Steve Kaufmann is WRONG about Language Learning (Debunking Polyglot Myths)
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- Опубліковано 14 лип 2024
- Steve Kaufmann recently made a video about Tim Ferriss and the idea of becoming conversational fast in a foreign language.
Original video: • Is there a shortcut to...
I'll explain why he's wrong and you can do it and how to do it, if you want to learn a language fast.
Might not be the most enjoyable way to learn, but you can definitely do it.
I have nothing but respect for Steve, he's a legend in the online language learning world and I agree with him 9 times out of 10.
I 100% recommend using Steve's website LingQ to learn, by the way. By far the best tool out there to learn languages.
But when he's wrong, he's wrong.
There are people who are able to learn ridiculous amounts of vocabulary with mnemonic associations. I can learn vocabulary way faster than most people and there are people who are way faster than me.
Everyone can improve at memorising vocab, with training.
I don't say you should memorise vocab with mnemonic associations instead of learning through input, I say that you can use mnemonic associations to speed up your learning by making input much more comprehensible.
00:00 intro
01:05 comprehension
01:30 becoming conversational
01:45 acquiring vocabulary
02:30 spaced repetition
04:24 how to get good at speaking
06:18 is this for you?
06:58 why input is important
07:33 final thoughts
Want to learn languages fast with a science-based system?
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Personally, I would never use Google Translate (or any other translater) to translate the sentences because the more different the target language is from the language you are translating from, the more likely it is to be inaccurate. As a native Mandarin speaker, I have had quite a few laughs when I have seen sentences translated into Mandarin by a translator or even Chatgpt 4.0. However, I am a firm believer in the translation method, and combined with a lot of input, the progress is immediate. My approach is that I get sentences in my traget language, written by native speakers, from books, platforms, comment sections, video subtitles and such, which either already have a translation in a language I speak, or I get the translation. I then translate into the target language and immediately compare my translations with the trustworthy sentences and correct my mistakes. It's quite similar to the Assimil method, except that I choose sentences and topics that interest me personally and that I can see myself using from the start.
I think five things work when I learn a language:
* Spaced repetition.
* Word associations.
* Basic Grammer rules.
* Comprehensible input.
* Focus on words used in
subjects like "Family" or "Work" etc.
* Word chunking.
Word chunking?
@@NaturalLanguageLearning
Yes. Such as "In der Arbeit" or "einer von Ihnen" or "mit denen" (for plurals in a relative clause) or "zu der" (for feminine singular in a relative clause) etc. Then you see the chunk as something that fits in a sentence without thinking about the grammar or adjective declination. When I find a particular combination of words hard to combine in spoken German, then I learn them as a chunk. I say it is a chunk as it's not a full sentence. It's only a fragment or chunk of a sentence that has general applicability.
In written German, I don't need to do this because I have plenty of time to apply the grammar rules to get a sentence correct.
Hey, just a tip - if you're recording on your phone, try to find a way to lock the exposure. It was changing a lot, and it was quite distracting. On Android phone, you usually do that by holding the focus button on your camera.
Besides that, great video. I always enjoy listening to different opinions on language learning. Disagreeing can be helpful sometimes.
Obrigado! I just started learning about video, I promise they'll get better.
“Treat language learning like a workout.”👏🏼
So when you put your language islands in LingQ does it generate audio files for your phrases that you use for your reps? You don’t use the flashcard function in Lingq right? Thanks.
It generates audio files, yes. I don't use flashcards, associations and input only.
the application you're talking about is LingQ right?, I like your mindset!
Yeah, Steve Kaufmann created LingQ.
You know I use it all the time. It's really good.
But he's not always right.
You have to be more open minded and look at what other people are doing if they are successful. You can learn new techniques or change small details to improve you learning system.
@@NaturalLanguageLearning I'm still doing baby steps in my third language learning, but I feel more confident on this journey, I will try that LingQ soon!
Would you recommend to always sticking to the same content and the maximum number of sources you would go for?
Your main mistake is you offer beginners to translate hundreds of sentences into an unknown language which may be TOTALLY different from their native languages. I can imagine the number of mistakes. :D
You didn't understand anything.
@@NaturalLanguageLearning You literally suggested that people make up their own sentences in their native language, and then use Google translate to get it into their target language and review that. If I did that with my target language, Japanese, I would be practicing very unnatural sentences. This is because Japanese is completely different from English.
Maybe this method would work for someone learning Spanish from English, but for learning very different languages, it sounds to me like a bad idea.
So no, I don't think the person didn't understand anything. I think it would have been better if you gave them a more substantive response.
@@NaturalLanguageLearning
Did you? ;) Do you really think you're much smarter than other people?
@DANGJOS you didn't understand either.
@@DANGJOS I see your point, but his main idea there was about learning sentences/phrases related to language islands. I'm learning Levantine Arabic, so Google Translate wouldn't work for me, either. But I've basically done what he said over the course of time in my one-on-one Arabic lessons by asking the teacher to help me express different ideas (what I did over the weekend, my hobbies, my job, etc) in full sentences. . . Or reading to her something that I've written on my own and getting her feedback.
Very good video. Thank you. You clearly explain each idea of yours. You have a unique method: learning vocab using mnemonics, but NOT using rote memorization out of context. I'll start trying it today, and watch some of your other videos.
