Exactly. The pace is so slow that it's like hardly moving at all. It'd be like saying that you wanted to crawl around the Earth. Like in theory, you could (except for the water haha), but why would you when you could cycle, or fly.
It is a good idea. Of course, a few minutes a day aren't enough for learning a language, but to practice a new habit. The best way to learn a language is always learning it.
@@Hofer2304 Hey - yeah I know what you mean. But I'd say that the majority of people who GO INTO SOMETHING with the mind of only spending 15 minutes a day on it are not going to continue it. So yes it would be good to build the new habit... but I doubt that they'll even get that far.
Man, you're killing me, not motivating at all :) I know, you are saying "do it more" not "give it up"... but the later one is how it turns up in my head... so for me, it's either give up or decide that I have reasons other than get decent level of Spanish (well, now I need to think what those reasons might be) to do those 10 minutes of Duolingo a day... Well, I don't KNOW if 10 minutes a day is a good idea but I FEEL that there is some benefit in that for me... maybe because I don't look at it in a way "would I learn the language or not" but rather "what would I do in there morning to wake up otherwise?" and when the answer is "reading facebook", it seems that 10 minutes of Duolingo is better
This is absolutely spot on and something that everyone who is serious about learning a foreign language should know before starting. Learning a foreign language, although very possible, is a demanding and arduous undertaking. You’re much more likely to be successful in your learning if you realize that and don’t buy into the marketing.
By the way, when you say "Language challenge videos", what kind do you mean? Like, learning a bit of a language in a short time (I won't be doing that because I found it super non-productive), or like, challenges of how much of a language I know against someone else or something? I've got a collaboration lined up very soon.
Days of French 'n' Swedish there are different types of language challenges like, one of them is trying to learn a language in a short period of time but there are others like “trying to speak “insert language” for 24 hrs” or taking a language test, or you and another person can test each other in your native languages specifically slang or if you can pronounce difficult words or guess the meaning of silly/funny words.
Days of French 'n' Swedish I was talking about making hard decision, it’s easy to do different things for a while but then the novelty wears off and gravity pulls you back into your comfort zone but I have to persevere and reap the rewards in my future, also looking for to collab love from the UK 🇬🇧
@@sammy-er7on Well yeah, that last one is what's going to be in the upcoming collaboration with a Swiss RUclipsr. I can't really speak something other than English for 24 hours because I have a wife and son.
@@mewan1708 : I think the hardest part of language learning (not for me), is actually sticking at it. Most people just don’t have the discipline necessary for the job. In my mind it’s just a matter of time before I speak Russian fluently, like Luca said, you can only get better (if you study well).
@@melrose8199 any tips on learning Spanish? I’ve been learning seriously for about 2months but would love to hear what someone closer to me in the path has to say
Man, "more popular" than what haha. Get this: When I made this video I had like 900 subscribers (I think). 1 month ago I had 4000. Since then I've been getting 26,000 views a day and ~500 subs a day. 😳 So... it kinda "is" more popular in my book.
@@daysandwords Wow, that's very impressive actually! I mean what I said in a good way though! That's amazing growth, but what i'm trying to say is that this is really content and I cant believe it took youtube this long to recommend your videos to me! Please keep up the good work! I'm officially a subscriber now too!
Great episode, you touched on many important things in language learning that I strongly agree with. I just want to tell you about my own experience this past year with learning Korean because I did the exact opposite of what you are telling people to do. I had read a lot about the power of habit. That if you're going to create a habit for yourself the most important thing is to be consistent. A really powerful way to become consistent with something is to allow yourself to do the bare minimum. To set the bar as low as possible. So I set a goal for myself: every day I shall study Korean for 5 minutes. What happened was that I for the first time in my life managed to learn a language by myself. My goal was so low that it was almost impossible to not reach it. The first few months of learning were really hard. I could do a maximum of 15 minutes a day before I got bored and gave up. I barely knew any Korean so to watch a television program or read something was extremely challenging. But as time went by and I (very slowly) got better and better at the language I noticed that I was able to study for longer periods of time. Now one year later I study two hours every day. I know that this would not have been possible if I hadn't started with those 5 minutes every day last year. No, my way is perhaps not the most efficient way out there but at least I have managed to improve and stick to my goal. I can now hold a basic conversation in Korean and understand a majority of what is being said in television programs and movies. I have yet a long way to go but I am well on my way. Thank you for the video, it was great :)
If anyone tries to learn something new with the idea of 'how little time can I spend on this everyday?' they'll always fail. If you really want to learn a language why would you only do it for such a short time everyday? I love learning languages so I take every opportunity I get each day to do something in one of my target languages. To learn a language you have to love it otherwise it will be a drag and you'll give up.
