To a lot of people, it does - but even if one holds another opinion on it, I think it would be very dangerous to call yourself fluent if there is a very obvious and large GAP between how you speak and understand the language and how a native speaker does. As a general rule of thumb I always maintain that it is not very humble and also kind of inviting challenges to it if you call yourself fluent in a second language - so it's best to just be humble and avoid calling YOURSELF fluent. I have studied Chinese for 14 or 15 years, I have lived in China, I have worked in China in an all-Chinese speaking office translating Chinese to English, my WIFE is Chinese and I have constant input from a native speaker and I STILL correct people when they say "he's fluent in Chinese" and I STILL say "I am careful about using that word" when someone asks me if I am. True test of fluency: have a blind conversation with a native speaker for an hour - they cannot see you, they do not know they might be introduced to a non-native speaker, and when told later that you were a non-native speaker they register shock and amazement that they really couldn't tell the whole time. That's my measurement. If you can be on the phone with someone for a while, meet them in person and they're shocked you're not, say, Chinese...THEN maybe you can call yourself fluent. But a 1 minute conversation is not enough for that. ;) Anyway I just personally think staying humble is the best policy. Even with English I literally learn new words all the time and I've spoken it my whole life. It's a lifelong process with any language and a native speaker will 99.99999999999999999999999999999999% of the time always have an edge on you.
@@kalevipoeg6916 the blindfold test works only if you have native-like pronunciation and I think someone with an accent (not too heavy, still needs to be understood well) can definitely be fluent and know the language almost perfectly (according to your definition). But then I'd just do a C2 test and that's it... People have many definitions of fluency, the only way to know is ask more in detail or talk with them in the language. But as long as they are at least conversational and have no problem talking about anything spontaneously, I wouldn't get mad if they use the word fluent. As long as the language "flows" effortlessly (and it's not just a few sentences) it can make sense, even if it's not perfect...
We can resume this video in one sentence: don't get obsessed with fluency. Take your time, relax and enjoy the journey when you learn a new language. Great video with lots of useful advice. Thanks!
You don't mean "resume" I can't think of the word but you mean "sum up," or something similar, to "resume" something is to restart something one was doing, like "They resumed the game after the storm passed."
@@YogaBlissDance He's probably thinking of another meaning of "resume", which is "a summary". I still have never seen the word be used as a verb, though.
Love the content, Luca! Great question. Now I'll just throw a random joke below. -- Interviewer: How do you explain this 4 year gap on your resume? Me: That’s when I went to Yale. Interviewer: That’s impressive. You are hired. Me: Thanks. I really need this Yob. ---- If you understand that joke, your English is GREAT!
Thank you for the video Luca. I actually attempted to learn Korean in 6 Months (B2 level), but you made me realize that this level is unattainable, which is a good thing. Language learning should never be a time to pressure ourselves, but rather a time to enjoy. It's not about how quickly we learn it, but more about the struggles and hardships which we encounter, like what I am currently going through with Korean. Now, my goal is to get A2 in Korean by the end of June. It definitely won't be an easy task since I don't live in South Korea and I have never learned an Asian language before, but it will be worth it again. Thanks again for the video.
Of course you can reach a B2 level within 6 months, but contrary to what some bs methods tell you, you would have to put like five+ hours into it every day.
@charlenobyle maybe not in Japanese, but if you already speak English and want to learn Spanish for example, of course that would be possible. If you studied the language every day for 5 hours, within six months, you would have accumulated a 900 hours total of studying. For a language like Spanish, that's more than enough to reach a solid B2, if not more. I've done it myself, lol.
@@mikereisert2803 6months for a language like spanish if you nolife it and already have experience with language learning, sure, it's possible. But if you take a language that is just a bit more difficult like French or German, then no, at least a year honestly. For east asian languages like Japanese or Korean, with an intensive 6months the best a top tier student could hope for is A2.
I speak 5 languages on C2 level and one on B2/C1 level and still studying. The B2 level is French, and have spent a year to get to this point, and am a really fast learner. It took me 8 months of 6-8 hour days, 5 days per week to say I finish B1 with a mock-up DELF test performed by a french professor. I received 67/100, far from perfect. Also, as per your video, I would also define B2 level as 'fluent' however you are still lacking vocabulary, written abilities and you won't understand everything. Let's call B2 baby-fluent, C1 - high school fluent and C2 fully fluent near educated native. So, basically it depends: you might not need higher levels or your own level in your own language is only B1 or B2, so if you reach the same thing in the other language you might think you are fluent, but B1 is maybe only 1/4 of the way and B2 is maybe 1/3. It gets harder as you go. The biggest gap is between B2 and C1 and you can get stuck in this zone for a long time. I wish all a good luck in their studies!
Out of pure interest based on the video topic, how long did it take you to get to a B2 level in the five C2 languages you have? Bravo too!! I am lucky enough to speak 5 but besides my native language, I have 2/3 at a C1 level and 1 at a B1/2. My initial motivation often drove me to B1 within 3-5 months, but as you say, the distance between each level becomes much longer after B1 and I think sometimes people underestimate a B2 level..
hi,😊 i’m working on learning english and knowing my way to acquire easier , that works for me. i wanted to say, i think you have to warm up your motivation because i know that takes so much times for being fluent. i’ve taken an english training for one year and i can say i’ve unfortunately been behind due to the non-seriousness and also the non-follow-up of the training , i’ve been motivated, i’ve been spending my days focus on english (videos,tv shows,podcasts,exercices,…), i passed A2 to B1 and still struggling with speaking skills. that’s how i got drop of motivation. a person has told me, it takes 3 months to get one level. is it true , i know it depends on what kinda person you are, and how you acquire the langue ( easily or harder). -can you tell me, how do you usually acquire your sentences (your own) maybe that can help me, i’m looking for my own way as well so i’m still. -do you go over your vocabularies,sentences? thank you so much for any tips 😊 🌸
Brilliant and accurate explanation. If you don't have any real emergency like having to go to that country in 3 months then don't put too much pressure on yourself. 3 months is enough to break the ice and nail the basics, after that, you have your whole Life to improve in that language.
My definition of fluency is quite similar to Luca’s, but I think of “basic fluency” as B1. Basic fluency is totally achievable depending on the language combination. If you already speak a language that is similar enough for you to get the gist of things before you study the second language, then B1 is doable. For example, going from Spanish to Portuguese. Honestly, I am not a fan of the fluent in… trend. Learning does not have an absolute end. I have been a native speaker of English for 40 years and I still learn stuff. But, I generally agree with all of these ideas.
This makes me feel better about my very slow progress in Japanese (years into it). I only have about an hour to devote a day, so of course my progress is slow. Thank you:).
I study Spanish 1-2 hours a day. Gotta say, getting a tutor on Preply was the defining factor for me. Sped up my learning by 10x and will be the way I learn languages from now on. The key for me was to get a very patient teacher who teaches in the target language. Even from the beginning. You also have to like that Any other way isn’t as efficient imo
Thank you for this encouraging but realistic portrayal of how long it really takes to learn a foreign language! I'm learning Jordanian Arabic as a native English speaker with work and a family. What I thought would take me 2 years I now realize will probably take me 4 due to the distance between Arabic and English and the amount of time that I can devote to it regularly. And I shouldn't compare my progress to someone who has 3+ hours to spend working on their language skills every day. This is liberating! Thank you for this helpful dose of realism! 😊
Finally a video about the subject that tackles it realistically, without trying to sell us the possibility of fluency in X amount of time (usually too little) just to gain subs. Great one, Luca!
