h]

Give language life,it's the critical spirit of leaning a new language,though I already know it ,I haven't draw it yet,thanks to your speech I am more aware of it right now.

[@carogriguoli2610]

This is the best TED TALK I have ever seen, and believe me, I've seen a lot, Thank you for the magical message

[@user-ug3rc6br9l]

The idea of the connection between language and meaning, even identity, is something I thought a long time ago. As a person who spent 4 years in the international school, I totally agree with him.

[@arielgrushka]

"If you want to learn a language efficiently, then you need to give that language life", WOW!

[@Abdullah-de5ln]

❤Notice to diverse language lover : I'm a native Bengali speaker,you know what!Bangladeshi people sacrifices theirs life to save theirs beloved language on 21 feb 2020 and this is the reason why 21 feb is called international mother language day.I think a lot of story that we Bengalis have to share with outsiders and the same way all the outsiders have. I'm trying to learn English and to be more fluent like a native English speaker.I'm also a good known Hindi and Urdu language. If anybody who is interested to learn Bengali,Hindi or Urdu language and to teach me English language or other language. pls contact me over whatsapp [phone].

[@moiquiregardevideo]

Learning Chinese was difficult. After 3 months, i was amazed suddenly that i could recognize the pinyin word as it was spoken on the cassette. Three months later, a new shock : i could recognize a written chinese character as it was spoken. Later, another shock as i could remember what they were saying on these cassettes without looking at the book. I decided to try something new: the gospel of mark read in Chinese, 1 hour total. The first time i listen, i recognize Iesus here and there. Next time, i listen and try to follow the French translation. I could follow approximately by scaling the 1 hour time by the number of pages. The cassette is about at 25%, then it should be page 6... i watch for a name like pide or iesus... found it. Repeat a few times and i now remember that entire 1 hour reading like a long music. Here, he will get angry, here he will repeat the same word, etc After 1 month, i could tell which paragraph in the French translation he is reading in Chinese. Until today, there is at least 50% of the Chinese words that i am not sure which one it is, but i can say what the phrase translate to. Hard work, such a different language compared to all european languages which borrow so heavily from each other.

[@sunforged1662]

Christian Gingras That's great! After I learn Spanish I'm going to learn Mandarin. Any tips you could give?

[@moiquiregardevideo]

if your goal is speaking well, pick a Chinese lesson with CD which speak Chinese only. no English explanation to disrupt. Listen the lesson once a day when you have other task to do which don't require much attention. After a few weeks, when listening 10 to 20 times, the sound will come back like any popular music that you recognize. This will be your life long reference, the foundation on which the entire building has to stand. it will alliow you to recognize the correct accent and, if you imitate the sound closely enough, people will compliment you for lack of accent. Assuming the lesson is well design with native speakers who have "no accent", which mean the accent of Beijing.

[@lyshing2666]

Christian Gingras I'm a chinese so I know chinese is really hard for non chinese people to learn it. Cheer up!👍🏻💪🏻

[@charlotteantibroscience8773]

@@moiquiregardevideo I'm confused. Mandarin or Cantonese? Then there's also Shanghai and Fukienese.

[@moiquiregardevideo]

@@charlotteantibroscience8773 There is only one official Chinese language : Beijing hua, Mandarin. Similarly there is only one official French : Parisian. For English, I think Ozzyman on youtube is the standard.

[@konyangie]

I really like your thoughts and totally agree with you. I felt the same while learning English and Korean, I mean, I had no self confidence to speak and I didn't know how to make a little conversation until I had an experience of speaking to natives without a chance to have a translator and that was awesome. It helped me a lot. Still I wasn't in an environment of languages that I speak but I hope that one day I'll do it!

[@hedgehog_1086]

Anyone else have the urge to watch this multiple times? His delivery of the talk is enticing, I really wanna learn multiple languages now.

[@Jagarff]

I have watched a lot of content of KZbin on language learning and this is by far the best video on the platform!!

[@luchendrix99]

Wow, I never even imagined this method to learn another language! Thanks Gabriel!

[@elizabethc.z]

If you haven't read his book "Fluent Forever", I highly recommend it!

[@anger7829]

Elizabeth who is writer of this book

[@anger7829]

JAMES KRAMER oh sorry for that nd thanks for suggestions i will buy tomarrow this book

[@mamadoritos]

"If you want to learn a language efficiently, then you need to give that language life." That's absolutelly true. That's why I use music to learn better and always learn something new.

