Thank you so much for this! I completely agree with you, and I think these types of videos somehow make people forget what the true goal of language learning is too, or just- the fact that it's different for everyone. Sure, it's cool to watch someone learn some things in a short period of time I suppose and see their progress, but for me language learning is about really spending time with the language, and even making it a part of yourself. Language learning can change you as a person, the way you think and the way you see the world, and while it is genuinely a fun and such a rewarding experience, it's definitely not as quick as these videos make it seem. It's quite hard to commit to learning a language, especially as you get older, and it takes time and effort to keep on learning. This comment is so long already but just, I'm glad you made this video! I love your channel and you're such an inspiration Lindie honestly!! 🧡🧡
Love how you worded this. The deeper I dive into any language, the more ingrained the culture, façon à vivre, slowly blend into my personality. You start to understand how our languages affect our lives, and how we think. I truly believe its one of the best ways to have yourself become a part of a different culture. It's really cool to see yourself change over time and have almost a slightly different personality depending what you speak. I articulate myself quite differently when I'm speaking Spanish versus Japanese (besides the obvious vibrational differences).
Agree with all three here. It's amazing but also frustrating if you really want to function native-like or blend into a culture/society. Asian languages/civilizations - oh, how isolated they are or think they are! - are hard for westerners. In China I found myself forever at the margin - long-standing Koreans just blend in while also bond with each other. - mty daughter is just being asked what is 'ass' in Chinese - silly boys on a Bavarian playground. Favorite word of the week: Salamibrotgeruch.
Really well said. I completely agree. Learning Italian and Japanese has become a passion, so much fun and I’ve learned so much about food and culture. It’s a long-term thing for me, for sure, and it is really rewarding to keep at it and see progress over time. All the best to you!
Another important point: language is about creating a relationship with culture as much as it's about linguistics. Rapidly just trying to swallow an entire lexicon and grammar just to be able to demonstrate it for a video is likely overlooking the real-world culture and communication of the language itself. I've seen some polyglots who don't even know anything about the countries of the languages they're studying- isn't that the point of learning it though? If you're not learning it to actually use it with real people in a real place, then you're just treating it like a math formula and not like a fluid, personal, human skill.
Great point! Also, the most difficult part of actually understanding a language is perceiving the subtle cultural references that it contains and the different nuances of the expressions.
Exactly. Learning about the culture is SO important when studying a language. It helps tie everything in and helps the language make so much more sense. When I was learning Japanese back in the day, I couldn't imagine learning it without also learning about the culture. It wouldn't make any sense to me otherwise. 🤣
@@D_Archives I did experience this with Spanish. There is a certain lack of respect for punctuality in Latin American Spanish. For example Ya llego (roughly translated as I'm already there) can be said by the speaker even if he has not left the house.
Those titles are trickier for me to judge because saying "I learned" doesn't mean "I finished learning/mastered" but when I read it, I do see how it can be interpreted as that. Those creators know what they're doing when they write those titles though! Borderline clickbait for me. Not as bad as "How I learned fluent Spanish in 30 days.".
When I was starting to study Spanish, I watched one of those "I learned Spanish in one week" videos and it made me feel like I was learning too slowly-which is ridiculous because, at that point, I was spending every moment of free time I had on Spanish. I felt stupid. Nowadays, he'll occasionally post an update video on his Spanish-and I speak way better than he can.
Exactly! I caught a lot of flack recently for talking about how these videos can hurt in that exact way you describe. Most people in latin America think it's just "fun" to try but they fail to see the long term repercussions, especially for people trying to learn English and getting discouraged. Thank you so much for this video. Will link it whenever people think my idea is just me being grumpy and not concerned.
To me the really silly thing is, time is always passing, so even if you claim to have learned C1 French in a month (which no, you didn't), 3 years later you're no long "impressive". It just goes to show it's all sensationalism. Why do you need to learn so fast anyways? Enjoy the ride... Being a beginner can be so fun, you can say the most rediculous things but still get your point across and that's the joy of it. I feel like the whole time thing just puts competition on a process that is highly personal and shouldn't be competitive at all.
Different strokes. I find the beginner period just boring and frustrating. It is when you are intermediate+ that you can start learning from media (made for native speakers) and have real conversations that I actually start *really* enjoying the process. So I can understand why somebody would want to get through that first stage as fast as possible. Especially as somebody who has moved to a country where I spoke almost none of the language when I arrived.
I absolutely agree with this. While we want everything asap, it is very difficult to retain the language after 2-3 years unless we are in constant touch with it after completing a 'level'.
0:00 Yes. I may not know they 14 other languages they are pretending to be able to speak but I know when they speak Japanese they are always saying super basic stuff that you can learn in a few weeks. Also, it's a video. You can script it and edit it.
They usually control the situation even if the story takes place 'in the wild' (e.g. foreign restaurant or grocery store setting). Often most of the video is in English, and then there is the part when they say certain things in the target language and expect a certain set of answers when they can continue the conversation in that language, or just switch to English when it does not work out. It may look impressive, but in reality you can probably fake it using some small number of pre-cooked sentences that you have memorized and the unsuspecting audience will be amazed.
Learning English and German, I've realized that you never really "learn" a language because there'll always be new words, synonyms, idioms etc. to learn, for me I especially feel like my listening skills always could improve and that every activity I do in said target language helps improve this.
That's true, but it's also true for your native language. There are always new words out there. I think by the time you can compare foreign language proficiency with your native one, you can call yourself fluent.
True! I've been learning new words in English and in the languages in my country that I speak. I'm from the city so if I speak with someone from the rural areas I learn new vocabulary or phrases.
yEs also you learn different aspects of a language: for example, school has helped me get in touch with the formal register of my native language, and speak clearly to multiple people without an environment which pushes you to say certain things, you might never think of practicing some aspects lf the language and they might not be used until very late in your life
I always approached the word fluent as “Almost native, but doesn’t have to be perfectly natural. You understand and can express yourself in any given everyday situation. Finally you can communicate with people without any trouble in normal conversations almost like you would in your native language.”
I think it also depends on what one means in terms of reading/speaking/understanding. There are languages I can read fluently that I couldn't write in, let alone speak. At level B2 you can hold most usual converstations that don't require subject-specific vocabulary - level C2 in a language is genuinely better than a significant proportion of natives.
What they call fluent is actually a level someone who learns languages to actually use them won't even mention if someone asks them "which languages do you speak?"
I think that in a week of 70 hours, it is not imposible to get to level A2 for example if you speak a language that is similar to the one your are learning. Thats pretty good, but thats not fluent.
all language ability aside, it’s impossible unless you have prior experience with the culture alone, because culture influences so much of a language. even if you became “fluent,” you’d sound super awkward and out of touch.
Other people are your worst enemy when learning a language. "Oh, so you're learning French?" *_"Name every single word in the entire French dictionary."_*
when people notice I am learning a language they tell me random words they had learned on the internet sometimes these words aren't related to my target language. I said I was learning Spanish, and they were saying Russian words.
I've been dabbling into Korean for two years and I've learned just a few things here and there, I don't have any system and certainly I don't have any rush. I think it's important to progress at our own pace. Each one of us have different circumstances in life so any kind of comparison is unfair.
Lindie you have no idea how helpful and heartwarming this video was for me. I started Spanish in July last year, and after the honeymoon phase I took a big break. Luckily for me, I already had a good basics structure so I didn't lose my Spanish. The thing is, I see all these videos progressing SO FAST and I keep feeling guilty that I stopped then, that I don't know all the grammar I should and all the vocabulary I want to know, that I don't practice the language daily, that I don't like popular learning resources like Primsleur, Anki or Assimil.. all I do for my Spanish is watch a lot of TV shows and listen to podcasts, and you know what? I'm having fun. The other day when I had to talk to a native to help her, I literally could hold a conversation, even if I took a break or didn't rush thorugh learning, yes I could've been so much better by now but the important part for me is that I could understand her and reply. This is the reason I'm learning, not to take tests or work in the language. So NORMALIZE burnouts and taking it slow. Everyone has their own pace!!!
I commented on a woman’s video once which was titled “how to become fluent in any language in 30 days” saying how that’s super misleading and language learning to fluency is subjective. That learning contexts and when to use certain phrases or words takes time. But that’s part of the journey and honestly it shouldn’t be something you try to rush. She commented back that it was about “30 days of learning the tools you need to use to eventually become fluent” and I noticed it was linked to her own really expensive teaching program. Which I kinda felt is taking advantage of people but that’s neither here nor there. The clickbait is real and we must recognize when someone is just promising something that is not necessarily realistic. If you are trying to learn a language it honestly is about not giving up, knowing you won’t be perfect in 30 days, being okay with mistakes. It’s okay if you are not fluent in 30 days. Keep with it and don’t give up! (: PS- There is also the appearance sometimes that someone is fluent because they say a few things. But there are many times a person cannot hold a conversation but to outsiders who do not know the language they have no context to know that they make mistakes or their pronunciations are not great. 🤷🏼♀️ so just because someone shows you how to to say a few phrases don’t be fooled, necessarily, that they are totally fluent. (Obviously not the case for everyone. It can just be misleading if someone says they know 15 languages but they can only hold a conversation in 3. Lol)
I agree with you. I really don’t like those “fluent in 7 days” or “fluent in 30 days” videos. They can really demotivate people and do more to detour people from continuing to learn. Plus with a good script and some editing you can make a soft A1 look like a C2. I’m just over a year and a half with my Spanish learning now an it’s was an extremely rewarding process getting to this level. I wish I had recorded it from the start - and I wish there were way more videos from creators about progressing over a year or two with their languages. I think those types of videos are way more inspiring and motivating. That’s also why I like your channel because you’re truthful about you progress and show what you’re working on and you’re honest when some of your languages have regressed a little. I find you incredibly more motivating than someone who makes a flashy video claiming to have learned a language within 1 week to 3 months. Thank you for being here
@@diariosdelextranjero not yet. I've thought about taking the exam so I can officially say I have a B2 or C1 but it cost money and I don't see how having a certificate could help me at the moment.
Hey how did you learn Spanish? I started learning a little over a year ago and I'm barely at an A2 level. I am kind of getting discouraged at how slow I'm progressing. I also live in a country where Spanish is kind of rare so I don't have the chance to talk to any natives.
@@pleasetf7214 I did the Lingoda Super Sprint which was 1 class every day for 90 days. That took me from A2 to a soft B1. I stuck with them an additional 7 months (10 months total) because I really liked their program and being in a 1hr class every day where I needed to depend on my abilities was extremely helpful. Those extra 7 months took me to a solid B2 level and fluency. After that I started periodically chatting with people on iTalki every week which I believe has now put me at a C1 level. I’m not here to promote my channel but I made a video about my process if you want to check it out and I also have an hour long conversation with Elena, the creator of Linguriosa if you want to see my level of Spanish.
I've been "learning" Korean for 5 years. I didn't start actually dedicating time to it for real until this year. My progress in 2021 surpassed the previous 4 years so fast and I often felt weird answering "how long have you been studying Korean?" Because my skills don't line up to what would have been expected for 5 years 🥲
Yes this is understandable. I have learnt a language 10 years ago and by now I should be like an expert but obviously that doesn't happen. But we can get everything back once we start again as you mentioned.
I have that exact same problem. I started learning Chinese when we decided to adopt our daughter. It's now been six years so I guess I've been learning Chinese for six years. But my level isn't anywhere near what you'd expect for that length of time. Too busy parenting!
