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I started speaking to myself during my walks at night. So, I put on headphones and start speaking. Today I spoke about my reasons for learning French, Portuguese and Spanish in French. I spoke about the differences and similarities. I also spoke about different film genres and how some have become popular, whilst others have faded away. The headphones make it seem I'm speaking to someone on the phone. But I'm speaking outloud to myself. It was so fun! Plus, it's really helpful. I was a bit nervous at first because I was self-concious but then I realised no one paid attention lol. So I stopped paying attention to others haha.
Thanks Lorenzo for sharing that! Another technique is to hold your phone up to your ears, and pretend that you're talking to someone on the phone, but instead you can just be practicing speaking fluency in another language.
I don't simply talk to myself. I talk to people from centuires ago. I talk to groups of people, existing or invented. I explain my ideas. I talk to someone back and forth about many subjects. I create future conversations. Most of that is done silently though, not aloud. And I mix languages. Create versions of songs on the spot that I sing not very loud for ex I sing Yesterday when my troubles seemed so far away hier quand mes troubles parassaient tellement lointains ayer cuando mis problemas parecian tan lejanos ieri quando I miei problemi sembravano essere cosí lontano gestern wann meine probleme .... then if I don't know it like it's the case in German I bug like a scratched CD. If you are crazy about languages, the craziness will help more than it will hinder your language learning.
I love your multilingual song. Yes, I sometimes like to play these mental games with langauges. You seem to have a very vivid imagination and inner life. I too am sometimes in my head a lot and can imagine and think deeply about things, which I now have discovered that not everyone can do, as some people are more physical or more externally-focused. Your idea about talking to people from centuries ago reminds me of the "imaginary council" mentioned in Napoleon Hill's book. Interesting...The council consists of historical figures or people the individual admires, and the individual consults this council in their mind for guidance and advice. The idea behind this concept is to use the collective wisdom, knowledge, and experience of these individuals to help guide one's thoughts and actions towards success. I guess in your case, the council that you talk to would help you with language learning and fluency practice in your target language.
Wow Rosa Angela! Which speaking fluency techniques worked for you the best? Are there any techniques that I missed out on, that you think I should have mentioned.
This person speaks my language…”free” 😂 But also I can relate as an introvert. People exhaust me I much prefer learn by myself in the methods suggested here
Yeah, I wanted to share these free tips and resources as I've been holding them in for myself for a long time. I think it was time to share it with the world. I agree with you, Nick, about the introvert thing. :)
Somehow, RUclips knew I was thinking about this very topic! I’m an anglophone who lives in France and I still feel like I don’t get enough speaking practice. I do have a tutor with whom I speak for an hour a week, but that’s not enough! I started shadowing last week and like it. The other techniques are new to me. Great tips!
Hi John. Yeah, RUclips is really smart like that. I'm glad that you were able to come across my video and you got value from the speaking tips. I can relate to how you feel. You really have to do more than just 1 hour a week with a tutor. If you factor in the fact that the tutor also talks and teaches, then your actual talk time during that lesson is probably a lot less than 1 hour. You can do much more practice on your own, and it's only you who can do the talking. The French tutor can't do the speaking practice for you. All the best with your French, John!
I agree with you. In fact, practicing speaking with oneself in one's native language can also be beneficial. Most people often talk in short phrases and clichés. As a result, it is hard to find a conversation partner for complex topics and ideas. To express oneself clearly -- without using filler words, interjections, or stuttering -- is a challenging and a rewarding activity. As one gets older, one might find that one is at a loss for words and can no longer express oneself in public effectively. Finding a topic to discuss with oneself might be a good training to stay sharp.
That's right Aichu. I actually have trouble finding the words to say sometimes when I make these videos, so it's like fluency practice for me in English itself!
Boris Shekhtman was my teacher for three years. He taught me his method. He was one of the greatest language teachers ever. My other teacher was Michel Thomas whom I spent 10 years with. I am the only person who was taught their methods. I created the Michel Thomas Spoken Chinese courses. Good video, Matthew. Thanks.
Such an honor to meet you, Harold. I actually used the Michel Thomas Chinese courses myself at the beginning. So, I'm pretty sure I learned from you, too. Thank you for your contribution! I still have the visual colors of the tones, and the use of the fingers in my memory, so many years after using the course. Red = third tone, finger going down then up. You might notice that is some of my videos I actually pronounce some Chinese words, and I use my fingers to represent the tones too.
Wow, thanks! I really appreciate the kind words. Yeah, I also watch a lot of language learning videos, like you. I feel there are a number of gaps, which I felt compelled to fill, based on some of the experience I've gained over the years helping other learners, doing a lot of research and learning a few languages myself. All the best with your languages!
I have watched dozens of videos trying to learn Spanish. My greatest problem has always been fear of speaking. My wife is a native Spanish speaker and I am embarrassed to practice with her. This video is THE MOST HELPFUL in giving me ideas on how to practice to the point where I don't feel so self-conscious. Thank you!
Glad to hear that the video gave you some ideas to get over your self-consciousness. Take that next step, and practice on your own. Eventually, you can talk Spanish with your wife around, too. It'd be a really great surprise for her to hear you speak fluently.
appreciate the offer. i'm pretty busy lately so I'm not sure how reliable I can be with my schedule at the moment. But I'll keep you in mind if my schedule is less busy and i can do an exchange
@@MatthewAlberto actually, I was replying to Tom Tahan 😅😅 but I appreciate your response, I didn't know you were a Spanish speaker. Is it your native tongue? Thanks
Two things that helped me with my 3 strongest foreign languages for over 20 years : - reading aloud and sometimes, recording my reading aloud (I did it for 5-6 years, almost every day for 1 hour) - watching movies in their original language, with subs in the original language as well With the new languages, since the AI advent, I add : - having conversations with ChatGPT (phone app) My current challenge is with Mandarin, as I have to remember all the writing before being able to read aloud...
These are great tips- thank you! Now I just have to make sure that I put them into practice. I watch a lot of language learning content but I need an extra push to go from just watching to actual doing.
Karen, you're welcome. Here's a tip: Watch language learning content IN YOUR TARGET LANGUAGE. That way you won't feel so guilty. You can indulge in the type of content you already like, while practicing languages. If it's English you're learning, check out more of my content here: ruclips.net/video/V0GsAeOlJRE/видео.html Otherwise, you can go do a RUclips search in your language. All the best!
@@MatthewAlberto Thanks! Yeah I've been doing that too... Watching videos where French tutors speak French but at a pace I can still understand. It really helps my listening skills and from that I try to parrot certain phrases.
I am a singer in the classical repertoire. I sing in various languages. Pronunciation and intonation are requisite for performance. So in rehearsal these elements are essential and working on them brings about flawless delivery.
I practice shadowing ,I talk aloud to myself think in English even if I am in the bathroom, recording myself talking in English And I used to be shy I just talk to myself in front of a mirror And now I m not so shy
Hi Jean, thanks so much for sharing your experience. I'm sure your story will inspire others who feel shy too and give them some ideas of how to get better at languages.
I, personally, apply this method every day. I would say this would be around thirty or forty minutes the whole nine miles. I wish I had have more of these, but it's essentially much better than nothing! Thank you! Regards from Ukraine! The American-English fan!
Wow, you practice speaking English on your own for 30-40 minutes everyday?! That is impressive. That is great dedication. Keep it up. Regards to you in Ukraine.
Nice video. Thankyou. I practice Spanish by speaking to my corn snake called Rosberg. Although he has a Finnish name, he was actually born in London, so English is his native language. Most of our conversations are a bit one sided. But, speaking out loud to him in Spanish has really helped my language learning. Last week, he hissed "Dame un raton congelado" to me .
Interesting. I practice talking to myself quite naturally when learning foreign languages. For me the subject is almost always an imaginary conversation with a native speaker who speaks the language I’m learning. I like to work with an online language tutor and take one lesson a week, and I will pre-practice discussing (with myself) the topics we are planning on tackling in the upcoming lesson….and I’ll do so maybe 5 or 6 times at least. When just starting out a new language, I will be working with a high-quality language teaching series especially designed for learners of that specific language and I’ll adapt all of the speaking exercises to suit a two-way conversation between my tutor and myself. I’ll prepare by holding imaginary conversations with my tutor on each of the speaking exercises….repeated many times over the course of a few days. Also something that isn’t mentioned here is that I make a lot of use of translation tools. I try to express whatever it is to whatever extent I’m able, but if I have any doubts, I write it down in a translation tool and see what I get back. If there are words I don’t know or if I don’t fully the grammar, I try to simplify the English until I get something I could possibly have come up with myself. In this way I practice simple vocabulary and basic grammar at my level. And ultimately I do actually discuss the subjects I prepared with my teacher. The fact that I will really be using what I’m preparing helps motivate me and makes the exercise more meaningful.