[@kknightley5238]

Inspirational. I loved that language was given life by its meaning to the learner. We need to experience it, understand its context and attach it to a memory, rather then learning it in an abstract way. Thank you.

[@Nick-mq6iq]

I just got so emotional at 14:20 omg I'm in tears right now I'm so happy that happened to you😭

[@KiralearnsNorwegian]

Polyglots amaze me so much. I realize I need to step up my game when it comes to learning Norwegian, but I am motivated.

[@morecapri6914]

Du er flink :)

[@Raidparade33]

This is one of the best speech presentations I have ever seen-Awesome! Hallelujah!

[@sandietembo9652]

This presentation was brilliant. It breaks down some misconceptions that most of us have about language acquisition, which I think is very important. Anyone can learn a language provided you find a method that best suits or works for you and that's the real hustle.

[@Bradlee297]

This talk has so much value. 10/10

[@anti-simp8115]

I'm only here because I'm failing Spanish but this man is going to make me try to learn it and then go to another-

[@nazarenoviano8050]

Wow what an amazing TED talk, people sometimes say how you need to live or visit some place to learn its language, yet don't really have a good explanation to it, this guy actually gave thought and found the main thing to learn a language, living it, experiencing it.

[@whitflores8160]

The idea of the connection between language and meaning, even identity, is something I talked about in my class about teaching English to speakers of other languages. Americans are often impatient with English learners. But many of them start their English learning abruptly with words shoved in their face without context. Without meaning. Very powerful Tedtalk, loved it, made me think about my own language learning.

[@theinfantmetroid]

This is incredibly inspirational and honestly makes me wanna restart my French-learning immediately

[@novaia2643]

Alors, vous avez progressé ?

[@lepredator189]

Been following fluent-forever for years now. Never disappointed me

[@Abdullah-de5ln]

❤Notice to diverse language lover : I'm a native Bengali speaker,you know what!Bangladeshi people sacrifices theirs life to save theirs beloved language on 21 feb 2020 and this is the reason why 21 feb is called international mother language day.I think a lot of story that we Bengalis have to share with outsiders and the same way all the outsiders have. I'm trying to learn English and to be more fluent like a native English speaker.I'm also a good known Hindi and Urdu language. If anybody who is interested to learn Bengali,Hindi or Urdu language and to teach me English language or other language. pls contact me over whatsapp [phone].

[@DipikaPatel-em9ly]

"If you want to learn a language efficiently, then you need to give that language life." I won't ever forget that sentence. agree with the statement

[@cleonemusician217]

Such an educational presentation. It has inspired my polyglot journey. Gratitude, Gabriel Wyner!

[@himmler1007]

The older i get the more languages I am learning. The myth is a BS

[@AliumMoAnn]

damn it...AP Psychology lied to me

[@deetessmann2510]

Agreed... I went full immersion in German at 60

[@rainnchen9632]

@@AliumMoAnn Psychology is even more bs, no surprise here.

[@yuruiyang9069]

I’ve learned English for years ,but still can’t speak it will.Sometimes I thought maybe I don’t have the gift.But this video gives the courage to me that there’s nothing about gift.i can do the same.thank you

[@darkshapedme]

I liked his speech though. He found a way to my emotions and I'm inspired to reconsider my learning language approach. Thank you Gabriel for your contribution!

[@shonarellano]

It's definitely right, sometimes as teachers, we just need to complete a module, a level, etc, the important thing is to make something memorable in order for students to reminisce as much as they can by using the language vividly

[@headsuphockeypodcast2707]

When I learn a language it’s between work and at home. I work with Spanish, French, and Portuguese speakers. Duolingo has helped me become more fluent in Spanish, and German. I notice first hand when I hear root words from other languages I immediately envision images of those words in my mind.

[@Jonathan-qc3wk]

It'll happen a lot with Portuguese and Spanish

[@user-jw8iu1sx4w]

I'm thrilled. This is so much inspirational, as I am on my way to speak English fluently. I wish I could speak like him but he definetely made me look at the language from another point of view. Cheers.

[@musical_lolu4811]

"...on my way to speaking...". Ochin harasho, my friend.

[@muciobatista10]

Great Lecture!!! I got really inspired to continue studying new languages! I loved this idea "The new language needs to be something that helps you to tell your story"!

[@Kadagirl777]

I'd always noticed that I would have a much easier time remembering words and phrases when I had a context, like a song or a line from a TV show. It makes so much sense that it was easier to remember since there were other senses tied into the memory, instead of just a standalone word on a page. In college, I basically started Japanese from scratch (2 years of high school doesn't really do much, does it?) and luckily for me, my professor tried to make the whole program as immersive as possible. We always spoke Japanese in class, and the professor would prompt us to role-play conversations, often using pictures and clipart as the informational pieces to use in the conversations. I guess he was onto something!