My definition slightly disagrees. For me, B2 is still "conversational" because that's also what describes your actual capabilities: you can converse about different topics but still do a lot of mistakes and regularly have to search for words (getting somewhat stuck), your language isn't really in a flow, thus you are not "fluent". For me, "fluency" starts with C1 when you actually are able to speak without "thinking" as your output just "flows" (even if you still do mistakes). For reference, I have a masters degree in languages (thus I'm aware of the actual definitions of the CEFR levels which most people aren't) and I consider myself fluent in three languages (native + 2 languages at C2), conversational in four (B1-B2), and having basic knowledge in two (A1-A2). If someone asks me how many languages I speak, I make the disclaimer that I consider "speaking" to be able to hold a decent conversation on most non-specialized topics, thus I speak seven (having had conversations in each of them that went on for at least an hour), discounting those were I only have basic knowledge. As for achieving B2 in three months. I'm not 100% sure, but there is ONE RUclipsr called (if I remember correctly) "Language Lords" who's convinced me to have reached a level that might be B2, BUT his learning schedule was super intense and not applicable for 99,9% of the people out there. He's worked 8h per day on his target language, and he had some prior experience. Otherwise, I agree with Luca that it's not really possible to achieve a B2 in three months outside of a language that is super close to your native language.
If you are in the country of the language and constantly surrounded with people you are consistently conversing with all the time and the language is extremely close to a language you are already fluent in and you are already a polyglot and talented at languages, you can potentially get fluent in an extremely short time, days even. If you are trying to learn from home, with limited time and resources and it's a language totally different from the ones you know, you might not ever reach fluency at all, even if you are a talented polyglot.
The video I wish Luca made 8 years ago. I've watched dozens of amazing videos from Luca. Summarized they say the same thing but this video did such a good job at putting it all together in a way that makes sense to most people.
It took me 1.5 years to gain a B1 B2 level in french despite my hard work: RUclips videos Podcasts French news Also have s conversation partner Take classes via zoom No one can learn s new language without putting in lots of work. English native Spanish B2 - C1 French B1 - B2 Portugueses A2
Thanks. I started Greek 6 months ago and even studying 3 hours a day I still cant understand native speakers for the most part. I know I need more vocab through for that. In 6 months im starting Finnish. Hoping I will be able to understand them much better by then.
The US Foreign Service has done a lot of research on language acquisition. They do have 'hours' to reach a 'level', although the levels are the IRL levels (0-5), and it is worth noting that '3' is "Professional Working Proficiency" which is (roughly) equivalent to C2 on CEFR and 'superior'/'distinguished' on the ACTFL scale. I also notice that Asian languages (at least Chinese and Japanese and Korean) have yet another scale (or scales? I have to admit my ignorance). Note - the IRL level 3 is sometimes a difficult enough test that native speakers may not pass it - remember, it is for diplomats, and there are some vocabulary requirements that most people will not need nor want in their use of language (unless high-level discussions of multilateral trade deals is something you regularly discuss over dinner...) In any case - they have the (average) number of hours (of instruction - there is homework too, time on that is not counted, I don't think) to reach the various IRL levels for languages in different 'categories' (based on difficulty for monolingual Enlgish speakers). A B-2 level can generally be reached in 400-600 hours - typically 20 hours per week, so 20-30 weeks or 5-8 months (except for the most difficult languages - Arabic, Japanese, Korean, etc.) B-1 in say 200-350 hours (10-18 weeks or 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 months). (Note - these are rough estimates of already rough averages based on a conversion from IRL to ACTFL and then from ACTFL to CEFR, so maybe take them with a grain of salt, but I did the best I could with the resources I could find that were publicly available). Your video is good, but you kind of skip over the reading and writing skills (which seem to be ignored in a lot of the 'fluent in 3 months' videos too). And I think those skills are vital to make progress, because there is so much more input and resources available if you can also read the language. You could (and I think you said) make an entire video about 'fluency' and what it might mean, as well as the various dimensions of 'knowing' a language.
I,m currently learning italian i have zero language experience.i have set myself a realistic goal, if i can get from A1 to B1 in 2 years i will be very happy. I have probably wasted more time trying to find structured resources but hey ho!! I will get there😀
I completely agree with this. The breach between a B1 and B2 is vast. I got to something considered B1 in French in the pandemic in a period of 3-4 months, but that was because I already knew English (which borrows a lot of words from French), my native language is Spanish, and because I spent *at least* 3 hours everyday, dedicating them entirely on language learning. Of course I continued after that, I do not consider B1 a level where I would feel completely happy with any language in particular.
Yeah. Steven Kauffmann learned Mandarin in a year, but he studied as a full time job in a Chinese speaking area and immersed even outside his formal studies. To learn, all you need is to drown :P
I think the origin of the 'myth' of Fluent in Three months is in part based on Benny Lewis' original blog which used that as a name. Though he himself didn't think of it as something that could be done... but a challenge he tasked himself with to try. Travel to a country with a language he did not know and attempt to learn it well enough in three months. He became very knowledgeable in various languages, and his version of fluency was if he could talk in the language with regular people he interacted with. Sometimes he accomplished it according to his understanding of the qualifiers he set up for the challenge, but not always... Myself, just looking at only one other language other than my birth tongue and I have been working at it for a couple of years. I could say that I am A2, and I am fine with the slower progress I make on learning. I am looking at maybe a year or two more to get to B2 (my main goal), but I am not in a rush. Consistency is the most important part of the learning process I think.
I think that Benny does a great job at encouraging people to get out there and use their target language. There is a lot of merit in what he does. Everyone is different, everyone has different goals, life circumstances, a different learning style and methodology, time to dedicate to language learning, etc. And as you said, consistency is one of the most important factors in language learning. Thanks for sharing!
@@LucaLampariello Yes, it depends on your goals. Benny's method is good to become conversational if you just plan on visiting a country or want to communicate with people in the target language. The downside is that you'll most likely fossilize your mistakes which will make it much harder to get rid off later. I you want to achieve high fluency with mainly "correct" language, I think MattvsJapan's input first (for quite a long time) before starting to speak method is better suited.
Hi Luca, native dutchy here. Love your video's they really help me through my personal journey of becoming a polyglot like you :). Although i like the video, i'd like to point out that if you wanted to say that you'd like to 'live somewhere' in dutch. You'd use the verb 'Wonen' in the context of your sentence. So this would make your example sentence that you made more like: 'Ik hoorde dat Amsterdam een fantastische stad is. Ik wil daar wonen'. Hope you appreciate my criticism and don't find me too much of an asshole. But would still like to say i am very impressed by your level of dutch and your pronounciation, just a small mistake of which i am sure a legend like you doesn't make often :)
I would tend to say it is impossible for most contexts, but for a person who has a lot of *free time* (thus very intense 90 days), is using *effective methods* and is learning a language of the *same family* (e.g. a Spaniard learning Portuguese), it could be done. The more experienced the learner is, the faster it can go, of course! 🙂
I have a personal liking for Steve Kaufman but... once I said that, my view is that whatever language he speaks, it comes down to SK speaking different languages to a greater or lesser degree. Luca's case is completely different: when he speaks Spanish he becomes Francisco García, when he speaks French, Marcel Dupont, German, Marcus Weber... and so on and I suppose that's what challenges Luca: he takes enormous pleasure in playing up to 14 different characters, kind of actor playing different roles and hence he speaks at full speed with basically no mistakes nor accent.
Thanks for the kind words! But why compare? Steve is a great guy and a great polyglot and he is sharing wonderful advice on the art and science of language learning, and that's what counts.
I think most people who claim is possible to learn very fast, they are actually talking about conversational fluency. Which is fine! I think that's a great goal to have, because being able to understand and talk with native speakers is very rewarding, and it's what most people would like to achieve. Also from that level it's easier to find sustainable long-term ways to improve. Because it get much easier to consume content made for native speakers like series, music, podcasts, books, etc. it gets more fun and much easier to immerse yourself in the language, and then slowly is possible to reach a higher level of fluency.
I agree with you that there are people who claim to be at a B2 level but are not even at an A1 level. And if by "fluent" we mean that one can make themselves understood, then one with a few gestures can make themselves understood even without knowing the language. And as a Neapolitan, I would be a hyperpolyglot. In addition, B1 is only the beginning; it is the "tourist" level. To speak a language decently, in my opinion, it takes at least ten times the time it takes to reach B1, and it is essential to really or virtually immerse oneself in the culture where the language is spoken. As you emphasize in many of your videos, the essential point is always the same: "the why", the motivation. Is it worth investing so much time in our short life to learn a language?