You got it. Now you just have to apply it consistently. Give it a few weeks, you'll see amazing results!
Steve Kaufmann has never said anything like this
I m not sure that you have even watched that video
Maybe you haven't watched this one, considering I address his points one by one.
If i understand 70-80% percent of Slavic language from listening and reading because i am native in two Slavic language,what do you recommend in tnat situation?
Exactly what I explained here but with much less need for memorising with associations, except for the few words that are completely different.
I've got scree share tutorials on how to do it.
Слухати та читати більше контенту СВОГО рівня.
I thought Steve Kaufman also believed in a lot of repetition. He's talked about going through a bunch of words just to get exposure to them. But maybe that's not really the same.
I love using lingq
Well.... Thanks to Lingq and Steve approach I've been reaching solid conversational fluency in 3 languages in the space of one year, practising an hour or two on each one. I'm high B2-C1 in Greek (started a year and a half ago), high B2-C1 in Spanish (started 9 months ago) and B2 in Italian (started 5 months ago) . So yes, his approach is definitely working, at least for me...
Oh and by the way, I didn't focus on grammar at all.
Με άλλα λόγια, λες μαλακίες
what's a good video to learn Steve's approach @mojokenny5980
So prove it
@@Topsealguy J'ai rien à te prouver mon pote ! 😆
@@Foolseverywherethat’s the typical internet response everyone is 6’2, jacked, makes 6 figures and can speak 3 languages but when asked to demonstrate, nobody can
@@Topsealguy @Topsealguy can't demonstrate it through UA-cam comments can I ? Also, I know my worth and how many languages I'm fluent/not fluent. Don't have to prove anything to anyone, especially to freaks behind their screens.
concise and to the point!
thanks mate!
Kaufman's content are infomercials. Everything he promotes ties in to using his product. FWIW I like Lingq, it's a great central pillar in language acquisition, but you have to realise he's selling his product, and everything he says will tie into that. Also he deletes even the MILDEST criticism from his channel comments.
Memory palace for phrases and vocabulary plus comprehensible input 😘
How do you use the memory palace? I have tried but didn't really like it.
I guess it depends on what you mean by conversational. You also need to know how to combine words/phrases/sentences/tenses on the fly for your speech and understanding to be flexible.
Is being conversational a level at which it's like a party trick for ten minutes and then continuing in English or the level at which you can have deep relations in that language.
Did you watch the whole video?
Yeah, for efficiency, Steve's concepts of "just take in input and don't force memorizing" isn't accurate. Intentional memorizing, done the right way, WORKS and will speed up ability to become fluent.
Exactly. Comprehensible and enjoyable input works (and I prefer it), but it's not the most time-efficient way to learn.
@@NaturalLanguageLearning Yeah, if people go too far with "just listen to content you enjoy and don't force anything, just allow yourself to acquire it", if you do that with a language like Japanese/Chinese, it'll definitely take you at least 4 years to reach basic fluency and that is if you're investing at least, 2.5 hours a day. With a method like yours, the potential to be like B2, in a year, in those Asian languages, is very possible.
@@TheFiestyhick Exactly. If you want results in reasonable time you have to work hard. Enjoying interesting content and conversations should be the reward in my opinion, not the main way of learning.
The real problem is Zipf's law.
I think he’s just promoting his app with his method of learning. Also, Steve Kaufmann started learning languages in his 20’s, working for the Canadian government. Most people don’t have that luxury of working in an embassy. Embassies are good areas to practice languages.
Steven Kaufman’s method got me to A2 in 3-5 months but, it took way too long. When I started learning Dutch, my progress came to a stalemate. His method is not effective when learning multiple languages.
As of right now, my German has regressed back to A1, I can’t even translate a German paragraph now. My Dutch is even worse, remembering basic sentences is hard.
I can’t wait to finish my degree in school and continue my language learning. This time, I’ll try your method and customize it to my liking with Anki.
It feels good to find a polyglot who has ADHD. I have mild ADD so, watching movies and tv shows is not ideal for me as I get distracted easily.
I'm going to make a video about how to use Dr Andrew Huberman's neuroplasticity protocols for language learning and another one especifically about how to deal with ADHD when learning languages.
You'll probably find them helpful.
I also have ADHD. I find that I'm far less likely to get distracted if I'm watching something that is very enjoyable. Don't watch boring stuff. But that's just my experience; I know we're all different.
Just clickbait nonsense from this channel.
If you don't like it here go back to failing at Portuguese in your own channel.
@@NaturalLanguageLearning lol wow great clapback
@@NaturalLanguageLearning by the way, *on your own channel.
I made my own series of videos criticizing Steve Kaufman, and he did reply in written comments: he is someone who has repeated "encouraging" half-truths so many times that he can't remember which half is true, and which half is false anymore. He does admit that his own method failed in his own case: he has utterly failed to learn Chinese, for example, along with many other languages he set targets for within the last ten years. The actual method he used to become fluent in French is not the method promoted on his UA-cam channel. He's just sleepwalking through a lot of his videos, and not taking seriously the lifelong impacts on members of his audience who believe him.
Old Man waste of time
he is wrong in a lot of things. Like "forget the basics" just nonsense
The basics are super important. Review them over and over again.
yes sure and you also don' t need LingQ or all these language learning Apps. Steve is speaking a lot but most of it is blabla@@NaturalLanguageLearning