📲 The app I use to learn languages: tinyurl.com/2pukmbsc 🆓 My 10 FREE secrets to language learning: tinyurl.com/mr26bvrx ❓Have you find any downsides to being multilingual? Share in the comments!
I do know some Qatari dialect in Gulf Arabic. I have looked at some apps and programs in Modern Standard Arabic, and found MSA to be very different. Emirati Arabic is quite similar to Qatari, and I have heard that overall Gulf countries share at least 80 % of their words. I am concerned that embarking on a course in MSA might make me “confused”, and my Qatari friends tell me that nobody actually speaks MSA, they all speak dialect. What is your opinion about the “risk” of embarking on a course in MSA in my case? My mother tongue is Norwegian.
After I wrote the message above I saw your video about your struggle with the Arabic language. I think you might agree that I should stay with Gulf Arabic..
Learning another language absolutely increases your eloquence and expressive capacity in general because on top of having to learn to express ideas differently due to the necessarily distinct nature of the new language, you also will have to adapt and find creative ways to express what you want to say in a language that isn’t so familiar to you
I was reading a book about how to improve your memory, and the author said as you age your brain capacity and memory decreases, and I thought to myself this author never met Steve Kaufmann❤
I kind of speak French, and when I've been traveling through non French speaking countries in Europe this past year, I keep almost saying "bonjour!" to everyone. My brain thinks "foreign language? Must be French!" So I have to put a significant amount of effort into not speaking French!
@@хейтер-д4з this is true! But I try to just say "hello" so it's obvious that I speak English and I don't waste their time by having them ask me a question in their native language only for me to stare at them like a deer in the headlights and then say "... I'm sorry, English?" 😅
When my family was living in Germany for awhile, we quickly discovered that us and many Americans would fall back on what little Spanish they knew whenever what little German they’d picked up would fail them
I do this exact same thing when I'm trying to speak Spanish. Arabic words creep in, especially instinct words like yes or no, and modifiers like "sometimes" or "maybe"
Thanks to the author of the channel for the interesting content! The book by Yuriy Ivantsiv “ Polyglot Notes. Practical Tips for Learning Foreign Language” had a profound impact on me, opening new horizons of understanding the diversity of languages and cultures. The author's ideas that learning foreign languages not only broadens one's horizons but also contributes to spiritual development became a real revelation for me. I realized that every language is not just a system of signs, but a whole world with its history, traditions and way of life. Thanks to this book, I learned to see language learning as a path to self-discovery and a deeper understanding of others, which in turn enriched my worldview. Inspired by Ivantsiv's approach, I became more conscious of my learning, integrating the author's practical advice into my daily life. This opened up opportunities for me not only to improve my language skills, but also to develop a personal philosophy based on mutual understanding and empathy. Immersing myself in languages has allowed me to see the world from different angles and realize the importance of cultural exchange, which has been the foundation for my spiritual growth. Reading this book and applying its advice has helped me to become a more open and tolerant person who seeks harmony in my relationships with others.
You are an important inspiration for me in learning languages. Unfortunately, I will only be able to watch your videos when I no longer need the subtitles to understand the video, as they are still out of sync (too far ahead of what is being said). Maybe one day I will be able to follow your tips, which are always very useful for those who are trying to learn other languages on their own. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I will have my first experience studying abroad next year in china i been study language by my self but i think its time to take a new step in this beauty experience in languages
I am so glad to hear that even experienced polyglots mix up words from non-native languages. I keep throwing out random Korean and Spanish when trying to speak or even think in Georgian. I wonder if this problem is similar to how very young children, if taught multiple languages as a toddler on up, frequently learn both much much slower but eventually completely master both languages. It is frequently said to hamper or even cause a learning disability, when in fact, it is just part of a greater, more complex learning process!
DJKartvelo-zr8uf Are you a native Georgian speaker? If not, how did you learn because I've been trying to figure out how to learn but cannot find the resources for it?
Interference bothers me quite a lot actually. I studied german in middle school 8 years ago and now I've been studying mandarin since about 3-4 years, now when I hear some german phrases i understand them quite well, however when i try to say anything, even the most basic of phrases in german, I somehow end up using words from mandarin very naturally, I don't even notice these unless someone points it out!
This has been my experience so far, but I haven't done any research, I think we all have only one language. The more you use one of them, the stronger it gets in your brain, in terms of that one becomes the first to pop-up, but they are all there mixed as one. This is like talking to your mother, to your teacher or to your friends, even if you do all of that in the same language, you don't use the same nuances or even words, but they are all there and sometimes, inadvertedly, you use the more colloquial way in a context that wasn't supposed to.
You're the first person I've ever heard talk about the "interference" subject but it's always been such a problem for me. The first person to speak Spanish to me in Honduras asked me a question and I responded with نعم by default and by instinct. I speak Spanish well enough and of course know how to say sí, it was just when that switch in my brain was flipped to "foreign language mode" the default was Arabic. In the same place, a French friend who spoke English, French and Spanish (better than I did) was listening to a clerk at a desk explain something. Afterwards he turned to me and "translated" for me into French. I don't know any French. It was the same issue. His brain went from foreign->native and he didn't even realize until after a few seconds of me starting blankly at him.