@@Beatriz-hs8eu exactly, I try to learn what I can in a day but on top of self care, I meditate daily, I'm also an artist so I have to invest time in art and improving in that too, plus with just overall real life stuff. It's hard to just flat out use that much time if you have other things going on.
@Keith Price - I'd disagree to a point. Sure you're not going to be conversationally fantastic any time soon if ever for that matter but I'm learning to draw 15 minutes a day. It doesn't feel like a lot but I notice I get less hand cramps, I can draw what took me 15 minutes before in like 7-8 mins now which means I have more time to focus on shading and editing etc. 15 minutes a day for five to six years is definitely going to get you quite far in any skill. It's all dependant upon needs analysis. If you need fluency in a year then no, 15 mins a day isn't going to cut it. But if you're doing it just because you want to create more neurological syntaxes over time and you wish the experience to be fun then there are definitely worse ways to spend 15 minutes.
I love this analogy with gravity and I see how it can be applied to so many different situations in life. Not only is the gravity amplify about getting out of your comfort zone but especially for language learning, like you said, that just 15 minutes a day won’t be enough to stop gravity from pulling you back down to your native language. Also, love connecting the idea of being in a rocket to really diving into something in depth by taking the time needed to dedicate oneself, such as for language learning. It puts the subject into perspective. I’m in Paris right now trying to get as good in French as I can on my own. Since I’m a full beginner, it’s definitely not easy, and I’m definitely letting gravity pull me back to English more than I should let it! Great video.
Oh so jealous! I think I really need to set a goal to get to Sweden and France in 2020 because I just can't learn the same way I would if I were there. Thanks for your comment Ina!
@@daysandwords This comment didn't age well lmao, miss Rona got you bad. I just found your channel and I love your take on language learning. It's gonna help me improve my English (get it from pop and internet culture vocabulary, to maybe a more advanced written one) and step up my spanish like a lot! Love from France :)
I use your videos to practice English, I really really want fluency in this language so you are part of my journey to improve my skills and master the language
this actually reminds me of my mom. for around the last 15 or so years (basically since i started learning french in school) she's been talking about how she's going to learn spanish one day. every time we go to a bookstore, she buys one of those beginner spanish for english speakers books. one time she did duolingo two days in a row. she doesn't speak a single word of spanish. people who aren't ready to commit to a language just aren't going to learn it.
Very relatable video. After dabbling with a couple languages unsuccessfully, I made a decision almost 2 years ago to learn French. Since then I've done 1 - 2 hours of French every day and it has become a really significant part of my life. I can definitely say from experience that the more you put into a language, the more you get out of it. Not just in terms of fluency but also in terms of enjoyment and fulfilment. Focusing and putting in as much time as possible really allows you to explore a new culture in depth, which is hard to do with just 15 minutes a day.
Sorry this is a while ago but what do you do to learn? I’m currently using the free version of Busuu at the moment and I feel it may not be great in the long term
@@auspicious6653 When I first started learning French, pretty much all I did was DuoLingo. I finished the whole course relatively quickly, not trying to memorize everything but basically just trying to get exposure to the language. It wasn't super efficient but it gave me a general background in French. I also found the "Stories" section of DuoLingo really helpful. After I finished that I kind of got stuck for a while not knowing what to do, until I started listening to podcasts in French. I found some podcasts for intermediate language learners (InnerFrench and Français Authentique) and even though they were a bit too hard for me at first, after a few months I could understand them pretty much perfectly. Eventually I started listening to more "authentic" French content made for native speakers and I also started to read more books, which I've found to be the easiest way to learn vocabulary. My learning schedule now entirely consists of listening to French podcasts and reading French books, I don't do any active "studying" anymore. Movies are still a bit tough for me sometimes but I'm getting there. I think for me my biggest mistake was waiting to start listening to French content or reading books, mostly because it just seemed way too difficult at first. This is just my opinion but I think the best thing to do is spend a bit of time with some sort of study resource (DuoLingo, Busuu, anything like that) to get used to the language, and then start listening and reading to content in your target language as soon as you can.
