How to Learn a Language Fast?
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- Опубліковано 13 сер 2022
- People sometimes wonder whether it is possible to learn a foreign language "fast." In this video, I discuss why this goal is generally misguided and unattainable. Learn more by joining a language-learning support group: www.alexanderarguelles.com/ac...
If you enjoy learning from my videos, then you might enjoy learning with me in my virtual academy. Registration is ongoing, so you could join a session next week to improve your abilities to read French, German, or Spanish literature, practice spoken Latin, learn to read Medieval languages, participate in Great Books discussion seminars, or get support for teaching yourself languages, including participation in study-with-me sessions: www.alexanderarguelles.com/ac...
If you are in a position to support my educational efforts, please consider making a contribution at: ko-fi.com/alexanderarguelles
If you enjoy learning from my videos, then you might enjoy learning with me in my virtual academy. Registration is ongoing, so you could join a session next week to improve your abilities to read French, German, or Spanish literature, practice spoken Latin, learn to read Medieval languages, participate in Great Books discussion seminars, or get support for teaching yourself languages, including participation in study-with-me sessions: www.alexanderarguelles.com/academy/
this cat knows more about linguistics than most of us
This may be true!
Meow meow meow meow, meow meow.
@@ProfASArWhile cat vocalizations don’t seem to be that sophisticated, coming up with a standard writing system for cat would probably be very interesting.
Jajajajajaja
😂😅😊
I've been learning Spanish fast for the last 3 years, and because of this, I ONLY have another 3 years before gaining fluency.
No
Exactly how I feel right now.
That's more like it!
Great content as usual. Thank
Glad you enjoyed it
Thank you! I love the analogies you used about growing roots, going through puberty, etc., as they encourage us to embrace the process. For sure, there are strategies like the ones you discuss in other videos to learn more effectively and efficiently, and it's very helpful to have short-term goals like being able to hold everyday conversations, talk about certain topics comfortably, etc. For me, it's the accomplishment of short-term goals that helps me stay motivated to continue down the long path to fluency. Relationships with people in the target language also are extremely motivating and helpful, especially if you can only converse with one another in one language. By the way, I'm learning Levantine Arabic.
Thank you for sharing your experience and your kind words. Best of success in learning Levantine!
@@ProfASAr thank you! I'm enjoying the journey!
Thank you for this video professor. Your videos have really forced me to reevaluate my goals around languages. I always felt bad that I have studied Spanish for years and have not developed the level of fluency that I hear others achieve in much shorter spans of time. I only recently have achieved a level where I can begin to read books or poetry in Spanish and your videos have given me the solace necessary to continue my studies free of apprehension or envy of others. Thank you.
You are very welcome. May we perhaps see you some day in a Spanish literature reading and discussion circle in my academy?
Thank you sir!
You are welcome!
I did that a couple times and I can actually say that it works for the short term and not for the long-term in regards to retaining the information that you learned. It also depends on which level do you want to get to when learning a particular language ETC. I just wanted to do A1 and Cantonese and so I managed to learn enough Cantonese to be able to order some food over the phone and asked for directions go buy stuff in a store ETC and that was enough for me then I did it for Hindi in six days. I can tell you I remember more Cantonese because I took the time to pace myself when learning it which took six weeks instead of six days. I really don't remember very much Hindi because I rushed it and I didn't take my time. So it can't happen but you have to be realistic and what your end goal is going to be when doing it. Those are just my thoughts on the matter. Thanks for opening of the discussion I like it.
You are welcome, Chenelle, thanks for contributing to the discussion with your experience.
Great content as always professor!
As with cooking and working out, there definitely is a "marination" time likewise for Language Acquisition. "Learning" can be done "Fast", but what is retained is little to nothing. And definitely (as you have noted in your more formal presentations regarding Immersion environments vs spending time in other learning formats) there is a qualitative aspect to time spent.
Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing... the more of them done simultaneously and in an intensive manner seems to be the crux of the matter. 15 mins of doing 3 out of the 4 in an intensive manner seems "time better spent" vs 60 mins of just one out of 4 (as unfortunately happens for the average student in a 5-6 hour traditional "immersion" classroom).