Mr. Kaufmann, me encantó su programa, gracias de nuevo. For me the most important problem when studying more than 2 languages is time management. I can speak Spanish (my mother tongue), French (because I lived in France for several years as a child) and English (because I studied at university in the United States for several years) well. Then I started learning German, I passed the B2 level and went on to C1. I have been studying Japanese for six years and studying Hebrew for two years. The ideal thing for me is to study German in the morning and then Hebrew in the afternoon. Or Hebrew in the morning and Japanese in the afternoon. I love these 3 languages, but sometimes I find it difficult to study 3 in one day. I would like to, but it is difficult for me. No tengo, creo, la plasticidad neuronal necesaria para abrirme mentalmente a estas tres experiencias en un mismo día. Lo intento, lo disfruto muchísimo, pero a veces me cuesta. Por eso este programa me gustó tanto, porque toca problemas o asuntos que enfrento con los que me topo diariamente. Muchos saludos y gracias de nuevo! Ricardo
Hey steve, you should make a video that teach us, ''learn how to learn'' ... or something like that, or even ''how to find partners to pratice your target language'' that's it! I love your videos
Crossover was a problem for me. Thanks to two excellent teachers, I had a comfortable command of French after three years of study in high school. For my fourth year I switched to introductory German. Another excellent teacher, but we both were frustrated because my German kept lapsing into French in mid-sentence. That's as far as I got with German. I added one more year of French in college, then stopped as adult life intervened. Five decades on, I'm taking up language study again. I'm concentrating on Japanese, while reviewing French, re-starting German, and beginning Italian at ground zero. It's too early to tell how much of a crossover problem I'll have, but so far it hasn't been an issue.
I think learning several languages can work, if you have some experience with these languages. Make one language as your main language and set your other languages in maintenance mode. Change your main language from time to time. You could even use one language you learn to learn another language. Although my English needs still improvement, I can already use it to learn Yiddish.
I've been a one language at a time kind of guy except for a couple years in college. When I was in college studying German/French/Spanish worked fine and I made progress in all 3 and never confused them (my boss at work thought I must confuse them - he was Greek and learned English also growing up and moved to the US so had experience with language learning). But the progress was pretty much divided in 3 so I just focused on German eventually. But middle aged me learning Korean is totally mixing this language up with Japanese which I studied in my 30's and it seems like my head is a mess when it comes to languages particularly if I try to switch back and forth between them on the fly. If I could go back again I think I would make more of an effort to learn several languages at once instead of just focusing on one because it seemed like the younger version of me could but the older me not as much.
Hello Mr Kaufmann, I find your videos instructive. Currently, I am struggling with collocations in English, They are very tricky and easy to forget. Could you please give me some advice, as I cannot remember them.
I studied Russian at school (but I don't speak the language (anymore)). I came to Germany when I was 22 and learned German. Then I married a French woman and learned French for 15 years. I have been learning English intensively for 1.5 years and after that I don't want to learn another language. I think four languages are completely sufficient..
In my own experience, thinking of words of a different or having some interference, it’s more of an inconvenience. However, the brain seems to differentiate more overtime of what goes where. In my opinion, this can be a good or a bad thing but overconfidence bias in becoming efficient in one or more languages can give a feeling or more proficient in a language than one really is.
I'm using a lot of my time in learning swedish lately and it's been very hard for me to speak in french and german because lots of swedish words are always coming into my mind... The only languages I don't get confused with and never forget any word is my mother tongue (brazilian portuguese), english and spanish, which I'm fluent in.
Well done good set of languages 👍 I think maybe you can give some time to those languages that are interfering just maybe the brain is giving you signal to revisit them 😂
@J87-k4c thank you! 😊 You're right! French and german are languages I stopped studying for a while... Cause now I have pretty nice goals to achieve after learning swedish, so I'm very focused!
Understanding the hemispheres of the brain is vital for language learning. People have problems learning languages from exclusively relying on the left brain. The left brain is the analytical brain, and if you rely on that exclusively your not going to learn languages effectively because you won’t be learning languages with emotion. The right brain is the emotional brain. If you want to have a sharp recall of languages you need to utilize the emotional brain because our brain recalls emotional experiences effortlessly. I would say anybody who is Learning languages you must make sure you are engaging emotion while you learn, and to engage your emotion you must mix your lessons around, if not your lessons are going to feel routine and structured (this will make you left brain dominated and your emotions won’t be engaged). Then your emotional brain will connect all the languages together this way, this way you’ll never get confused. If a person studies languages and get them confused or mixed up, it’s an indicator that they’re being to analytical, allow the right brain to do it’s work (recall through emotion) and you’ll be fine.❤
7:00 even tho I learned Japanese before Tagalog... Sometimes my Tagalog would come out a bit while trynna speak Japanese, the worst is they're totally unrelated🤡
I haven't found any con to learning languages, other than the time spent... the closest thing to a con is sometimes when I buy junk that's so cheap the manual comes in 5 languages or when I get any state documents or try to vote in california, I end up reading in a language in which I'm only 70 to 90% fluent instead of the english and it's not really a conscious choice...
