Відео

Thanks for the website review. I agree with pretty much everything from watching the youtube videos. I will say that I try to spend 10-20% of my Dreaming Spanish time watching/listening above my level. I think it's good to pop into the higher levels to hear the increased speed. I also find that they are less scripted and so you learn a lot of common words that aren't used as often in the more scripted videos. These are the super useful but banal words that you wouldn't even think to learn or teach someone but that are used constantly to move a story or a sentence along. Plus it's just good to pique the vigilance every so often.

I didn’t know about this kind of headphone! thank you so much, that is brilliant. I often feel I can’t listen to stuff when doing housework or whatever when my family is around, because as a mother I feel I always need to be available for everyone. This solves that problem, thank you!!

I have never heard about this method before, it seems really relaxing for someone like me who is to scared to make mistake or to sound like an idiot when I speak (to the point where I don’t even try to speak my languages). My husband has (unknowingly) been doing this with our kids for years, he speaks to our kids in his native Hungarian, but they usually answer in Norwegian (where we live). But the result is that their knowledge is very passive. they have a close to native level in understanding, but in speaking they are like beginners. And this us after YEARS of hearing it daily. So the problem is that it is impossible to learn how to speak without actually speaking.

Great review! Love how positive you are, even with your negative points! I hope Olly has seen this! I love Olly’s books, I have then in several languages. i have considered buying the courses, but since they are quite expensive, I am trying to find out two things before comitting: Do you really get that much more from the courses than you get through the books? Isn’t it just the same stories, and thus the same amount of language, just rehashed a bit more? The other thing is about learning to speak. I have followed Olly for years, and I like his Story learning method, but I have never gotten how youkre supposed to learn active spesking from that. You become good at READING, and you increase your vocabulary, which is great, but how to you transfer all that passive knowledge into active output?

Climbing the El Capitán in language learning terms is like learning to speak Navajo!😂 Great video, I just discovered your channel, enjoying what I have seen so far! 👍👍

I learned English mostly by consuming English content on the internet, not in school. I think my native languages (German and Danish) were helpful in learning English

The only way to learn a new language is repetition. The only way to learn a new language is repetition. The only way to learn a new language is repetition. The only way to learn a new language is repetition. The only way to learn a new language is repetition. The only way to learn a new language is repetition. The only way to learn a new language is repetition. The only way to learn a new language is repetition. The only way to learn a new language is repetition. Whether you’re two years old or thirty or sixty, the only way to learn a new language is repetition.

It's one thing to acknowlege that the majority of learning a new language is through acquisition. It's entirely another to push it to the extreme that Dr. Krashen and the youtube influencers push it. To say "no one picks up a book with the intention of learning new vocabulary" is flat out wrong. Many of us do exactly that, then we study it and practice it, MEMORIZE it, and use it going forward. I've had many words, commonly used in my books where yes, I understand 98% of it, and they would never "stick" just by reading it and getting the meaning via context. Once I've looked up the same word 4, 8, 10 times, I know it's time to put it in my flashcard database and quit screwing around with it...just learn it, dummy!!!! To push the "acquisition" of language learning so strongly, to say that anything else all but doesn't matter, starts approaching those influencers that post "be fluent in 2 months!!!!!" videos. It's like there's a monetary purpose behind such strong pushes...papers, articles, videos, websites...always look for the reason someone is pushing something to the detriment of something else.

Yes, it´s controversial in the field whether or not conscious language learning is beneficial or not. I am a language teacher myself and I prefer input based methods more and more, I think the comprehensible input hypothesis is basically correct and trying to learn language like algebra generally doesn´t work. When I´m teaching my A1 classes I use a tonne of pictures and do lots of kind of mimic games to try to make the language "stick". One anecdote I can give is that at I studied French and Spanish at Cambridge and quite often didn´t go to classes because they were boring, yet my scores on the language exams were high because I read tonnes in French and Spanish and knew French and Spanish people I could practise with.