At least, that seems to be the "sociological" conclusion I came to whilst researching your own methods of intensive study with Assimil, Linguaphone, etc type materials. Hopefully I have not erred or "missed the mark" too much on that front!
Thank you, Ahnaf, I do think you are on the right track!
It all depends on the amount of hours you spend. If you spend 6 hours a day and they are good hours you can get to a good level in a year. B2 probably. But you can’t cram in the next 8,000 words, they have to be acquired through natural content communication culture etc. there is no shortcut to real word acquisition. Moment you hear it you have the meaning, if it’s the appropriate word you need to say your brain feeds it to you. There’s no shortcut to that. So if you want “fast” cram in your first 1200 hours in a year,read watch listen everyday in the language. Which you’ve obviously already done a lot of in those 1200 hours. You will always have gaps in a language if you don’t get to go live in the culture in my opinion. I like your videos bc you tell the truth. I get really tired of seeing these 6 months to fluency ppl.
Thank you for the wise words of appreciation.
Please make an indetail video about your Danish learning journey.
Nice to see Merlin again.
He is always around, just sometimes not in the picture.
Amazing video good message
Thank you!
And here I was thinking I’d be fluent in Greek in 3 months… Thanks for this video as it’s changed my perspective on what it means to learn a language. While it’s going to take me longer than I anticipated I am looking forward to enjoying the journey more.
I am very glad it was helpful! Best of success to you in your studies!
You have a longer period of time to enjoy the language learning process. Once you start reading it opens everything up :D I had opened Russian books recently, but decided to slow down and spend more time improving languages I have at intermediate level. Advance further down that road to solidify and enjoy the exploration.
Work hard, have fun!
Professor, thank you for this content.
I would like to make a suggestion for a future video.
I currently use Linguaphone and it would be great to have an explanation of how to use it in 15 minutes a day. (similar to the videos on how to use assimil).
Thank you very much for considering this suggestion.
Request noted.
I clicked the video hoping that “fast” was more like “efficient” :-) I’ve spent a lot of time on a few languages at different times and never feel like I’ve gotten the right results. Will look into your other content, as you really know your stuff. Cheers! Jz
Glad it was helpful!
I think reaching B 1 level should be the aim especially in the first 4 to 6 languages ,some of those pretenders are selling book online and have more followers than the real academic achiever like you Sir , its sad that those followers are getting the false advise. You inspired me with your first videos. Thank you from heart
You are so very welcome!
I honestly just keep learning on the background and don't think about it, eventually it all builds up.
Thanks for commenting about the stress free way!
Hello Professor,
I have recently started to learn Arabic (using Madina books currently and they are a blessing, haha) and I was wondering whether the Assimil Arabic (English ed.) is worth using as a complementary resource? I have heard that the recording quality (or rather the speakers' performance) is not on a good level. I thought I'd ask you, since you've surely used it at some point.
Thank you for doing amazing work and sharing it with us!
I’m doing the same thing (going through the Madinah Book Series) I ordered Assimil Arabic, got to about lesson 20, and fall of the wagon because of laziness:/
But once I finish Madinah Book One, I will go back to Assimil - God Willing. It’s a great supplement and the audio is good.
The Madinah Book series are essentially grammar books primarily used for understanding the Quran and Hadith. Assimil will give you more vocabulary and make it easier to understand and speak MSA. So you should definitely do both.
Check out Dr. Alexander’s video on how to use Assimil step by step. Remember to watch series like Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. First with English subtitles then without. Immersion is important.
Good luck! 👍🏾😊
Thank you for the question, and for the answer. It is true that the older Assimil course has very clearly enunciated pronunciation, but that can be quite helpful in the earlier stages of your learning.
Thank you both for your answer! I'll definitely try it out then :)
Plurimas gratias vobis ago,
valeatis beneque vobis sit (quoque Merlini, sane! hahahae)
Yes 🤚
Now I'm realizing what I have done to myself 😂!
3 years of collecting language ☺️
Now , I'll focus in the language I am interested in 😌🔥
I am happy to have been of assistance - best of success in your studies!
great video and nice cat :)
Thank you! If you enjoy Merlin, watch this: ua-cam.com/video/vI3eoYg3hXU/v-deo.html
Thank you very much for the video Professor, lovely as always.