I went to Menorca in the summer and sometimes kept saying French words as I have mainly been studying it for 3 years. I've also recently been learning Portuguese and will sometimes not know how to say something and default to Spanish in hope that the word is the same.
Hello Steve, You hit the nail on the head I always find myself suppressing my other languages. Although I'm not a polyglot I do speak fluent German and Spanish on top of my Canadian native english. I'm probably C-1 in German which was my first foreign language I learned in my early 20s. I am now 60 and started learning Spanish five years ago. I'm married to Colombian so I speak Spanish all day every day, however I still feel I am more fluent in German, but now oddly enough when I'm speaking German I have to continually fight to suppress Spanish words and structures that want to jump in and interrupt my German . So, "suppress" is a good word because I literally feel like I'm in a linguistic battle in my own head and it's not because I'm pausing and looking for words, it's because involuntarily there are Spanish words and structures jumping into my German conversation now. Oh well , there's worse things in life I know...lol..
When I started to work in English (my third lenguage) I used to say the name of days of the week in French (my second lenguage). My mother lenguage (Spanish) comes first in all cases when I need to course... Another courios thing is that even though I'm more fluent at speaking French, I write faster in English.
Plenty. People often HATE you for speaking foreign languages. And a lot of the time they don't even realize it. They only like it when you've learned THEIR language. They also tend to overestimate your ability to do (sometimes really odd) things just because of the language you speak. People sometimes think I'm a wine expert just because I speak french... Add this to the problems with mixing up languages as well as simply hearing things that you maybe regret hearing, well. It's not all roses.
This is very true, at least in my experience. I'm fluent in Serbian, and I once sang a song in the language, just to be met with weird passive aggressive comments the next day. Then for some reason it isn't the same with English or their native language. I don't really understand what the logic behind it is..
There's one thing that always strikes me, it's the fact that whenever I finish to talk in one language with one of my tutors, I start to speak in my native tongue (French) to me partner (who speaks English) without realising it 😆
I have watched many of your videos. You always recommend listening and reading. Just listen and read without using any word or practicing it like in school. Is it really enough to just listen and read more than once to learn?
5:42 yep, I could learn up to 30 Italian words/hour from the start. In Japanese this number decreases to 8 or 10 because there are so little cognates, my brain doesn't have any foothold
Should I learn the standard variant of a language first before learning my target dialect? Ex) My s/o speaks Austrian German (Wein), but is it recommended I skip this localization until after I have a grasp on standard German?
"But" and "only" can be used for each other, and Tok Pisin "tasol" (from "that's all") means both. A few weeks ago, during Sabbath school, I explained in Spanish the rite of pouring water three times on each hand, but I used French "verser" (conjugated as if it were Spanish "versar", which exists but means something else) instead of Spanish "verter". Turkish has plenty of French borrowings, so when you used a French word in Turkey someone probably understood.
I have had this problem when I started speaking in Russian and would finish speaking German. Since German was fresher, seems it overlapped some Russian words
In my opinion, learning is more effective when you see some results and benefits regardless to the sizes, and people usually learn more when they see a good result.
you could be intermdeiate. Try to listen to some intermediate content. Make sure it is labeled intermediate, and if you can understand at least 80% that would be a good indication. Or the best way is to take a test. There are several free test on some youtube channels. But many test are grammar based, not on comphrension.
Many people who are true polyglots, as in high b2 or c1 level in multiple languages, report the "tongue tie" thing happening. When the polyglot is speaking in one language, and blanks out on a word, but when the word finally comes to them, it comes to them in one of their other languages! As an aspiring polyglot myself, I hope to have this problem someday.
I’m on my 5th language. Visaya from the Philippines has a filler that equates to “like” or “uhm”. I have yet to use it although I learned/us3d it in the other languages.
I love LingQ and learning about Brazil 💚💛 Se houver algum brasileiro que gostaria de trocar idiomas ao fone por favor diga me eu tenho whatsapp e preciso de praticar português falada e eu sei tem brasileiros que tá aprendendo inglês. Por favor diga me se você quiser praticar ao fone comigo 💜
Thanks for the "Takeaway" section, Steve. We need to be humble with these things. I share your thoughts. I speak English (native), Spanish (C2), Italian (B2), Finnish (B1), French (don't ask - work in progress)😁
I only speak two languages, and I can imagine what the struggle for polyglots to maintain their level in several different languages in their brain is like. Becoming multilingual is not a quite realistic goal for me because it will likely be time-consuming, a super challenging task that I might not be comfortable with. No matter what language I could possibly decide to learn, it will mean significant hard work. Switching between many different languages would probably be a headache also. It's important to take up a new language journey by doing so slowly, I mean with bite-sized chunks, but it will take you a long time to get fluent in your target language, no matter how similar or vastly different it is compared to the languages you already know. I almost forgot that is essential to enjoy the learning process and be resilient as much as you can.