I can related to that. I started to learn Korean about 7 years ago. I reached an "interesting" level within a matter of weeks: I could read and write Hangul and understand and speak quite a few sentences thanks to the "let's speak Korean" TV show. Then, I plateaued and haven't had the time to invest to get any better at it. So I have started learning Korean 7 years ago. But I have realistically only put put about 2/3 weeks of efforts into it.
I'm in the same boat. I've been "learning" Korean since late 2017 (though, I really just learnt 한글), however it wasn't until this year that I became serious about my Korean studies! If you don't mind me asking, what recourses do you use when studying Korean?
the main issue i have with a lot of these videos is that they say they are fluent in one week, and then they try to sell u something to be "just like them", that to me is predatory
Or those fake success gurus like "How I built my six-figure business in my early 20s", showing off their luxury cars in the background which are actually rentals. Probably the fakest of all are those fake trading gurus telling everyone they should make this or that specific trade in stocks or crypto-currencies. If a trade is so good, why would they tell everyone and lose their advantage? They want to artificially make it go up by creating a hype for it, then they sell it and make a profit while everyone else loses money. Coffeezilla is a good channel exposing all those fake gurus.
I'm a slow learner, I love to take my time and enjoy the ride rather than being goal oriented and wanting to achieve something in a specific amount of time. And sometimes I'm a bit shy to say how many years I've been learning a language, because I know people may expect better "results". It's been three years since I'm learning Korean, and I still suck at speaking haha I can understand a lot through. And I think it's okay, I don't care anymore about comparing myself to others. The important is me enjoying myself and being happy.
Being shy about saying the number of years is relatable. I am also trying to learn to not compare. Soon I have 4 years of Mandarin studies under my belt and whenever I go to the local Chinese restaurant I get very frustrated because I also feel like I should be able to talk way better, because that's what people generally seem to expect. I like your attitude, I still need to work towards that. But yes, language learning should be enjoyable and make us happy (at least most of the time, can't help it with difficult grammar or pronunciation... in the end, being frustrated just means that you really want to learn, right?). Fighting~!
@@melaniegrace7707 well it depends what you want to do with the language you're learning. If it's to work oversea, or in a international company and you're still sturggling, I'd personally try to step up my game and study more. But it's just for fun or because you want to read in that language, well, eventually you can't but get better with time...
I am the same, I am slow and just like to enjoy the learning along with the culture and linguistics if you are not studying it for academic purposes then why not.
Ive been exposed to both English and Japanese for all my life, and use both languages it in my day to day. However I struggle to say I'm fluent. I'm fluent in my day to day work but there are still things that I get wrong. For me, language learning never ends. It's a skill you need to exercise and learn throughout one's life..
I'm Vietnamese, and I'm an English teacher now. I'm very delighted when hearing you are spending time and effort on learning Vietnamese. Although I am considered myself as busy as a bee these days, I want to help you in reviewing and correcting your Vietnamese writing without expecting anything in return. Of course, if you wish! Thank you for inspiring my determination.
I just want to say, what a fantastic comment section we have on this video. So many people have raised great points. Thank you, Lindie, for setting an example of what healthy criticism sounds like, without any trace of viciousness, and fostering an environment where people can take the time to share thoughtful opinions. A lot of these channels don't make bad content; in fact, I love some of the UA-camrs who have posted a misleading video or two in the vein of what you're describing. I think that in general, we, as viewers, KNOW they didn't become fluent because that's impossible, but the clickbait title sparks our curiosity enough to want to evaluate the claim they made. What they do is just glorified cramming or memorizing a long speech. Sure, they may retain that information for a few days, but that information is unlikely to get transferred to their long-term memory unless said information gets reviewed periodically in different settings.
I'm ashamed to admit how long I've been studying Mandarin! I am better at reading than I am at speaking since I never had time or gave myself opportunities to practice speaking (hard core introvert!) Last fall I started learning Russian. I can barely introduce myself and say a few phrases (My comprehension has improved since I started using Speakly thank you for the review on that!) I struggled for the longest time comparing my progress to others. Then when I realized language learning is a marathon and not a sprint I was ok with going at a pace that works for me. Like you said it is all about the amount of time you put into it.
Dude, I am in the same boat but with Japanese. I had to admit to a coworker who is decently proficient in Spanish (because I am learning it in the evening with my mother) that with the amount of time I have spent in my life learning Japanese, I would have been fluent in Spanish already. But Japanese has had my heart, hooking me at three-years-old and the learning of starting when I realized I could learn something outside of school. I refuse to give up on it. They didn't offer it in high school so I took German (I have forgotten most of it.) I took Japanese in university. But when re-entering school at my community college, I took a chance at Spanish. I am motivated internally for Japanese but Spanish is externally motivated by the more Spanish friends I make. And recently, my mother learning through her workplace made me pick it up again.; she's just entered her sixties and I want to support her language journey. She's still under the illusion she is too old to fully comprehend (working on that.) I hope you enjoy Mandarin to the fullest and are comforted that there are others who are marathoning with you.
@@pumpkinsandme6238 I have to agree with you. When the writing system is so different from your native, it takes much longer to read than to speak. I can look at a paragraph of Spanish and get the gist and read it aloud. For Japanese, it makes a dictionary a necessity; I assume the same is true for Mandarin. I suppose Korean has that in favor over the two since Hangul is a much simpler system (or so I've heard.)
Awesome video, I couldn't agree more. Thanks for sharing this content ! That's a topic I love talking about. To everyone reading this, your language learning journey is personal, don't compare yourself too much. You're awesome
Lindie, baie dankie! I find that a lot of questions about language learning request numerical information like "how long have you been learning?" "How many languages do you speak (at B2 level?)" etcetera whereas open questions like "Please tell me about your experience of learning (language X)" are much more revealing
I’m a professional interpreter working with the European Union, and for me fluency would be working your way through technical or legal jargon in the language, ‘getting’ cultural references with ease (for eg how can you call yourself fluent in Italian if something like ‘fantozziano’ leaves you scratching your head?), and so on. I know/am learning six languages but I would only call myself really fluent in four of those, and they are my working languages. The other two, eh … not quite there yet.
Thank you for this video! I am an incredibly comepetitive, so I've been having to learn not to let "my slow progress" discourage me. Instead, I'm learning to say things like "Wow, despite how busy my life is, in the past year I've managed to learn Korean language from being able to say almost nothing to being able to write small journal entries, understand maybe 20-40% of a Korean show with no English, have small (slow) conversations, and catch bits from a faster conservation". Do I want to be farther along? Of course, but I think it's also good to stop and "celebrate" what you've done so far. It makes it a bit easier to be patient with myself and I find it motivates me to try harder.
It's wonderful how concisely and elegantly talk about this. The UA-cam game is tough, and often, to grow a channel, we as creators are pushed to play into the algorithm's hands by using titles that skew the truth in order to get views. However, these types of videos claiming fluency after a week are not only FALSE but are like you say setting a benchmark for new learners. They also continue to make it harder for educators with real valuable information like yourself and I to get our content seen. Congrats on appearing on Hungarian TV, what a great achievement. And thanks to you I discovered Dreaming Spanish and I'm hooked.
Yessss thank you for saying this! A way that I like to think about it is... how lucky are we that we get to embark on a lifelong intellectual journey? We get to learn new things and try out new ways of thinking everyday because we've decided to embrace new languages. How cool is that?? Makes the rush feel a bit silly in the grand scheme of things!
Hi! I love your username. Just subscribed! I've had an unhealthy sense of discipline from learning the violin for 8362648426283 years hahaha. Trying to break from that with studying Korean.
@@melissat9120 omg yay for your new journey with Korean!! Breaking out from unhealthy mindsets to create a more sustainable approach to language learning is like... all I talk about haha. I started trying to learn Japanese 10+ years ago and kept giving up bc of my weird ideas around discipline (I don't have violin training to blame...haha, idk where I got it), and only since I've learned to be kind to myself have I actually gotten anywhere!
Such an important message! It's how you use the time, not how long you spend doing it, I spend many many hours with tutors in Tagalog and thought I was making good progress. Then, I got a new tutor that I really click with and am learning so much better with so much more practice! Speed isn't the goal, communication is!
Je suis totalement d'accord avec vous mais je pense également que plus on connait de langues plus notre cerveau fait des liens qui nous aide a apprendre plus vite. Je pense que les langues ont la même racine, ca aide aussi a apprendre plus vite. Par exemple, moi qui suis francophone, j'aurais plus de facilité a apprendre l'espagnole qu'un coréen par exemple car ce sont toutes 2 des langues latines et donc beaucoup de mots se ressemblent et la grammaire est plus proche aussi. J'aime beaucoup vos vidéos, votre gentillesse et tous les encouragements que vous donnez à tout ceux qui veulent apprendre des langues! Merci pour tout ça!
Funny how I understand that, but still can't reply in French. A lot more practice needed I guess. Since I learnt Spanish before, learning French is not that difficult.
Alors... cette fois j'étais à Rome avec des gens de partout. On avait une conversation dans le bar... et les gens parlaient en italien, português, espagnol, roumain... et moi en français bien que je suis britannique... sans que personne ne traduise d'une langue à l'autre. C'était trop marrant. (sorry I suck at the subjunctive :D )
@@juliemichellerobinson1841 Salut ! Tu t'exprimes très bien en français, ne t'inquiète pas. Par contre, étant francophone, nous ne disons pas "des gens de partout" (une formulation qui est, finalement, très britannique). On va plutôt dire "des gens qui venaient de partout" :) Enfin, après "bien que" on utilise le subjonctif. Cela va donc donner "Bien que je SOIS britannique..." En espérant t'avoir aidée ! :)
Omg I’m never so early in a video! Love your channel Lindie and so grateful to have stumbled upon it recently! I’ve spent hours back watching all your clips! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us all! X
Excellent video and couldn't agree more. And language learning is personal, as you said and it's unique to everybody. It's our journey and we should enjoy and love this journey and not feeling bad or rushed because it might take us so much longer then others. Congrats on your Hungarian interview. This is truly amazing. 🤩✨❤️⭐️
Fluency takes time. For me, it means maintaining the advance level (not just reaching) and being able to speak very much like a native. It depends on each person though.
Rather than the time invested in the language, I think it makes more sense to measure fluency in terms of how well someone knows a language. How well they understand the radio (listening comprehension), the types of books and other reading material that they can read and understand (reading comprehension), how well they speak the language (speaking), and how well they can compose in said language (writing). I would only consider someone fluent if they are proficient in all four areas.
Time invested is mainly relevant because of the plethora of useless programs and classes. Time enjoying the language isn't a waste, it's just not going to push you forward much. It's the time actively engaged in learning the language that really matters in terms of learning.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade for what follows, I say 'you' to mean someone in general. I'm sorry, but I can't say I agree about language classes being useless. They can be very helpful in learning the fundamentals of the language, especially if you are completely new to the language. It is often said that learning a language is like building a house - you absolutely need to have a solid base before you can build the windows or the roof. Taking classes can help in this regard. A professional can steer you away from common pitfalls and make sure you have a solid base. Even if you teach yourself through a book, you are still getting help from a professional (the book author who should have the necessary experience and credentials for teaching the language you are trying to learn) I agree that language learning should be an active process. This doesn't mean that this learning process can't be enjoyable, however. Far from it. For example, you could transcribe a talk show you enjoy and translate it into your native language. I would consider this an active process because you are forcing yourself to listen attentively so that you can accurately transcribe the audio. The translation process is also active in my opinion, since you have to think about the differences between the languages, and how different choices of translating a word alters the meaning or feeling from the original. Another example is reading a book you really like. I would argue that this can be considered an active process as well. If you read the book out loud, you are training your vocal chords, which should help improve your pronunciation. If you come across new words and expressions, and write it down, and make the diligent effort to remember them, then this can also be considered an active process. There are other ways to actively engage with the language in a way that's enjoyable.