There is one question I'd like to ask you and the comment section: Do you hear those weird noises in the video? They come up every once in a while throughout the video, sounding like some sort of an alarm/thunder/echo/whale/something flying. It's weirdly ethereal, unlike anything I have ever heard. I can't seem to pin it down, and it's overall quite creepy sounding.
Best Regards to You as well as your lovely cat
Thank you kindly... those noises of something flying by... are something flying by... I live not far from a small airport.
Is there a digital copy of your dissertation available? I've searched and keep ending up on "page not found" links. I'd love to read it as I'm toying with a dissertation topic involving old norse. Happy to pay for a copy if you can direct me to a source, thanks so much ☺️
Thank you so much for your interest. I published it in pre-digital days. It should be available from the database access of UMI Dissertation Services. Let me know...
when I was young and single I decided I wanted to learn Spanish after meeting my future wife.I approached a Community College to take their course.I was told it was too late to enter.I bought all the text books they had for the class,went home and studied for six months,two hours a day.Then I had the opportunity to live with native Spanish speakers for two months.Some adaptions were required due to the difference in the book language and actual language used,but I considered myself quite fluent in speaking,writing and reading after one year from starting.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Studying hard every day for a protracted period of time and following that up with immersion will do it!
isn't this completely contradictory to your entire point in this video?
No because he said one way was very intensive study for hours every day. That is pretty fast but not easy. Plus Spanish is close to English (FSI chart).
Very interesting how you described your Finnish dissolving after Concordia. So would you say that it wasn't a good experience for long-term language-learning? Do you think the kids there get any real benefit from spending time there?
Hello Yan. Some of the older and more seriously motivated might get something language-wise from their stay, but for most, no - it is a summer camp experience with language & culture themed activities more than an intensive training program.
@@ProfASAr I see, I see. I have a feeling it would be a much better and useful experience for the teachers, ironically.
Instant gratification. Squeezing experience in a package that can be sold at you local supermarket. Doesn't work with learning. Good book is the one you will re-read later (multiple times) and find something new. One thing people often forget is setting your priorities straight. Time of life is limited. Renunciation is necessary. Read/study/exercise/etc. instead of scrolling the feed (what are you fed with?) or binge watching yet another show. Slow practices to offset modern "fast but shallow" approach to learning. It became essential to control inflow of information to have enough space for reflection and proper mental digestion.
Thank you for valuable and insightful comment and advice.
@ProfASAr Dear Professor,
Would you suggest "Classical Pronunciation" of Latin for an English speaker?
The differences between classical and ecclesiastical should not be exaggerated. I cannot imagine a situation where two people who had learned these, if trying to speak, would be unable to understand each other. That said, for non-theological purposes, classical is probably the better choice - just don't go down the road of pronouncing "ng" as "gn" and making your final "-'m's" silent!
@@ProfASAr Dear Sir, I truly appreciate your knowledge. I am unquestionably grateful. ~Michael H.~
I clicked for the cat. Stayed for the interesting topic.
If you just want Merlin, try this: ua-cam.com/video/vI3eoYg3hXU/v-deo.html
Professor, how would somebody like Richard Francis Burton have gone about learning languages? He seemed to have an extraordinary aptitude for language. Or is he just one of those rare genius-type outliers?
I have a section on him and others in my manuscript of the Path of the Polyglot. It is too complicated to reply here - please wait for the book!
The proliferation of dozens of UA-camrs who portray themselves as language learners that can learn in 3 months, some even in 24 hours, has led to many having this misconception. As Prof. Arguelles point out, those kind of learners, who do clickbait videos here on UA-cam, can only learn scripts of basic dialogues. They have the ability to predict how conversations will flow from a first encounter with a stranger, and learn the necessary vocabulary for such conversations. It makes for entertaining content, but not as good example of a truly committed process for a language learner.
Thank you for your kind words of support.
How many languages do you speak well and how much of them you keep practicing + how do polyglots remember the language they learned
I can't answer complex questions like that in this short space. Please visit my website and academy.
FELIX FELES
Ita est!
I've felt a similar way about people who ask, "If I use x resource, will it make me fluent." They seem to want a one stop fix that will shortcut the work required. That said, I have to be honest, I had the same way of thinking when I started over a decade ago. It took me years to learn what langauge learning actually means. Very honest video.