I think that's the most important thing, if you don't enjoy the process it's gonna be difficult to keep it up. It takes very long to learn a language well, even if you use the best methods, you'll have to spend a lot of time on it. But I also think it's valuable to learn a bit of many languages, it becomes so much more approachable, because there are less expectations... I started learning ukrainian thinking I'd just memorize a few words, now I know much more than that (and found tons of songs that I love) because it was fun and I kept learning. If I had thought " oh my god a new alphabet, difficult grammar, very few words I can recognise.. it's gonna take forever" then I would have never started. The way you approach things is so important!
Hiii there, i just wonder what are the careers of polyglots outhere?. I'm just a hight school student and am really insterest in learning new languages( even though i can speak just two for now: my native language and english). I just want to find a career that multiple languages can be useful. Anyway, whatever job i do in the future, i would never give my dream of becoming a polyglot. Thank u all!!❤❤
Probably diplomacy. Or becoming an interpreter for the UN. There's also becoming a spy if you get good enough at your languages, and have the right appearance. Personally, I'd go with diplomacy. Perfect your preferred languages now, then go to the right university program to get into your country's diplomatic service....
It's a little bit annoying having this words in the other language poping up in your brain when you speak, sometimes I just speak "spanglish" or "frenchglish" but sometimes people just don't understand what I want to say and I have to look for the word in a dictionary. It's kinda frustating that when I speak, sometimes I just can't find the word that I want to say in the correct language and it makes me appear a bit dunb😢
I've learn quite a few then you start to not know where you truly belong cuz you feel like you belong in all those cultures. Yet they don't see you as part of it-say wow you speak good, then never speak to you again.
So, as a polyglot ... where do you get all these tongues and how do you fit them into your mouth? That's my problem. Yes, the world is a small and sad place with only one. Agreed.
Untrue, it’s simply set on the back burner, it can be quickly brushed up on through immersion. Stop holding limiting beliefs and spreading that mentality to others.
@@itsrx870 Exactly right, I know people who are out of the immersive environment where they became fluent in a new language for decennia, and who don't use this language much or even at all day to day. This might make their skills appear rusty, even to themselves, but once they get back into the language for just a tiny bit of time (not even a day, often less than an hour) they are truly back at it again, almost just as fluent and it happens very quickly!
@@vanillex5882 Well Said Vanilla, thank You. I’m tired of RUclips commenters leaving detrimental mindsets and belief systems for others who may be more vulnerable to ideas from others to absorb. Have a blessed day!
It sounds like a false assumption from someone that hasn't mastered more than one foreign language. With high proficiency, you won't lose it. Even if you want to forget it, you just can't prevent yourself from understanding it when you hear it. Acquired language is like the full integration that has forever reshaped your brain structure.
i feel like you make the same video over and over again. there's probably over 100 videos talking about whether to learn one or multiple languages at one time.
You often discuss languages from Middle Eastern countries, but you never mention Kurdish (+60 millions ). It feels as though you’re ignoring our existence, similar to the way dictators like those in Turkey and Iran have done. Could you please acknowledge Kurdish as well?
📲 The app I use to learn languages: tinyurl.com/2pukmbsc
🆓 My 10 FREE secrets to language learning: tinyurl.com/mr26bvrx
❓Have you find any downsides to being multilingual? Share in the comments!
You're the best polyglot I've ever seen 😊❤. Thanks for your instructive, advisable, and entertaining videos on language learning.
I do know some Qatari dialect in Gulf Arabic. I have looked at some apps and programs in Modern Standard Arabic, and found MSA to be very different. Emirati Arabic is quite similar to Qatari, and I have heard that overall Gulf countries share at least 80 % of their words. I am concerned that embarking on a course in MSA might make me “confused”, and my Qatari friends tell me that nobody actually speaks MSA, they all speak dialect. What is your opinion about the “risk” of embarking on a course in MSA in my case? My mother tongue is Norwegian.
After I wrote the message above I saw your video about your struggle with the Arabic language. I think you might agree that I should stay with Gulf Arabic..
Learning another language absolutely increases your eloquence and expressive capacity in general because on top of having to learn to express ideas differently due to the necessarily distinct nature of the new language, you also will have to adapt and find creative ways to express what you want to say in a language that isn’t so familiar to you
NEVER too old to learn!
I was reading a book about how to improve your memory, and the author said as you age your brain capacity and memory decreases, and I thought to myself this author never met Steve Kaufmann❤
I kind of speak French, and when I've been traveling through non French speaking countries in Europe this past year, I keep almost saying "bonjour!" to everyone. My brain thinks "foreign language? Must be French!" So I have to put a significant amount of effort into not speaking French!