I’m so happy I randomly watched your video. I have always said that acquisition is the way to go, from experience, (not knowing anything about scientific studies on the subject) but have always come across so many people against my theory. I grew up bilingual, speaking Italian & English, and was lucky enough to start learning French in an experimental class at primary school in the UK where all we did was roleplays - no reading or writing (and certainly no grammar). So at secondary school I started from scratch with traditional methods but had already acquired a good feel for the language. I also studied German there with traditional methods but it was only when we moved to Germany that I got a feel for the language and improved my pronunciation and grammar without too much effort, due to exposure. As an adult I unexpectedly found myself having to learn Spanish and had no time for formal lessons so started using audio-cassettes in the car, language videos and children’s books to acquire the language. As I started travelling regularly to Spain I picked up a lot just paying attention to what I heard, saw and read, using a dictionary only when really necessary. During my holidays I did do a few grammar exercises just to improve but I had mostly acquired the structures subconsciously again from exposure. The result was that within a year I was able to make phone calls to offices (the hardest because there are no facial expressions nor gestures to emphasise meaning) and make myself understood despite making many mistakes. My comprehension of full-speed spoken Spanish is now 95%, yet my own spoken Spanish is probably upper A2 - lower B1 level. This is the reason why it’s difficult to say what level students are - the level may not be uniform. In any case I’m delighted to know that my experience ‘acquiring’ languages rather than formally studying them is backed by science and that I can be more confident that my teaching methodology is on the right track. Thank you very much!!

What are those 5 tips in a nutshell?

I would say learning grammar is the closest thing to language learning shortcut you can do because of you learn what makes something past tense future tense, positive/negative you're literally doubling your comprehension because you'll automatically recogonize different variations of the same word But I agree it's not something to focus on but the basic elementary grammar rules I think are worth learning early

Great video! Thanks!

Google translate: Type a sentence you normally say in English, pick a new language, and memorize the sentence in the new language. Think about it: There are only so many different things you say in a day. You will NEVER forget that sentence the rest of your life. That is how you "learn" a new language. Don't conjugate verbs, don't memorize nouns, don't study sentence structure. SPEAK IT!

Totally agree, enjoyment is the key to a successul language journey. For reading as a beginner, or for languages that are from different families and for which it's harder to guess new words, my favorite option is Readlang. It's a fantastic website to read your own or user added content, and it also works as as a browser extension. (although I personally use it almost exclusively for intensive reading, as I prefer to do my extensive reading on paper where I'm not tempted to look up words I might just understand on my own a couple of lines or pages later)

The production quality and the content made me believe you'd have at lesat 100k subscribers. You'll definitely get there! This is very good stuff for motivation and methods. Keep it up!

Talking about learning languages and when he speaks Spanish, it is wrong... Doesn't inspire a lot of confidence

I need weekly videos now on Bjorn's climbing progress. 😆

You are so right about reading! I am not a native speaker of inglés and, though I learned it in school and in the university, my English was, at best, dormant when I moved to the U.S. of A. back in 1995. Being a habitual reader, I kept my favorite pastime-just switched the language. You wouldn't believe what book I read first: "Jurassic Park"! I understood then, perhaps, barely 25-30% of the content, but was pushing ahead, trying to use a dictionary when I couldn't get some word's meaning by context. Of course, watching the movie a few years prior helped. Now I'm learning Spanish and I know I have to read to really learn. The problem is, what to read? It has to be something interesting enough to keep my interest. I've tried some short stories for beginners, but it's just boring. Recently I tried the first of the books about el capitán Alatriste, and it reminded me my reaction to the Crichton's story (though I feel like I understand quite a bit more). I'll see how it goes. After all, I bought the book, now I must read it. ;)

BVP !!! Yes!!! I’m a die hard fan and it is amazing to see this interview! Showing it to my students next week to help them feel more confident! I explain a lot of this to them but hearing it from BVP 20:06 will hopefully make more of an impact! Thank you!!!