Thank you so much for your kind words of appreciation.
I would say some languages can be learned more quickly than others. For native English speakers, Spanish, for example, is likely to be learned faster than Arabic. The large number of Romance-origin words in English simply make a language like Spanish more transparent.
Thanks for commenting.
Dear Alexander, have you had covid and if so do you feel like your cognitive resources have taken a hit afterwards? I have experienced that in the weeks post-covid I don’t have the mental stamina that I used to. Will recover it soon I am sure.
I am sorry to hear that. No one whom I know who has had this has experienced anything more than mild cold-like symptoms. If I've had it, I have had no symptoms at all.
Devoting oneself to a language fulltime or at least 5 plus hours a day can be exhausting but the progress is exponential. I think Steve Kauffman refered to that through his experiences with immersion. I imagine being able to jump from B to C in a month by studying 5-8 hours a day. This is an immense quantity of content we are talking about and probably 1000s words that will be put into one`s memory. I would really like to hear from people other than Proffesor Arguelles who took one the challenge and pushed themselves to their limit. Then again who has this amount of time to invest in a language if the person is not considering languages to be a job?
5+ hours a day of total immersion is exhausting. You do make progress, of course, but not B to C unless it is a closely related language to one you already know. I would also love to hear the experience of others!
@@ProfASAr Well yes I forgot to mention that but in terms of reading on Lingq for example I dont see the problem of raising the word count by 10-15k in a month and in my experience that was B1 to B2 jump or b2 to C1 start. Closely related languages are of course better as the brain can create connections and patterns easier and faster and has also the ability to digest more in less time. I would like to try this and monitor my progress. Not an advocate but tracking Lingq words helps also in staying in a course motivated as you can see the progress with the numbers going up and unknown words in texts go down. And of course diving into listening all sorts of things. Listening is the most difficult skill to acquire as it doesnt only requires vocab but intuition or feel for the language!
Fast food and fast language learning are not equal. You cannot eat a language but you have to learn it.
Learning a language ought to be a process of pleasure, not pain I feel. People spend far too much time on wanting to get somewhere quick. Aim for the stars but be satisfied with the moon. You will never know it all ! As for the intermediate plateau, it doesn't exist for me...I'm tunneling underneath it 😉 !
How do you tunnel underneath it?
@@seramer8752 by refusing to be in a hurry. You will never know it all so why the rush ? It's self defeating. Yes, I have days when I feel less inclined to study but I do something. It's really all about the pleasure of learning 😉
Pleasure over pain is indeed a good principle
When is your son's next check-in about his progress in Korean?
Maybe this weekend...
Do you think language apps work?
I do not use any.
as my long dead Grandmother used to say:" Something for nothing is always dear."
Thanks for sharing!
Hola Merlín!
Hola!
😄😄
What is your cat's name?
His name is Merlin. See: ua-cam.com/video/vI3eoYg3hXU/v-deo.html
Merlin.
Thanks for answering.
The noise in the background is really annoying ,plead prof Arquelles record somewhere Else
Thanks for commenting
How to learn several languages effectively and KEEP THEM ALL
I don’t care about speed
Simultaneous rather than sequential learning is the key.
If you're single and able to put in 5.5 hours every weekday and 8 hours on weekends, then by the U.S. diplomat training numbers, it should take 6 months to gain fluency in another Western European Language. This was only for people with experience learning a second language in a non-childhood setting.
Thanks for the details.
The title is How to Learn a Language Fast and the answer is that is not possible, so I want the 15 minutes of my life back 😅
So sorry!
The problem is in Sweden/ nordic ppl reply in English if you can't speak perfect Swedish. Nordic languages just don't worth it. Their academia is in full English at university level.
What you write is all too true.
I learnt Swedish by watching the Swedish chef 👨🍳 from the muppet show.
Did you really?
get a cat
I made this video to share mine with those who don't have one: ua-cam.com/video/vI3eoYg3hXU/v-deo.html
Consentio tecum 100pc. Velox Lingua numquam discit.ur
Necesse est multos annos cotidie legere, cogitare, loqui...
@@ProfASAr Semper