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Can you talk about how to keep practising multiple languages? It can be quite overwhelming and time-consuming and it's easy to neglect the languages you practise the least

Yo solo uso Duolingo estos días. Mi progreso es slooooow y tengo mucho mistakes, y olvido muchas cosas.

Don't beat yourself if you can only speak a few phrases after a year, you are still learning faster than a native speaker has learnt their first language (with no interference from a different grammar). I think it's OK to just receive meaningful input for the first year or so before expecting any output beyond simple utterances. Just think: it takes FIVE YEARS for a child to learn to express himself with complex sentences in *almost* correct grammar in his NATIVE LANGUAGE, and TEN YEARS for that child to speak at adult level proficiency (fluently). That is, in 100% immersion.

You've really been busy churning out new content. I wish you the best of luck on your RUclips adventure.

Your channel is a little gem for any language learner, I’m so glad I stumbled across it! ❤

I agree. We need to lean on learning methods that work for us in language learning. The main thing to remember is that we are all on unique journeys in language learning. With over 8 million people on this planet, it would be very boring if we all followed the same pattern.

very well put! ig one question i have is at what point the best tools for language learning and the goals of learning are the same thing. am i simply lucky that my greatest desire is to read, and that reading almost ANYTHING that i find interesting functions as a good learning tool? do people who want to learn more for the purposes of real-time conversation have to think about this problem differently? is this just a strange line of questioning? (the answer to the last one, as always seems to be the case, is probably yes)

What rewards do you use to motivate yourself? Let's collect ideas here!

I'm getting into the habit of doing stuff just because I told myself I'll do it.

Would you happen to have any recommendations for resources that have helped you in your language learning journey? They don't have to apply to languages I am currently learning, but they may help someone who comes across this video. And you can still reiterate the caveat that whatever worked for you may not work for us. Even if some method ends up not working out, I can work out where I want my journey to go if I am at least giving a starting point. I am one who likes going down language learning resource rabbit holes.

As I always say whenever your content pops on my feed: you are always right on time! 🥹 I love how your voice, pace, and way of comforting us by validating our emotions while giving us realistic solutions doesn’t take away from the process of learning a language, or really working through everyday life. We’re not robots, and we’re not expected to study like robots to reach our goals. Today I just needed to watch your video, and to see your growth so far is a bonus too 🥹🌸 THANK YOU!

I reward myself by commenting positively on YT content I like. Honest. If I don’t have either the bandwidth after completing my language tasks or am too busy with work, then I pass on that.

Every person is a speaker and not everyone is a writer. Those who say about passive input mean, that it is easier and maybe more proper to start speaking after internalizing tons of listening and reading. That's all. Noone can speak fluently and with perfect grammar just out of listening.

Which question did you pick - 1, 2, or 3?

Unfortunately i dont live in that foreign environment so i cant answer number 2. I also am far from fluent in second language (and even have lots of hiccups in first language) so question 3 doesn't apply

When I was adulting in Japan from 1994-1999, I tailored a lot of my Japanese vocab toward US politics and baseball because I was very keen on both. Now that I can talk about both well in Japanese, I am focusing on Portuguese words that target anime and other parts of Japanese culture. If I take your advice and focus on a conversation I have never had in either Portuguese or Spanish, then I need to focus on automotive vocab because a lot of my current work experience is there. Since Mexico is very heavily involved in the North American auto industry, that’s not a bad idea.

An analogy just came to mind: mindset and working on self won’t eliminate the fallen tree from our path, but they will provide us with the tools and knowledge required to clear the path.

This post contains a really important message for language learners - never underestimate what you achieve on a daily or weekly basis. Great stuff Emily, your work is much appreciated. Thanks. (Sorry if this appears twice.)

This episode contains a really important message for language learners - don't underestimate what you achieve on a daily or weekly basis. Great stuff, Emily, your work is appreciated. Thanks.

For me, immersion worked well. But I had it combined with all other methods. My conclusion after having learned several languages: talking, understanding, writing and reading have to be learned by talking, listening, writing and reading. You should not leave one out. Although these capabilities are profiting from each other, you cannot learn talking well from listening alone, you have to talk and correct, and this is true for each capability. And everything helps, even reading a grammar book. But you have to combine, and you have to activate. Listening to an endless stream of talking or singing and doing nothing else won't do the job.

This is really short and sweet. thank you!

Tell me about what you did this week, and receive copious praise!

Thanks very much for this. Justified passion there!

Great encouragement not just for language learners, but in anything we set out to do. We are not alone in our struggles, there will be resistance, but stick with it and you will have that lightbulb moment. Have faith in yourself, the process, and it will get you there. Thanks!

This is a serious question: is it okay if I journal about my stuffed animals’ adventures in my home? They’ve had some quite interesting experiences since moving from Japan more than a decade ago. I want Portuguese speakers to learn more about them.

The analysis of the 90s era montage was insightful

My problem is - Learning a language takes x time With x being highly affected by how much attention and work you bring to the task So being that I do NOT want this process to go on for years I find myself stuck in doing a helluva lot now so that I can end the intentional study (and rely instead just on conversations with my girlfriend and her family + books and shows that I'm interested in) Its like a catch 22 do the mass work now or be doing the work for years to come. Help me to understand

I enjoyed the video. Nice job.

I feel that if we beat ourselves up because we haven’t made a lot of progress in our language journeys, it is definitely because we have based our self-worth on getting to higher level. Perhaps we feel more people will like us or we get other monetary or professional rewards. Those aren’t bad motivators. But we have stop and remember that we have value outside of what we do.

I’ve been listening to German radio and music and TV for 2 years, and I am still not anywhere close to fluent. The only things I learn is the stuff I actively study.