To be fair, probably in every European country people will understand "bonjour"
@@хейтер-д4з this is true! But I try to just say "hello" so it's obvious that I speak English and I don't waste their time by having them ask me a question in their native language only for me to stare at them like a deer in the headlights and then say "... I'm sorry, English?" 😅
When my family was living in Germany for awhile, we quickly discovered that us and many Americans would fall back on what little Spanish they knew whenever what little German they’d picked up would fail them
I do this exact same thing when I'm trying to speak Spanish. Arabic words creep in, especially instinct words like yes or no, and modifiers like "sometimes" or "maybe"
Thanks to the author of the channel for the interesting content! The book by Yuriy Ivantsiv “ Polyglot Notes. Practical Tips for Learning Foreign Language” had a profound impact on me, opening new horizons of understanding the diversity of languages and cultures. The author's ideas that learning foreign languages not only broadens one's horizons but also contributes to spiritual development became a real revelation for me. I realized that every language is not just a system of signs, but a whole world with its history, traditions and way of life. Thanks to this book, I learned to see language learning as a path to self-discovery and a deeper understanding of others, which in turn enriched my worldview. Inspired by Ivantsiv's approach, I became more conscious of my learning, integrating the author's practical advice into my daily life. This opened up opportunities for me not only to improve my language skills, but also to develop a personal philosophy based on mutual understanding and empathy. Immersing myself in languages has allowed me to see the world from different angles and realize the importance of cultural exchange, which has been the foundation for my spiritual growth. Reading this book and applying its advice has helped me to become a more open and tolerant person who seeks harmony in my relationships with others.
You are an important inspiration for me in learning languages. Unfortunately, I will only be able to watch your videos when I no longer need the subtitles to understand the video, as they are still out of sync (too far ahead of what is being said). Maybe one day I will be able to follow your tips, which are always very useful for those who are trying to learn other languages on their own. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Steve, eres un modelo a seguir 💪🏽
I will have my first experience studying abroad next year in china i been study language by my self but i think its time to take a new step in this beauty experience in languages
AMAZING!!!! MANY THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR ENERGY AND INSPIRATION! BRAVO!!!
I am so glad to hear that even experienced polyglots mix up words from non-native languages. I keep throwing out random Korean and Spanish when trying to speak or even think in Georgian.
I wonder if this problem is similar to how very young children, if taught multiple languages as a toddler on up, frequently learn both much much slower but eventually completely master both languages. It is frequently said to hamper or even cause a learning disability, when in fact, it is just part of a greater, more complex learning process!
DJKartvelo-zr8uf Are you a native Georgian speaker? If not, how did you learn because I've been trying to figure out how to learn but cannot find the resources for it?
Interference bothers me quite a lot actually. I studied german in middle school 8 years ago and now I've been studying mandarin since about 3-4 years, now when I hear some german phrases i understand them quite well, however when i try to say anything, even the most basic of phrases in german, I somehow end up using words from mandarin very naturally, I don't even notice these unless someone points it out!
This has been my experience so far, but I haven't done any research, I think we all have only one language. The more you use one of them, the stronger it gets in your brain, in terms of that one becomes the first to pop-up, but they are all there mixed as one. This is like talking to your mother, to your teacher or to your friends, even if you do all of that in the same language, you don't use the same nuances or even words, but they are all there and sometimes, inadvertedly, you use the more colloquial way in a context that wasn't supposed to.
You're the first person I've ever heard talk about the "interference" subject but it's always been such a problem for me. The first person to speak Spanish to me in Honduras asked me a question and I responded with نعم by default and by instinct. I speak Spanish well enough and of course know how to say sí, it was just when that switch in my brain was flipped to "foreign language mode" the default was Arabic.
In the same place, a French friend who spoke English, French and Spanish (better than I did) was listening to a clerk at a desk explain something. Afterwards he turned to me and "translated" for me into French. I don't know any French. It was the same issue. His brain went from foreign->native and he didn't even realize until after a few seconds of me starting blankly at him.
Mr. Kaufmann, me encantó su programa, gracias de nuevo. For me the most important problem when studying more than 2 languages is time management. I can speak Spanish (my mother tongue), French (because I lived in France for several years as a child) and English (because I studied at university in the United States for several years) well. Then I started learning German, I passed the B2 level and went on to C1. I have been studying Japanese for six years and studying Hebrew for two years. The ideal thing for me is to study German in the morning and then Hebrew in the afternoon. Or Hebrew in the morning and Japanese in the afternoon. I love these 3 languages, but sometimes I find it difficult to study 3 in one day. I would like to, but it is difficult for me. No tengo, creo, la plasticidad neuronal necesaria para abrirme mentalmente a estas tres experiencias en un mismo día. Lo intento, lo disfruto muchísimo, pero a veces me cuesta. Por eso este programa me gustó tanto, porque toca problemas o asuntos que enfrento con los que me topo diariamente. Muchos saludos y gracias de nuevo! Ricardo
Brother most people barely speak their own language well! Vas bien hermano!
Hey steve, you should make a video that teach us, ''learn how to learn'' ... or something like that, or even ''how to find partners to pratice your target language''
that's it!
I love your videos
Crossover was a problem for me.
Thanks to two excellent teachers, I had a comfortable command of French after three years of study in high school. For my fourth year I switched to introductory German. Another excellent teacher, but we both were frustrated because my German kept lapsing into French in mid-sentence. That's as far as I got with German. I added one more year of French in college, then stopped as adult life intervened.