I was feeling overwhelmed with all the French that I don't know (A year into learning) and all the Spanish that I'm forgetting (2.5 years into learning) and your words helped me feel better. Thank you Lindie. 💕
I've been learning French for a while. My reading is somewhere at the lower intermediate level and I find it difficult to keep going (given how long I have been learning the language). Sometimes, all that you can do is keep pushing.🤷🏽♂️🤷🏽♂️
This could be fixed in two seconds. The creator renames the video to: Learning as Much Hungarian as I can in 1 Week. But as Lindie pointed out, this doesn't sound as impressive. It's definitely more honest tho, and even tho I know they are incorrect I still get sucked in to these types of videos, even it it's just to learn their idea of what fluency is.
I was so mad when XiaoMa titled his video "speaking native korean"... like, dude... that's crossing a line. Still, he has such loyal followers that defend him, saying he's a language god. Really, anyone can do what he's doing. And he doesn't use most languages after doing a video on them, like Hindi. There's no progress updates. Yeah, he learned a lot in *a couple days* but I've done that my first day of learning Hindi with my friend. They said, "wow, you picked it up really fast!" However, I only memorised phrases, some basic vocabulary and basic grammar. I repeat, a n y o n e can do this. I just get so peeved when I see his clickbaity titles, and I'm so scared of the possibility that he might try milking tf out of my language (I'm a heritage Hebrew speaker). 😭
But the thing is: I don't click on videos with clickbaity titles of fluency in a month, but when someone titles their video like "learning as much as I can in x timespan" it comforts me and I am like 10 times more likely to click on the video
I agree with this, I always make it clear in my videos that a) I don't dedicate all of my time on the languages I speak so my progress is going to seem slower than the videos that say things like "fluent in a day!" and b) that we should stop comparing ourselves to other language learners because we all learn differently and at different speeds. Like you said with your Vietnamese vs Hungarian, I'm the same with Chinese and Thai, I started learning Chinese a few years ago but I didn't spend as much time on it as I have with learning Thai so I'm noticing that my Thai ability is quickly catching up to my Chinese despite only learning Thai for a year. It's all down to how I've used my time. I always love how realistic and down to earth your videos are 🙏
I used to believe those type of videos along ago and I didn't really find the passion to continue my language learning journey untill I found your channel, it really helped me so much to understand how it all works, so thank you for your existence and I wish you all the best!
Megnéztem a magyarul készült interjúdat, és nagyon jóra sikeredett. Már pár éve követlek, nagyon szeretem a csatornádat, és büszke vagyok a magyar nyelvben elért fejlődésedre. Csak így tovább, nagyon motiválsz, hogy egyszer majd én is ilyen sok nyelven beszélhessek. Remélem a covid után minél előbb eltudsz majd látogatni Magyarországra, szeretettel várunk
I've never really had a problem with these videos, because I appreciate any attempt people make in learning languages and they're usually entertaining and fun. They always get me riled up for my own language learning tasks
I couldn't agree more. This has been bugging me for years. I think it *is* possible to learn a great deal in a very short time if you spend every waking hour learning the language but, *realistically,* that's not something most people want or are able to do. I believe most people in the language-learning communities are honestly trying to motivate others. Yet, their approach may be backfiring because of the unrealistic picture they paint of what learning a new language looks like. Thanks for delivering this message! :)
hiii you are definitely one of my favorite youtubers! I want to ask you "how to study regularly and productively" and "how to learn any language faster without rushing" i learned english as my 2nd language and i wanna speak more languages ♥ love youu
Great video Lindie! I've just finished my End of Year exams at university, so this is a nice treat to celebrate :). I agree, I can so imagine that so many people would be put off the language-learning community by the 'I learned this language in a week' kind of video, as it sets such a high standard.
Hello, Im from Turkey and really enjoy your videos and tips about studying. I totally agree with you, its not easy learning a whole different language and because of these type of videos some people think that they can be fluent in a week... I mean they can learn a lot in a week but being fluent takes a bit more time and it also includes such things like learning about the culture... Unfortunately because of my school studies and stuff I dont have much time to study language but Im not gonna give up✊🏻 Waiting for your new videos thank you☺️💜
I agree. Learners shouldn't feel under pressure because you are only really competing with yourself and for most I hope language learning is a very enjoyable experience. Taking advantage of all kinds of learning strategies will help, for example, watching videos and documentaries in your target language, reading books and magazines, having a live conversation with a native speaker buddy regularly and of course having an old fashioned dictionary and primer on hand.
Great video. I really appreciate this perspective. Nowadays we are so used to getting the things we want quickly and it is easy to forget how much effort we need to put in if we want to learn to speak a language well. Also thank you for sharing your motto for this year. I love that!! I used to be really afraid of driving but I wanted to overcome the fear. I challenged myself to drive to different places every day for thirty days and it really changed things for me. Now I am rarely anxious when driving. I hope others can challenge themselves to do things that scare them and grow in this way, too. Thanks again, Lindy. You’re a really lovely person and I love your videos ❤️
Fantastic video Lindie! I couldn't agree more when you said that 'it's not okay to measure someones Language ability or fluency by their duration of learning' I think that it's too shallow to associated fluency with the time frame of learning a language. You did very well in explaining this video, Thank you so much for opening such topic. Pretty sure this will make a vast impact to language learners around the globe🎉💛
Thank you for this! I truly believe it is impossible for someone to be fluent in 1 day, 1 week, or even 1 month. Yes it's possible to progress quickly, but getting a true grasp of the language takes so much time! I've been learning Japanese and Korean for a little over a year now, and while I think I was able to make a lot of progress initially because I spent a lot of time studying last summer, I am nowhere near fluent and can see that there is still so much for me to learn, especially in terms of what is a natural and what is awkward-sounding.
You've hit the nail on the head. I'd add that there is this underlying belief that more is better and that speaking a language is like a commodity to be consumed. There is an underlying emphasis on the product rather than the process. If you have a good reason to learn the rudiments of a language quickly, I understand. But if you want to learn a language quickly, it almost feels like you don't want to spend time in that language. That you'd rather just get good to show that you can get good and then move on. And if you don't want to spend a lot of time in your target language, I don't understand why you'd want to learn it in the first place other than an intellectual vanity project. That's what it reads like to me. But people are fundamentally unknowable. So I don't know if that tracks.
This makes me feel so better. I started my language journey with German. Had been studying it for about 1-1.5 years, with pauses in between because of work and family situation. But these videos where people speak 15-20 languages, or claiming to have learnt for like a few months, really demotivated me, and I felt like maybe I am not meant for this. But I have been in love with the language learning process, and you have helped in reassuring the same. I have started Russian now, but I don't wanna race...I wanna enjoy it. 😄 We need more people like you on UA-cam. ❤️
Love your response ! I think the languages you choose, where you live in the world and your native or already learnt languages can have a big impact on it. If you're trying to learn a more obscure language and there are no native speakers in your area, even with the internet you will more often hit a brick wall and have to keep readjusting, restarting etc. I find even comparatively easy languages take a long time to settle and become a reflex so you need to have the long-term in mind when you start out.
Very true and accurate, I think Lindie drove this point home. Language learning is not about how long you have been learning, it's about how much time and and effort you put into learning the language, just like any other skill in life. I have been learning Japanese for the past twenty years; however, I have stopped actively learning Japanese 18 years ago and I just sparingly practice some reading, listening, or writing every few months for like an hour or so! In fact, I recently wanted to check my level so I went to Eaton institute and did a test only to find out that I dropped from intermediate to pre-intermediate which, as sad as it can be, was not a surprise to me! I'm simply not practicing or reviewing what I know enough, I'm not even actively watching/listening to Japanese content at all, the language skills will not simply build themselves without effort and deliberation! So When someone asks me the question of how long I have been learning Japanese and I say 20 years, they go like "Wow! You must be fluent by now" and I always smile and share the reality of the situation. Again, last year I started learning Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew, and Aramaic formally at Rosen School of Hebrew and for the first few months until 2 months ago I was giving it just enough time and attention and saw the results accordingly, then I started getting more busy at work and university and began dropping classes (with the exception of Biblical Hebrew) and I can see how I'm faring much better at the latter than the former two. I can easily say that within my first two months of learning modern Hebrew, I was doing so well and my language capability was building up extremely quickly, if I compare that to what is happening now, I can easily see a drop of about 85% to 90% because I'm simply not able to allocate as much time as when I first started even though I have been studying Hebrew much longer. It's as simple as that!
I agree with you, I like watching your channel because you give a good reason and logical method for us as a beginner for learning a new language. I've tried for learning fast and fulfilling 24 hours but after not committing again, it's lost, and my vocabs are lost. So, I know the goals for learning the language. That is not about time how to be fluent in 1 month, 3 months or so on but how we can apply and to be advance comfortably but also learn consistently to like as native in the language. Thank you for your insight.
I have been learning Italian consistently daily for two years and my speaking is really terrible at this point part of my discouragement is from not realising how much I soaked in from YT vids saying its "easy" and "fun" it is NORMAL for language learning to often be gruelling and very frustrating and disappointing but that doesn't get clicks! THANK YOU FOR SAYING IT'S A PERSONAL JOURNEY THAT REALLY HELPED ME
I love to hear your perspective on this topic. A question I would also think is how comfortable, confident a person is with a certain language because I agree that focusing on time shifts away from a person's ability to use the language.
As always you've just put into words my views on this! I think those videos get so many people into the idea of learning a language which is great, but it's definitely a fine line between fun and motivating and something people take as fact or how their journey should be going. I also love the idea of talking about time using vs time since starting a language. I technically started Bulgarian 5 years ago now! But I've had under a year of really learning and using it.
Excellent video, and channel. Glad I stumbled upon you! Semantically, I've noticed, people typically get caught up on the word "fluent" whenever I tell them I speak a bunch of languages. Lately I've been saying I speak 7 to varying degrees of fluency. Most people when they hear fluent they believe it means "oh, that means you can translate word for word everything from one language to the next." Which I would describe as Native. As a sort of half joke half not, I've been telling people I speak exactly 0 languages fluently. English is my native language, however I don't think I know *every* word, nor do I speak perfectly all the time. Fluency to me would be being able to communicate and articulate with one another sans stress. Words are vibrations, we gotta find out how they mean depending which Vibration we singing. Thanks again!
This video was really uplifting and encouraging! I've been learning for a while and sometimes feel the pressure to compare myself to others.This was a good reminder to focus on why I want to learn the language and enjoy the process rather than comparing my level to others. Thanks so much for this!!!
This is why I love your channel! I never click on those videos because I know they learned as much as they can in one wk. They did not become fluent in one wk....