I love these bright colours on the picture behind and on her hoodie))

Thank you for your lovely words

I definitely agree that we need to refrain from comparing ourselves to others. We need to constantly remind ourselves of why we undertook language(s) that we enjoy. Steve Kauffman’s advice to focus on enjoying the language learning process has helped me immensely. Even if we want to rush the process, our brains are eventually going to tell all of us to go take a hike anyway. Our brains will say, “Hey! Just chill! I need some time for this to marinate.”

Such a fun and encouraging video! Thanks so much for this :D

Thank you for this! I never thought about commenting on videos or posts in the language I'm learning. I have several friends who are native speakers in other languages, but I don't know any beginners in English. Any suggestions on how to safely find others on the same language journey?

I've known for so long that creating something in the language I'm learning is how I learn best, but no language learning that I've come across has addressed it. When I was taking French in college, what was the most impactful way for me to learn and understand the language was to write in French or do translation work from English to French. One of my favorite school projects was that we had to pick a French song and talk about it in class. I chose a Medieval song and compared old French with modern French. My professor loved it, but most importantly, I had fun and learned so much because I had to understand enough about the French language to understand the differences between modern and old French. I'd like to brush up on my French and become fluent, so I guess it's back to writing and translating!

Mmm... it kind of does matter. The content needs to be meaningful to make the transition to active learning.

"For the past five years, I've been immersing myself in the English language. I thought consuming enough material alone would make me fluent in English. I spent more than six hours almost every single day listening to native English speakers on RUclips. Unfortunately, I still find it difficult to speak in English. I couldn't agree more with your advice: you must produce something in your target language if you want to speak it, period!"

During the 1980s, while In high school and college, I studied French. I did very well and advanced year after year. From the get go in French 1 we were taught basic grammer rules which later grew in French 2 and 3. We were also taught verbs and thier conjegations and the basic rules of each verb form .. the ir, er and re verbs! We were also taught nouns and pro-nouns and how gender was used in correlation to these nouns. These new nouns we would learn also had a direct relationship to the verbs we learned. Quickly, French was making sense and year after year I excelled in the language. In French 1 we were first taught the basics of how the language worked and the principles of French students needed to understand in order to progress year after year. The courses were taught to us in English which lessened as one advanced year after year. Interpretations were provided. We were taught maison mean house. There wasn't a picture of a house on a page forcing me to conclude presumptively and possibly incorrectly that maison meant house. I knew wihtout any doubt that maison meant house becasue a native French speaker told me as fact. Soon, I learned how to used these new words in gramatical exercises which was great becaue as my French became more sophisticated, I started understanding context. I was told that maison meant house and that it was feminine, therefore the adverb used to describe the house had to also be femine, but I was told that blanche was the feminine form of white. I never had to somehow figure it out on my own through deduction or second guessing. The rules were explained and then I started applyig them because I understaood them and the more I learned about the nuances of the rules and grammer that dictates teh languge the great my French abilites became. Had I never been told concretely by the French teacher that maison means house, how would I be able to identifying the picture of a house with certainty and absolute accuracy? Also, how would an Englsih speaker know "manger" means to eat or that all Fench verbs end in ir, er or re and follow a specific conjugation structure if not instructed in English? I still speak decent French all these years later, and attribute this long lasting knowledge to the way I was taught ... methodically and explained to me in English. You can't imagine how my world was rocked when I went to Barcelona to learn Catalan in 2021, a place which uses this stupid immersion technique as the paradigm of " instruction", and, I use the term instruction very loosly because there was never any instruction. I was never taught the things I needed to know about Catalan as a first year learner. Catalan language foundations were never established via instruction, therefor I had no way to even develop an elementary grasp of the fundimentals needed to learn the language. From day one I was literally just spoken at by the instructer in Catalan. Instructions about how the rules governing the language was never provided yet I was expected to somehow make sense of it all. Little made sense to me and nothgn was ever explained-one of the reasons why 70% of the students in my class dropped out. There was no actual teaching of Catalan using any methodology that slowly built upon itself, like the way I was taught and learned French. The onus to learn and understand is palced soley upon the student with little guidance from the teacher who is absolved of actually teaching the necessary building blocks of material needed to learn, understand and use the new language. Immersion failed the majority of my fellow classmates but me too. Depsite sticking it out to the end I fail the final exam and the course. Immersion is BS and it doesn't work. If it did, 70% of my class wouldn't have dropped out and I wouldn't have failed. It also robs you of any desires you once had at leanring a foreign language. It sucks, I hate it and will likely never learn Catalan if this BS paradigm remains in place.

Thank you for your videos. It's very inspiring

According to my learning experience, reading, listening, writing and speaking go together. None of them should go without the others. Every second language learner has to develop all four in a coordinated and balanced way. None can be left behind. How to achieve this? Thinking is the key. Being knowledgeable AND being articulate are the means. Reading, listening, writing and speaking are the necessary practical competences. Paraphrasing Benny Goodman's and Luis Prima's classic standard, I want to say: "Think, Think, Think. Everybody starts to think. Now you think 'bout everything". 🙂

You simply have to let go, be comfortable you don't understand a single particle, or unit. Chomsky said, birds fly, fish swim, and humans have language. You will slowly find yourself sorting things out. In Mandarin just follow the tone, semantically, literally and performance wise. And you must find content to your taste. I like poetry so I have zero interest in popular mechanics, whether in English, Chinese or Martian.

Background music is so annoying!

❤😂🎉😊

If we listen to how we speak to others, that is usually how we speak to ourselves. Thank you for the great reminder today.

How would you like to feel at the end of your work day today?

What was something a great teacher did for you, that you're determined to bring into your self-teaching?

Yes I agree speaking it’s important that’s why I signed up for tutoring speaking lessons

The success you’re talking about is true not just for language learners, but for everyone doing/learning something new. Great words!