Five decades on, I'm taking up language study again. I'm concentrating on Japanese, while reviewing French, re-starting German, and beginning Italian at ground zero. It's too early to tell how much of a crossover problem I'll have, but so far it hasn't been an issue.
I think learning several languages can work, if you have some experience with these languages. Make one language as your main language and set your other languages in maintenance mode.
Change your main language from time to time. You could even use one language you learn to learn another language. Although my English needs still improvement, I can already use it to learn Yiddish.
I've been a one language at a time kind of guy except for a couple years in college. When I was in college studying German/French/Spanish worked fine and I made progress in all 3 and never confused them (my boss at work thought I must confuse them - he was Greek and learned English also growing up and moved to the US so had experience with language learning). But the progress was pretty much divided in 3 so I just focused on German eventually. But middle aged me learning Korean is totally mixing this language up with Japanese which I studied in my 30's and it seems like my head is a mess when it comes to languages particularly if I try to switch back and forth between them on the fly. If I could go back again I think I would make more of an effort to learn several languages at once instead of just focusing on one because it seemed like the younger version of me could but the older me not as much.
Hello Mr Kaufmann, I find your videos instructive. Currently, I am struggling with collocations in English, They are very tricky and easy to forget. Could you please give me some advice, as I cannot remember them.
Are you taking textbook lessons? If you learn things with In context it will help you
@@J87-k4c yes, I learn English from textbooks. Thanks for your advice
I studied Russian at school (but I don't speak the language (anymore)). I came to Germany when I was 22 and learned German. Then I married a French woman and learned French for 15 years. I have been learning English intensively for 1.5 years and after that I don't want to learn another language. I think four languages are completely sufficient..
Hi im 17 and im argentinian
I speak italian (b2) and english (a2-b1)I wanna speak 6 languages
Italian english french portuguese german and korean
Estou estudando inglês há 9 meses, a mudança na forma de pensar é muito grande...
A mudança é muito grande mesmo, eu acho incrivel e nao consigo me lembrar como foi antes de falar muitos idiomas
@@LanguageMaus sim. É outro nível..
Tenho estudado o português (do brasil) já por uns 4 meses, e eu concordo completamente com você 😅
In my own experience, thinking of words of a different or having some interference, it’s more of an inconvenience. However, the brain seems to differentiate more overtime of what goes where. In my opinion, this can be a good or a bad thing but overconfidence bias in becoming efficient in one or more languages can give a feeling or more proficient in a language than one really is.
I'm using a lot of my time in learning swedish lately and it's been very hard for me to speak in french and german because lots of swedish words are always coming into my mind... The only languages I don't get confused with and never forget any word is my mother tongue (brazilian portuguese), english and spanish, which I'm fluent in.
Well done good set of languages 👍 I think maybe you can give some time to those languages that are interfering just maybe the brain is giving you signal to revisit them 😂
@J87-k4c thank you! 😊 You're right! French and german are languages I stopped studying for a while... Cause now I have pretty nice goals to achieve after learning swedish, so I'm very focused!
@@camilapalmeida de nada 👍
This goes to show that swithcing languages in not easy. I admire people that can switch from one language to another.
I experimenting the same thing, I studied german so harder that it's interfering with my japanese learning.
Understanding the hemispheres of the brain is vital for language learning. People have problems learning languages from exclusively relying on the left brain. The left brain is the analytical brain, and if you rely on that exclusively your not going to learn languages effectively because you won’t be learning languages with emotion. The right brain is the emotional brain. If you want to have a sharp recall of languages you need to utilize the emotional brain because our brain recalls emotional experiences effortlessly. I would say anybody who is Learning languages you must make sure you are engaging emotion while you learn, and to engage your emotion you must mix your lessons around, if not your lessons are going to feel routine and structured (this will make you left brain dominated and your emotions won’t be engaged). Then your emotional brain will connect all the languages together this way, this way you’ll never get confused. If a person studies languages and get them confused or mixed up, it’s an indicator that they’re being to analytical, allow the right brain to do it’s work (recall through emotion) and you’ll be fine.❤
Truly inspirational ...
7:00 even tho I learned Japanese before Tagalog... Sometimes my Tagalog would come out a bit while trynna speak Japanese, the worst is they're totally unrelated🤡
I haven't found any con to learning languages, other than the time spent... the closest thing to a con is sometimes when I buy junk that's so cheap the manual comes in 5 languages or when I get any state documents or try to vote in california, I end up reading in a language in which I'm only 70 to 90% fluent instead of the english and it's not really a conscious choice...
I went to Menorca in the summer and sometimes kept saying French words as I have mainly been studying it for 3 years. I've also recently been learning Portuguese and will sometimes not know how to say something and default to Spanish in hope that the word is the same.
Hello Steve,
You hit the nail on the head I always find myself suppressing my other languages. Although I'm not a polyglot I do speak fluent German and Spanish on top of my Canadian native english.
I'm probably C-1 in German which was my first foreign language I learned in my early 20s. I am now 60 and started learning Spanish five years ago. I'm married to Colombian so I speak Spanish all day every day, however I still feel I am more fluent in German, but now oddly enough when I'm speaking German I have to continually fight to suppress Spanish words and structures that want to jump in and interrupt my German .