When Luca uploads a new video 🥳 Unless you get very lucky where new language is very very similar to yours, like Ukrainian vs Russia, Spanish vs Portuguese etc, and you can spend like 3 hours per day. Its possible to reach fluency in new language in such short time. But in 99% cases, its just not possible, 3 months is very short time.
Thanks a lot for this, my goal at the moment is A2 by end Feb and leave it at that, but it's suggested to me that perhaps I should at that as on a continuum on my way to B1. I appreciate your metric based approach to what fluency may be.
I'm not sure of the distance between the language I'm trying to learn and english but I would guess it's around middle ish different lol I live where it's spoken. Three people I live with are fluent but they don't like to talk to me or other non-speakers in said language. just part of the culture. but I will spend as much time on task as I can. lack of resources is a big issue for me too.. hopefully I can update on this comment that i have broken into fluency sometime in the future 😅
I'm an arabian native i can speak english and i set a goal to myself to achieve intermediate 1 in russian at lingq which probably means B1 it sounds logical for me I'm really confused about my english level but i can understand contest in english pretty well For example this video, i got all of what you said sur also translated about 5words such as vastly and concrete
I sincerely believe this is possible and I am willing to prove it one day.😅 Especially if you're learning language that is similar to languages you already speak. I have never wanted to become fluent so fast. But it really seems like a challenge. 😁 Grazie mille per video, Luca👏🏻
I believe you can become fluent or somewhat fluent in a relatively easy language in about a year if you're very dedicated. But three months? It's only possible if you have very low standards of what fluency means, are experienced at language learning, its a close language to your native one, and you spend basically all of your time on it. Especially the first part of low standards to claim "fluency". And so what if it takes longer than three months? Fluency in a year is already fast.
I don't want to be fluent or to be able to speak, i just want to understand conversations in that language within 3 months, do you think it's possible? Pls reply me, I'm loosing my hope
You brought up a good point about the current MEGA exaggerated claims. I remember like 6 years ago when the Benny Lewis claims of Fluent in 3 months seemed absurd to the linguistic community and was a controversial and now you got all these people claiming insane stuff like Fluent in 30 days!!!?! Things have gone bonkers and click bait crap has gotten out of control! That XiaoMa guy has perpetuated a lot of that crap, with 5.4 million followers and him constantly putting out videos claiming to be able to "speak a language" after a week.
Great information. What I like best is this idea about language learning becomes more easy when you "master" your first new one, it all builds one upon the other. Thank you, Luca
For me it took a long time for the intonation of French to click, after that comprehension of spoken French became much easier, though films are still a challenge to put it mildly. Now I can follow speech, learning is much faster. In three months of intensive study from scratch, I would not have reached B1, and comprehension would be poor. With German on the other hand the words are easier to recognise, as the intonation is stress timed as per English, and the language does not have ‘enchainement’. Yes the grammar is a pain, but being able to hear words makes a big difference. They say that children become fluent when immersed in a language in six months. Of course their vocabulary will be simplified, with few words relating to politics, car mechanics, work and so on. Adults usually have little free time, an hour a day maybe, so that’s more like four years at least to reach fluency, assuming equal ability to a child. And state of mind makes a huge difference. A stressed adult surrounded by work and family chores won’t learn much, a relaxed child playing with friends will soak up the language like a sponge.
I m not expert in languages,but through my short experience in 3 lannguages, i think if you can spend more than 7hours per day learning (correctly)a new language ,you will have more chance to learn quickly . In other words, studying 240 hours per month is better than studying 240 hours per two month. Because in the first case You memory is strongly focused on one thing, and it can t be distracted by other daily activities.
Merci Luca. Je suis brésilienne et je crois que je peux atteindre le niveau B1 en spagnol en 3 mois mais je me demande pourquoi les gens veulent apprendre une langue aussi vite? J’aime le processus d’étudier et d’apprendre en plus , apprendre une langue implique aussi d’apprendre les aspects culturels de cette langue ou du pays. So I wanna have fun learning new languages and cultures.
That's because your mother tongue is by far the most similar language to Spanish there is. Yo he estudiado español en la universidad como traductor e intérprete durante 5 años y ahora trabajo como profesor de este idioma en un instituto. Sin haber estudiado francés en mi vida, he sido capaz de entender tu mensaje. There can be no answer to a flawed question. Tell me, can you learn how to play the guitar in 3 months? If you already play 5 other instruments, perhaps. If you have X hours of free time every day to practice it, of course. So, Luca is of course right, however the fact remains that the question is (almost) meaningless.
Certains parce qu'ils n'aiment pas les phases initiales de l'apprentissage d'une langue, donc cherchent à s'en débarrasser aussi vite que possible. D'autres tout simplement parce qu'ils ont une échéance. Par exemple si leur travail ou leurs études les amène à déménager à l'étranger en ne leur laissant que peu de temps pour se préparer.
Salut! ""Je me demande pourquoi les gens veulent apprendre une langue aussi vite? J’aime le processus d’étudier et d’apprendre". Excellent! Je crois que le secret c'est de tomber amoureux du PROCESSUS d'apprentissage. Quand les gens me demandent pourquoi j'apprends toutes ces langues ma réponse est "parce j'adore apprendre". 🥰
He estado estudiando español por 14 años y todavía no sé si puedo decir que tengo fluidez o no. Como nos has dicho, todo depende en la definición aceptas. Gracias por este video. Muy útil.
I have to say that I found this rather disheartening. A native English speaker, I've been learning Spanish for almost two years now. I would say that I am perhaps just a little beyond the A2 level. I'm particularly disappointed for number of reasons. I learned Dutch to a fairly decent level some years ago. As a result of that I have a much better grasp of grammar concepts than most people. I've put a lot of time and effort into learning Spanish; rarely a day's gone by when I haven't studied Spanish. I am I believe, fairly intelligent and gifted with a good memory. So, I would say that, unless you're in the country where you're target language is spoken and very few people speak your native language OR you're fortunate enough to be be able to attend an intensive 8 hour per day training course plus "homework" for an extended period such as is employed to get diplomats up to speed, attaining B1 fluency in three months is a pipe dream. That is of course unless you're a genius and there aren't many of those about.
I have had the same experience with learning Greek as a Romanian native speaker (fluent in English). I spent 2 long years for reaching A2 level by putting in a lot of effort. However, the 3rd year- in the pandemic- I found a native teacher online with a different method and that improved the speed and increased the pleasure with which I was learning. As you say, any classmate of mine who can spend time with relatives in the native language country or has a spouse who is Greek has a clear advantage compared with the rest. I guess most of the language learners hope to achieve fluency as fast as possible, however for normal learners 4-5 years is the average time horizon needed to get to B1/B2 level, depending on the time invested in learning, plus the factors mentioned in the video. The good news is that with each passing year learning becomes easier and more enjoyable, you immerse yourself in more cultural aspects and have lots of aha moments.
Are you learning on your own? That would be very difficult, I think in order to effectively study on you own, you should learn with an instructor until you reach B1 level.
Ottimo video come sempre, Luca! Domanda. Vado a Cipro in vacanza a metà Marzo, e mi piacerebbe diventare abbastanza sciolto in greco per chiedere direzioni, ordinare da mangiare, ecc. So che il greco cipriota è diverso dal greco in uso in Grecia, ma ho letto che i ciprioti imparano quest'ultimo a scuola. Alla luce di quanto dici nel video, e dedicandoci una o due ore al giorno, ho qualche possibilità di raggiungere il livello A2? Se sì, hai consigli sul materiale da usare? Per ora sto usando Duolingo e Clozemaster. Grazie!
Ciao e grazie per la domanda! Beh, in 3 mesi con 2 ore al giorno ci puoi arrivare. Ti consiglio di usare: 1. ASSIMIL greco 2. super Easy Greek (RUclips Ah, e anche questa serie di podcast con trascrizione: tunein.com/podcasts/Education-Podcasts/Learning-Greek-Podcasts-from-the-Hellenic-American-p1132848/ Sono gratis! 😄 L
My perfect plan to learn a language within one year fast would be learning as much as I can in 6 months and after that I would spend more 6 months in the country we my target language is spoken. It's not a method approachable to everybody but dreaming doesn't kill
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Very interesting points and tips. I ‘m trying to learn Korean with Chinese and basic Japanese background. Let’s see how long it will take with busy work and family life.