I do agree but people who don't have much time, 15 minutes every day as a study duration for the first year of learning is correct and it is better than nothing. Of course you are required to practise writing, reading, oral comprehension and speaking.
I came to this video with a little bit of skepticism. But then when you described one of the symptoms of "gravity" I felt like my language learning journey in French has become exactly that. Never really taking time to specifically learn that language. Thank you for this. You've earned yourself a sub my good Aussie!
Great video and this is a really encouraging pep talk but I just want to say one thing. The 15 minutes a day line is not just a marketing thing it is a way to push people to actually start learning a language. If someone wants to get more healthy you tell them, just do so super easy exercises for 5 minutes a day. Now are they actually going to get any more healthy just with 5 minutes of easy low impact exercise? Probably not but it gets them started. Now this person has committed 5 minutes a day, that makes it relatively simple to keep expanding their program from there. Next week they might do 15 minutes in a few more weeks 30, and they can slowly ratchet up the difficulty of the exercises. This is an old trick, and it's one that you can even use on yourself because often the hardest thing is just getting started at all. A problem a lot of people have, myself included, is that you tend to think about everything involved in a task and make it into a huge problem to tackle leading you to give up before you're even started. A cyclist friend of mine once told me, if she doesn't want to ride somewhere, she will just tell herself, "I'm just going to ride to the corner." So she gears up, gets in the saddle and goes. Then once she's there she just.... continues on. The hardest thing was just getting started. If you make it into a smaller task it gets you over the psychological hurdle of starting at all. So you tell someone "you can learn a language by practicing 15 minutes a day!" and sure a lot of people will just screw around for a couple weeks and drop it but for at least a few people it will be the first step that leads them into more serious language study.
Yeah that is fair enough - I will raise that point in another video. To be fair, I think 60-80% of people who start with "15 minutes a day" would end up dropping it anyway. So maybe it encourages more people overall, but we still "lose" a lot of people that way.
Hey, I'm from Brazil and I'm trying to learn English. I started at a language school, but I hated it, because the way they teach is very boring. I "lasted" a year there. So I decided that I would learn on my own. I searched a lot for ways to learn a language and I am convinced that the secret is that there is no secret. I believe that if you spend some time, at least 1 hour, every day listening and reading in the target language and using strategies to acquire vocabulary, it will greatly improve your learning. However, about this video, I will spend more time listening and reading about things in english. Thankyou so much!
Decisions decisions decisions... When I was at University I made one particular decision that I am proud till this day. I was a fan of RUclips since high school (but I watched it in my native language). Back in the day I hated my language classes and I was a very bad student. I've never imagined that I could ever will be learning second language willingly. But when I was at University I slowly started to like English language. I went to couple of language schools. I started to practice my listening skills very intensely. I watched a lot of RUclips and I was trying to watch some content in English but it was still quite sporadic. After several months of it I decided to delete my account on RUclips and take a new one. This account became English only. It was ~6 years ago or so. It was ages since I had my tutors but my English is still getting not worse but better. Also I don't read watch or listen anything in my native language. That's the only thing that keep my English alive (and even progressing a little bit). Some people call me extreme and insane but I did it because I know myself. I am veeery lazy lol. Decisions like that are the only thing that could help me. (P.S. I still live in my native country and I've never been abroad (except couple of short visits of Europe back in the day) That's why I am not worrying about forgetting my native language.)