Thanks for sharing your story and tips Nora! Others from our community will really benefit from it. All the best with your language learning and speaking practice
Mashallah Matthew, honestly your video is the best and one of the fewest that helps language learners like myself to know new Methods for studying a new language for instance Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic Among others. hope to see more videos coming.
Wow, thank you Brandon. All the best with your language learning! Yes, more videos coming out every week, so check them out here: ruclips.net/video/LQLj0uHAOQA/видео.html
I know this is not exactly what you mentioned in the video. But I taught English in South Korea and have tried learning multiple languages currently Dutch and refreshing my French...You will come to realize you got to be creative. I would have students play games, and watch children's videos that catered to English learners on RUclips. They really loved singing. It was so cute.😂Speaking to yourself and practicing phrases you would use in your native language are great ways to learn. I learned a few phrases in Korean. I mostly use apps and watch shows in my target language. Since I miss reading I have started reading short stories.
That was an unexpectedly helpful video full of information! Subscribed. I would suggest that for Technique No 5, Record Yourself, that you can film yourself occasionally to see how you look to other speakers. Also, I'm pretty sure that the basic problem most people have with speaking is that they don't practise enough (or at all).
I never was very much into speaking English alone .. Even having zero opportunities of speaking English with another human being.. But I keep ( I believe) my English level in good shape listening and reading.. And writing in here as well. There's something awkwardly wrong hearing myself in English without being replied by another person 🎈
Yeah no need to force the speaking. The tips are just if you need it. Listening and reading, and occasionally writing are great ways to also maintain and grow your language. Keep it up! All the best with you journey
thank you. I´m spanish and I wanna learn English fluently. I´m going to follow your adviser and tomorrow morning will be my first day to start my new challenge to learn English on my own. Thanks.
6:20 Your preamble is fine. You needed to introduce yourself. Don't worry. There r people like me who hv 4 mins to waste. No big deal considering how much time we waste on other useless things. Thank u so much for all the trouble u hv taken to make your videos. Thanks. Ignore those who fixate on "wasting" 4 mins. You are wonderfully patient n gracious. All the best to your channel! Cheers! 4:55
Hi Sit Meng Chue. Thanks for your support and encouragement. I really appreciate it. Not always easy doing this sort of thing so a few words of kindness like yours helps me keep going. ❤️😊
Also: personal conversation topics avail you to the vocabulary you don’t know if you translate what you don’t know (say it in your NL) into a flash card for your sentence mining deck. 👍
Good point Skylar! Yeah, speaking practice can help uncover some of the gaps in your vocab, which you can then add into your flashcards to memorize later.
Thank you so much for these tips. I have been studying many languages and got interested when I was 11 ( Now 15 ). I have used some of these tips but don't know about a lot of them. I am very happy since I can understand a lot of Chinese and Spanish now. Again thank you for the video I cant appreciate it enough!
You're welcome. I've also learned Spanish and Chinese like you. I started a lot later than you. I was just dabbling before, but more seriously about 10 years ago so you truly are starting at a good age. Take it easy, try different techniques and see what works for you to build regular, lifelong habits so the languages are a part of who you are as a person. All the best with you language journey! Be sure to subscribe and check out for more videos as we release them.
Thanks for sharing these powerful methods! 🙌 Just as a suggestion, perhaps you could make a video on vocabulary acquisition, like the ways you approach new words. Anyway, looking forward to your upcoming videos! 😊
Hi Camellia, Thanks for the kind words. You suggested a video about "vocabulary acquisition". Do you mean learning and memorizing vocabulary, or do you mean acquiring vocabulary naturally from movies/books?
Lots of great tips here, Matthew. I use a lot of these too. I don't think you mentioned pronunciation much. The advantage of doing that solo is you can break things down, pause, slow them down, identify problem sounds and focus on what's going on in your mouth/throat/nose/ whole face/whatever when you say them. It's much easier to focus on connected speech when working on your own. You can go back and go over things as often, or as little as you want. I like that freedom to decide your own priorities.
@@MatthewAlberto I listen to a podcast that drills linking and connected speech when I 'm doing other things like cooking. Then I use the app Audacity to open a file, and when I find sounds or chunks that are hard for me to say with native-like rythm, I loop that part to practise it, till I figure out what muscles I need to use to create the problem sound.
I use record with transcription on my phone and chatgpt to check my grammar. It made me realise in 2 days what I was doing wrong with my pronunciation that a year of online classes couldn't. And yes the convenience factor was also so important especially with 2 young children. My writing in French improved massively from practice so I'm pretty sure it will be the same with speaking.
Hi Andy, great tip. I also have 2 young children so that's also why speaking fluency practice on my own is important. Question: What tool/s do you use to record and transcribe on your phone and then get ChatGPT to check grammar? What process are you using? I tried that, but it was a bit cumbersome for me. Just wondering if you found a faster way to do all that.
@@MatthewAlberto haven't found a more efficient way unfortunately. But the point was I was doing online sessions with sometimes between 4-8 people so in reality you would only get 10 mins speaking time a week. I would be asked a question and speaking ad lib I wasn't sure I was forming correct complex sentences. Finding an unprepared topic and talking to myself helps this. I listen back(first time I ever did this I hated hearing my voice, but you have to overcome your fear) and then realise where I've gone wrong and think if I could say something better. Certainly helped with prononication, I could see where I was going wrong with vowels and I only just realised that I was speaking too high in French(like we do in English), lowering my voice and using a different part of my throat helped me improve my accent.
Interesting... When you transcribed your voice recording, did you manually transcribe it yourself or which tool did you use? Also, what instructions did you give ChatGPT so that it would check your grammar? Was it just a matter of pasting in your transcription and say: "Check my french grammar in this text"?
@@MatthewAlberto I have the default recording app on my Google pixel that has transcription. No I rewrite what I want to say, spending more time then paste that to chatgpt and ask it to check my errors.
Hi Anita, that is sometimes the case with me. I generally like to have deeper conversations with people I'm already close to. I don't know if it's necessarily a "problem". I think it's just how different people like to interact with others. So, no need to force it or feel bad about yourself if you're not so big into small talk. I used to feel bad about it for myself, and wanted to change myself a lot, and wanted to improve my small talk abilities, until I realized that actually I think the reason I'm not so into it all the time is because I prefer closer relationships overall.
This is me as well. I barely speak to my friends 😂. Actually, this makes me wonder how mute people learn other languages. Obviously they wouldn't speak them, but I'm sure there *must* be mute people who have learned (as adults) to *understand* other languages to a high level.
My hero! I invented this method on my own too! but i stopped beceause i fellt like i was crazy. now 2 months later i find this video and i have endless motivation to use this technique now. Turns out i wasn't crazy, but genius😂😂 Now i even think this method is more efficient then actual talking, beceause u get more talking hours, and talk topics that are more complex
Yes it can be more efficient, and speaking practice on your own can be a great add-on to speaking with other native speakers, too. Glad that the video gave you more confidence to practice on your own again.
your english is very good. i would recommend minimising the pauses between words in the same sentence unless there is a comma or maybe hyphen. it may sound exhausting to the user because the thought is not completed yet but there is a pause. i had to speed up the video playback so it would be less noticeable.
Maybe it's because you are introverted, like you said, and learned English in a non-native English speaking household, because you don't sound like a native speaker at all. Specially not Australian. Not judging. Just an observation. Thanks for the great video.
I actually don't use my full Aussie accent in these videos because most of the viewers would likely not understand, so it's more international, toned down accent
Whatever it is, it's choppy and hard on the ears. There are many RUclipsrs with strong Aussie accent who have large international audiences. There is a viral video of a guy with a news reporter, titled the most Aussie accent ever, and its just as easy to understand as American accent. I would suggest being your natural self and trust your audience. Our brains can fill in the gaps.
Glad you enjoyed the video, Skyler. I like how you linked it to athletics, time trialing and doing intervals... Yeah, I've done HIIT intervals for exercise, and it kinda reminds me of that too.