I think a key distinction which is often lost is that there is a big difference between what the optimal language learning method is, and what works for you as an individual. A sub-optimal method may be perfect for any one person, if you find it enjoyable, or if it’s just something you can slip into your life. For example, I’m not a fan of the Pimsleur method for a variety of reasons, but it so happens I have a half hour walk to and from work every day, so a half hour Pimsleur class (repeated morning and evening) fits perfectly into that slot. I tried podcasts instead (which are probably better), but my language ability isn’t up to following them without a lot of concentration, so inevitably my mind drifts away. So Pimsleur works for me, for that slot. It’s not optimal but… its better than the alternatives.

Brilliant video!! 👏

I love how damn British you are, Matt. 😆 I feel elevated just listening to you. As always, excellent video! Breaking everything down into manageable goals is the ONLY way to do large things like language learning. It really IS that simple. Motivation is huge (as you said). I’m almost at 1,200 hours in Dreaming Spanish. That’s a lot of time to do ANYTHING so ensuring you like whatever that thing is is critical (tough grammar there, sorry).

I totally agree with the comment above. Grateful that you have taken the time to share your experience and value. The rock-climbing metaphor sunk home for me. When contrasted against relying on apps, totally get it. Change my thinking, get real conversations going. Thanks so much. BlessUp 🙏

This is just spot on! Sometimes the most effective method is the one that requires less effort. Take me for instance, when I was avidly learning French attending classes and all that I understood but couldn't do much outside the classroom but by binging Kdramas, listening to Kpop, snooping around K news with Immersive Translate and watching subbed shows. I can even speak. I thought it was crazy but it probably is how the brain works when it feels relaxed it's easier to capture

This guy needs way more recognition. His production quality and knowledge is really helpful!

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It's funny, I never really struggled with Japanese. The writing system has a lot of ad-hoc rules and exceptions, true, but so does English spelling! And the "conjugation" is really simple compared to kost european languages. I love how it is both pro-drop, and does jot conjugate verbs for person 😅 Instead, the subject of the verb is inferred via other means...

Educators who have already grasped the rules of language learning in a formal environment, then like to focus on how language is assimilated naturally. By immersion, integration. Non academic language learners have an irrational fear of grammar. Just the word "Grammar" strikes fear in the hearts of those with negative experiences of high school. Although children learn languages in exactly the way the professor describes, it is a very slow way for an adult to learn. Kids are immersed 24/7 in the environment without any other choice prior to school, and then learn their own language in a formal academic setting in a classroom. The same as adults. So, in my opinion, most language learners don't live in the country of the language that they are studying ( do -my third language) so they can't expose themselves to natural immersion/ assimilation, like native children. And 24/7 at that. My advice, is get a reasonable understanding of rules, a good grasp of verb conjugation by formal studying, books or classroom and then READ, Read, read. At whatever level you can. DONT waste your time on apps like Duo Lingo! If you put a tenth of the time in to formal study and reading/ listening. You would make much, much quicker progress. This is not what a lot of people want to hear. People want to play games. Look at their phones ....The learning process has a stage called "reflection"....There are no easy routes to success in anything in life. It requires hard work and dedication. Having said that...Learning languages is incredibly rewarding and great fun.

Professor McQuillan himself learned Spanish in a 3 year undergraduate course, following years of high school classes. He has never learned a foreign language using the methods he recommends.

How to start from zero with comprehensive input? I mean if you are learning a new language that you don't know a single word...?

If starting a language from scratch with 0 knowledge, how can you get comprehensible input where you understand ~95% of what's being said?

Siapa nama kamu

Jeff McQuillan learned Spanish by doing an undergraduate degree in Spanish, after he had lived in Mexico. That's the best way to learn. If you fail to get a good level by living in the country, head to the classroom! His SpanishParaTodos podcasts have a lot of English explanations of the Spanish to help people understand the Spanish in them. Very useful if you can't understand Spanish!

I used to be a tutor, and the most frustrating thing was when I'd assess a new student, give them resources, and encourage them to start acquiring language outside the comfort of a textbook. Sadly, adult students often refused to put on a podcast in the background or read one news article a week, instead asking for adapted materials and grammar exercises. Children are easier in this regard because they don't know how much they don't know. I now want to focus on expanding my own knowledge. I'd love to acquire a new language.