Wow! I can see you are now quite fluent in English. I've only seen one mistake in all of these paragraphs. The line "It's the only thing that keep my English alive." (Keep should be keeps) because the pronoun "it" is singular therefore your verb should have an (s). But you could've also accidentally typed that. By the way, I'm also a non-native speaker. I'm a 13 year old from the Philippines and we are often described as the "best English-speaking Asians" and the reason why I think that's the case is because our language's grammar syntax is quite similar to English. The only difference is the language and some other little dissimilarities.
to be honest I learnt english the same way you did, except I didn't take the decision to learn it. I just started watching videos in english and to be honest I have no idea why. Maybe I was too bored of watching them in my native language? I'm not even sure. The thing is, I learnt it without taking any decision. It might as well have been luck. I do agree with the point he made in the video though. I don't think a 15 minute commitment a day is enough for learning a new language.
Hah.. same boat right now with French as a third language. This is wearing me down. Here are a few corrections to all that you've said. I cannot really point out why they're wrong because i learned english purely by hearing instead of reading instructional books so, take it with a grain of salt. Cheers ♥ -i was a fan of youtube *ever* since highschool (sounds more fluid) "that i could will be" is pretty wrongly worded. There are a few ways around this. Either just removing the *will* , so "could ever be learning", or removing could and saying *would ever be* But when i was *in* university. You're talking about it as a stage or period. Instead of an actual physical place. I decided to delete my account on youtube and *make* a new one. I suppose this was either a typo or a mistranslation from your native language. So it *has been* ages since.. instead of "was". The continuation too "had my tutors" sounds very off putting. Should maybe change it with "had any tuition" or "had been under a tutor" though i prefer the first. My english is getting *better rather than worse* or something along these lines. If you really want to keep the same structure then something like "my english is not getting worse, but actually better" would work as well. I don't read, watch, or listen *to* anything.. "And even progressing a little bit" sounds off but i don't know how to make it more appealing to read. Maybe something along the lines of "and even making a little bit of progress on it" or something? Except *for a* couple of
Your concept of *gravity* is very similar to what Steven Pressfield describes as *resistance* in his book The War of Art. Great analogies to show how we are holding ourselves back.
Man I loved that book. It has a French translation that I am thinking of ordering to give myself the pleasure of reading it again. Also I want to read his one "Turning Pro."
I can relate to this sooo much. When reading a book, someone who actually wants to learn will think "I don't want to read it in my native language, because that would waste time that I could otherwise spend reading in my target language", whereas the other kind of people always say "This is too hard, I'd rather finish the book faster in my native language." A difference like this in mindset that seems small actually makes a HUGE difference
I'm old enough to have learned languages before any apps existed. I taught myself Spanish to quite a good level using... books. Hard to believe, eh? In those distant days there were also occasional BBC television and radio language teaching courses, but there was no way to record the TV programmes, so if you missed an episode it was bad luck. It wasn't ideal going to the O-level speaking exam never having had any lessons in spoken Spanish, but it worked out all right. Admittedly I was already doing Latin and French at school... from books.
Oh my sweet baby Jesus i absolutely LOVE your honesty, even if it has slapped me right in my face... I've been trying to learn French for months now but i go back and forth with it because of the amount of time i apply in my studies and because of this "comfort zone" that is watching a movie with subtitles on rather than not and so on and so forth... My native language is portuguese by the way! Love your videos, thank you very much! Good luck for us learners in this fight against gravity pulling us down 😂
I’ve just found out about your channel and I am extremely happy I have. I appreciate your take on language learning and your insights without gimmicks and magic tricks. Thank you for being honest and open about the rewarding yet arduous process of learning a foreign language!
Great video! I also agree that a language cannot be learned in 15 min a day. I spend at minimum 45 min every day on my target languages (German and French). Currently that is through Duolingo, Mondly (only the daily vocab, the rest of the app is terrible) and Busuu (which I started using again thanks to your review, i really like its structure), but once I return home in a couple days I will have access to all my resources. Throughout the past 3 months, I have seen my German vastly improve (after almost 7 years) after spending more than 15 min a day, to the point where I can interact with native speakers with few pauses. The "15 minutes a day" is just a sales pitch in my opinion.
Thanks for your comment! Go easy on the sources! I am hoping to do a video soon on "resource overload" and how it's best to just choose 2 or 3 good sources. Good luck with your German and French!
Me too. The problem is I always use English when I'm on the internet, I am losing contact with my native language. Even when it comes to writing, I am only confident in my English writing..