@@MatthewAlberto This also gets into something I’ve *never* heard anyone say with language learning: what is your daily “non-negotiable minimum” and the idea that you don’t need to do EVERY technique EVERYDAY.
That's really useful. Is the "non-negotiable minimum" idea from athletics, too? Where did you get that concept from? I like it because it can get overwhelming for people, even me, with all these tips and techniques.
@@MatthewAlberto It’s a concept I use in the context of fitness (I’m an exercise physiologist & own a studio). It is like it sounds (akin to the “minimum effective dose”): what is, given your life and level with a language, the smallest amount you can do everyday no matter what? If you do that, you’ll know you’ve maintained contact with the language you’re learning, expecting to do more most days.
this is an extremely helpful video, the techniques are completely efficient and adaptable to anyone's learning experience, plus you explained it very clearly; it was perfectly descriptive, thank you for sharing
Thank you for the kind words and clarifying what you liked most about the video. I'll aim to continue explaining the language learning techniques and concepts clearly and in a descriptive way. All the best with your languages!
Querido Mateo , cuando quieras nos ponemos de acuerdo para hablar un poco en español , y tu me ayudas a mejorar a mi , mi ingles -- Un saludos desde Italia - Alvaro
Okay I will reply to you in English here so you can practice it, Alvaro. It's a pleasure to meet you, I have been to Rome in Italy before, and would love to visit the country again soon.
Fabulous video! Thank you so much for this one as its just confirmed most of the procedures that i use at the moment, plus a few new ones. Its very encouraging!.
What a fantastic video, so glad YT recommended it to me! 👍✨ I think this was the first I’ve heard of language islands, it’s something I was sort of doing but I also felt like it was cheating in a way, like memorising wasn’t true speaking?! So now I’m going to do it more, it might help me get conversations started 😅✌️✨
Hi Mandy. Yeah I felt that way too at forst. Then I remebered that I actually memorize short phrases and speeches in English as well. So why not do it in a forein language too
these are fantastic! thank you so much for sharing this, im fine with writing and reading but i have no confidence in speaking. but i learned english simply by listening to songs and playing video games, so im confident i can learn other languages as well. will be following your methods
You can do it! Yes, keep focusing on English using the songs and video games that you like. You'll learn it subconsciously. These methods in this video are more for speaking, once you're ready. All the best.
Thank you for this. I was thinking what to do with the speaking part when learning a foreign language. Especially when I don't intend to go to a foreign country and my conversation level is too low yet.
You're welcome Maciej. I'm glad it helped you think differently about how you can practice speaking a foreign language. Be sure to check out my other videos about speaking fluently alone here: ruclips.net/video/nxJtA8lZIEY/видео.html
Thanks, kuya matt! I will try to do this techniques one by one and see what they'll do to my language learning jouney. :) I also have this problem where even if I'm all alone I can't still bring myself to talk or say out loud words and phrases in the language I'm learning. :( But will try your tips!!
Kamusta Celin! If you have a hard time listening to your own voice, or are struggling getting started even opening your mouth, then maybe you could focus more on: Conversation Islands, and use speaking templates. You could start with that and just focus on reading it out loud to yourself first. That's 1 idea... I made a more in-depth video about it here: ruclips.net/video/WIVdOpMs5PM/видео.html
Walang anuman! All the best with your language journey. Be sure to check out my other videos about speaking fluently alone here: ruclips.net/video/nxJtA8lZIEY/видео.html
Hi Medy, I grew up in Australia so I actually had to learn Filipino as an adult as a heritage language. I got a tutor but nowadays just self study on my own to keep it up. Nagaaral pa rin ako araw-araw. Mga teleserye helps!
@MatthewAlberto Aw, you're awesome! I really wanted to be fluent in English,I won't stop on learning and I truly believed I could be fluent like you.Thank you for helping us.
You're English communication with me is quite good already! Just try to push yourself a little more with harder tasks. I've also got other videos on the channel about speaking fluency tips. I hope they help you. Wag kang susuko. Kaya mo iyan!
Very helpful video. Lots of great ideas. Suggestion: one thing many language influencers do that I think detracts from the message is broken speech: That is... while talking... to....place....artificial breaks.... in the message. This... makes it...hard...to listen.....It sounds.... unnatural....and ....is uncomfortable... to ....listen to.....
Yes but... it is..🤔 realistic because... it is what..🤔. the brain... really does... when trying to.... 🤔remember... that... next word. I am learning russian and it sucks that i get stuck sometimes but it's better than me not trying and practicing. I have to make myself try and not get discouraged. Even mistakes; incorrect speech is better than letting yourself be comfortably silent
Thanks Frank for the kind words and suggestion. If you're talking about my own broken speech in the video, sorry about that. Making a video for several minutes can be tiring, and sometimes some sections take a number of re-takes and edits. That's why it can sometimes sound choppy when the video is edited to make all of the content I filmed sound coherent. In reality, I actually do make mistakes in speech, and waffle, and am sometimes incoherent when I talk naturally and I'm a native English speaker! These are my first few videos, and I am constantly trying to improve my presentation and delivery.... I am after all an introvert! haha, so I actually don't talk so much all day, every day
A good tip for that is to use filler words!!! Native speakers ahve to think too and make pauses, and often making native-sounding filler words or sound to fill the silence. That's another great tip. Keep up the language learning, even though I know it can sometimes be difficult and awkward!
yes it seems weird but if you think about it, we all think and talk to ourselves in our heads all the time. Might as well do some of it in another language.
Hi Niki, Weird thing is I was just thinking about this recently, and going to make a new video on it. I have my dog Buckwheat, who I talk about in this video: ruclips.net/video/CgJazoUykeA/видео.html I've been using some foreign language commands, such as: siéntate and acuestate What topics or phrases do you talk about to your dogs?
@@MatthewAlberto you know .. I did it when I was a beginner in English, so I was just walking around my village and talking about what i see over there. time to time yeah, i said to my dogs strongly: Stop it! do not eat this sh*t😡 that kind of commands i used.🤣
HAHAHA. yeah my dog eats random stuff. One time he literally ate a small rock while I was walking him, and I had to take him to the vet. Another time, he ate my earphones, then later pooped out my green earphones. Arghh.. but you gotta love them. Thanks for sharing your story, Niki.
What happened to me when I speak with myself is that it’s a little bit hard bcause isn’t like if there was another person that is asking me and I asking him/her so, it’s rough cause I have no to lose the conversation and even I can stop for while cause it’s like I get unfocused and I can follow myself so, I don’t feel weird when I speak with myself cause it’s the unique way for to practice whole my English what I’ve learned and I know that my pronunciation but the stuff important here is that I’m talking in English, what I would suggest of all you is don’t feel awkward if the only way that you have for to speak English is that you must talk to yourselves just do it and try to bring it up whole those moments that did in their day or what obviously did in that day what you’re talking
Hola Stella. =) Por supuesto! No te preocupes. Hay más videos. Every Thursday and Sunday over the next few weeks, I'm publishing more. So be sure to subscribe and hit the Notification Bell to make sure you get notified of my new videos. There's also my Email Newsletter at matthewalberto.com/#newsletter - where I'll keep you up-to-date with my language journey, and more tips!
Glad to help you Daniel. Be sure to subscribe, as I've got more useful language learning videos coming out today and more. Enjoy your language learning!
Great! Yes, I'd love to hear your results, as well as what your fluency was like BEFORE trying out my advice. All the best with your learning! Be sure to subscribe and check out my other videos.
You're very welcome Benny! Be sure to subscribe to the channel as I've got more useful language learning videos coming up. Keep it up with your own language learning!
Hi, My friends, I liked your video, because I can understand this topic, now I have been learning English for 2 years, before I can't understand and write but now I can apply your strategy.
Hi Oscar! Thank you for sharing your story. I'm so happy that you can now understand and write English. Yes, you can try out the strategies I suggested so that your speaking skills can improve, too. Be sure to subscribe to my channel as I have more videos coming out soon to help you. Take care!
You're welcome. I'm glad the tips helped you. Be sure to subscribe and check out the other videos on the channel. All the best with your language learning!
Thankyou for the video. Some honest feed back. It's very difficult to watch you moving your hands so much. Also I think you have done some editing to slow down your voice in some places. Your natural voice is much better, the editing makes it sound like AI. 👍🌹
Hi Sarah. Thank you for your feedback. This was one of my first videos and was very nervous and awkward. Noted about the hand movements, and will try to dial it down - I guess I was just very excited (maybe even unsure about how to use my body in front of a camera). Regarding my speech, in the original footage I actually just talked from bullet points and rambled on a lot and sometimes had to think over my points so I wasn't very smooth in my delivery. I wasn't aware about the best ways to film and talk to a camera, so I'm working on that now. All the best with you language journey!