I think it is of the highest importance that people like you make videos like this for the field that they are an "authority" in. If people believe the things they see on the internet, they can get discouraged quickly. I can make an example from my side, I love learning languages and I play golf. I don't think I am a genius in any shape or form, but to make a point that at least I don't have a learning disability: I grew up bilingual with Finnish and German and I was speaking full sentences in both languages before the age of 1. I also have a PhD in engineering, so at least I know how to study to some extent. I started learning Japanese last year, and now reading comments on the internet, it seems like everyone is "fluent after 3 months and watching movies without subs". I put in a LOT of effort and I can definitely hold a "normal everyday" conversation but as soon as the talk goes a bit more into details on a topic I am not familiar with, I am lost like a puppy in the desert. With Golf it's almost even more ridiculous. On the internet, everyone from 12 to 80 years old hits the drive 300-350 yards, while after 18 years of playing around the globe, I can safely say get praised almost every time for being "incredibly long" with my puny 260-ish-yard drives. No matter who I play with. Even by 25-year-old buff guys, and I rarely see anyone driving more than 250. Of course, there are people that can hit it 350 and I am sure there are people that can get good in a language in a few months, but the cr*p you see in online forums and youtube comments is mostly just projected dreams. And if people get discouraged just because of that, it is really sad. Learning new things is some of the most fun you can have.
Most neztem az interjúd life-tvvel és ezt nagyon érdekes volt. Is tanulom magyarul és jó van nézni másik embereket, akik ihletek vannak nekem folytatni :D
Great video and valid points. To your point about being able to learn a little in a short period, I remember listening to Josh Kaufman, who spoke on the 10,000-hour rule. And he acknowledged that the more hours you devote to something, the more expert you get. But, he pointed out, to go from novice to decent at something (sport, language, instrument, etc) only takes about 20 hours. So again, as you touched on, the first little chunk of time will show a sharp spike in ability, while beyond that, you're improving on that base. For the record, not a language expert, more of a hobbyist, and I enjoy learning about learning. Continued success to you.
Lindie, your heart and soul are simply amazing. Love you and this video incredibly. I remember we talked about this in our last conversation - we are forever learners and it's about what it means to us and how we can learn a language to enhance our connection to the world and people around us
The first thing that comes to mind when I start watching one of Lindie's videos is "I love you" ; haha I can't help it! Thanks for all your nice videos, Lindie
I have subscribed after being recommended this video from your channel! You answer a good question with equally good points ! Points that I appreciate. I’m from Scotland and I have been learning French for a few years now, but I still struggle. Don’t get me wrong, these videos are entertaining, but they can be misleading. Merci beaucoup !
I very much agree with what you are saying. It's much more valuable to speak one language with wisdom than saying crap in twenty-five. It seems that some people end up collecting languages. If you are into visiting castles, I'd expect you to watch every castle with a sense of fulfilment and pleasure and not as a kind of tick list. The different languages I've learnt are languages that I've spent a whole lot of time into learning somehow and I feel attracted and even passionate about learning them. Before I pick up another language, I need the feeling of having progressed in and absorbed the language to an extent of being able to consider me a speaker of that language. And I'm not even referring to the fact how tremendously difficult it can be to understand native speakers or to understand Nietsche, Góngora or Proust in their original language. We should be much humbler regarding language learning and learning in general.
I started fully motivated, planed anything and then didnt really got started. Partly because these super fast learning videos I thinked you need anything to be planned. Now some months have passed and Im going to restart. This time ways more slowly, experimenting with diffrent things. I allso talked enormouly about I learning this and this language and now I definetely wont. Great video!
I needed to watch this! Especially when you said that we shouldn't be asking people how long they have been learning a language but how much time they have spent using that language. For instance, I started learning Spanish in 2013 but dropped it for a long time until February 2020 when I became much serious with it. It's over a year and I have seen how much I have improved because I spend time using the language. I started German this year and combining both hasn't been so easy but I have been making progress. It seems slow but I am not in a hurry. Language learning is a marathon and not a sprint. Thank you Lindie! I always always look forward to your videos. Thank you for always being real.❤️
@@diariosdelextranjero Hi, I'm on an intermediate level now....I know this from the last time I took one of these online language proficiency tests. My reading and listening has improved a lot too. What I want to practice more is speaking though. I am quite conversational already. I have realized that as I keep listening and reading, I get better. So I'm still on that journey!
💕💕💕Love this! This topic has been getting attention lately and as soon as I saw the title I was excited to know how you felt! Honestly I used to feel like something was wrong with me when I watched those kinds of videos, because I learn languages really slowly. I thought maybe if I just worked harder, or studied smarter, etc I could achieve what they were achieving in the same amount of time. Sometimes I still struggle with that feeling. But- Now that I realize those 'learn X language in a week/month', 'speaking 10 languages/shock locals', etc videos are just for entertainment, or can be downright misleading, I'm finding more joy in my own journey. It'll probably take me decades to learn all the languages I'd like to learn, and that's OK 💖💖💖
Thank you very much for posting this video. I enjoy learning languages, English and Spanish. So UA-cam recommends various videos about learning language. Which is great but sometimes I feel disappointed after watching them. Like “oh, I am so bad. Hard to speak like them or is there perfect way to learn languages?” I know there’s no one way and totally depend on each person. But it is also true that I got inspired from videos. You talked to the audience instead of me. ¡Muchas gracias! ありがとう！
You are a great inspiration, thank you 😄 I think "1 week progress videos" are great, but "I learned X language in one week" is very missleading. Of course, speaking already 4 romance languages, I could probably learn a lot of Portuguese if I dedicated 8 hours a day for a week, but this is not realistic because most people (including me) do not have that much time in a week. If I would do the same with a "for me exotic language", the results would definetly be very different 😅 I love doing progress videos, but the point is to show that "hey, you can learn something in a week/month..." and if you stick to it, look at "what you can learn after a year" 😍
Thank you for answering my question :) I see eye to eye with you, I remember feeling under pressure while watching this kind of videos!! Learning a language as a hobby is supposed to be pleasant
Thank you for making this! It’s nice seeing someone like you reminding beginner language learners that for the average person with limited time conversational language skills take time to development. Unfortunately as you said those videos get clicks. I think those videos are really misleading but i appreciate that you keep making good content to help language learners!
Apparently trying to learn Esperanto has lead my UA-cam algorithm to polyglot chanels, and even though a bunch of chanel's say Esperanto ia useless I'll continue my journey, then I'll see what other languages appeal to me. Nice chanel, good points about fluency and dedication.
In an amenable sense, I would think that language learning is a memorable journey that one can think of, and all of us have different abilities on how we procure the know-how to learn it and is dependent on the circumstances of the learner.
I agree that it’s more important how much time you spend studying/using the language than how long you have been studying it. I’ve studied French since I was 11 and have just finished my degree in it but still think there’s a lot more progress I need to make before I can call myself fluent! People are usually surprised when I say I’m not fluent, but I think people’s definitions of fluency can be different. Plus everyone gets there at their own pace. It’s not a race, language learning should be fun more than anything! I’d definitely say it can be easier to improve more quickly the lower your language level is - I study Japanese too and my level improved a lot this year compared to my 1st year cause I put a lot more time and effort into it!
Totally agree! I've learned 6 languages in my life and I can safely say that I'm only fluent in my native language and in English (passed IELTS on 8.5, but I know it doesn't matter much). And that's after learning it in school since I was 7 and living and working (very heavy on the communication side) in an English-speaking country for the last 9 years. I recently bashed a 'creator' in the comments for claiming that he became fluent in French in 30 days by using this simple trick. The saddest part is that there is a lot of people like that. Also, the definition of 'fluent' differs from person to person. My take on this is you are fluent when you can: discuss any topic, write about everything, read almost on every subject (with not knowing occasional word) and being able to understand everything that's being said, and being able to use language in order to play on words and make jokes (if you have a sense of humor that is). And this takes years of practice. It's about the pace of the brain's ability to absorb, retain and use new information. There is unfortunately no way around it. Also, try learning a language with a completely different structure and alphabet than the group that your native language is from, i.e. English speaking person trying to learn Chinese or Arabic. See how far you can go in one week or 30 days 🤣
0:50 Hi Lindie, hi everyone! I think you're gonna love this quote from Coraline. It's been my motto eversince I read it from the book. “It wasnʼt brave because he wasnʼt scared: it was the only thing he could do. But going back again to get his glasses, when he knew the wasps were there, when he was really scared. That was brave.” It's a really good motivation speech!
Thank you so much for this! I completely agree with you, and I think these types of videos somehow make people forget what the true goal of language learning is too, or just- the fact that it's different for everyone. Sure, it's cool to watch someone learn some things in a short period of time I suppose and see their progress, but for me language learning is about really spending time with the language, and even making it a part of yourself. Language learning can change you as a person, the way you think and the way you see the world, and while it is genuinely a fun and such a rewarding experience, it's definitely not as quick as these videos make it seem. It's quite hard to commit to learning a language, especially as you get older, and it takes time and effort to keep on learning. This comment is so long already but just, I'm glad you made this video! I love your channel and you're such an inspiration Lindie honestly!! 🧡🧡
Love how you worded this. The deeper I dive into any language, the more ingrained the culture, façon à vivre, slowly blend into my personality. You start to understand how our languages affect our lives, and how we think. I truly believe its one of the best ways to have yourself become a part of a different culture. It's really cool to see yourself change over time and have almost a slightly different personality depending what you speak. I articulate myself quite differently when I'm speaking Spanish versus Japanese (besides the obvious vibrational differences).
Agree with all three here. It's amazing but also frustrating if you really want to function native-like or blend into a culture/society. Asian languages/civilizations - oh, how isolated they are or think they are! - are hard for westerners. In China I found myself forever at the margin - long-standing Koreans just blend in while also bond with each other.
- mty daughter is just being asked what is 'ass' in Chinese - silly boys on a Bavarian playground. Favorite word of the week: Salamibrotgeruch.
Really well said. I completely agree. Learning Italian and Japanese has become a passion, so much fun and I’ve learned so much about food and culture. It’s a long-term thing for me, for sure, and it is really rewarding to keep at it and see progress over time. All the best to you!
Charming, wise and competent as always. The world needs more people like you Lindina^^
You are someone who make things really good
Thanks for adding your voice to this Luca. We love both you and Lindie.
Dankie altyd, Luca!
Agreed!
You're so supportive!
Another important point: language is about creating a relationship with culture as much as it's about linguistics. Rapidly just trying to swallow an entire lexicon and grammar just to be able to demonstrate it for a video is likely overlooking the real-world culture and communication of the language itself. I've seen some polyglots who don't even know anything about the countries of the languages they're studying- isn't that the point of learning it though? If you're not learning it to actually use it with real people in a real place, then you're just treating it like a math formula and not like a fluid, personal, human skill.
Exactly!!!! It's not just the language but about embracing a whole new culture! And you can't really do that in a day.
Great point! Also, the most difficult part of actually understanding a language is perceiving the subtle cultural references that it contains and the different nuances of the expressions.
Exactly. Learning about the culture is SO important when studying a language. It helps tie everything in and helps the language make so much more sense. When I was learning Japanese back in the day, I couldn't imagine learning it without also learning about the culture. It wouldn't make any sense to me otherwise. 🤣
Since doing it is impressive to the masses, those are the videos that are being put out.
@@D_Archives I did experience this with Spanish.
There is a certain lack of respect for punctuality in Latin American Spanish.
For example
Ya llego (roughly translated as I'm already there) can be said by the speaker even if he has not left the house.