The same boat right here. I don't know if you feel the same about English but I love thinking and writing in it, it doesn't sound as " forced' as my mother tongue? And by " forced" I mean that it just doesn't sound right saying things in my mother tongue. For example, saying cheesy things like " I will never leave you" in your first language is extremely cringe worthy, but somehow isn't as much when the line is said in English.
@@thumbaroundreversefingerme4786 I resonate with you. Anything related to romance being said in my mother tongue makes me cringe or plain disgusted if it is about sex. And it is not just me feeling that. In English, it sounds natural. I think the reason is that where I grew up, talking about love or sex etc. was a taboo.
Thank you very much for this video! I helped me to realise that my method of learning Italian is like wanting to crawl around the earth (I like the analogy). So, right now I'm thinking of a new approach to learn the language, maybe I'll make a plan or something like that.
Your point about how monolingual people perceive languages was right on! I was standing in front of a tapas place in Parramatta with a friend, checking out the menu. She's a lovely person, but very Australian. About halfway through the discussion of if we should eat there, she turned to me wide-eyed and said "you speak SPANISH" in great surprise. All I had done was read the menu items out loud, which pretty much any american can do without consciously learning any spanish at all!
I had a car alarm going off while I was watching this, so when you said, "I have a car alarm going off," I paused the video, and was very confused why I could still here it 😂
Hej! Jag har tittat på flera av dina videor de senaste veckorna. Den här gjorde djupast intryck på mig av dem alla. Du har nog gett många tittare en tankeställare om skillnaden mellan verkligt engagemang och en flyktig känsla av att det "skulle vara roligt om man kunde ett annat språk" etcetera, om man ändå inte behöver offra något särskilt. Bref, cette vidéo a un contenu de grande valeur. Je t'en remercie et te salue depuis ma maison en Suède ! //Josef
Another excelent video! I've often wondered about this and you put this into the words I couldn't find myself. You are spot on with this! It's uncomfortable to learn a new language. For such a long time I dind't want to be the "pushy" teacher and make my students run for the hills if I tell them they need to make this commitment more than just a few minutes per day (or zero minutes as it happens so many times). Thank you. You've inspired me to inspire my students.
Hello, I found your channel today while i was searching reviews about effectives language apps. I saw your review about Buusu, it was very honest and accurate. After this, I have fallen on this video and it let me very reflexive. I am Brazilian guy that started to study English at 22 years old and now i have 32 years old however during that period my skill with language seems a Russian mountain having higher and lower, because I always stop the studies. I never ever jumpped of mid-intermediate to advance level and hearing your words made me to do decision to start a solid course next year and involve more around me with the language (films, youtube videos like your, books, etc). Thanks, Success to you!
Totally agree on this. I have that problem with my wife, we both have different mother language and want to learn each other languages. The matter is that we always get back to english when talking to each other whenever there is a word we don't know in the target language
Can confirm -- had my first french conversation yesterday after a couple days of study. Haven't spent much time with it since high school (where I learned the basics). I swear you could see my brains running out of all the holes in my head after that conversation, but I learned a lot and spent as much of it in French as I could. I only used English when I didn't know enough words to even begin saying something (like, not knowing how to explain my fiance works for a start-up, for example). After that conversation, I researched more of the things I was lacking and spent the rest of the day studying verbs.
You can learn in 15 min a day and I have done this for a year. The problem is that at a certain level (say B1-B2) you really need to increase the amount you study per day to get to the next level. At the extreme (your native language) you're actually studying most of your waking hours per day, though it doesn't feel like studying anymore.