Wish all weebs would watch this video before starting to learn Japanese since they wouldn't end of wasting 3 months only to give up after that but still say they have been learning for year, great video with great advice that few will follow
Hi Luca! I've been wanting to start studying german for a while now. Whilst my first language is italian, I am also fluent in english (my certified level with the IELTS test is between a C1 and a C2) and I was wondering if i should try to learn german trough italian or german, because I used to be learning it in middle school in italian (like six years ago) but I've totally forgot it and I also know english is a germanic language just like german. What are your thoughts on this?
Oh - and you might want to point out, learning isn't a race - you don't get a prize for reaching a level faster than anyone else. Also - FSI research indicated that there are no shortcuts to learning a language. You _must_ put in the time.
I'll be honest, I flat out don't believe you or any other people saying they know 15+ languages. Maybe you have some very basic knowledge in that many languages, but actually maintaining any kind of proficiency in so many... I'm sorry, but I call bs. But I really respect that you're somewhat dispelling the "3-month-fluency" myth.
I have been studying four for three years; one for two and a half and another for a year and a half…I would say I could be spoken fluent in three (Spanish, Portuguese and German) in three months of total submersion. I can read fluently in Spanish, French and Portuguese but am very close in Italian. I think I will be able to read fluently in Russian in 6 more months. Die Deutscher Wortschatz ist sehr schwierig 😂 und ich denke das es schwierig ist als Russische
Only person I heard of that reached B2 in a language in 3 months is Richard Simcott when he learned German. He did 8 hours a day and he is superhuman so us humans need to do 14 hours per day.
Hi lucas I admire you.I have a question I am at B1 almost B2 in spanish ,can I start french only for 30 minutes a day .Please advice .I also apreciate advice from any body with experience
Depending on the language you are learning and a number of other factors (distance between your target language and native language, your background in learning languages, your chances of using the language in real-life etc), I would say that a more realistic time frame to move from A2 to B2 ranges from 12 months for "close languages to 18-24 months for distance languages.
I've been studying English for 6 years. And I still not satisfied with my current level. Seeing people anxious to learn a language is merely 3 months amuses me. There's no magic tricks. It's a life choice. With life long challenges and pleasures.
Luca, thanks for your comments about learning languages. I am Spanish speaker and currently I have been working on reaching C1 level in English. In addition, I learned Brazilian portuguese some years ago, but for some circumstances I abandoned my learning portuguese process despite I reached B2 level. What is your advice to get back to portuguese?
Od 2 lat ucze sie szwedzkiego i wciaz mam min 2 podkreslenia na kazdej stronie ksiazek ktore czytam. Nauka jezyka w pewnym momencie staje sie jednoczesnie latwiejsza - wiecej sukcesow, mniej pytan, a z drugiej trudniejsza bo przeciez po 2 latach powinnam juz swobodnie sie wypowiadac. Niestety odwaga poczatkujacego znika z czasem, a efekty nie sa tak spektakularne.
I don't know about time deadlines, but it's certainly achievable to learn 30, 40 or even 50 words a day if you are using active recall, SRS and other optimizations, along with learning grammar and putting in effort. My working memory and discipline are almost non-existent, but using Anki with active recall, creating new sentences for learning words which I failed to remember and so on, has skyrocketed whatever little progress I made for years (in other languages) in classic apps where I only learned things passively, ie. only learned to recognize words, but not to actually use them like I am now.
Brain studies say that the brain has a capacity of memorizing 100 new things each day. This also includes the daily activities. Learning words is easy, and with that logic, for example English and French speakers would know automatically 12-20,000 words in each other language, yet you will find that they still need to learn it. Grammar is the issue, not only absorbing the rules, but applying them both in writing and in speaking. (BTW this is exactly how I went about it trying to learn English, but it didn't work) I find that you would be fluent when you know the grammar. Words are easy to be inserted, and they could be a life-long endeavour.
@@mybestideas1 Completely agree. If say two languages have identical grammar and structure (which no two languages in the world really do), it wouldn’t take long to learn because one can learn through flash cards, search dictionary and learn the words. While grammar would require some getting used to, real life examples of the structure.
Now for the real challenge: is it possible to get to a B1 in 3 months in Arabic if starting at A1-A2, whilst also striving for a B1 in Russian if all you know is the Cyrillic alphabet?
Thank you for this interesting video. Can you share with us you'r step by step methode from scratch to the b2 level? I'm Dutch and learning English for a year. I"m learning generally an hour a day.
People make mistakes in their own native language, I've heard English people making basic mistakes. A few days ago I was researching grammar in my native language and people were not sure how to write in their own native language. I see job positions with a native level of speaking or C1, with no mistakes, well, ok... Languages are also evolving.
A questo punto sarebbe interessante capire quante ore, in base allo spettro di apprendimento degli studenti, si necessita per arrivare ad essere fluenti. Grazie Luca per il video. Eccezionale, come sempre.
Nope unless you've gone through the process of learning a language before and the language you're trying to learn is very similar to one you already speak fluently
If being fluent means speaking a language perfectly and without mistakes, then I'm not even fluent in my native language 😂.
Right on the money ;-)
@@DaddyGringuito Sí, la perfección es una ilusión.
To a lot of people, it does - but even if one holds another opinion on it, I think it would be very dangerous to call yourself fluent if there is a very obvious and large GAP between how you speak and understand the language and how a native speaker does. As a general rule of thumb I always maintain that it is not very humble and also kind of inviting challenges to it if you call yourself fluent in a second language - so it's best to just be humble and avoid calling YOURSELF fluent. I have studied Chinese for 14 or 15 years, I have lived in China, I have worked in China in an all-Chinese speaking office translating Chinese to English, my WIFE is Chinese and I have constant input from a native speaker and I STILL correct people when they say "he's fluent in Chinese" and I STILL say "I am careful about using that word" when someone asks me if I am.
True test of fluency: have a blind conversation with a native speaker for an hour - they cannot see you, they do not know they might be introduced to a non-native speaker, and when told later that you were a non-native speaker they register shock and amazement that they really couldn't tell the whole time. That's my measurement. If you can be on the phone with someone for a while, meet them in person and they're shocked you're not, say, Chinese...THEN maybe you can call yourself fluent. But a 1 minute conversation is not enough for that. ;)
Anyway I just personally think staying humble is the best policy. Even with English I literally learn new words all the time and I've spoken it my whole life. It's a lifelong process with any language and a native speaker will 99.99999999999999999999999999999999% of the time always have an edge on you.
@@kalevipoeg6916 I generally am of the opinion that one can never become truly fluent in a "foreign" language.
@@kalevipoeg6916 the blindfold test works only if you have native-like pronunciation and I think someone with an accent (not too heavy, still needs to be understood well) can definitely be fluent and know the language almost perfectly (according to your definition). But then I'd just do a C2 test and that's it... People have many definitions of fluency, the only way to know is ask more in detail or talk with them in the language. But as long as they are at least conversational and have no problem talking about anything spontaneously, I wouldn't get mad if they use the word fluent. As long as the language "flows" effortlessly (and it's not just a few sentences) it can make sense, even if it's not perfect...
We can resume this video in one sentence: don't get obsessed with fluency. Take your time, relax and enjoy the journey when you learn a new language. Great video with lots of useful advice. Thanks!
You don't mean "resume" I can't think of the word but you mean "sum up," or something similar, to "resume" something is to restart something one was doing, like "They resumed the game after the storm passed."
@@YogaBlissDance He's probably thinking of another meaning of "resume", which is "a summary". I still have never seen the word be used as a verb, though.
@@Gigusx it's probably because in other languages, or at least Spanish, it means summary. For instance "en resumen..."+your summary
@@JacobRy Makes sense!
Love the content, Luca! Great question. Now I'll just throw a random joke below.
--
Interviewer: How do you explain this 4 year gap on your resume?
Me: That’s when I went to Yale.
Interviewer: That’s impressive. You are hired.