"How I learned Spanish in 30 days"
(Disclaimer: I studied Spanish for 8 years)
I learned English in 8 years
lol, or Disclaimer: I already speak Italian and Portuguese
Disclaimer : my parents speak Spanish
a certain Brendan R. Lewis in a nutshell
Those titles are trickier for me to judge because saying "I learned" doesn't mean "I finished learning/mastered" but when I read it, I do see how it can be interpreted as that. Those creators know what they're doing when they write those titles though! Borderline clickbait for me. Not as bad as "How I learned fluent Spanish in 30 days.".
Thank you for saying a lot of my thoughts about those sort of videos, and in a well made video~
When I was starting to study Spanish, I watched one of those "I learned Spanish in one week" videos and it made me feel like I was learning too slowly-which is ridiculous because, at that point, I was spending every moment of free time I had on Spanish. I felt stupid. Nowadays, he'll occasionally post an update video on his Spanish-and I speak way better than he can.
Exactly! I caught a lot of flack recently for talking about how these videos can hurt in that exact way you describe. Most people in latin America think it's just "fun" to try but they fail to see the long term repercussions, especially for people trying to learn English and getting discouraged. Thank you so much for this video. Will link it whenever people think my idea is just me being grumpy and not concerned.
I was actually thinking about you while watching this video hahaha.
Hello there, Mr Salas here
Te amo mr salas
Awesome i love your vids💕 and i totally agree
Que milagro de verlo por aquí Mr. Salas
To me the really silly thing is, time is always passing, so even if you claim to have learned C1 French in a month (which no, you didn't), 3 years later you're no long "impressive". It just goes to show it's all sensationalism.
Why do you need to learn so fast anyways? Enjoy the ride... Being a beginner can be so fun, you can say the most rediculous things but still get your point across and that's the joy of it.
I feel like the whole time thing just puts competition on a process that is highly personal and shouldn't be competitive at all.
Holy heck, you put it perfectly into the words I've been looking for. This!
Different strokes. I find the beginner period just boring and frustrating. It is when you are intermediate+ that you can start learning from media (made for native speakers) and have real conversations that I actually start *really* enjoying the process.
So I can understand why somebody would want to get through that first stage as fast as possible. Especially as somebody who has moved to a country where I spoke almost none of the language when I arrived.
This generation is all about having things as soon as possible.
I absolutely agree with this. While we want everything asap, it is very difficult to retain the language after 2-3 years unless we are in constant touch with it after completing a 'level'.
Yes!!!
0:00 Yes. I may not know they 14 other languages they are pretending to be able to speak but I know when they speak Japanese they are always saying super basic stuff that you can learn in a few weeks. Also, it's a video. You can script it and edit it.
They usually control the situation even if the story takes place 'in the wild' (e.g. foreign restaurant or grocery store setting). Often most of the video is in English, and then there is the part when they say certain things in the target language and expect a certain set of answers when they can continue the conversation in that language, or just switch to English when it does not work out. It may look impressive, but in reality you can probably fake it using some small number of pre-cooked sentences that you have memorized and the unsuspecting audience will be amazed.
Yes!! It’s so silly when you can understand what they are saying and it’s so basic.
Aye bruh aint expect to see u here mr manosphere. Lol. I rock w u tho
they often say the beginner lines like "yes, i speak[language]. where are you from?"
They should change their videos to something like "One week/month of intensive learning in [language]". That's more believable than claiming fluency.
Basically her explaining why she learned Hungarian is me when people ask me why I am learning German: I really don’t know it’s just interesting.
Normal people all can think about is how marketable that language is to put it in your CV
@@nfrankiksa4596 pretty much.
That is the best motivation. Herzlichen Glückwunsch.
It's easier with German, I guess :))
Not many people would even ask, it's obviously a very important language, especially in the EU.
I would say I do it cause it's fun. Fun in an odd way with a lot of struggling and brain meltdowns 😩🤯😁
Learning English and German, I've realized that you never really "learn" a language because there'll always be new words, synonyms, idioms etc. to learn, for me I especially feel like my listening skills always could improve and that every activity I do in said target language helps improve this.
Exactly, even in our native language, we are still progressively improving proficiency and vocabulary every single day
That's true, but it's also true for your native language. There are always new words out there. I think by the time you can compare foreign language proficiency with your native one, you can call yourself fluent.
Good point. Even as a native speaker, you discover new expressions.
True! I've been learning new words in English and in the languages in my country that I speak. I'm from the city so if I speak with someone from the rural areas I learn new vocabulary or phrases.
yEs also you learn different aspects of a language: for example, school has helped me get in touch with the formal register of my native language, and speak clearly to multiple people
without an environment which pushes you to say certain things, you might never think of practicing some aspects lf the language and they might not be used until very late in your life
I always approached the word fluent as “Almost native, but doesn’t have to be perfectly natural. You understand and can express yourself in any given everyday situation. Finally you can communicate with people without any trouble in normal conversations almost like you would in your native language.”
This is how I see it as well and this is why I feel it takes many tears to become fluent.
@@arquitect1966 tears is probably a typo but the sentence still works ahah
I think it also depends on what one means in terms of reading/speaking/understanding. There are languages I can read fluently that I couldn't write in, let alone speak. At level B2 you can hold most usual converstations that don't require subject-specific vocabulary - level C2 in a language is genuinely better than a significant proportion of natives.
@@juliemichellerobinson1841 But you don't get to B2 in one week either.
@@trezapoioiuy nope
Anyone who’s ever tried to learn any language seriously knows “fluent in one week” is complete nonsense.
What they call fluent is actually a level someone who learns languages to actually use them won't even mention if someone asks them "which languages do you speak?"
I think that in a week of 70 hours, it is not imposible to get to level A2 for example if you speak a language that is similar to the one your are learning. Thats pretty good, but thats not fluent.
I totaly agree.
A2 in some languages is possible in a week.
One month to B1 is possible but requires 16 hours a day plus tapes at night whilst sleeping to review.
all language ability aside, it’s impossible unless you have prior experience with the culture alone, because culture influences so much of a language. even if you became “fluent,” you’d sound super awkward and out of touch.
Other people are your worst enemy when learning a language.
"Oh, so you're learning French?"
*_"Name every single word in the entire French dictionary."_*
This is true.
Those people are basically rude. And it only shows how ignorant they are about the reality of learning languages.
The French are the only people whose English skills I can mock without feeling bad.
when people notice I am learning a language they tell me random words they had learned on the internet sometimes these words aren't related to my target language. I said I was learning Spanish, and they were saying Russian words.
I've been dabbling into Korean for two years and I've learned just a few things here and there, I don't have any system and certainly I don't have any rush. I think it's important to progress at our own pace. Each one of us have different circumstances in life so any kind of comparison is unfair.
Lindie you have no idea how helpful and heartwarming this video was for me. I started Spanish in July last year, and after the honeymoon phase I took a big break. Luckily for me, I already had a good basics structure so I didn't lose my Spanish. The thing is, I see all these videos progressing SO FAST and I keep feeling guilty that I stopped then, that I don't know all the grammar I should and all the vocabulary I want to know, that I don't practice the language daily, that I don't like popular learning resources like Primsleur, Anki or Assimil.. all I do for my Spanish is watch a lot of TV shows and listen to podcasts, and you know what? I'm having fun. The other day when I had to talk to a native to help her, I literally could hold a conversation, even if I took a break or didn't rush thorugh learning, yes I could've been so much better by now but the important part for me is that I could understand her and reply. This is the reason I'm learning, not to take tests or work in the language. So NORMALIZE burnouts and taking it slow. Everyone has their own pace!!!
Hola, me alegra que sigas progresando en tu aprendizaje del español, y que estés disfrutando el proceso, eso es lo más importante.
I commented on a woman’s video once which was titled “how to become fluent in any language in 30 days” saying how that’s super misleading and language learning to fluency is subjective. That learning contexts and when to use certain phrases or words takes time. But that’s part of the journey and honestly it shouldn’t be something you try to rush.
She commented back that it was about “30 days of learning the tools you need to use to eventually become fluent” and I noticed it was linked to her own really expensive teaching program. Which I kinda felt is taking advantage of people but that’s neither here nor there.
The clickbait is real and we must recognize when someone is just promising something that is not necessarily realistic. If you are trying to learn a language it honestly is about not giving up, knowing you won’t be perfect in 30 days, being okay with mistakes. It’s okay if you are not fluent in 30 days. Keep with it and don’t give up! (:
PS-
There is also the appearance sometimes that someone is fluent because they say a few things. But there are many times a person cannot hold a conversation but to outsiders who do not know the language they have no context to know that they make mistakes or their pronunciations are not great. 🤷🏼♀️ so just because someone shows you how to to say a few phrases don’t be fooled, necessarily, that they are totally fluent. (Obviously not the case for everyone. It can just be misleading if someone says they know 15 languages but they can only hold a conversation in 3. Lol)
When "fluent" and "basically just started getting an idea of how the language is" are used as synonims, you know someone is full of crab.
I agree with you. I really don’t like those “fluent in 7 days” or “fluent in 30 days” videos. They can really demotivate people and do more to detour people from continuing to learn. Plus with a good script and some editing you can make a soft A1 look like a C2. I’m just over a year and a half with my Spanish learning now an it’s was an extremely rewarding process getting to this level. I wish I had recorded it from the start - and I wish there were way more videos from creators about progressing over a year or two with their languages. I think those types of videos are way more inspiring and motivating. That’s also why I like your channel because you’re truthful about you progress and show what you’re working on and you’re honest when some of your languages have regressed a little. I find you incredibly more motivating than someone who makes a flashy video claiming to have learned a language within 1 week to 3 months. Thank you for being here
Have you given any DELE exam so far ?
@@diariosdelextranjero not yet. I've thought about taking the exam so I can officially say I have a B2 or C1 but it cost money and I don't see how having a certificate could help me at the moment.
Hey how did you learn Spanish? I started learning a little over a year ago and I'm barely at an A2 level. I am kind of getting discouraged at how slow I'm progressing. I also live in a country where Spanish is kind of rare so I don't have the chance to talk to any natives.
@@pleasetf7214 Join a course or work with a tutor. That's what helped me.
@@pleasetf7214 I did the Lingoda Super Sprint which was 1 class every day for 90 days. That took me from A2 to a soft B1. I stuck with them an additional 7 months (10 months total) because I really liked their program and being in a 1hr class every day where I needed to depend on my abilities was extremely helpful. Those extra 7 months took me to a solid B2 level and fluency. After that I started periodically chatting with people on iTalki every week which I believe has now put me at a C1 level.
I’m not here to promote my channel but I made a video about my process if you want to check it out and I also have an hour long conversation with Elena, the creator of Linguriosa if you want to see my level of Spanish.
I've been "learning" Korean for 5 years. I didn't start actually dedicating time to it for real until this year. My progress in 2021 surpassed the previous 4 years so fast and I often felt weird answering "how long have you been studying Korean?" Because my skills don't line up to what would have been expected for 5 years 🥲
Yes this is understandable. I have learnt a language 10 years ago and by now I should be like an expert but obviously that doesn't happen. But we can get everything back once we start again as you mentioned.
I have that exact same problem. I started learning Chinese when we decided to adopt our daughter. It's now been six years so I guess I've been learning Chinese for six years. But my level isn't anywhere near what you'd expect for that length of time. Too busy parenting!
I can related to that. I started to learn Korean about 7 years ago. I reached an "interesting" level within a matter of weeks: I could read and write Hangul and understand and speak quite a few sentences thanks to the "let's speak Korean" TV show. Then, I plateaued and haven't had the time to invest to get any better at it. So I have started learning Korean 7 years ago. But I have realistically only put put about 2/3 weeks of efforts into it.
me too, but 4 years.