Thanks so much for your reply. Ah... Thanks for taking it in a positive way Wonderful pointers and I looked up the book you mentioned . I have just found your content, I have subscribed and will check out more videos. Take care
Has anyone here ever used reading the Bible or (other scriptures) in the target language? It helps because already the story is known and the struggle to understand is less. Try it.
Hi Joseph, I tried something like that before. If it really interests you and motivates you to keep going, then that could be useful for you. One challenge I faced learning languages using ancient scriptures or other old texts is that these can already have very poetic or traditional styles of speech in your own native language. When I tried to use ancient texts to learn to speak another language, then it was difficult when my goal is everyday modern speech. All the best with your language learning journey!
Glad you think so, Angel! Be sure to check out the other videos on the channel, and more videos coming out regularly. All the best with your languages.
Question for you sir.... After doing this method for a period of time. Were you able to deliver a good conversation to a native person like for example Spanish... the very first time you use it ? Thank you😊
Hey Arielle! Yes, I was born in the Philippines but grew up in Australia from when I was really young, so like you, I also am learning Tagalog. Watching a number of Tagalog shows on Netflix at the moment, currently A Family Affair. Check out those Netflix shows as they can help you
It largely depends on HOW A PERSON LEARNS. We are NOT all the same. I find learning some languages easy and exciting. Still, it depends on the kind of learner one is.
Yes, I think so. There are some techniques that I use personally that I know wouldn't work very well for some others largely because their personality and interests are different to mine.
Genial Tito Jan. Represent from the pinoy hispanohablantes. Be sure to check out the other vids on the channel, and hopefully they help you. ¡Buena suerte con tu aprendizaje de español mi amigo!
Thank you so much for the kind words Ellm. Be sure to like the video, subscribe to my channel, and check out the other videos on my channel. All the best with your language learning!
Saludos desde Los Estados Unidos Virginia, estoy estudiando español. llevo siete meses aprendiendo español. Hablo mucho conmigo mismo... está bien hasta que me respondo a mí mismo. jaja. También estoy estudiando italiano al lado. Salve, piacere di conoscerti. Sto imparando l'italiano. Conosco abbastanza italiano, solo per spiegare che non so parlare italiano. Parlo solo poche frasi 😅
@@MatthewAlberto ¡Muchas gracias! ¿Por cierto, cuántos idiomas hablas? espero que poder aprender muchos lenguas romances. Tal vez alemán y holandés alguno día.
I can't agree with you more, Matthew; all your points are logical and persuasive. However, none of then can't replace the ability or rather possibility to fix someone's pronunciation if needed, correct mistakes, and respond for numerous questions everyone has to have after every single session. So, practice with native speaker, preferably teacher or at least educated person, is irreplaceable, I believe. If you agree to disagree, I am perfectly fine with your viewpoint.
Yes, of course. The main aim overall is to able to speak to a real-life human being who is a native speaker, and you can get feedback from a teacher too. I'm just sharing tips in this video as a supplement for learners who 1) are shy or anxious, 2) are introvert and get drained from too much small chat, 3) want convenience; 4) want more practice. The problem with a teacher/native speaker in a class is that it can cost money to have lots of classes and classes may only be limited to 1 hour per week. If you do speaking practice on top of that, you can practice speaking more on days when you don't have classes with the native speaker. Plus, spoken fluency isn't just about being accurate all the time. A lot of spoken fluency is also about your speed, which you can practice and improve on your own, too.
It depends. Lots of people can learn everything by themselves, they don't need a teacher to correct their mistakes. The internet gives you everything for self-study. You can even ask ChatGPT to correct your mistakes now.
Thanks Danish for the kind words. I'll just keep making more videos, and hopefully they can help more people, and those that like them will come in time. All the best with your language learning!
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Learning another language by yourself is a fascinating and challenging hobby.
Noone else can speak for you. You have to speak yourself. Thanks for your encouragement in the community.
I started speaking to myself during my walks at night. So, I put on headphones and start speaking. Today I spoke about my reasons for learning French, Portuguese and Spanish in French. I spoke about the differences and similarities. I also spoke about different film genres and how some have become popular, whilst others have faded away.
The headphones make it seem I'm speaking to someone on the phone. But I'm speaking outloud to myself. It was so fun! Plus, it's really helpful. I was a bit nervous at first because I was self-concious but then I realised no one paid attention lol. So I stopped paying attention to others haha.
Thanks Lorenzo for sharing that! Another technique is to hold your phone up to your ears, and pretend that you're talking to someone on the phone, but instead you can just be practicing speaking fluency in another language.
Thank you for sharing that!^^ really simple but yet a great idea!
@@MatthewAlberto That's so true. I have been doing a lot of practice since my message and it's been great!
@@manar8918 You're welcome!
I don't simply talk to myself. I talk to people from centuires ago. I talk to groups of people, existing or invented. I explain my ideas. I talk to someone back and forth about many subjects. I create future conversations. Most of that is done silently though, not aloud. And I mix languages. Create versions of songs on the spot that I sing not very loud for ex I sing Yesterday when my troubles seemed so far away hier quand mes troubles parassaient tellement lointains ayer cuando mis problemas parecian tan lejanos ieri quando I miei problemi sembravano essere cosí lontano gestern wann meine probleme .... then if I don't know it like it's the case in German I bug like a scratched CD. If you are crazy about languages, the craziness will help more than it will hinder your language learning.
I love your multilingual song. Yes, I sometimes like to play these mental games with langauges. You seem to have a very vivid imagination and inner life. I too am sometimes in my head a lot and can imagine and think deeply about things, which I now have discovered that not everyone can do, as some people are more physical or more externally-focused.
Your idea about talking to people from centuries ago reminds me of the "imaginary council" mentioned in Napoleon Hill's book. Interesting...The council consists of historical figures or people the individual admires, and the individual consults this council in their mind for guidance and advice. The idea behind this concept is to use the collective wisdom, knowledge, and experience of these individuals to help guide one's thoughts and actions towards success. I guess in your case, the council that you talk to would help you with language learning and fluency practice in your target language.
I actually like songs mixing languages too.
dude absolutely a poet
I've been watching a few of those RUclips singers that mix languages, too. Really interesting stuff.
btw problème in french would fit better for trouble
I've learned English and 6 more other languages learning and practicing them by myself. That's really powerful! 😀
Wow Rosa Angela! Which speaking fluency techniques worked for you the best? Are there any techniques that I missed out on, that you think I should have mentioned.
Yess tips?
👀
Konnen you shuo francais?
This person speaks my language…”free” 😂
But also I can relate as an introvert. People exhaust me I much prefer learn by myself in the methods suggested here
Yeah, I wanted to share these free tips and resources as I've been holding them in for myself for a long time. I think it was time to share it with the world.
I agree with you, Nick, about the introvert thing. :)
Somehow, RUclips knew I was thinking about this very topic! I’m an anglophone who lives in France and I still feel like I don’t get enough speaking practice. I do have a tutor with whom I speak for an hour a week, but that’s not enough! I started shadowing last week and like it. The other techniques are new to me. Great tips!
Hi John. Yeah, RUclips is really smart like that. I'm glad that you were able to come across my video and you got value from the speaking tips. I can relate to how you feel. You really have to do more than just 1 hour a week with a tutor. If you factor in the fact that the tutor also talks and teaches, then your actual talk time during that lesson is probably a lot less than 1 hour. You can do much more practice on your own, and it's only you who can do the talking. The French tutor can't do the speaking practice for you. All the best with your French, John!
Thank you so much for this video.
I agree with you. In fact, practicing speaking with oneself in one's native language can also be beneficial.
Most people often talk in short phrases and clichés. As a result, it is hard to find a conversation partner for complex topics and ideas.
To express oneself clearly -- without using filler words, interjections, or stuttering -- is a challenging and a rewarding activity.
As one gets older, one might find that one is at a loss for words and can no longer express oneself in public effectively.
Finding a topic to discuss with oneself might be a good training to stay sharp.
That's right Aichu. I actually have trouble finding the words to say sometimes when I make these videos, so it's like fluency practice for me in English itself!