So, "suppress" is a good word because I literally feel like I'm in a linguistic battle in my own head and it's not because I'm pausing and looking for words, it's because involuntarily there are Spanish words and structures jumping into my German conversation now.
Oh well , there's worse things in life I know...lol..
When I started to work in English (my third lenguage) I used to say the name of days of the week in French (my second lenguage). My mother lenguage (Spanish) comes first in all cases when I need to course...
Another courios thing is that even though I'm more fluent at speaking French, I write faster in English.
That is Kaufmann of course!
Plenty. People often HATE you for speaking foreign languages. And a lot of the time they don't even realize it. They only like it when you've learned THEIR language.
They also tend to overestimate your ability to do (sometimes really odd) things just because of the language you speak. People sometimes think I'm a wine expert just because I speak french...
Add this to the problems with mixing up languages as well as simply hearing things that you maybe regret hearing, well. It's not all roses.
This is very true, at least in my experience. I'm fluent in Serbian, and I once sang a song in the language, just to be met with weird passive aggressive comments the next day. Then for some reason it isn't the same with English or their native language. I don't really understand what the logic behind it is..
There's one thing that always strikes me, it's the fact that whenever I finish to talk in one language with one of my tutors, I start to speak in my native tongue (French) to me partner (who speaks English) without realising it 😆
I have watched many of your videos. You always recommend listening and reading. Just listen and read without using any word or practicing it like in school. Is it really enough to just listen and read more than once to learn?
5:42 yep, I could learn up to 30 Italian words/hour from the start. In Japanese this number decreases to 8 or 10 because there are so little cognates, my brain doesn't have any foothold
Should I learn the standard variant of a language first before learning my target dialect? Ex) My s/o speaks Austrian German (Wein), but is it recommended I skip this localization until after I have a grasp on standard German?
"But" and "only" can be used for each other, and Tok Pisin "tasol" (from "that's all") means both.
A few weeks ago, during Sabbath school, I explained in Spanish the rite of pouring water three times on each hand, but I used French "verser" (conjugated as if it were Spanish "versar", which exists but means something else) instead of Spanish "verter".
Turkish has plenty of French borrowings, so when you used a French word in Turkey someone probably understood.
If language learning gives us even a single extra year of living without dementia, that's _huge!_
I have a question, not exactly about the topic, but what is the level a person needs to become, to be considered bilingual or even polyglot?
I have had this problem when I started speaking in Russian and would finish speaking German. Since German was fresher, seems it overlapped some Russian words
Why do I get Duolingo ads on your Videos?
Love the thumbnail 😂 Steve is a true hyperpolyglot gigachad alpha male, thank you for the content you bring us
In my opinion, learning is more effective when you see some results and benefits regardless to the sizes, and people usually learn more when they see a good result.
Fakat seems easy to remember. It has such a nice ring to it. I would enjoy saying it I think.
hi, i gotta a question, if i can get all word that he's saying, what english level do i have?
you could be intermdeiate. Try to listen to some intermediate content. Make sure it is labeled intermediate, and if you can understand at least 80% that would be a good indication. Or the best way is to take a test. There are several free test on some youtube channels. But many test are grammar based, not on comphrension.
Is hard being a polyglot, can't keep all these women off me
Many people who are true polyglots, as in high b2 or c1 level in multiple languages, report the "tongue tie" thing happening. When the polyglot is speaking in one language, and blanks out on a word, but when the word finally comes to them, it comes to them in one of their other languages! As an aspiring polyglot myself, I hope to have this problem someday.
I’m on my 5th language. Visaya from the Philippines has a filler that equates to “like” or “uhm”. I have yet to use it although I learned/us3d it in the other languages.
sometimes my brain mix japanese with russian (none are my native language)
As a regular speaker of Urdu, Punjabi, English and German. Other languages come out of my mouth when I'm enraged or kinda frustrated 😂
What’s the name of the Iraqi Christian? I would love to listen to him for my Arabic skills, thanks in advance?
Could you please re-enable Danish subtitles on your videos? I love importing it into LingQ to hoover up more phrases and vocabulary
I love LingQ and learning about Brazil 💚💛
Se houver algum brasileiro que gostaria de trocar idiomas ao fone por favor diga me eu tenho whatsapp e preciso de praticar português falada e eu sei tem brasileiros que tá aprendendo inglês. Por favor diga me se você quiser praticar ao fone comigo 💜
Thanks for the "Takeaway" section, Steve. We need to be humble with these things. I share your thoughts. I speak English (native), Spanish (C2), Italian (B2), Finnish (B1), French (don't ask - work in progress)😁
I only speak two languages, and I can imagine what the struggle for polyglots to maintain their level in several different languages in their brain is like. Becoming multilingual is not a quite realistic goal for me because it will likely be time-consuming, a super challenging task that I might not be comfortable with. No matter what language I could possibly decide to learn, it will mean significant hard work. Switching between many different languages would probably be a headache also. It's important to take up a new language journey by doing so slowly, I mean with bite-sized chunks, but it will take you a long time to get fluent in your target language, no matter how similar or vastly different it is compared to the languages you already know. I almost forgot that is essential to enjoy the learning process and be resilient as much as you can.