I'm in the same boat. I've been "learning" Korean since late 2017 (though, I really just learnt 한글), however it wasn't until this year that I became serious about my Korean studies!
If you don't mind me asking, what recourses do you use when studying Korean?
the main issue i have with a lot of these videos is that they say they are fluent in one week, and then they try to sell u something to be "just like them", that to me is predatory
Or “all natural body builders” who sell their work out plans
That's the thing that annoys me the most!
This seems to be a cancer across various industries.
Or those fake success gurus like "How I built my six-figure business in my early 20s", showing off their luxury cars in the background which are actually rentals.
Probably the fakest of all are those fake trading gurus telling everyone they should make this or that specific trade in stocks or crypto-currencies. If a trade is so good, why would they tell everyone and lose their advantage? They want to artificially make it go up by creating a hype for it, then they sell it and make a profit while everyone else loses money.
Coffeezilla is a good channel exposing all those fake gurus.
Welcome to the real world, kiddo.
I'm a slow learner, I love to take my time and enjoy the ride rather than being goal oriented and wanting to achieve something in a specific amount of time. And sometimes I'm a bit shy to say how many years I've been learning a language, because I know people may expect better "results".
It's been three years since I'm learning Korean, and I still suck at speaking haha I can understand a lot through. And I think it's okay, I don't care anymore about comparing myself to others. The important is me enjoying myself and being happy.
Being shy about saying the number of years is relatable. I am also trying to learn to not compare. Soon I have 4 years of Mandarin studies under my belt and whenever I go to the local Chinese restaurant I get very frustrated because I also feel like I should be able to talk way better, because that's what people generally seem to expect.
I like your attitude, I still need to work towards that. But yes, language learning should be enjoyable and make us happy (at least most of the time, can't help it with difficult grammar or pronunciation... in the end, being frustrated just means that you really want to learn, right?). Fighting~!
What if you’re still struggling over a decade? that really is the right mentality regardless though
@@melaniegrace7707 well it depends what you want to do with the language you're learning. If it's to work oversea, or in a international company and you're still sturggling, I'd personally try to step up my game and study more.
But it's just for fun or because you want to read in that language, well, eventually you can't but get better with time...
I am the same, I am slow and just like to enjoy the learning along with the culture and linguistics if you are not studying it for academic purposes then why not.
What an insightful and relatable comment!
Ive been exposed to both English and Japanese for all my life, and use both languages it in my day to day. However I struggle to say I'm fluent. I'm fluent in my day to day work but there are still things that I get wrong. For me, language learning never ends. It's a skill you need to exercise and learn throughout one's life..
LINDIE YOUR HAIR LOOKS SO GOOD OMG WE STAN 💅✨💕
I second that
Yes! Her outfit also looks so cute.
I'm Vietnamese, and I'm an English teacher now. I'm very delighted when hearing you are spending time and effort on learning Vietnamese. Although I am considered myself as busy as a bee these days, I want to help you in reviewing and correcting your Vietnamese writing without expecting anything in return. Of course, if you wish! Thank you for inspiring my determination.
I just want to say, what a fantastic comment section we have on this video. So many people have raised great points. Thank you, Lindie, for setting an example of what healthy criticism sounds like, without any trace of viciousness, and fostering an environment where people can take the time to share thoughtful opinions.
A lot of these channels don't make bad content; in fact, I love some of the UA-camrs who have posted a misleading video or two in the vein of what you're describing. I think that in general, we, as viewers, KNOW they didn't become fluent because that's impossible, but the clickbait title sparks our curiosity enough to want to evaluate the claim they made. What they do is just glorified cramming or memorizing a long speech. Sure, they may retain that information for a few days, but that information is unlikely to get transferred to their long-term memory unless said information gets reviewed periodically in different settings.
Love that you mentioned the mental health awareness month
I became fluent in Sanskrit in a few hours while I was sleeping! :)
Really? how?
@@hannaaa232 You do not realize he's joking ?
occasionally asking people how forces them to find a funny explanation or gives the setup for a joke that the person already wanted to tell
@@aiocafea I couldn't tell whether it was someone thinking I was serious or someone eliciting more sarcasm, so I didn't really know how to respond. :)
Pathetic. I did it while I was waiting in my mother's womb.
I'm ashamed to admit how long I've been studying Mandarin! I am better at reading than I am at speaking since I never had time or gave myself opportunities to practice speaking (hard core introvert!) Last fall I started learning Russian. I can barely introduce myself and say a few phrases (My comprehension has improved since I started using Speakly thank you for the review on that!) I struggled for the longest time comparing my progress to others. Then when I realized language learning is a marathon and not a sprint I was ok with going at a pace that works for me. Like you said it is all about the amount of time you put into it.
My current Chinese goal is only focused on reading. Maybe in the future when I can read at the level I want I'll focus on conversation
Everyone is better at reading than speaking, even in your native language
@@nfrankiksa4596 yea, that's not true.
Dude, I am in the same boat but with Japanese. I had to admit to a coworker who is decently proficient in Spanish (because I am learning it in the evening with my mother) that with the amount of time I have spent in my life learning Japanese, I would have been fluent in Spanish already.
But Japanese has had my heart, hooking me at three-years-old and the learning of starting when I realized I could learn something outside of school. I refuse to give up on it. They didn't offer it in high school so I took German (I have forgotten most of it.) I took Japanese in university. But when re-entering school at my community college, I took a chance at Spanish. I am motivated internally for Japanese but Spanish is externally motivated by the more Spanish friends I make. And recently, my mother learning through her workplace made me pick it up again.; she's just entered her sixties and I want to support her language journey. She's still under the illusion she is too old to fully comprehend (working on that.)
I hope you enjoy Mandarin to the fullest and are comforted that there are others who are marathoning with you.
@@pumpkinsandme6238 I have to agree with you. When the writing system is so different from your native, it takes much longer to read than to speak. I can look at a paragraph of Spanish and get the gist and read it aloud. For Japanese, it makes a dictionary a necessity; I assume the same is true for Mandarin. I suppose Korean has that in favor over the two since Hangul is a much simpler system (or so I've heard.)
Awesome video, I couldn't agree more. Thanks for sharing this content ! That's a topic I love talking about.
To everyone reading this, your language learning journey is personal, don't compare yourself too much. You're awesome
Lindie, baie dankie! I find that a lot of questions about language learning request numerical information like "how long have you been learning?" "How many languages do you speak (at B2 level?)" etcetera whereas open questions like "Please tell me about your experience of learning (language X)" are much more revealing
I’m a professional interpreter working with the European Union, and for me fluency would be working your way through technical or legal jargon in the language, ‘getting’ cultural references with ease (for eg how can you call yourself fluent in Italian if something like ‘fantozziano’ leaves you scratching your head?), and so on. I know/am learning six languages but I would only call myself really fluent in four of those, and they are my working languages. The other two, eh … not quite there yet.
As an Italian, I never thought I'd see the word "fantozziano" in the comment section.😂
Thank you for this video! I am an incredibly comepetitive, so I've been having to learn not to let "my slow progress" discourage me. Instead, I'm learning to say things like "Wow, despite how busy my life is, in the past year I've managed to learn Korean language from being able to say almost nothing to being able to write small journal entries, understand maybe 20-40% of a Korean show with no English, have small (slow) conversations, and catch bits from a faster conservation". Do I want to be farther along? Of course, but I think it's also good to stop and "celebrate" what you've done so far. It makes it a bit easier to be patient with myself and I find it motivates me to try harder.
It's wonderful how concisely and elegantly talk about this.
The UA-cam game is tough, and often, to grow a channel, we as creators are pushed to play into the algorithm's hands by using titles that skew the truth in order to get views.
However, these types of videos claiming fluency after a week are not only FALSE but are like you say setting a benchmark for new learners.
They also continue to make it harder for educators with real valuable information like yourself and I to get our content seen.
Congrats on appearing on Hungarian TV, what a great achievement.
And thanks to you I discovered Dreaming Spanish and I'm hooked.
Yessss thank you for saying this! A way that I like to think about it is... how lucky are we that we get to embark on a lifelong intellectual journey? We get to learn new things and try out new ways of thinking everyday because we've decided to embrace new languages. How cool is that?? Makes the rush feel a bit silly in the grand scheme of things!
Sooo well said!~
Hi! I love your username. Just subscribed! I've had an unhealthy sense of discipline from learning the violin for 8362648426283 years hahaha. Trying to break from that with studying Korean.
@@melissat9120 omg yay for your new journey with Korean!! Breaking out from unhealthy mindsets to create a more sustainable approach to language learning is like... all I talk about haha. I started trying to learn Japanese 10+ years ago and kept giving up bc of my weird ideas around discipline (I don't have violin training to blame...haha, idk where I got it), and only since I've learned to be kind to myself have I actually gotten anywhere!
@@LeaflingLearns Wow, that is so wonderful to hear!! ♡♡
This channel is so underrated, you deserve more attention 💪
Such an important message! It's how you use the time, not how long you spend doing it, I spend many many hours with tutors in Tagalog and thought I was making good progress. Then, I got a new tutor that I really click with and am learning so much better with so much more practice! Speed isn't the goal, communication is!
Je suis totalement d'accord avec vous mais je pense également que plus on connait de langues plus notre cerveau fait des liens qui nous aide a apprendre plus vite. Je pense que les langues ont la même racine, ca aide aussi a apprendre plus vite. Par exemple, moi qui suis francophone, j'aurais plus de facilité a apprendre l'espagnole qu'un coréen par exemple car ce sont toutes 2 des langues latines et donc beaucoup de mots se ressemblent et la grammaire est plus proche aussi.
J'aime beaucoup vos vidéos, votre gentillesse et tous les encouragements que vous donnez à tout ceux qui veulent apprendre des langues! Merci pour tout ça!
Funny how I understand that, but still can't reply in French.
A lot more practice needed I guess. Since I learnt Spanish before, learning French is not that difficult.
Alors... cette fois j'étais à Rome avec des gens de partout. On avait une conversation dans le bar... et les gens parlaient en italien, português, espagnol, roumain... et moi en français bien que je suis britannique... sans que personne ne traduise d'une langue à l'autre. C'était trop marrant.
(sorry I suck at the subjunctive :D )
@@juliemichellerobinson1841 Salut ! Tu t'exprimes très bien en français, ne t'inquiète pas.
Par contre, étant francophone, nous ne disons pas "des gens de partout" (une formulation qui est, finalement, très britannique). On va plutôt dire "des gens qui venaient de partout" :)
Enfin, après "bien que" on utilise le subjonctif. Cela va donc donner "Bien que je SOIS britannique..."
En espérant t'avoir aidée ! :)
Omg I’m never so early in a video! Love your channel Lindie and so grateful to have stumbled upon it recently! I’ve spent hours back watching all your clips! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us all! X
Glad to see you here - thank you for watching!
congratulations lindie and you look pretty
Excellent video and couldn't agree more. And language learning is personal, as you said and it's unique to everybody. It's our journey and we should enjoy and love this journey and not feeling bad or rushed because it might take us so much longer then others. Congrats on your Hungarian interview. This is truly amazing. 🤩✨❤️⭐️
Fluency takes time. For me, it means maintaining the advance level (not just reaching) and being able to speak very much like a native. It depends on each person though.