So, I saw your video and I finally found out how I managed to get a decent level in English even though I wasn’t the best in my class: I’m a computer scientist, my native language is Spanish, but most of the CS resources online are in English. So, one day I just decided that I was going to read them even if I had to use a dictionary. Eventually, I could make deductions on what some of the words meant. I asked questions on forums and replied to posts made by other people. I watched some tech conferences on particular CS topics. And suddenly I realized that I was able to watch movies and RUclips videos in English with no subtitles. I had a lot of comprehensive input. And that’s exactly why I’m struggling with French, because, even though I’m attending French classes, I have never attempted to include it in my life. Thanks so much, now I know how to improve my French :B Btw sorry if I made mistakes. After all, I said that I improved my English comprehension, not that I was an expert :P
I remember January of last year I woke up and after doing my usual (having breakfast getting dressed etc) I saw a video by a RUclipsr I know talking about their experiences with living in Germany and learning the language and without even considering what I’d be saying no to I just decided to learn the language and now here I am a year later and whilst I’m no where near fluent I’ve still learned way more than I ever would have had I not made that decision then and there and every day that I keep learning more and more I’m just increasingly glad that I made that decision instead of just carrying on like I would usually have done otherwise.
Yeah, nothing wrong with spending the time that you *can* spend on it a day either. Some people devote themselves and its just really unrealistic for most people. The full immersion approach for example just sounds exhausting, as much as I love love love my target languages. Not for everyone.
It'd be nice to be able to have the ability to just say "no" to optional things, but when you're chronically ill or disabled its just not possible. You're already saying "no" to most everything else in your life - including the things necessary to live. Learning a language is difficult when your stomach and digestive system doesn't work. If i wanted to spend a whole hour or two a day studying it would mean not being able to eat or drink for about 12 hours beforehand at least. I'm already sectioning off my food and drink to certain times of day so I can make sure the house is clean enough and the washing gets done, but I'm constantly at risk of malnutrition. All food and drink (yes, including water) affects me like food poisoning - intense nausea and fever for about an hour. Getting enough calories, protein, vitamins, fiber and water in a day is hard. At least I have some level of control over it, for my partner who has CFS... don't underestimate Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Nothing you've said is incorrect, its just disheartening when you're disabled. That's not your fault either - its just how life is for people who aren't as healthy and have no cure or relief. When 15 minutes is all you can physically manage to give these sorts of "courses" are very appealing. I know disabled people who have tried throwing themselves into Duolingo because they feel they have no other option - but they're all ineffective traps. Would it even be possible to create something that, with only 15 minutes a day, could actually get you to some decent, usable level of knowledge?
Being a medical student, I’ve definitely seen CFS before, and I’m so sorry you’re struggling with that. Stay the course, and do your best with the little energy you have, but you know what your priorities are. Take care of yourself.
Also, you can learn a lot by just reading real content at a normal, adult level. I learned plenty in 15 minutes a day because I had no choice, being a busy medical student. I never re-read stuff, and that made a big difference in what I could cover, and I was very pleased with the little I could do. It’s actually quite a lot.
I would suggest many things from Fluent Forever by Gabriel Weiner. The biggest points: Anki is your best friend that makes your flashcards work for you (though it is always best to make your own) To play the game, you have to learn the rules: learn grammar. I like to learn a new grammar point and figure out how I can play with it. Surprisingly, the basic pieces end up helping more complex points. (And if you can, I would follow the twenty/five rule. Twenty minutes of work, five minute break. At least two twenty-minute sessions so you can plan in one and play in the other.)
You may try speakly he spoke well of it on this channel. I have only used it a little bit. It is kind of meant for shorter periods of time maybe you can try it. It has audio, reading, and teaches important words first.
i think it's definitely possible to learn a language with 15 minutes a day. the point in the video is more that most people committing only 15 minutes a day are doing that because they aren't serious about language learning and are trying to do as little as possible, so they're going to give up because 15 minutes a day isn't very long to start with. if i had 15 minutes a day to learn a language i would do a really small amount of new vocab every day, probably something like 2-5 new words (i use anki and it really builds up over time). but you could do more depending on how long reviewing a card takes you. i would keep new vocab to about 5 minutes out of the 15. once a week i would review new grammar rules from a textbook. the rest of the time i would spend reading or listening to something that is around my level in the language but still has vocabulary or grammar i'm not 100% familiar with. i would adjust the reading and listening ratio depending on which one is harder (do more of the harder one). since reviewing vocab takes 5 minutes i have only 10 minutes left for reading and listening, so i would do only one of those per day and alternate which days i'm doing each thing on. i would also try to spend non active learning time (outside of the 15 minutes) playing stuff in my TL. this can be music or podcasts or materials for learners, whatever i feel like having on. i also recommend doing research for resources in your TL before starting the language because 15 minutes a day isn't a lot of time and you don't want to spend that initial time when reinforcing what you've learnt is really important just googling more resources for your TL. so i think it's definitely doable. it will take longer in overall time spent, but you can do it. with 15 minutes a day a language like french that takes 480 hours will take like 4 years or something but it's still possible. the point is about whether people actually commit to 15 minutes a day or not and most people decide on a low number because they don't want to commit
I see this as really the same for many pursuits. Your first 5-10 mins of practising an instrument is usually crap, or studying, reading, skills like writing, mathematics, puzzles, etc. Meditating is an amazing example too. Anything that needs you to think in a different way usually takes time to transition into that different way. As you practise that thing you get better at switching faster and thus an expert speaker can switch astonishingly fast, or a multi instrumentalist (see: conductors), or any experienced worker in job which requires the integration of a variety of skills and fields of knowledge to be effective is able to do their job at all.