Me: Thanks. I really need this Yob.
----
If you understand that joke, your English is GREAT!
Jail/job, took me a while but I understood 😌
Jail😂
Thank you for the video Luca. I actually attempted to learn Korean in 6 Months (B2 level), but you made me realize that this level is unattainable, which is a good thing. Language learning should never be a time to pressure ourselves, but rather a time to enjoy. It's not about how quickly we learn it, but more about the struggles and hardships which we encounter, like what I am currently going through with Korean. Now, my goal is to get A2 in Korean by the end of June. It definitely won't be an easy task since I don't live in South Korea and I have never learned an Asian language before, but it will be worth it again.
Thanks again for the video.
Of course you can reach a B2 level within 6 months, but contrary to what some bs methods tell you, you would have to put like five+ hours into it every day.
Glad to hear you find the video useful Kendon! One step a time, you will get there 🙂
@@mikereisert2803 No lmfao.
@charlenobyle maybe not in Japanese, but if you already speak English and want to learn Spanish for example, of course that would be possible. If you studied the language every day for 5 hours, within six months, you would have accumulated a 900 hours total of studying. For a language like Spanish, that's more than enough to reach a solid B2, if not more. I've done it myself, lol.
@@mikereisert2803 6months for a language like spanish if you nolife it and already have experience with language learning, sure, it's possible. But if you take a language that is just a bit more difficult like French or German, then no, at least a year honestly.
For east asian languages like Japanese or Korean, with an intensive 6months the best a top tier student could hope for is A2.
I speak 5 languages on C2 level and one on B2/C1 level and still studying. The B2 level is French, and have spent a year to get to this point, and am a really fast learner. It took me 8 months of 6-8 hour days, 5 days per week to say I finish B1 with a mock-up DELF test performed by a french professor. I received 67/100, far from perfect.
Also, as per your video, I would also define B2 level as 'fluent' however you are still lacking vocabulary, written abilities and you won't understand everything. Let's call B2 baby-fluent, C1 - high school fluent and C2 fully fluent near educated native.
So, basically it depends: you might not need higher levels or your own level in your own language is only B1 or B2, so if you reach the same thing in the other language you might think you are fluent, but B1 is maybe only 1/4 of the way and B2 is maybe 1/3. It gets harder as you go. The biggest gap is between B2 and C1 and you can get stuck in this zone for a long time.
I wish all a good luck in their studies!
Out of pure interest based on the video topic, how long did it take you to get to a B2 level in the five C2 languages you have? Bravo too!! I am lucky enough to speak 5 but besides my native language, I have 2/3 at a C1 level and 1 at a B1/2. My initial motivation often drove me to B1 within 3-5 months, but as you say, the distance between each level becomes much longer after B1 and I think sometimes people underestimate a B2 level..
hi,😊 i’m working on learning english and knowing my way to acquire easier , that works for me. i wanted to say, i think you have to warm up your motivation because i know that takes so much times for being fluent. i’ve taken an english training for one year and i can say i’ve unfortunately been behind due to the non-seriousness and also the non-follow-up of the training , i’ve been motivated, i’ve been spending my days focus on english (videos,tv shows,podcasts,exercices,…), i passed A2 to B1 and still struggling with speaking skills. that’s how i got drop of motivation. a person has told me, it takes 3 months to get one level. is it true , i know it depends on what kinda person you are, and how you acquire the langue ( easily or harder).
-can you tell me, how do you usually acquire your sentences (your own) maybe that can help me, i’m looking for my own way as well so i’m still. -do you go over your vocabularies,sentences? thank you so much for any tips 😊 🌸
TBH, I find C2 is junior high level (around grade 8-9).
"you might not need higher levels or your own level in your own language is only B1 or B2" hahahaah
Fluency is level C. That's why it exists (I mean CEFR). You are fluent when you don't translate. It's not about vocabulary at all.
Brilliant and accurate explanation. If you don't have any real emergency like having to go to that country in 3 months then don't put too much pressure on yourself. 3 months is enough to break the ice and nail the basics, after that, you have your whole Life to improve in that language.
Luca to me seems to be one of the few "real polyglots" on youtube. Good content and seems to be honest about assessing his own skills.
My definition of fluency is quite similar to Luca’s, but I think of “basic fluency” as B1. Basic fluency is totally achievable depending on the language combination. If you already speak a language that is similar enough for you to get the gist of things before you study the second language, then B1 is doable. For example, going from Spanish to Portuguese.
Honestly, I am not a fan of the fluent in… trend. Learning does not have an absolute end. I have been a native speaker of English for 40 years and I still learn stuff.
But, I generally agree with all of these ideas.
This makes me feel better about my very slow progress in Japanese (years into it). I only have about an hour to devote a day, so of course my progress is slow.
Thank you:).
Getting to speak ANY foreign language takes time. If you devote 1h a day to Italian, you will get there, it is literally just a matter of time 🙂
I study Spanish 1-2 hours a day. Gotta say, getting a tutor on Preply was the defining factor for me. Sped up my learning by 10x and will be the way I learn languages from now on.
The key for me was to get a very patient teacher who teaches in the target language. Even from the beginning. You also have to like that
Any other way isn’t as efficient imo
Thank you for this encouraging but realistic portrayal of how long it really takes to learn a foreign language! I'm learning Jordanian Arabic as a native English speaker with work and a family. What I thought would take me 2 years I now realize will probably take me 4 due to the distance between Arabic and English and the amount of time that I can devote to it regularly. And I shouldn't compare my progress to someone who has 3+ hours to spend working on their language skills every day. This is liberating! Thank you for this helpful dose of realism! 😊
I was missing Mr luca,,didn’t posted video for long time
My favourite language motivational speaker after steve Kaufman
Thanks! Steve is great 😎
Finally a video about the subject that tackles it realistically, without trying to sell us the possibility of fluency in X amount of time (usually too little) just to gain subs. Great one, Luca!
Thanks Juan! I tried to be as realistic as possible given my experience and my own definition of fluency
My definition slightly disagrees. For me, B2 is still "conversational" because that's also what describes your actual capabilities: you can converse about different topics but still do a lot of mistakes and regularly have to search for words (getting somewhat stuck), your language isn't really in a flow, thus you are not "fluent". For me, "fluency" starts with C1 when you actually are able to speak without "thinking" as your output just "flows" (even if you still do mistakes).
For reference, I have a masters degree in languages (thus I'm aware of the actual definitions of the CEFR levels which most people aren't) and I consider myself fluent in three languages (native + 2 languages at C2), conversational in four (B1-B2), and having basic knowledge in two (A1-A2). If someone asks me how many languages I speak, I make the disclaimer that I consider "speaking" to be able to hold a decent conversation on most non-specialized topics, thus I speak seven (having had conversations in each of them that went on for at least an hour), discounting those were I only have basic knowledge.
As for achieving B2 in three months. I'm not 100% sure, but there is ONE RUclipsr called (if I remember correctly) "Language Lords" who's convinced me to have reached a level that might be B2, BUT his learning schedule was super intense and not applicable for 99,9% of the people out there. He's worked 8h per day on his target language, and he had some prior experience. Otherwise, I agree with Luca that it's not really possible to achieve a B2 in three months outside of a language that is super close to your native language.
If you are in the country of the language and constantly surrounded with people you are consistently conversing with all the time and the language is extremely close to a language you are already fluent in and you are already a polyglot and talented at languages, you can potentially get fluent in an extremely short time, days even. If you are trying to learn from home, with limited time and resources and it's a language totally different from the ones you know, you might not ever reach fluency at all, even if you are a talented polyglot.
Yes! I was speaking portueguese after 2 weeks. I speak many languages, so it helped me
@@ImpariamoconLili You were speaking a bit of Portuguese
The video I wish Luca made 8 years ago. I've watched dozens of amazing videos from Luca. Summarized they say the same thing but this video did such a good job at putting it all together in a way that makes sense to most people.
It took me 1.5 years to gain a B1 B2 level in french despite my hard work:
RUclips videos
Podcasts
French news
Also have s conversation partner
Take classes via zoom
No one can learn s new language without putting in lots of work.