Boris Shekhtman was my teacher for three years. He taught me his method. He was one of the greatest language teachers ever. My other teacher was Michel Thomas whom I spent 10 years with. I am the only person who was taught their methods. I created the Michel Thomas Spoken Chinese courses. Good video, Matthew. Thanks.
Such an honor to meet you, Harold. I actually used the Michel Thomas Chinese courses myself at the beginning. So, I'm pretty sure I learned from you, too. Thank you for your contribution! I still have the visual colors of the tones, and the use of the fingers in my memory, so many years after using the course. Red = third tone, finger going down then up. You might notice that is some of my videos I actually pronounce some Chinese words, and I use my fingers to represent the tones too.
Great advice, thanx! I whatch tons of RUclips films about language learning. This is the best I have seen in a long time! Well done!
Wow, thanks! I really appreciate the kind words. Yeah, I also watch a lot of language learning videos, like you. I feel there are a number of gaps, which I felt compelled to fill, based on some of the experience I've gained over the years helping other learners, doing a lot of research and learning a few languages myself. All the best with your languages!
I have watched dozens of videos trying to learn Spanish. My greatest problem has always been fear of speaking. My wife is a native Spanish speaker and I am embarrassed to practice with her. This video is THE MOST HELPFUL in giving me ideas on how to practice to the point where I don't feel so self-conscious. Thank you!
Glad to hear that the video gave you some ideas to get over your self-consciousness. Take that next step, and practice on your own. Eventually, you can talk Spanish with your wife around, too. It'd be a really great surprise for her to hear you speak fluently.
I'm a native Spanish speaker, if you like we could speak sometimes , so I could improve my spoken English
appreciate the offer. i'm pretty busy lately so I'm not sure how reliable I can be with my schedule at the moment. But I'll keep you in mind if my schedule is less busy and i can do an exchange
@@MatthewAlberto actually, I was replying to Tom Tahan 😅😅 but I appreciate your response, I didn't know you were a Spanish speaker. Is it your native tongue? Thanks
haha sorry. seems like youtube shows me comments in a disorganised way so i got confused.
Two things that helped me with my 3 strongest foreign languages for over 20 years :
- reading aloud and sometimes, recording my reading aloud (I did it for 5-6 years, almost every day for 1 hour)
- watching movies in their original language, with subs in the original language as well
With the new languages, since the AI advent, I add :
- having conversations with ChatGPT (phone app)
My current challenge is with Mandarin, as I have to remember all the writing before being able to read aloud...
Thanks for sharing what has worked for you KikkaRed. What topics do you talk about when you have conversations with ChatGPT?
These are great tips- thank you! Now I just have to make sure that I put them into practice. I watch a lot of language learning content but I need an extra push to go from just watching to actual doing.
Karen, you're welcome. Here's a tip: Watch language learning content IN YOUR TARGET LANGUAGE. That way you won't feel so guilty. You can indulge in the type of content you already like, while practicing languages.
If it's English you're learning, check out more of my content here: ruclips.net/video/V0GsAeOlJRE/видео.html
Otherwise, you can go do a RUclips search in your language. All the best!
@@MatthewAlberto Thanks! Yeah I've been doing that too... Watching videos where French tutors speak French but at a pace I can still understand. It really helps my listening skills and from that I try to parrot certain phrases.
I am a singer in the classical repertoire. I sing in various languages. Pronunciation and intonation are requisite for performance. So in rehearsal these elements are essential and working on them brings about flawless delivery.
I practice shadowing ,I talk aloud to myself think in English even if I am in the bathroom, recording myself talking in English
And I used to be shy I just talk to myself in front of a mirror
And now I m not so shy
Hi Jean, thanks so much for sharing your experience. I'm sure your story will inspire others who feel shy too and give them some ideas of how to get better at languages.
I, personally, apply this method every day. I would say this would be around thirty or forty minutes the whole nine miles. I wish I had have more of these, but it's essentially much better than nothing!
Thank you!
Regards from Ukraine!
The American-English fan!
Wow, you practice speaking English on your own for 30-40 minutes everyday?! That is impressive. That is great dedication. Keep it up. Regards to you in Ukraine.
I highly appreciate your channel. Please, keep up the great work!
speaking to yourself is just thinking out loud, read a couple of paragraphs aloud each day
Thanks for sharing your insight Anthony
True, but reading a couple of paragraphs is relatively passive, whereas speaking out loud is actively using and honing the language.
Nice video. Thankyou. I practice Spanish by speaking to my corn snake called Rosberg. Although he has a Finnish name, he was actually born in London, so English is his native language. Most of our conversations are a bit one sided. But, speaking out loud to him in Spanish has really helped my language learning. Last week, he hissed "Dame un raton congelado" to me .
Great story! You have made my day. 😁
5:57 Islands
Use short phrases you would say regularly.
I'm glad you liked the techniques I shared. All the best with your language learning journey.
Interesting. I practice talking to myself quite naturally when learning foreign languages. For me the subject is almost always an imaginary conversation with a native speaker who speaks the language I’m learning. I like to work with an online language tutor and take one lesson a week, and I will pre-practice discussing (with myself) the topics we are planning on tackling in the upcoming lesson….and I’ll do so maybe 5 or 6 times at least.
When just starting out a new language, I will be working with a high-quality language teaching series especially designed for learners of that specific language and I’ll adapt all of the speaking exercises to suit a two-way conversation between my tutor and myself. I’ll prepare by holding imaginary conversations with my tutor on each of the speaking exercises….repeated many times over the course of a few days.
Also something that isn’t mentioned here is that I make a lot of use of translation tools. I try to express whatever it is to whatever extent I’m able, but if I have any doubts, I write it down in a translation tool and see what I get back. If there are words I don’t know or if I don’t fully the grammar, I try to simplify the English until I get something I could possibly have come up with myself. In this way I practice simple vocabulary and basic grammar at my level.
And ultimately I do actually discuss the subjects I prepared with my teacher. The fact that I will really be using what I’m preparing helps motivate me and makes the exercise more meaningful.
Thanks for sharing your story and tips Nora! Others from our community will really benefit from it. All the best with your language learning and speaking practice
I will try this with my Igbo tutor, preparing more dialogue. Thanks and this video really helped
Mashallah Matthew, honestly your video is the best and one of the fewest that helps language learners like myself to know new Methods for studying a new language for instance Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic Among others. hope to see more videos coming.
Wow, thank you Brandon. All the best with your language learning! Yes, more videos coming out every week, so check them out here: ruclips.net/video/LQLj0uHAOQA/видео.html
I know this is not exactly what you mentioned in the video. But I taught English in South Korea and have tried learning multiple languages currently Dutch and refreshing my French...You will come to realize you got to be creative. I would have students play games, and watch children's videos that catered to English learners on RUclips. They really loved singing. It was so cute.😂Speaking to yourself and practicing phrases you would use in your native language are great ways to learn. I learned a few phrases in Korean. I mostly use apps and watch shows in my target language. Since I miss reading I have started reading short stories.
Thanks for sharing your story. Yes being creative is important to try different things and see what works best for you
Very good advices! I have used some of those myself, and I can assure they work. My English is not perfect yet, but I am getting there.
Thank you Dulcinea! So glad that these tips have worked for you. Keep going with your English learning! You're doing well.
Thanks Matthew. I appreciate this video and all the techniques.
My pleasure! Happy to meet you.
I'm learning English now🙂. It's difficult for me talk different topics but i try it every day better a little. Thanks for the tips, 👌🏻
good job don't give up!
Regular practice and daily habits are a good idea. Keep it up with your English!
Good on you for encouraging a fellow learner! All the best with your language learning too.
That was an unexpectedly helpful video full of information! Subscribed. I would suggest that for Technique No 5, Record Yourself, that you can film yourself occasionally to see how you look to other speakers. Also, I'm pretty sure that the basic problem most people have with speaking is that they don't practise enough (or at all).
Welcome Kevin! Thanks for sharing your tip. What factors do you consider when you check how you look to others when filming the speech practice?
I never was very much into speaking English alone .. Even having zero opportunities of speaking English with another human being.. But I keep ( I believe) my English level in good shape listening and reading.. And writing in here as well. There's something awkwardly wrong hearing myself in English without being replied by another person 🎈
Yeah no need to force the speaking. The tips are just if you need it. Listening and reading, and occasionally writing are great ways to also maintain and grow your language. Keep it up! All the best with you journey
@@MatthewAlbertoThanks so much for your kindness 🌟
thank you. I´m spanish and I wanna learn English fluently. I´m going to follow your adviser and tomorrow morning will be my first day to start my new challenge to learn English on my own. Thanks.