Rather than the time invested in the language, I think it makes more sense to measure fluency in terms of how well someone knows a language. How well they understand the radio (listening comprehension), the types of books and other reading material that they can read and understand (reading comprehension), how well they speak the language (speaking), and how well they can compose in said language (writing). I would only consider someone fluent if they are proficient in all four areas.
Time invested is mainly relevant because of the plethora of useless programs and classes. Time enjoying the language isn't a waste, it's just not going to push you forward much.
It's the time actively engaged in learning the language that really matters in terms of learning.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade
for what follows, I say 'you' to mean someone in general.
I'm sorry, but I can't say I agree about language classes being useless. They can be very helpful in learning the fundamentals of the language, especially if you are completely new to the language. It is often said that learning a language is like building a house - you absolutely need to have a solid base before you can build the windows or the roof. Taking classes can help in this regard. A professional can steer you away from common pitfalls and make sure you have a solid base. Even if you teach yourself through a book, you are still getting help from a professional (the book author who should have the necessary experience and credentials for teaching the language you are trying to learn)
I agree that language learning should be an active process. This doesn't mean that this learning process can't be enjoyable, however. Far from it. For example, you could transcribe a talk show you enjoy and translate it into your native language. I would consider this an active process because you are forcing yourself to listen attentively so that you can accurately transcribe the audio. The translation process is also active in my opinion, since you have to think about the differences between the languages, and how different choices of translating a word alters the meaning or feeling from the original. Another example is reading a book you really like. I would argue that this can be considered an active process as well. If you read the book out loud, you are training your vocal chords, which should help improve your pronunciation. If you come across new words and expressions, and write it down, and make the diligent effort to remember them, then this can also be considered an active process. There are other ways to actively engage with the language in a way that's enjoyable.
I was feeling overwhelmed with all the French that I don't know (A year into learning) and all the Spanish that I'm forgetting (2.5 years into learning) and your words helped me feel better.
Thank you Lindie. 💕
I've been learning French for a while. My reading is somewhere at the lower intermediate level and I find it difficult to keep going (given how long I have been learning the language).
Sometimes, all that you can do is keep pushing.🤷🏽♂️🤷🏽♂️
This could be fixed in two seconds. The creator renames the video to: Learning as Much Hungarian as I can in 1 Week. But as Lindie pointed out, this doesn't sound as impressive. It's definitely more honest tho, and even tho I know they are incorrect I still get sucked in to these types of videos, even it it's just to learn their idea of what fluency is.
Funny how susceptible we are to click bait titles.
I was so mad when XiaoMa titled his video "speaking native korean"... like, dude... that's crossing a line. Still, he has such loyal followers that defend him, saying he's a language god. Really, anyone can do what he's doing. And he doesn't use most languages after doing a video on them, like Hindi. There's no progress updates. Yeah, he learned a lot in *a couple days* but I've done that my first day of learning Hindi with my friend. They said, "wow, you picked it up really fast!" However, I only memorised phrases, some basic vocabulary and basic grammar. I repeat, a n y o n e can do this. I just get so peeved when I see his clickbaity titles, and I'm so scared of the possibility that he might try milking tf out of my language (I'm a heritage Hebrew speaker). 😭
But the thing is: I don't click on videos with clickbaity titles of fluency in a month, but when someone titles their video like "learning as much as I can in x timespan" it comforts me and I am like 10 times more likely to click on the video
I agree with this, I always make it clear in my videos that a) I don't dedicate all of my time on the languages I speak so my progress is going to seem slower than the videos that say things like "fluent in a day!" and b) that we should stop comparing ourselves to other language learners because we all learn differently and at different speeds.
Like you said with your Vietnamese vs Hungarian, I'm the same with Chinese and Thai, I started learning Chinese a few years ago but I didn't spend as much time on it as I have with learning Thai so I'm noticing that my Thai ability is quickly catching up to my Chinese despite only learning Thai for a year. It's all down to how I've used my time.
I always love how realistic and down to earth your videos are 🙏
I used to believe those type of videos along ago and I didn't really find the passion to continue my language learning journey untill I found your channel, it really helped me so much to understand how it all works, so thank you for your existence and I wish you all the best!
Megnéztem a magyarul készült interjúdat, és nagyon jóra sikeredett. Már pár éve követlek, nagyon szeretem a csatornádat, és büszke vagyok a magyar nyelvben elért fejlődésedre. Csak így tovább, nagyon motiválsz, hogy egyszer majd én is ilyen sok nyelven beszélhessek. Remélem a covid után minél előbb eltudsz majd látogatni Magyarországra, szeretettel várunk
How respectable and gentle your response is. Lo aprecio mucho.
You are as wise as ever. Learning a language is not a competition, it is a process that should be enjoyed. Love the way you think.
Yes !
I've never really had a problem with these videos, because I appreciate any attempt people make in learning languages and they're usually entertaining and fun. They always get me riled up for my own language learning tasks
Louder! Very well said. God bless you more 😇
I couldn't agree more. This has been bugging me for years. I think it *is* possible to learn a great deal in a very short time if you spend every waking hour learning the language but, *realistically,* that's not something most people want or are able to do. I believe most people in the language-learning communities are honestly trying to motivate others. Yet, their approach may be backfiring because of the unrealistic picture they paint of what learning a new language looks like.
Thanks for delivering this message! :)
hiii you are definitely one of my favorite youtubers! I want to ask you "how to study regularly and productively" and "how to learn any language faster without rushing"
i learned english as my 2nd language and i wanna speak more languages ♥ love youu
or how about "how to make language learning fun" ? Can that be a thing? If the internet exploded with these kinds of videos that would be amazing!
Great video Lindie! I've just finished my End of Year exams at university, so this is a nice treat to celebrate :). I agree, I can so imagine that so many people would be put off the language-learning community by the 'I learned this language in a week' kind of video, as it sets such a high standard.
That was the most perfect مرحبا I had ever heard from a foreigner 💕
Thanks!
Thank you for the support!!
Needed this today. Thanks 🙏
Kedves Lindie! Nagyon jól beszélsz magyarul! Gratulálok!!
Hello, Im from Turkey and really enjoy your videos and tips about studying. I totally agree with you, its not easy learning a whole different language and because of these type of videos some people think that they can be fluent in a week... I mean they can learn a lot in a week but being fluent takes a bit more time and it also includes such things like learning about the culture... Unfortunately because of my school studies and stuff I dont have much time to study language but Im not gonna give up✊🏻 Waiting for your new videos thank you☺️💜
I agree. Learners shouldn't feel under pressure because you are only really competing with yourself and for most I hope language learning is a very enjoyable experience.
Taking advantage of all kinds of learning strategies will help, for example, watching videos and documentaries in your target language, reading books and magazines, having a live conversation with a native speaker buddy regularly and of course having an old fashioned dictionary and primer on hand.
Great video. I really appreciate this perspective. Nowadays we are so used to getting the things we want quickly and it is easy to forget how much effort we need to put in if we want to learn to speak a language well. Also thank you for sharing your motto for this year. I love that!! I used to be really afraid of driving but I wanted to overcome the fear. I challenged myself to drive to different places every day for thirty days and it really changed things for me. Now I am rarely anxious when driving. I hope others can challenge themselves to do things that scare them and grow in this way, too. Thanks again, Lindy. You’re a really lovely person and I love your videos ❤️
Fantastic video Lindie! I couldn't agree more when you said that 'it's not okay to measure someones Language ability or fluency by their duration of learning' I think that it's too shallow to associated fluency with the time frame of learning a language. You did very well in explaining this video, Thank you so much for opening such topic. Pretty sure this will make a vast impact to language learners around the globe🎉💛
Thank you for this! I truly believe it is impossible for someone to be fluent in 1 day, 1 week, or even 1 month. Yes it's possible to progress quickly, but getting a true grasp of the language takes so much time!
I've been learning Japanese and Korean for a little over a year now, and while I think I was able to make a lot of progress initially because I spent a lot of time studying last summer, I am nowhere near fluent and can see that there is still so much for me to learn, especially in terms of what is a natural and what is awkward-sounding.
Have you tried AJATT (All Japanese all the time) ?
You've hit the nail on the head. I'd add that there is this underlying belief that more is better and that speaking a language is like a commodity to be consumed. There is an underlying emphasis on the product rather than the process. If you have a good reason to learn the rudiments of a language quickly, I understand.
But if you want to learn a language quickly, it almost feels like you don't want to spend time in that language. That you'd rather just get good to show that you can get good and then move on. And if you don't want to spend a lot of time in your target language, I don't understand why you'd want to learn it in the first place other than an intellectual vanity project.
That's what it reads like to me. But people are fundamentally unknowable. So I don't know if that tracks.
This makes me feel so better.
I started my language journey with German. Had been studying it for about 1-1.5 years, with pauses in between because of work and family situation. But these videos where people speak 15-20 languages, or claiming to have learnt for like a few months, really demotivated me, and I felt like maybe I am not meant for this.
But I have been in love with the language learning process, and you have helped in reassuring the same. I have started Russian now, but I don't wanna race...I wanna enjoy it. 😄
We need more people like you on UA-cam. ❤️
Love your response ! I think the languages you choose, where you live in the world and your native or already learnt languages can have a big impact on it. If you're trying to learn a more obscure language and there are no native speakers in your area, even with the internet you will more often hit a brick wall and have to keep readjusting, restarting etc. I find even comparatively easy languages take a long time to settle and become a reflex so you need to have the long-term in mind when you start out.
Very true and accurate, I think Lindie drove this point home. Language learning is not about how long you have been learning, it's about how much time and and effort you put into learning the language, just like any other skill in life. I have been learning Japanese for the past twenty years; however, I have stopped actively learning Japanese 18 years ago and I just sparingly practice some reading, listening, or writing every few months for like an hour or so! In fact, I recently wanted to check my level so I went to Eaton institute and did a test only to find out that I dropped from intermediate to pre-intermediate which, as sad as it can be, was not a surprise to me! I'm simply not practicing or reviewing what I know enough, I'm not even actively watching/listening to Japanese content at all, the language skills will not simply build themselves without effort and deliberation! So When someone asks me the question of how long I have been learning Japanese and I say 20 years, they go like "Wow! You must be fluent by now" and I always smile and share the reality of the situation. Again, last year I started learning Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew, and Aramaic formally at Rosen School of Hebrew and for the first few months until 2 months ago I was giving it just enough time and attention and saw the results accordingly, then I started getting more busy at work and university and began dropping classes (with the exception of Biblical Hebrew) and I can see how I'm faring much better at the latter than the former two. I can easily say that within my first two months of learning modern Hebrew, I was doing so well and my language capability was building up extremely quickly, if I compare that to what is happening now, I can easily see a drop of about 85% to 90% because I'm simply not able to allocate as much time as when I first started even though I have been studying Hebrew much longer. It's as simple as that!
I agree with you, I like watching your channel because you give a good reason and logical method for us as a beginner for learning a new language. I've tried for learning fast and fulfilling 24 hours but after not committing again, it's lost, and my vocabs are lost. So, I know the goals for learning the language. That is not about time how to be fluent in 1 month, 3 months or so on but how we can apply and to be advance comfortably but also learn consistently to like as native in the language. Thank you for your insight.
I have been learning Italian consistently daily for two years and my speaking is really terrible at this point
part of my discouragement is from not realising how much I soaked in from YT vids saying its "easy" and "fun"
it is NORMAL for language learning to often be gruelling and very frustrating and disappointing
but that doesn't get clicks!