English native
Spanish B2 - C1
French B1 - B2
Portugueses A2
Thanks. I started Greek 6 months ago and even studying 3 hours a day I still cant understand native speakers for the most part. I know I need more vocab through for that. In 6 months im starting Finnish. Hoping I will be able to understand them much better by then.
The US Foreign Service has done a lot of research on language acquisition. They do have 'hours' to reach a 'level', although the levels are the IRL levels (0-5), and it is worth noting that '3' is "Professional Working Proficiency" which is (roughly) equivalent to C2 on CEFR and 'superior'/'distinguished' on the ACTFL scale. I also notice that Asian languages (at least Chinese and Japanese and Korean) have yet another scale (or scales? I have to admit my ignorance). Note - the IRL level 3 is sometimes a difficult enough test that native speakers may not pass it - remember, it is for diplomats, and there are some vocabulary requirements that most people will not need nor want in their use of language (unless high-level discussions of multilateral trade deals is something you regularly discuss over dinner...)
In any case - they have the (average) number of hours (of instruction - there is homework too, time on that is not counted, I don't think) to reach the various IRL levels for languages in different 'categories' (based on difficulty for monolingual Enlgish speakers). A B-2 level can generally be reached in 400-600 hours - typically 20 hours per week, so 20-30 weeks or 5-8 months (except for the most difficult languages - Arabic, Japanese, Korean, etc.) B-1 in say 200-350 hours (10-18 weeks or 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 months). (Note - these are rough estimates of already rough averages based on a conversion from IRL to ACTFL and then from ACTFL to CEFR, so maybe take them with a grain of salt, but I did the best I could with the resources I could find that were publicly available).
Your video is good, but you kind of skip over the reading and writing skills (which seem to be ignored in a lot of the 'fluent in 3 months' videos too). And I think those skills are vital to make progress, because there is so much more input and resources available if you can also read the language.
You could (and I think you said) make an entire video about 'fluency' and what it might mean, as well as the various dimensions of 'knowing' a language.
I,m currently learning italian i have zero language experience.i have set myself a realistic goal, if i can get from A1 to B1 in 2 years i will be very happy. I have probably wasted more time trying to find structured resources but hey ho!! I will get there😀
I completely agree with this. The breach between a B1 and B2 is vast. I got to something considered B1 in French in the pandemic in a period of 3-4 months, but that was because I already knew English (which borrows a lot of words from French), my native language is Spanish, and because I spent *at least* 3 hours everyday, dedicating them entirely on language learning. Of course I continued after that, I do not consider B1 a level where I would feel completely happy with any language in particular.
Yeah. Steven Kauffmann learned Mandarin in a year, but he studied as a full time job in a Chinese speaking area and immersed even outside his formal studies. To learn, all you need is to drown :P
Thanks for the great video, Luca!
I think the origin of the 'myth' of Fluent in Three months is in part based on Benny Lewis' original blog which used that as a name. Though he himself didn't think of it as something that could be done... but a challenge he tasked himself with to try. Travel to a country with a language he did not know and attempt to learn it well enough in three months. He became very knowledgeable in various languages, and his version of fluency was if he could talk in the language with regular people he interacted with. Sometimes he accomplished it according to his understanding of the qualifiers he set up for the challenge, but not always...
Myself, just looking at only one other language other than my birth tongue and I have been working at it for a couple of years. I could say that I am A2, and I am fine with the slower progress I make on learning. I am looking at maybe a year or two more to get to B2 (my main goal), but I am not in a rush. Consistency is the most important part of the learning process I think.
I think that Benny does a great job at encouraging people to get out there and use their target language. There is a lot of merit in what he does. Everyone is different, everyone has different goals, life circumstances, a different learning style and methodology, time to dedicate to language learning, etc.
And as you said, consistency is one of the most important factors in language learning.
Thanks for sharing!
@@LucaLampariello Yes, it depends on your goals. Benny's method is good to become conversational if you just plan on visiting a country or want to communicate with people in the target language. The downside is that you'll most likely fossilize your mistakes which will make it much harder to get rid off later. I you want to achieve high fluency with mainly "correct" language, I think MattvsJapan's input first (for quite a long time) before starting to speak method is better suited.
Hi Luca, native dutchy here. Love your video's they really help me through my personal journey of becoming a polyglot like you :).
Although i like the video, i'd like to point out that if you wanted to say that you'd like to 'live somewhere' in dutch. You'd use the verb 'Wonen' in the context of your sentence. So this would make your example sentence that you made more like: 'Ik hoorde dat Amsterdam een fantastische stad is. Ik wil daar wonen'. Hope you appreciate my criticism and don't find me too much of an asshole. But would still like to say i am very impressed by your level of dutch and your pronounciation, just a small mistake of which i am sure a legend like you doesn't make often :)
Thanks for the feedback =)
I would tend to say it is impossible for most contexts, but for a person who has a lot of *free time* (thus very intense 90 days), is using *effective methods* and is learning a language of the *same family* (e.g. a Spaniard learning Portuguese), it could be done. The more experienced the learner is, the faster it can go, of course! 🙂
I have a personal liking for Steve Kaufman but... once I said that, my view is that whatever language he speaks, it comes down to SK speaking different languages to a greater or lesser degree. Luca's case is completely different: when he speaks Spanish he becomes Francisco García, when he speaks French, Marcel Dupont, German, Marcus Weber... and so on and I suppose that's what challenges Luca: he takes enormous pleasure in playing up to 14 different characters, kind of actor playing different roles and hence he speaks at full speed with basically no mistakes nor accent.
Thanks for the kind words! But why compare? Steve is a great guy and a great polyglot and he is sharing wonderful advice on the art and science of language learning, and that's what counts.
I think most people who claim is possible to learn very fast, they are actually talking about conversational fluency. Which is fine! I think that's a great goal to have, because being able to understand and talk with native speakers is very rewarding, and it's what most people would like to achieve. Also from that level it's easier to find sustainable long-term ways to improve. Because it get much easier to consume content made for native speakers like series, music, podcasts, books, etc. it gets more fun and much easier to immerse yourself in the language, and then slowly is possible to reach a higher level of fluency.
I agree with you that there are people who claim to be at a B2 level but are not even at an A1 level. And if by "fluent" we mean that one can make themselves understood, then one with a few gestures can make themselves understood even without knowing the language. And as a Neapolitan, I would be a hyperpolyglot. In addition, B1 is only the beginning; it is the "tourist" level. To speak a language decently, in my opinion, it takes at least ten times the time it takes to reach B1, and it is essential to really or virtually immerse oneself in the culture where the language is spoken. As you emphasize in many of your videos, the essential point is always the same: "the why", the motivation. Is it worth investing so much time in our short life to learn a language?
When Luca uploads a new video 🥳
Unless you get very lucky where new language is very very similar to yours, like Ukrainian vs Russia, Spanish vs Portuguese etc, and you can spend like 3 hours per day. Its possible to reach fluency in new language in such short time. But in 99% cases, its just not possible, 3 months is very short time.
I've been studying Italian for the last 4 weeks intensively, wich means about 2 hours per day for me. The progress in retrospect is astonishing imo.
Spot on. Luca the Legend.
Thanks a lot for this, my goal at the moment is A2 by end Feb and leave it at that, but it's suggested to me that perhaps I should at that as on a continuum on my way to B1. I appreciate your metric based approach to what fluency may be.
I worked with a student who had taught himself English in 3mos and his pronounciation was very good and he could communicate with me
Excelente vídeo. Deveria ser um vídeo obrigatório pra qualquer um começando a aprender um novo idioma.
Obrigado!
there is no such a thing as "best polytglot", everyone is skilled for being able to express themself in another language. luca lampariello, for sure.
I'm not sure of the distance between the language I'm trying to learn and english but I would guess it's around middle ish different lol
I live where it's spoken. Three people I live with are fluent but they don't like to talk to me or other non-speakers in said language. just part of the culture.
but I will spend as much time on task as I can. lack of resources is a big issue for me too.. hopefully I can update on this comment that i have broken into fluency sometime in the future 😅
I know someone who reach HSK 4 in Chinese (equal to B2 CEFR) in just 4 months of intensive learning...