You can do it Miguel! Let me know how it goes. ¡Buena suerte!
6:20 Your preamble is fine. You needed to introduce yourself. Don't worry. There r people like me who hv 4 mins to waste. No big deal considering how much time we waste on other useless things.
Thank u so much for all the trouble u hv taken to make your videos.
Thanks. Ignore those who fixate on "wasting" 4 mins. You are wonderfully patient n gracious.
All the best to your channel!
Cheers! 4:55
Hi Sit Meng Chue. Thanks for your support and encouragement. I really appreciate it. Not always easy doing this sort of thing so a few words of kindness like yours helps me keep going. ❤️😊
Hey Kabayan.. thank you for sharing these wonderful techniques. Mabuhay!!!
So nice of you. Mabuhay! All the best with your language learning.
Also: personal conversation topics avail you to the vocabulary you don’t know if you translate what you don’t know (say it in your NL) into a flash card for your sentence mining deck. 👍
Good point Skylar! Yeah, speaking practice can help uncover some of the gaps in your vocab, which you can then add into your flashcards to memorize later.
Thank you so much for these tips. I have been studying many languages and got interested when I was 11 ( Now 15 ). I have used some of these tips but don't know about a lot of them. I am very happy since I can understand a lot of Chinese and Spanish now. Again thank you for the video I cant appreciate it enough!
Well done mate, you started at a great age
You're welcome. I've also learned Spanish and Chinese like you.
I started a lot later than you. I was just dabbling before, but more seriously about 10 years ago so you truly are starting at a good age. Take it easy, try different techniques and see what works for you to build regular, lifelong habits so the languages are a part of who you are as a person. All the best with you language journey!
Be sure to subscribe and check out for more videos as we release them.
Thanks for sharing these powerful methods! 🙌 Just as a suggestion, perhaps you could make a video on vocabulary acquisition, like the ways you approach new words. Anyway, looking forward to your upcoming videos! 😊
Hi Camellia, Thanks for the kind words. You suggested a video about "vocabulary acquisition". Do you mean learning and memorizing vocabulary, or do you mean acquiring vocabulary naturally from movies/books?
@@MatthewAlberto Acquiring vocabulary from movies and TV shows. Learning to speak like a native speaker without even stepping into the country.
Lots of great tips here, Matthew. I use a lot of these too.
I don't think you mentioned pronunciation much. The advantage of doing that solo is you can break things down, pause, slow them down, identify problem sounds and focus on what's going on in your mouth/throat/nose/ whole face/whatever when you say them. It's much easier to focus on connected speech when working on your own. You can go back and go over things as often, or as little as you want. I like that freedom to decide your own priorities.
Thanks for sharing Annie! What specific pronunciation techniques do you use and have been effective for you?
@@MatthewAlberto I listen to a podcast that drills linking and connected speech when I 'm doing other things like cooking.
Then I use the app Audacity to open a file, and when I find sounds or chunks that are hard for me to say with native-like rythm, I loop that part to practise it, till I figure out what muscles I need to use to create the problem sound.
I use record with transcription on my phone and chatgpt to check my grammar. It made me realise in 2 days what I was doing wrong with my pronunciation that a year of online classes couldn't. And yes the convenience factor was also so important especially with 2 young children. My writing in French improved massively from practice so I'm pretty sure it will be the same with speaking.
Hi Andy, great tip. I also have 2 young children so that's also why speaking fluency practice on my own is important.
Question: What tool/s do you use to record and transcribe on your phone and then get ChatGPT to check grammar? What process are you using? I tried that, but it was a bit cumbersome for me.
Just wondering if you found a faster way to do all that.
@@MatthewAlberto haven't found a more efficient way unfortunately. But the point was I was doing online sessions with sometimes between 4-8 people so in reality you would only get 10 mins speaking time a week. I would be asked a question and speaking ad lib I wasn't sure I was forming correct complex sentences. Finding an unprepared topic and talking to myself helps this. I listen back(first time I ever did this I hated hearing my voice, but you have to overcome your fear) and then realise where I've gone wrong and think if I could say something better. Certainly helped with prononication, I could see where I was going wrong with vowels and I only just realised that I was speaking too high in French(like we do in English), lowering my voice and using a different part of my throat helped me improve my accent.
Interesting... When you transcribed your voice recording, did you manually transcribe it yourself or which tool did you use? Also, what instructions did you give ChatGPT so that it would check your grammar? Was it just a matter of pasting in your transcription and say: "Check my french grammar in this text"?
@@MatthewAlberto I have the default recording app on my Google pixel that has transcription. No I rewrite what I want to say, spending more time then paste that to chatgpt and ask it to check my errors.
My problem is that I am terrible at small talk even in my native language. 😢
Hi Anita, that is sometimes the case with me. I generally like to have deeper conversations with people I'm already close to. I don't know if it's necessarily a "problem". I think it's just how different people like to interact with others. So, no need to force it or feel bad about yourself if you're not so big into small talk. I used to feel bad about it for myself, and wanted to change myself a lot, and wanted to improve my small talk abilities, until I realized that actually I think the reason I'm not so into it all the time is because I prefer closer relationships overall.
This is me as well. I barely speak to my friends 😂. Actually, this makes me wonder how mute people learn other languages. Obviously they wouldn't speak them, but I'm sure there *must* be mute people who have learned (as adults) to *understand* other languages to a high level.
My hero! I invented this method on my own too! but i stopped beceause i fellt like i was crazy. now 2 months later i find this video and i have endless motivation to use this technique now. Turns out i wasn't crazy, but genius😂😂
Now i even think this method is more efficient then actual talking, beceause u get more talking hours, and talk topics that are more complex
Yes it can be more efficient, and speaking practice on your own can be a great add-on to speaking with other native speakers, too. Glad that the video gave you more confidence to practice on your own again.
your english is very good. i would recommend minimising the pauses between words in the same sentence unless there is a comma or maybe hyphen. it may sound exhausting to the user because the thought is not completed yet but there is a pause. i had to speed up the video playback so it would be less noticeable.
Thanks. Yes, I'm a native English speaker. Grew up in Australia, also I love to read.
Maybe it's because you are introverted, like you said, and learned English in a non-native English speaking household, because you don't sound like a native speaker at all. Specially not Australian.
Not judging. Just an observation. Thanks for the great video.
@@meu22422What he's doing is very Australian.
I actually don't use my full Aussie accent in these videos because most of the viewers would likely not understand, so it's more international, toned down accent
Whatever it is, it's choppy and hard on the ears. There are many RUclipsrs with strong Aussie accent who have large international audiences. There is a viral video of a guy with a news reporter, titled the most Aussie accent ever, and its just as easy to understand as American accent. I would suggest being your natural self and trust your audience. Our brains can fill in the gaps.
Excelente Mathew!! nuevo suscriptor aquí im Inglés aprendiendo español, espero más de su contenido muchas gracias Barry
De nada Barry. No te preocupes, grabo más videos cada semana. Buena suerte con tu aprendizaje de español
@@MatthewAlberto Gracias Mathew. Voy a mirar hacia adelante a ellos, mantener su gran work👍
Gracias professor por su consejo dejame trabajarlo .cmiezo hoy
Gracias😊
No hay problema Ntandu. Sigue adelante amigo.
Best routine sir, para ma improve din ang mga vocabulary
I have many other videos about vocabulary learning on my channel. Check them out Dyems. Good luck!
Yeah your English is great. Your method clearly works.
Thanks! 😃I love learning languages, and always aim to improve them. All the best with your own language journey!
Holy moly, time trialing & doing intervals with language? The athlete in me is here for this!
Glad you enjoyed the video, Skyler. I like how you linked it to athletics, time trialing and doing intervals... Yeah, I've done HIIT intervals for exercise, and it kinda reminds me of that too.
@@MatthewAlberto This also gets into something I’ve *never* heard anyone say with language learning: what is your daily “non-negotiable minimum” and the idea that you don’t need to do EVERY technique EVERYDAY.
That's really useful. Is the "non-negotiable minimum" idea from athletics, too? Where did you get that concept from? I like it because it can get overwhelming for people, even me, with all these tips and techniques.
@@MatthewAlberto It’s a concept I use in the context of fitness (I’m an exercise physiologist & own a studio). It is like it sounds (akin to the “minimum effective dose”): what is, given your life and level with a language, the smallest amount you can do everyday no matter what? If you do that, you’ll know you’ve maintained contact with the language you’re learning, expecting to do more most days.