THANK YOU FOR SAYING IT'S A PERSONAL JOURNEY THAT REALLY HELPED ME
Always think long term. Good luck !
Excellent video! You showed a lot of tact and expressed your opinion in a clear and respectful manner. 👌
I appreciate that! Thanks for watching.
I love to hear your perspective on this topic. A question I would also think is how comfortable, confident a person is with a certain language because I agree that focusing on time shifts away from a person's ability to use the language.
As always you've just put into words my views on this! I think those videos get so many people into the idea of learning a language which is great, but it's definitely a fine line between fun and motivating and something people take as fact or how their journey should be going.
I also love the idea of talking about time using vs time since starting a language. I technically started Bulgarian 5 years ago now! But I've had under a year of really learning and using it.
A new idea indeed.
Excellent video, and channel. Glad I stumbled upon you! Semantically, I've noticed, people typically get caught up on the word "fluent" whenever I tell them I speak a bunch of languages. Lately I've been saying I speak 7 to varying degrees of fluency. Most people when they hear fluent they believe it means "oh, that means you can translate word for word everything from one language to the next." Which I would describe as Native. As a sort of half joke half not, I've been telling people I speak exactly 0 languages fluently. English is my native language, however I don't think I know *every* word, nor do I speak perfectly all the time. Fluency to me would be being able to communicate and articulate with one another sans stress. Words are vibrations, we gotta find out how they mean depending which Vibration we singing. Thanks again!
Amazing analysis! kind of the way babies or children learn languages; the first word always seems unbelievably important xD
This video was really uplifting and encouraging! I've been learning for a while and sometimes feel the pressure to compare myself to others.This was a good reminder to focus on why I want to learn the language and enjoy the process rather than comparing my level to others. Thanks so much for this!!!
This is why I love your channel! I never click on those videos because I know they learned as much as they can in one wk. They did not become fluent in one wk....
Damn straight !
I think it is of the highest importance that people like you make videos like this for the field that they are an "authority" in. If people believe the things they see on the internet, they can get discouraged quickly. I can make an example from my side, I love learning languages and I play golf. I don't think I am a genius in any shape or form, but to make a point that at least I don't have a learning disability: I grew up bilingual with Finnish and German and I was speaking full sentences in both languages before the age of 1. I also have a PhD in engineering, so at least I know how to study to some extent. I started learning Japanese last year, and now reading comments on the internet, it seems like everyone is "fluent after 3 months and watching movies without subs". I put in a LOT of effort and I can definitely hold a "normal everyday" conversation but as soon as the talk goes a bit more into details on a topic I am not familiar with, I am lost like a puppy in the desert. With Golf it's almost even more ridiculous. On the internet, everyone from 12 to 80 years old hits the drive 300-350 yards, while after 18 years of playing around the globe, I can safely say get praised almost every time for being "incredibly long" with my puny 260-ish-yard drives. No matter who I play with. Even by 25-year-old buff guys, and I rarely see anyone driving more than 250. Of course, there are people that can hit it 350 and I am sure there are people that can get good in a language in a few months, but the cr*p you see in online forums and youtube comments is mostly just projected dreams. And if people get discouraged just because of that, it is really sad. Learning new things is some of the most fun you can have.
I''ll be extremely happy if you consider learning Georgian in the future! 🇬🇪🇬🇪🇬🇪❤️❤️
Most neztem az interjúd life-tvvel és ezt nagyon érdekes volt. Is tanulom magyarul és jó van nézni másik embereket, akik ihletek vannak nekem folytatni :D
Great video and valid points. To your point about being able to learn a little in a short period, I remember listening to Josh Kaufman, who spoke on the 10,000-hour rule. And he acknowledged that the more hours you devote to something, the more expert you get. But, he pointed out, to go from novice to decent at something (sport, language, instrument, etc) only takes about 20 hours. So again, as you touched on, the first little chunk of time will show a sharp spike in ability, while beyond that, you're improving on that base. For the record, not a language expert, more of a hobbyist, and I enjoy learning about learning. Continued success to you.
Lindie, your heart and soul are simply amazing. Love you and this video incredibly. I remember we talked about this in our last conversation - we are forever learners and it's about what it means to us and how we can learn a language to enhance our connection to the world and people around us
Ahh Lina, thank you for your lovely comment! I am so glad we talk about these things a lot - I always learn so much from you. ❤️
Well said. I’ve been studying Italian for 7 months. I study/practice/listen everyday and I am no where near where I want to be. And that’s ok. 👍🏼
How many hours a day did you manage to put in approximately ?
The first thing that comes to mind when I start watching one of Lindie's videos is "I love you" ; haha I can't help it! Thanks for all your nice videos, Lindie
You are so sweet, thank you!!
I have subscribed after being recommended this video from your channel! You answer a good question with equally good points ! Points that I appreciate. I’m from Scotland and I have been learning French for a few years now, but I still struggle. Don’t get me wrong, these videos are entertaining, but they can be misleading.
Merci beaucoup !
I very much agree with what you are saying. It's much more valuable to speak one language with wisdom than saying crap in twenty-five. It seems that some people end up collecting languages. If you are into visiting castles, I'd expect you to watch every castle with a sense of fulfilment and pleasure and not as a kind of tick list. The different languages I've learnt are languages that I've spent a whole lot of time into learning somehow and I feel attracted and even passionate about learning them. Before I pick up another language, I need the feeling of having progressed in and absorbed the language to an extent of being able to consider me a speaker of that language. And I'm not even referring to the fact how tremendously difficult it can be to understand native speakers or to understand Nietsche, Góngora or Proust in their original language. We should be much humbler regarding language learning and learning in general.
I started fully motivated, planed anything and then didnt really got started. Partly because these super fast learning videos I thinked you need anything to be planned.
Now some months have passed and Im going to restart. This time ways more slowly, experimenting with diffrent things.
I allso talked enormouly about I learning this and this language and now I definetely wont.
Great video!
I needed to watch this! Especially when you said that we shouldn't be asking people how long they have been learning a language but how much time they have spent using that language. For instance, I started learning Spanish in 2013 but dropped it for a long time until February 2020 when I became much serious with it. It's over a year and I have seen how much I have improved because I spend time using the language. I started German this year and combining both hasn't been so easy but I have been making progress. It seems slow but I am not in a hurry. Language learning is a marathon and not a sprint. Thank you Lindie! I always always look forward to your videos. Thank you for always being real.❤️
How far did you get with Spanish?
@@diariosdelextranjero Hi, I'm on an intermediate level now....I know this from the last time I took one of these online language proficiency tests. My reading and listening has improved a lot too. What I want to practice more is speaking though. I am quite conversational already. I have realized that as I keep listening and reading, I get better. So I'm still on that journey!
「こんにちは」が自然でとてもびっくりしました😊
Your pronunciation sounds so natural for me Japanese💕
💕💕💕Love this! This topic has been getting attention lately and as soon as I saw the title I was excited to know how you felt!
Honestly I used to feel like something was wrong with me when I watched those kinds of videos, because I learn languages really slowly. I thought maybe if I just worked harder, or studied smarter, etc I could achieve what they were achieving in the same amount of time. Sometimes I still struggle with that feeling. But- Now that I realize those 'learn X language in a week/month', 'speaking 10 languages/shock locals', etc videos are just for entertainment, or can be downright misleading, I'm finding more joy in my own journey. It'll probably take me decades to learn all the languages I'd like to learn, and that's OK 💖💖💖
It does bring a lot of relief to know you're doing fine.
Thank you very much for posting this video. I enjoy learning languages, English and Spanish. So UA-cam recommends various videos about learning language. Which is great but sometimes I feel disappointed after watching them. Like “oh, I am so bad. Hard to speak like them or is there perfect way to learn languages?” I know there’s no one way and totally depend on each person. But it is also true that I got inspired from videos. You talked to the audience instead of me. ¡Muchas gracias! ありがとう！
You are a great inspiration, thank you 😄
I think "1 week progress videos" are great, but "I learned X language in one week" is very missleading.
Of course, speaking already 4 romance languages, I could probably learn a lot of Portuguese if I dedicated 8 hours a day for a week, but this is not realistic because most people (including me) do not have that much time in a week. If I would do the same with a "for me exotic language", the results would definetly be very different 😅
I love doing progress videos, but the point is to show that "hey, you can learn something in a week/month..." and if you stick to it, look at "what you can learn after a year" 😍
Amazing video Lindie, I totally agree with you. And thanks for your amazing videos always !
Thank you for answering my question :)
I see eye to eye with you, I remember feeling under pressure while watching this kind of videos!! Learning a language as a hobby is supposed to be pleasant
It still is a grind till you reach intermediate on near advanced. That's when you enjoy the native content without using a dictionary or a translator.
@@diariosdelextranjero totally agree with you ;)
Loved your point about not using time as a way of measuring language ability :) so so true💕
Thank you for watching Danai!!
Thank you for making this! It’s nice seeing someone like you reminding beginner language learners that for the average person with limited time conversational language skills take time to development. Unfortunately as you said those videos get clicks.
I think those videos are really misleading but i appreciate that you keep making good content to help language learners!
Apparently trying to learn Esperanto has lead my UA-cam algorithm to polyglot chanels, and even though a bunch of chanel's say Esperanto ia useless I'll continue my journey, then I'll see what other languages appeal to me. Nice chanel, good points about fluency and dedication.
In an amenable sense, I would think that language learning is a memorable journey that one can think of, and all of us have different abilities on how we procure the know-how to learn it and is dependent on the circumstances of the learner.
I agree that it’s more important how much time you spend studying/using the language than how long you have been studying it. I’ve studied French since I was 11 and have just finished my degree in it but still think there’s a lot more progress I need to make before I can call myself fluent! People are usually surprised when I say I’m not fluent, but I think people’s definitions of fluency can be different. Plus everyone gets there at their own pace. It’s not a race, language learning should be fun more than anything!
I’d definitely say it can be easier to improve more quickly the lower your language level is - I study Japanese too and my level improved a lot this year compared to my 1st year cause I put a lot more time and effort into it!
Totally agree! I've learned 6 languages in my life and I can safely say that I'm only fluent in my native language and in English (passed IELTS on 8.5, but I know it doesn't matter much). And that's after learning it in school since I was 7 and living and working (very heavy on the communication side) in an English-speaking country for the last 9 years. I recently bashed a 'creator' in the comments for claiming that he became fluent in French in 30 days by using this simple trick. The saddest part is that there is a lot of people like that. Also, the definition of 'fluent' differs from person to person. My take on this is you are fluent when you can: discuss any topic, write about everything, read almost on every subject (with not knowing occasional word) and being able to understand everything that's being said, and being able to use language in order to play on words and make jokes (if you have a sense of humor that is). And this takes years of practice. It's about the pace of the brain's ability to absorb, retain and use new information. There is unfortunately no way around it. Also, try learning a language with a completely different structure and alphabet than the group that your native language is from, i.e. English speaking person trying to learn Chinese or Arabic. See how far you can go in one week or 30 days 🤣
0:50 Hi Lindie, hi everyone! I think you're gonna love this quote from Coraline. It's been my motto eversince I read it from the book.
“It wasnʼt brave because he wasnʼt scared: it was the only thing he could do. But going back again to get his glasses, when he knew the wasps were there, when he was really scared. That was brave.”
It's a really good motivation speech!