It's hard for me doing things in my target language as an absolute beginner because I don't know enough for most conversation or to have comprehensible input. I think I need to study vocab more and do some basic reading
This is like listening to my mom explaining to me why I should clean my room. I know she's right but if I accept it, I have to actually get off my ass and put effort into it. Uncomfortable but important truths in this video!
I really like your videos, man! I always get pumped to work on my Polish. I've just started a couple weeks ago, so struggling with motivation/prioritizing. Anyway, thanks for the great insight and motivation!
real good points dude.I believe most importantly is, that you are excited about learning it, if you're not excited and you just want to learn it, well that's where more intelligent people can sell you ideas, like "learning a languange in 15 mins a day" :-) still, if you focus learning on the essentiell, get the "idea" of the language you still can quicken up the process radically, i believe.
well my problem is that english is my 2nd language my first is arabic but i want to learn Japanese but also i want to keep improving my english cuz i wanna be a English teacher so i get pulled to english cuz it kinda became like my native how do i keep improving my English with getting my basics of Japanese
Bonjour :) Je te trouve quand j'étais cherché des gens pour motivation. J'ai été apprendre français pour la dernière deux mois et je peux améliorer mon français avec d'aider . Tu es gentil et ce que te dis, c'est très honnête, pour ça merci :) tu as une nouvel subscriber :)
The word that came to mind was escape velocity (the speed required to exit the orbit or escape the gravitational pull of a large body). I talk to my kids about opportunity cost, what you have to give up to do something, and find it is true in language learning as you state. In order to carve out an hour a day (my minimum) to learn a language, there is something you have to do less of or put on the back burner, not to mention the other things that one does to expose oneself to more of the language. Lingo Steve mentions listening while doing the dishes, which I have taken to heart. I do this for entertainment, much like listening to Swedish news in the car on the way to pick up the kids, to see how much I understand. As my step dad always said, every fishing lure catches something (meaning the fisherman), the same could be said about a Chinese language on clearance in the post office. This probably satisfies the language curious, checks a box, or sits on shelf.
What a great video, thank you! I have been learning German since August last year (my first foreign language) and i agree with everything you said. The gravity analogy is spot on.
Currently, I'm a beginner in German and I started out doing 1 hour per day. Then 4 hours then again at 2 hours per day over the past 2 almost 3 months. 15 minutes is nice to refresh, read over, test yourself or practice but when you're a beginner try to put in at least one hour of : Learning (Grammar/Vocab), Reading, Listening, Speaking or Writing Or all combined and you will see progress.
It makes so much sense now, I've been wanting to learn Swahili and french, but it seems impossible, I just look for new vocabulary, but I don't seem to learn it. Because I feel so comfortable speaking and listening English (second language). I'll have to push my self, not just being sited watching others.
Thought provoking video! Can confirm it took much more than 15 minutes per day to get my Chinese to a reasonably fluent level haha. Also definitely agree about making conscious decisions and finding balance. Can be applied to all aspects of life.
For me it took 4 hours of classroom instruction (taught in Mandarin), and lots of practice outside of class, every day for 2-3 months before I was fluent enough to function without much issue in China. So with maximum immersion, it still takes months. 15 minutes a day? It'd take decades (and that's assuming you're not forgetting as you learn).