[@tullochgorum6323]

He's absolutely right that the efficient way to learn a language is through multi-sensory webs of meaning, but I think that his phobia about translation is misplaced. The Grammar/Translation method didn't work for him at school because it was poorly taught and in particular, because he was never given the opportunity to use what he learned in meaningful and motivating contexts. Many effective approaches make use of translation, such as Assimil or Luca Lampariello's bi-directional translation method. Serious pedagogues such as Michael Lewis are urging a reevaluation of the role of translation in language learning. Our native language is a key advantage we have over children, and understanding how to use it as a bridge into a new language can only help. Gabriel's method involves jumping through a lot of time-consuming hoops in his drive to avoid any translation at all costs - time that might be better spent interacting with the language.

[@FastBrainTVsantiagosaenz]

Tullochgorum 100% agree

[@edwardshowden5511]

Grammar method - you can learn that way but it's slower. There were studies on this and turned out learning grammar/vocabulary way you do in school is more than 2 times slower. If you type keywords like aquiring language/ comprehensive input you will find some results and effective ways of learning. I don't know any poliglote who learned languages with a normal school method really

[@samtarantino3036]

First time watching a full Ted talk and man it's awesome

[@syakirah8958]

wow!! so much respect for him, i loved his stories and the way he told them 💯💯

[@charliefrost9983]

Wow thank you for that talk, my mind was limiting me from learning a different language . Now I feel I can really put my mind to it.

[@ajjohnson773]

I adored this talk! I have always been so very fascinated with the thought of learning different languages and find the art of communication so wonderful, but I only speak English. I have been trying to learn Spanish, but I have struggled. This has given me a newfound motivation to really immerse myself in the language.

[@MyFluentPodcast]

How's your Spanish going in the meantime? I also struggle a lot sometiems. I think it's just part of the journey!

[@pieroadamo1202]

How about your Spanish now? I am thinking of studying it since it's my girlfriend's specialisation and one of my best friend's mother tongue, hence I'd be quite exposed to this language....and last but not least, I am Italian and this might give me an advantage since it's quite similar to Spanish

[@MyFluentPodcast]

@@pieroadamo1202 Yeah yeah it will certainly help you knowing Italian. Italian is on my bucket list as well. I have started out listening to many podcasts in Italian so that I get used to the language. But I haven't spoken yet. I understand quite a bit though. We are lucky that there are so many ressources out there these days. My Spanish is quite broken :)

[@corinna8566]

This talk has greatly improved my language learning. One thing that I have begun to use is music. If I'm learning French, I will turn on music that reminds me of France, and the same for Japanese, or Spanish. So thank you, Gabriel!

[@mariyamhidayat576]

Hello sister I'm interested for English learning please sister

[@kaspianchi]

"If you want to learn a language efficiently, then you need to give that language life." That was so poetically but so useful at the same time.

[@roisin9401]

pictures are so good for memorising things. when i study for exams i draw all my notes. makes it fun too.

[@liyakochadykova241]

Every language is endless. So wonderful statement "Every word needs to connect to sounds and images and scents and tastes and emotions" It's a great formula to learn foreign languages.

[@guiseppepunke2975]

I’m happy to see all the Japanese learning comments as a Japanese-English bilingual. I have read this guy’s book and it totally struck me out!!! I am a teacher in Japan, teaching English, and using some of his methods into my teaching!!! Thank you for Mr. Gabriel Wyner for the wonderful book and wonderful speech. I will watch it over and over and use your methods for my language studies!!!

[@thorstenwestheiderphotogra7722]

Great video and great fun, too! Agree in full, if you want to learn a language, surround yourself with that language. Start with changing the language of your mobile devices, because that's where you will usually spend a lot of time.

[@yanisfourel]

I watched this talked about 2 years ago. I still remembered the work moktor this guy probably know what he's talking about

[@bladerunner2106]

A really engrossing Ted talk from a very interesting guy. I bought the book Forever Fluent just over two weeks ago,read it, and have now started putting it into practice.I would highly recommend this book to anyone learning languages. One of my best purchases.

[@rebeccahicks4949]

There's a lot of books out there about how to learn languages. But Fluent Forever is the only one I've found that is actually helpful.

[@angiec.7315]

You Sound like a spam bot. Good try.👎