I think that's the most important thing, if you don't enjoy the process it's gonna be difficult to keep it up. It takes very long to learn a language well, even if you use the best methods, you'll have to spend a lot of time on it. But I also think it's valuable to learn a bit of many languages, it becomes so much more approachable, because there are less expectations...
I started learning ukrainian thinking I'd just memorize a few words, now I know much more than that (and found tons of songs that I love) because it was fun and I kept learning. If I had thought " oh my god a new alphabet, difficult grammar, very few words I can recognise.. it's gonna take forever" then I would have never started. The way you approach things is so important!
Which languages do you speak?
@@blackmartini7684 Right, I speak English and Spanish. Thank you for reminding me of it.
Great❤
The more doors that open up, love that
Hiii there, i just wonder what are the careers of polyglots outhere?. I'm just a hight school student and am really insterest in learning new languages( even though i can speak just two for now: my native language and english). I just want to find a career that multiple languages can be useful. Anyway, whatever job i do in the future, i would never give my dream of becoming a polyglot. Thank u all!!❤❤
Probably diplomacy. Or becoming an interpreter for the UN. There's also becoming a spy if you get good enough at your languages, and have the right appearance. Personally, I'd go with diplomacy. Perfect your preferred languages now, then go to the right university program to get into your country's diplomatic service....
It's a little bit annoying having this words in the other language poping up in your brain when you speak, sometimes I just speak "spanglish" or "frenchglish" but sometimes people just don't understand what I want to say and I have to look for the word in a dictionary. It's kinda frustating that when I speak, sometimes I just can't find the word that I want to say in the correct language and it makes me appear a bit dunb😢
Un CAPOOOO! de grande VOY a ser como Tú!
I’m pleased to hear you are listening to the works of a brave missionary in Iraq.
I've learn quite a few then you start to not know where you truly belong cuz you feel like you belong in all those cultures. Yet they don't see you as part of it-say wow you speak good, then never speak to you again.
Mr Kaufman’s brain must be a truly happy brain🎉🎉🎉
Do you think Steve that with "just" 10 languages you would gain more in depth than you'd lose in breadth?
i found myself did a lot of unintentional code switching😅
Hello Steve how's it's going? Good thursday Sir, bye see you next.
Im 17 I wanna speak 6 languages
I feel like I have watched Steve's videos before.
So, as a polyglot ... where do you get all these tongues and how do you fit them into your mouth? That's my problem.
Yes, the world is a small and sad place with only one. Agreed.
传教士的奉献精神非常鼓舞人心。耶稣是主！如果你口里承认“耶稣是主”，心里相信神使他从死里复活，你就会得救。感谢耶稣！
i like how there's almost nothing to do with the title
This feels like watching future me
5:30 False cognates can be a good mnemonic device as well.
Not knowing how many languages you speak?
Pitfall 陷井
Trot out 重複呈現
A polyglot can achieve a high level in a language and then LOSE IT through neglect. Only takes a year or two.
Untrue, it’s simply set on the back burner, it can be quickly brushed up on through immersion. Stop holding limiting beliefs and spreading that mentality to others.
Not my experience. You can lose a little vocabulary but very quickly you can gain it right back, and your general level doesn’t really drop much
@@itsrx870 Exactly right, I know people who are out of the immersive environment where they became fluent in a new language for decennia, and who don't use this language much or even at all day to day. This might make their skills appear rusty, even to themselves, but once they get back into the language for just a tiny bit of time (not even a day, often less than an hour) they are truly back at it again, almost just as fluent and it happens very quickly!
@@vanillex5882 Well Said Vanilla, thank You. I’m tired of RUclips commenters leaving detrimental mindsets and belief systems for others who may be more vulnerable to ideas from others to absorb. Have a blessed day!
It sounds like a false assumption from someone that hasn't mastered more than one foreign language. With high proficiency, you won't lose it. Even if you want to forget it, you just can't prevent yourself from understanding it when you hear it. Acquired language is like the full integration that has forever reshaped your brain structure.
No problems whatsoever
yay iraq mentioned by kaufmann himself raaah
can i get rp?
Did Steve just call himself a "polyglot"?
the embarrassing moment when you mix up two basic words that sounds similar in different languages....
A
You look like a Joe Biden
i feel like you make the same video over and over again. there's probably over 100 videos talking about whether to learn one or multiple languages at one time.
You often discuss languages from Middle Eastern countries, but you never mention Kurdish (+60 millions ). It feels as though you’re ignoring our existence, similar to the way dictators like those in Turkey and Iran have done. Could you please acknowledge Kurdish as well?
Go take your meds
I am an Arab from Libya. The Arabic language is a very ancient and deep language with endless grammar rules. I congratulate you on learning it.🫶🏼🤝🏼💜
2:51 You've made a mistake because Greek translated their ancient works to the Arabic language