Luca has a remarkable American accent, kind of from the northeast. There's just a slight Italian accent. Amazing.
I'm brasilian...Fluency for me is being able to communicate, understand and be understood.
Luca, our coach! Your fan from Nigeria 🇳🇬
Thanks! Love from Italy! 🥰
I'm an arabian native i can speak english and i set a goal to myself to achieve intermediate 1 in russian at lingq which probably means B1 it sounds logical for me
I'm really confused about my english level but i can understand contest in english pretty well
For example this video, i got all of what you said sur also translated about 5words such as vastly and concrete
As an English speaker, I’d think you’re probably a C1. Only minor word confusion (contest -> context) and really great grammar structure
@@1s_that_a_j0j0_reference if you're right then it's wonderful
Hope to be as you said really
Thanks for the evaluation
Great analysis as always Luca. Спасибо большое за видео
Не за что, спасибо тебе! 🥰
I sincerely believe this is possible and I am willing to prove it one day.😅 Especially if you're learning language that is similar to languages you already speak. I have never wanted to become fluent so fast. But it really seems like a challenge. 😁 Grazie mille per video, Luca👏🏻
Glad you liked it!
@@LucaLampariello Yeah man, you're amazing. One of my favourite Italians 😁
I believe you can become fluent or somewhat fluent in a relatively easy language in about a year if you're very dedicated. But three months? It's only possible if you have very low standards of what fluency means, are experienced at language learning, its a close language to your native one, and you spend basically all of your time on it. Especially the first part of low standards to claim "fluency". And so what if it takes longer than three months? Fluency in a year is already fast.
WELCOME BACK LUCA !
Ja się uczę koreańskiego od 1,5 roku i nadal nie jestem w stanie pojąć skomplikowanych treści pieśni Twice:P
Luca the best .Hello from Uzbekistan
Thanks! Regards from Italy :-)
I don't want to be fluent or to be able to speak, i just want to understand conversations in that language within 3 months, do you think it's possible? Pls reply me, I'm loosing my hope
You brought up a good point about the current MEGA exaggerated claims. I remember like 6 years ago when the Benny Lewis claims of Fluent in 3 months seemed absurd to the linguistic community and was a controversial and now you got all these people claiming insane stuff like Fluent in 30 days!!!?! Things have gone bonkers and click bait crap has gotten out of control!
That XiaoMa guy has perpetuated a lot of that crap, with 5.4 million followers and him constantly putting out videos claiming to be able to "speak a language" after a week.
Hi Luca ☺️
Thanks ever so much
Great information. What I like best is this idea about language learning becomes more easy when you "master" your first new one, it all builds one upon the other.
Thank you, Luca
For me it took a long time for the intonation of French to click, after that comprehension of spoken French became much easier, though films are still a challenge to put it mildly. Now I can follow speech, learning is much faster. In three months of intensive study from scratch, I would not have reached B1, and comprehension would be poor. With German on the other hand the words are easier to recognise, as the intonation is stress timed as per English, and the language does not have ‘enchainement’. Yes the grammar is a pain, but being able to hear words makes a big difference. They say that children become fluent when immersed in a language in six months. Of course their vocabulary will be simplified, with few words relating to politics, car mechanics, work and so on. Adults usually have little free time, an hour a day maybe, so that’s more like four years at least to reach fluency, assuming equal ability to a child. And state of mind makes a huge difference. A stressed adult surrounded by work and family chores won’t learn much, a relaxed child playing with friends will soak up the language like a sponge.
Lampariello úr visszatért 2023-ra - az nagyszerű!
Hurrah! 🤪
Thanks for this awesome video Luca! Very interesting! Hugs
Thanks for the kind words!
I m not expert in languages,but through my short experience in 3 lannguages, i think if you can spend more than 7hours per day learning (correctly)a new language ,you will have more chance to learn quickly .
In other words, studying 240 hours per month is better than studying 240 hours per two month. Because in the first case
You memory is strongly focused on one thing, and it can t be distracted by other
daily activities.
Yes! Intensity is important
Burnout city more likely
Great video!
Супер произношение!
Merci Luca. Je suis brésilienne et je crois que je peux atteindre le niveau B1 en spagnol en 3 mois mais je me demande pourquoi les gens veulent apprendre une langue aussi vite? J’aime le processus d’étudier et d’apprendre en plus , apprendre une langue implique aussi d’apprendre les aspects culturels de cette langue ou du pays. So I wanna have fun learning new languages and cultures.
That's because your mother tongue is by far the most similar language to Spanish there is. Yo he estudiado español en la universidad como traductor e intérprete durante 5 años y ahora trabajo como profesor de este idioma en un instituto. Sin haber estudiado francés en mi vida, he sido capaz de entender tu mensaje.
There can be no answer to a flawed question. Tell me, can you learn how to play the guitar in 3 months? If you already play 5 other instruments, perhaps. If you have X hours of free time every day to practice it, of course. So, Luca is of course right, however the fact remains that the question is (almost) meaningless.
Certains parce qu'ils n'aiment pas les phases initiales de l'apprentissage d'une langue, donc cherchent à s'en débarrasser aussi vite que possible. D'autres tout simplement parce qu'ils ont une échéance. Par exemple si leur travail ou leurs études les amène à déménager à l'étranger en ne leur laissant que peu de temps pour se préparer.
Salut! ""Je me demande pourquoi les gens veulent apprendre une langue aussi vite? J’aime le processus d’étudier et d’apprendre".
Excellent! Je crois que le secret c'est de tomber amoureux du PROCESSUS d'apprentissage. Quand les gens me demandent pourquoi j'apprends toutes ces langues ma réponse est "parce j'adore apprendre". 🥰
@@bofbob1 oui, par rapport à ça je suis tout a fait d'accord, si on a besoin de travailler ou étudier à l'étranger
Thank you luca
Great video Luca! Would love to see a video from you that provides a strategy for 'language islands'!
Thanks for the comment! Will do 😎
Great job giving an educated breakdown!
He estado estudiando español por 14 años y todavía no sé si puedo decir que tengo fluidez o no. Como nos has dicho, todo depende en la definición aceptas. Gracias por este video. Muy útil.
"De según cómo se mire todo depende" cantaba Arabe de Palo 😊
I have to say that I found this rather disheartening. A native English speaker, I've been learning Spanish for almost two years now. I would say that I am perhaps just a little beyond the A2 level.
I'm particularly disappointed for number of reasons. I learned Dutch to a fairly decent level some years ago. As a result of that I have a much better grasp of grammar concepts than most people. I've put a lot of time and effort into learning Spanish; rarely a day's gone by when I haven't studied Spanish. I am I believe, fairly intelligent and gifted with a good memory.
So, I would say that, unless you're in the country where you're target language is spoken and very few people speak your native language OR you're fortunate enough to be be able to attend an intensive 8 hour per day training course plus "homework" for an extended period such as is employed to get diplomats up to speed, attaining B1 fluency in three months is a pipe dream.
That is of course unless you're a genius and there aren't many of those about.
How much spanish do you study per day and how much content do you consume daily?
I have had the same experience with learning Greek as a Romanian native speaker (fluent in English). I spent 2 long years for reaching A2 level by putting in a lot of effort. However, the 3rd year- in the pandemic- I found a native teacher online with a different method and that improved the speed and increased the pleasure with which I was learning. As you say, any classmate of mine who can spend time with relatives in the native language country or has a spouse who is Greek has a clear advantage compared with the rest. I guess most of the language learners hope to achieve fluency as fast as possible, however for normal learners 4-5 years is the average time horizon needed to get to B1/B2 level, depending on the time invested in learning, plus the factors mentioned in the video. The good news is that with each passing year learning becomes easier and more enjoyable, you immerse yourself in more cultural aspects and have lots of aha moments.
Are you learning on your own?
That would be very difficult, I think in order to effectively study on you own, you should learn with an instructor until you reach B1 level.
I agree B1 is doable in three months, at least for languages not too remote from your own or from second languages you already know well.