How can someone be an Ex-professor?

It sounds like the answer is to watch children's cartoons to learn a language.

Personally, I use Immersive Translate when going about learning a new language and it has really worked for me. Ever since I downloaded it a few months ago, I have been using it non-stop to translate webpages and documents, and even to watch Netflix every day, which has really helped me become immersed in the language.

It’s the same philosophy of the Lingua Latina per se illustrata method. Very effective.

Immersive Translate is an app that I used I knew when I first started my language learning process. Ever since I’ve downloaded it a few months ago, I’ve been using it non-stop to learn Vietnamese, and I’m getting better and better every day.

This works relatively well among English and European languages that share the same alphabet/writing system, and have a pretty similar grammatical structure... I found pure acquisition is just not sufficient when trying to go from English to something like Japanese or Korean, where learning brand new writing systems and sentence structures just doesn't flow naturally out of exposure (and ditto, it must be really challenging to learn English when starting for Japanese or Korean!). You really have to learn a certain baseline amount "the textbook way" before you can start attempting exposure acquisition.

informative conversation

20:09 I still remember Rosetta Stone lessons from 2014 and what words I struggled on. No memorization just copy what it says while looking at the wave forms and pics of what the word describes.

I am trying to study German but boy oh boy! It’s hard. My expectations are so high that I start to panic and try to rush my brain but thank you Professor, this has been so helpful and thanks to the host too

if acquisition vs conscious studying and learning through stories, at an appropriate level of comprehension & without too much focus on grammar, are the way to learn a language, then how come the vast majority of commercial programs, and even courses at specialized language schools, follow the same -bits of grammar here and there and lets pretend immersion- model? I call it the breadcrumb model and I despise it. I don't get how a system that so blatantly contradicts the scientific evidence is so widespread. It's like they are trying to be something in the middle of immersion and grammar, and failing at both. A model that has not changed in decades: I did english in the 90's , tried french around 10 years ago, now struggling with german, and all of them followed the same method 😠🤮. I personally see the value of studying grammar, bc I like understanding stuff in general, but not scattered bits, not the breadcrumbs please, I want the backbone, the general concepts and patterns that give a language its character. Don't give me a piece of a decoration here, some glazed particle there, a tiny piece of torte bread there and ask me to use those concepts as if I was the baker. Don't give the full wedding cake with three floors and complex decor either. Let's start with a simple vanilla torte, but the whole thing please. I'm learning german, my second foreign language, and this is how I feel. I've taken courses at two universities and three german language schools... in Germany!!! and they all are breadcrumbers. Example: for the life of me that i could not get why adjective endings changed all the time, no one explained the system in general terms, it was always tables and more tables that my brain kept rejecting despite of how much i tried to force feed my brain with them. Luckily I found german with Laura website and her all in 1 declension chart; that clarified a lot, now I feel I have a better scaffolding to build upon. Of course that doesn't mean I can use german declension naturally, but at least made it make sense, which makes it less scary. Now my next step is finding content that I like at the level I understand right now... that will be a challenge.

He uses old fashioned terms for grammar.

there will be so many instances where ill use an english word or phrase and not know the meaning but know how to use it, also one of the hardest things i have come across is knowing all the vocab and grammar in a sentence but still not being able to understand it, so this makes a lot of sense to me ill try and find some videos of acquisition learning for korean

I am Portuguese, I learned english with Metallica and such when there was no internet, me, a portuguese-english dictionary and a good ear. I remember how happy I was when there were lyrics on the back of the cover and I could actually translate the lyrics directly or get a perfect grasp of the entire message of the song. Tell kids nowadays to not use their translator on the phone or whatever other resource they have that turns their brains obsolete.

Incredible video! I've heard of Dr. McQuillan and comprehensible inputs. This is helpful advice as I am working on picking up Spanish. (side note: I think you nailed the editing, camera angles and pace of this video too. Keep it up)

An excellent video right here I think the most important piece of information in it is that memorising anki decks doesn't work as much and it would be better to just learn from context from reading articles or from essays or from books or novels.