For you personally, what has been your "non-negotiable minimum" for language learning, or your intended minimum?
This has been really helpful! Well done, sir. I just subscribed because you deserved it. ❤
Awesome, thank you Janet! Nice to meet you and glad I could help you.
this is an extremely helpful video, the techniques are completely efficient and adaptable to anyone's learning experience, plus you explained it very clearly; it was perfectly descriptive, thank you for sharing
Thank you for the kind words and clarifying what you liked most about the video. I'll aim to continue explaining the language learning techniques and concepts clearly and in a descriptive way. All the best with your languages!
Querido Mateo , cuando quieras nos ponemos de acuerdo para hablar un poco en español , y tu me ayudas a mejorar a mi , mi ingles -- Un saludos desde Italia - Alvaro
Okay I will reply to you in English here so you can practice it, Alvaro. It's a pleasure to meet you, I have been to Rome in Italy before, and would love to visit the country again soon.
Fabulous video! Thank you so much for this one as its just confirmed most of the procedures that i use at the moment, plus a few new ones. Its very encouraging!.
Wonderful! Keep it up woth your languages. Excited for you
What a fantastic video, so glad YT recommended it to me! 👍✨
I think this was the first I’ve heard of language islands, it’s something I was sort of doing but I also felt like it was cheating in a way, like memorising wasn’t true speaking?! So now I’m going to do it more, it might help me get conversations started 😅✌️✨
Hi Mandy. Yeah I felt that way too at forst. Then I remebered that I actually memorize short phrases and speeches in English as well. So why not do it in a forein language too
these are fantastic! thank you so much for sharing this, im fine with writing and reading but i have no confidence in speaking. but i learned english simply by listening to songs and playing video games, so im confident i can learn other languages as well. will be following your methods
You can do it! Yes, keep focusing on English using the songs and video games that you like. You'll learn it subconsciously. These methods in this video are more for speaking, once you're ready. All the best.
Excellent suggestions. I have actually used some of these suggestions, and appreciate the validation. I've awakened thinking in German or Spanish!
Wonderful! Happy that you are getting back into German and Spanish. That's exciting.¡Genial!
@@MatthewAlberto Gracias!
Thank you so much for these tips and techniques.
You're welcome. All the best with your language learning!
Thank you for this. I was thinking what to do with the speaking part when learning a foreign language.
Especially when I don't intend to go to a foreign country and my conversation level is too low yet.
You're welcome Maciej. I'm glad it helped you think differently about how you can practice speaking a foreign language. Be sure to check out my other videos about speaking fluently alone here: ruclips.net/video/nxJtA8lZIEY/видео.html
So helpful thanks a lot I'm struggling speaking English maybe this methods Will help me
You can do it! Be sure to check out the other videos on the channel too
Thanks, kuya matt! I will try to do this techniques one by one and see what they'll do to my language learning jouney. :) I also have this problem where even if I'm all alone I can't still bring myself to talk or say out loud words and phrases in the language I'm learning. :( But will try your tips!!
Kamusta Celin! If you have a hard time listening to your own voice, or are struggling getting started even opening your mouth, then maybe you could focus more on: Conversation Islands, and use speaking templates. You could start with that and just focus on reading it out loud to yourself first. That's 1 idea... I made a more in-depth video about it here: ruclips.net/video/WIVdOpMs5PM/видео.html
Thanks. That will help me. I have learned to read German very well, but speaking not so much.
You're welcome Richard. Hopefully these tips will help you with German. More videos coming soon about how to turn your reading into fluent speech.
This is awesome Matthew! So very helpful! Salamat po! God bless you!
Walang anuman! All the best with your language journey. Be sure to check out my other videos about speaking fluently alone here: ruclips.net/video/nxJtA8lZIEY/видео.html
Hi, are you a Filipino?you speak tagalog so well. I couldn't be more proud of you, keep it up!
Hi Medy, I grew up in Australia so I actually had to learn Filipino as an adult as a heritage language. I got a tutor but nowadays just self study on my own to keep it up. Nagaaral pa rin ako araw-araw. Mga teleserye helps!
@MatthewAlberto Aw, you're awesome! I really wanted to be fluent in English,I won't stop on learning and I truly believed I could be fluent like you.Thank you for helping us.
You're English communication with me is quite good already! Just try to push yourself a little more with harder tasks. I've also got other videos on the channel about speaking fluency tips. I hope they help you. Wag kang susuko. Kaya mo iyan!
These are great tips, I appreciate it!
I'm glad that the tips have helped you!
Great tips, thankyou, I will try all these techniques
Glad it was helpful!
Very helpful video. Lots of great ideas. Suggestion: one thing many language influencers do that I think detracts from the message is broken speech: That is... while talking... to....place....artificial breaks.... in the message. This... makes it...hard...to listen.....It sounds.... unnatural....and ....is uncomfortable... to ....listen to.....
Yes but... it is..🤔 realistic because... it is what..🤔. the brain... really does... when trying to.... 🤔remember... that... next word. I am learning russian and it sucks that i get stuck sometimes but it's better than me not trying and practicing. I have to make myself try and not get discouraged. Even mistakes; incorrect speech is better than letting yourself be comfortably silent
Thanks Frank for the kind words and suggestion.
If you're talking about my own broken speech in the video, sorry about that. Making a video for several minutes can be tiring, and sometimes some sections take a number of re-takes and edits. That's why it can sometimes sound choppy when the video is edited to make all of the content I filmed sound coherent. In reality, I actually do make mistakes in speech, and waffle, and am sometimes incoherent when I talk naturally and I'm a native English speaker!
These are my first few videos, and I am constantly trying to improve my presentation and delivery.... I am after all an introvert! haha, so I actually don't talk so much all day, every day
A good tip for that is to use filler words!!! Native speakers ahve to think too and make pauses, and often making native-sounding filler words or sound to fill the silence. That's another great tip. Keep up the language learning, even though I know it can sometimes be difficult and awkward!
You are absolutely right! It's useful, even if it seems weird. It could also be the first step to speaking to a language buddy.
yes it seems weird but if you think about it, we all think and talk to ourselves in our heads all the time. Might as well do some of it in another language.
Wow great advice! Thank you for making this video I hope this helps with my Mandarin 😊
I hope so too, Maxim! I'm also learning Mandarin. 加油!!
Thanks a lot for sharing these very useful tips.
I'm glad I could help you Louis. Be sure to subscribe to keep up to date with more videos in future. All the best with your language learning!
Wooow - Great Video! It makes me feel better in keeping a commitment with my studies.
Thank youuu!
A new subscriber 🫡
Sucesso meu amigo 🇧🇷
Thanks for subbing Richard! Glad to meet you 😄
I learned English walking with my dogs and speaking English with them😊 yeah this method is great and it does really work well.✌
Hi Niki, Weird thing is I was just thinking about this recently, and going to make a new video on it. I have my dog Buckwheat, who I talk about in this video: ruclips.net/video/CgJazoUykeA/видео.html
I've been using some foreign language commands, such as: siéntate and acuestate
What topics or phrases do you talk about to your dogs?
@@MatthewAlberto you know .. I did it when I was a beginner in English, so I was just walking around my village and talking about what i see over there. time to time yeah, i said to my dogs strongly: Stop it! do not eat this sh*t😡 that kind of commands i used.🤣
HAHAHA. yeah my dog eats random stuff. One time he literally ate a small rock while I was walking him, and I had to take him to the vet. Another time, he ate my earphones, then later pooped out my green earphones. Arghh.. but you gotta love them. Thanks for sharing your story, Niki.
What happened to me when I speak with myself is that it’s a little bit hard bcause isn’t like if there was another person that is asking me and I asking him/her so, it’s rough cause I have no to lose the conversation and even I can stop for while cause it’s like I get unfocused and I can follow myself so, I don’t feel weird when I speak with myself cause it’s the unique way for to practice whole my English what I’ve learned and I know that my pronunciation but the stuff important here is that I’m talking in English, what I would suggest of all you is don’t feel awkward if the only way that you have for to speak English is that you must talk to yourselves just do it and try to bring it up whole those moments that did in their day or what obviously did in that day what you’re talking
Thanks for inspiring others with your encouragement. It can be awkward but it's a convenient way to practice. 👍
Gracias por compartir! I'll follow your advice, more videos please! =)
Hola Stella. =) Por supuesto! No te preocupes. Hay más videos. Every Thursday and Sunday over the next few weeks, I'm publishing more. So be sure to subscribe and hit the Notification Bell to make sure you get notified of my new videos. There's also my Email Newsletter at matthewalberto.com/#newsletter - where I'll keep you up-to-date with my language journey, and more tips!