Ottimo video come sempre, Luca! Domanda. Vado a Cipro in vacanza a metà Marzo, e mi piacerebbe diventare abbastanza sciolto in greco per chiedere direzioni, ordinare da mangiare, ecc. So che il greco cipriota è diverso dal greco in uso in Grecia, ma ho letto che i ciprioti imparano quest'ultimo a scuola. Alla luce di quanto dici nel video, e dedicandoci una o due ore al giorno, ho qualche possibilità di raggiungere il livello A2? Se sì, hai consigli sul materiale da usare? Per ora sto usando Duolingo e Clozemaster. Grazie!
Ciao e grazie per la domanda! Beh, in 3 mesi con 2 ore al giorno ci puoi arrivare. Ti consiglio di usare:
1. ASSIMIL greco
2. super Easy Greek (RUclips
Ah, e anche questa serie di podcast con trascrizione:
tunein.com/podcasts/Education-Podcasts/Learning-Greek-Podcasts-from-the-Hellenic-American-p1132848/
Sono gratis! 😄
L
Grande Luca!
in 6 month? for english or italian for a french speaker with a full day of work.
My perfect plan to learn a language within one year fast would be learning as much as I can in 6 months and after that I would spend more 6 months in the country we my target language is spoken. It's not a method approachable to everybody but dreaming doesn't kill
If you liked the video, there is more! Download my FREE guide AVOID THE 10 MOST COMMON MISTAKES LANGUAGE LEARNERS MAKE and become a master language learner! 👉www.lucalampariello.com/newsletter/
Just chill and enjoy it guys. As Luca likes to say in a lot of different ways, consistency is key ✌️
Hey Luca!! Can you record some of your tips in Spanish please? Like this video, that would be amazing!!
Very interesting points and tips. I ‘m trying to learn Korean with Chinese and basic Japanese background. Let’s see how long it will take with busy work and family life.
universal video for almost every newly languages learnings 👍
2:48 CEFR 4:09 Not possible B2 level in 3 months.....but B1 6:20 conditions 3- 8 hours per day
This guy be speaking Dutch and Japanse 💀 I'm impressed. I'm Dutch and I'm trying to learn French. Now I know why it's much harder than English
Wish all weebs would watch this video before starting to learn Japanese since they wouldn't end of wasting 3 months only to give up after that but still say they have been learning for year, great video with great advice that few will follow
Nice video.i dont know i kale anders says that it is possible to learn a language in 3 months
Great discussion
Thank you Luca.
Hi Luca! I've been wanting to start studying german for a while now. Whilst my first language is italian, I am also fluent in english (my certified level with the IELTS test is between a C1 and a C2) and I was wondering if i should try to learn german trough italian or german, because I used to be learning it in middle school in italian (like six years ago) but I've totally forgot it and I also know english is a germanic language just like german. What are your thoughts on this?
For some people it may be, for me, it takes at least 6 months with daily work to achieve one level (A1,A2, etc.)
Oh - and you might want to point out, learning isn't a race - you don't get a prize for reaching a level faster than anyone else.
Also - FSI research indicated that there are no shortcuts to learning a language. You _must_ put in the time.
I'll be honest, I flat out don't believe you or any other people saying they know 15+ languages. Maybe you have some very basic knowledge in that many languages, but actually maintaining any kind of proficiency in so many... I'm sorry, but I call bs.
But I really respect that you're somewhat dispelling the "3-month-fluency" myth.
Luca is on the money 💰 here.
I have been studying four for three years; one for two and a half and another for a year and a half…I would say I could be spoken fluent in three (Spanish, Portuguese and German) in three months of total submersion. I can read fluently in Spanish, French and Portuguese but am very close in Italian. I think I will be able to read fluently in Russian in 6 more months. Die Deutscher Wortschatz ist sehr schwierig 😂 und ich denke das es schwierig ist als Russische
Only person I heard of that reached B2 in a language in 3 months is Richard Simcott when he learned German. He did 8 hours a day and he is superhuman so us humans need to do 14 hours per day.
Hi lucas I admire you.I have a question I am at B1 almost B2 in spanish ,can I start french only for 30 minutes a day .Please advice .I also apreciate advice from any body with experience
Yes, you can!
I own A2 english, can I reach B2 from A2 in 4-5 months if I learn it 2 hours per day?
Depending on the language you are learning and a number of other factors (distance between your target language and native language, your background in learning languages, your chances of using the language in real-life etc), I would say that a more realistic time frame to move from A2 to B2 ranges from 12 months for "close languages to 18-24 months for distance languages.
I've been studying English for 6 years. And I still not satisfied with my current level. Seeing people anxious to learn a language is merely 3 months amuses me. There's no magic tricks. It's a life choice. With life long challenges and pleasures.
One of the only phrases i know in dutch i learned by happenstance and i love it. “In de winter”. lol. Love how it sounds.
Would be great for you to do another question and answer type of stream after you finally returned
Will do!
Luca, thanks for your comments about learning languages. I am Spanish speaker and currently I have been working on reaching C1 level in English. In addition, I learned Brazilian portuguese some years ago, but for some circumstances I abandoned my learning portuguese process despite I reached B2 level. What is your advice to get back to portuguese?
Od 2 lat ucze sie szwedzkiego i wciaz mam min 2 podkreslenia na kazdej stronie ksiazek ktore czytam. Nauka jezyka w pewnym momencie staje sie jednoczesnie latwiejsza - wiecej sukcesow, mniej pytan, a z drugiej trudniejsza bo przeciez po 2 latach powinnam juz swobodnie sie wypowiadac. Niestety odwaga poczatkujacego znika z czasem, a efekty nie sa tak spektakularne.
I don't know about time deadlines, but it's certainly achievable to learn 30, 40 or even 50 words a day if you are using active recall, SRS and other optimizations, along with learning grammar and putting in effort. My working memory and discipline are almost non-existent, but using Anki with active recall, creating new sentences for learning words which I failed to remember and so on, has skyrocketed whatever little progress I made for years (in other languages) in classic apps where I only learned things passively, ie. only learned to recognize words, but not to actually use them like I am now.
Brain studies say that the brain has a capacity of memorizing 100 new things each day. This also includes the daily activities. Learning words is easy, and with that logic, for example English and French speakers would know automatically 12-20,000 words in each other language, yet you will find that they still need to learn it. Grammar is the issue, not only absorbing the rules, but applying them both in writing and in speaking.
(BTW this is exactly how I went about it trying to learn English, but it didn't work)
I find that you would be fluent when you know the grammar. Words are easy to be inserted, and they could be a life-long endeavour.
@@mybestideas1
Completely agree.
If say two languages have identical grammar and structure (which no two languages in the world really do), it wouldn’t take long to learn because one can learn through flash cards, search dictionary and learn the words.
While grammar would require some getting used to, real life examples of the structure.
Now for the real challenge: is it possible to get to a B1 in 3 months in Arabic if starting at A1-A2, whilst also striving for a B1 in Russian if all you know is the Cyrillic alphabet?
Thank you for this interesting video. Can you share with us you'r step by step methode from scratch to the b2 level?
I'm Dutch and learning English for a year. I"m learning generally an hour a day.
Next video is about that!
@@LucaLampariello hi Luca, Thank you for your answer and the second topic! I'm looking forward to it! Greetz from a small town below Amsterdam! :-)
People make mistakes in their own native language, I've heard English people making basic mistakes. A few days ago I was researching grammar in my native language and people were not sure how to write in their own native language.
I see job positions with a native level of speaking or C1, with no mistakes, well, ok...
Languages are also evolving.
It is pretty obvious full emersion and input and anything is possible talk as much as possible to native speakers who are willing to correct you.
If only it were that simple ;-)
A questo punto sarebbe interessante capire quante ore, in base allo spettro di apprendimento degli studenti, si necessita per arrivare ad essere fluenti. Grazie Luca per il video. Eccezionale, come sempre.
Grazie! Il prossimo video è un piano dettagliato di tre mesi per imparare una lingua da 0 😎
Nope unless you've gone through the process of learning a language before and the language you're trying to learn is very similar to one you already speak fluently
...so the Dutch talk like Yoda?