Great video, thanks for your help my friend.
Glad to help you Daniel. Be sure to subscribe, as I've got more useful language learning videos coming out today and more. Enjoy your language learning!
Thanks a lot,l will follow your advice,then tell you my results
Great! Yes, I'd love to hear your results, as well as what your fluency was like BEFORE trying out my advice. All the best with your learning! Be sure to subscribe and check out my other videos.
these tips are helpful, thank u so much!
You're very welcome Benny! Be sure to subscribe to the channel as I've got more useful language learning videos coming up. Keep it up with your own language learning!
Hi, My friends, I liked your video, because I can understand this topic, now I have been learning English for 2 years, before I can't understand and write but now I can apply your strategy.
Hi Oscar! Thank you for sharing your story. I'm so happy that you can now understand and write English. Yes, you can try out the strategies I suggested so that your speaking skills can improve, too. Be sure to subscribe to my channel as I have more videos coming out soon to help you. Take care!
@@MatthewAlberto 😃 sure
Have a good day.Thank you
You're welcome. I'm glad the tips helped you. Be sure to subscribe and check out the other videos on the channel. All the best with your language learning!
These are great tips! Thanks!
Glad you like them!
Thankyou for the video. Some honest feed back. It's very difficult to watch you moving your hands so much. Also I think you have done some editing to slow down your voice in some places. Your natural voice is much better, the editing makes it sound like AI. 👍🌹
Hi Sarah. Thank you for your feedback. This was one of my first videos and was very nervous and awkward. Noted about the hand movements, and will try to dial it down - I guess I was just very excited (maybe even unsure about how to use my body in front of a camera). Regarding my speech, in the original footage I actually just talked from bullet points and rambled on a lot and sometimes had to think over my points so I wasn't very smooth in my delivery. I wasn't aware about the best ways to film and talk to a camera, so I'm working on that now. All the best with you language journey!
Thanks so much for your reply. Ah... Thanks for taking it in a positive way Wonderful pointers and I looked up the book you mentioned . I have just found your content, I have subscribed and will check out more videos. Take care
Has anyone here ever used reading the Bible or (other scriptures) in the target language? It helps because already the story is known and the struggle to understand is less. Try it.
Hi Joseph, I tried something like that before. If it really interests you and motivates you to keep going, then that could be useful for you. One challenge I faced learning languages using ancient scriptures or other old texts is that these can already have very poetic or traditional styles of speech in your own native language. When I tried to use ancient texts to learn to speak another language, then it was difficult when my goal is everyday modern speech. All the best with your language learning journey!
I'm going to try it 🤔 Interesting
I found some very useful tips in this video.
Glad you think so, Angel! Be sure to check out the other videos on the channel, and more videos coming out regularly. All the best with your languages.
Great video - thanks. Just subscribed
Welcome Ran! More videos about language learning coming out regularly. Stay tuned. All the best with you language learning.
Mabuhay ang iyóng channel ! regards from Germany
Maraming salamat Noel! Glad to know that you got value from the video all the way from Germany. Danke! Hope that life is good in Deutschland.
Listen to RUclips Videos in your target language and level , pause after every sentence and write down what you heard. Then check with the transkript.
Great idea Heidrun. Very methodical and practical. I'll try it out myself.
Wow you speak tagalog very well😊 amazing,even me as a Filipino, i struggle to speak tagalog as well😅
😊 salamat Irene! You can do it. All the best with your language journey!
Some great ideas, thank you!
You are so welcome! Good luck with your language journey!
Wow. Thank you for the tips!
No problem! Be sure to check out the other videos on the channel.
Question for you sir.... After doing this method for a period of time. Were you able to deliver a good conversation to a native person like for example Spanish... the very first time you use it ? Thank you😊
Well, the techniques have helped me, but it's useful to do it over a period of time so you can get faster and improve
This is very useful. Thanks. 🙏
Glad it was helpful Clarissa. Keep it up with your language learning, cheers.
What Accent do you speak, sometimes you pronunce words in British , but sometimes you pronunce "R" sound.
Australian accent. Which words are bothering you? Maybe I can help explain why I chose to pronounce R much clearer for certain words.
I'm learning French and I speak alone and it helps.
Keep it up Steve!
heyyy your Filipino! I’m learning Tagalog rn that’s so cool ingat po kayo
Hey Arielle! Yes, I was born in the Philippines but grew up in Australia from when I was really young, so like you, I also am learning Tagalog. Watching a number of Tagalog shows on Netflix at the moment, currently A Family Affair. Check out those Netflix shows as they can help you
It largely depends on HOW A PERSON LEARNS. We are NOT all the same. I find learning some languages easy and exciting. Still, it depends on the kind of learner one is.
Yes, I think so. There are some techniques that I use personally that I know wouldn't work very well for some others largely because their personality and interests are different to mine.
Great tips
Glad you like them!
Just subscribed. Soy de Filipinas tambien!
Genial Tito Jan. Represent from the pinoy hispanohablantes. Be sure to check out the other vids on the channel, and hopefully they help you. ¡Buena suerte con tu aprendizaje de español mi amigo!
very helpful thank you!
Thank you so much for the kind words Ellm. Be sure to like the video, subscribe to my channel, and check out the other videos on my channel. All the best with your language learning!
Saludos desde Los Estados Unidos Virginia, estoy estudiando español. llevo siete meses aprendiendo español. Hablo mucho conmigo mismo... está bien hasta que me respondo a mí mismo. jaja. También estoy estudiando italiano al lado.
Salve, piacere di conoscerti. Sto imparando l'italiano. Conosco abbastanza italiano, solo per spiegare che non so parlare italiano. Parlo solo poche frasi 😅
Jajaja. Estoy feliz que hablas y practicas los idiomas por ti mismo. ¡Buena suerte con tu español y italiano! Me gustan tus videos de DIY tambien. :)
@@MatthewAlberto ¡Muchas gracias! ¿Por cierto, cuántos idiomas hablas? espero que poder aprender muchos lenguas romances. Tal vez alemán y holandés alguno día.
4.. me gustaría aprender aleman en el futuro también
I can't agree with you more, Matthew; all your points are logical and persuasive. However, none of then can't replace the ability or rather possibility to fix someone's pronunciation if needed, correct mistakes, and respond for numerous questions everyone has to have after every single session. So, practice with native speaker, preferably teacher or at least educated person, is irreplaceable, I believe. If you agree to disagree, I am perfectly fine with your viewpoint.
Yes, of course. The main aim overall is to able to speak to a real-life human being who is a native speaker, and you can get feedback from a teacher too. I'm just sharing tips in this video as a supplement for learners who 1) are shy or anxious, 2) are introvert and get drained from too much small chat, 3) want convenience; 4) want more practice. The problem with a teacher/native speaker in a class is that it can cost money to have lots of classes and classes may only be limited to 1 hour per week. If you do speaking practice on top of that, you can practice speaking more on days when you don't have classes with the native speaker. Plus, spoken fluency isn't just about being accurate all the time. A lot of spoken fluency is also about your speed, which you can practice and improve on your own, too.
It depends. Lots of people can learn everything by themselves, they don't need a teacher to correct their mistakes. The internet gives you everything for self-study. You can even ask ChatGPT to correct your mistakes now.
These are good ideas. However my problem isn't with speaking. It's listening to others in my target language and understanding how to reply.
Thanks for sharing your input Christopher. I'll consider making a video about listening techniques soon. That's also been a challenge for me, too.
Gracias professor
De nada Ntandu
Subscribed. You deserve more subscribers
Thanks Danish for the kind words. I'll just keep making more videos, and hopefully they can help more people, and those that like them will come in time. All the best with your language learning!
Was is Tagalog not offered on your Speakada site?
Hi Angie. Why are you learning Tagalog, and which kind of Tagalog flashcards are you interested in?
動画ありがとうございます。😊
どういたしまして。:)
Thanks Matthew
Welcome dolgotti. Glad you enjoyed.
Great, you've done well
Thank you so much for the kind words Muhammad. Be sure to like the video, subscribe to my channel, and check out the other videos on my channel.
@@MatthewAlberto sure