Very good analogies! A lot of products advertise 10-15 minutes a day and/or learn a language in 3 months. I've seen one or two that foolishly mix the two and decided to do the math. 15m per day for 3 months is, at best, 23 hours worth of study. Most likely at least 4 hours of that is review.
@2:32 Some people learn languages that way, "tough guy". It all depends on what you want to achieve, how fast you want to achieve it and how motivated you are. ;) @8:03 Learning in itself is a sacrifice. It is effort. So what? English is my second language and I achieved it without a tough guy attitude. It took about a decade but I did not commit to it fulltime. Maybe I should have aquired it instead of learning it. That is said to be faster.
Maintenant je apren de le français depuis quelque mois et cela pourquoi je peux te comprendre ! Je me sens bien ! Et je suis d'accord avec toi. Pour apprendre une lang, realment on à besoin de pratiquer cette lang pendant tout moment que est (soit?) posible.
tanheavy aka ispeakmucho « j’apprends le français depuis quelques mois maintenant, donc je peux te comprendre. (I don’t know what you meant by je me sens bien, « je suis content » maybe?). Je suis d’accord avec toi. Pour apprendre une langue, on a vraiment besoin de la pratiquer au maximum. » Même si il y avait des fautes, j’ai bien compris! Bravo et bon courage ☺️
@@daysandwords Definitely, but it can be done quite easily just by having it on while you're doing daily things. Cooking, working out, cleaning your place, going to the grocery store, driving/walking...are all activities that can be done while doing listening practice.
I'm probably the laziest English-speaking learner of of Japanese in history but I'm doing alright. Part of why I'm making so much progress at the moment, and managing to move forward in elementary Korean despite putting basically no time into it is that I've learned how to learn a language so it's easy for me to choose challenges, decide what to study, and fit input in. Whereas learning Japanese was an on-off struggle with learning how to learn over 12 years with little improvement followed by a period of massive growth through the whole of intermediate level up to where I am now where I'm about to hit C1 in the reception skills (and maybe in spoken interaction a bit after,) I feel like I can just kind of coast through A1 Korean over the course of a year, taking my time to focus on phonics research, and then I'll be in a good position to hit the books really hard when I get the urge. I don't really time myself though, I just get what study I need to do to keep up with my study plan done, and then do research to make sure I'm teaching myself correctly. (E.g. today I figured out that Korean is syllable-timed, and the Seoul dialect doesn't have pitch accent, but some regional dialects do.)
I would say yes and no. Most of what you say is true. And it's important to get out of the comfort zone. But addressing the 15 minutes a day - as you've mentioned, there are different types of people. There are those that really have the goal to learn the language. They will integrate the learning process in their life and commit more time anyway. They will not reduce their commitment just because some program says "you can learn the language with 15 minutes a day". That's usually people that know realistically, everything you want to achieve needs (hard) work and they've already made the decision to put that work in. The best thing that can be done for them is to show them methods that don't necessarily reduce the quantity of their learning, but raises the quality of their learning and also make the "hard" work feel(!) less hard (aka more enjoyable) and thus help to keep the long term motivation. The other type is the people who would like to be able to speak another language and kind of want to learn it, but don't want to commit too much time. Most of them will not learn the language, no matter what. But among them, there are some people who could be introduced into language learning as a small hobby. In learning, consistency is king, so it's important to do it on an almost daily basis. Most people just won't prioritize language learning enough to dedicate an hour a day to it, but 15 minutes a day is something everybody could dedicate. There are just no excuses to not spend 15 minutes a day on something they want. If they don't spend those 15 minutes, you can straight out tell them they maybe fancy the idea, but they actually don't want it. Those that stick to those 15 minutes can create a habit which, with a little noticeable progress and feeling of success, can positively motivate them to incorporate language learning more into their daily life and thus progressively spend more and more time on it. Little personal anecdote: I'm also learning Swedish. I started maybe 15 years ago for a bit but didn't continue over an A2 level. So last year, over a decade later, I decided to pick it up again. The basics were still there and I decided I'm going to learn by reading a book in Swedish. It wasn't just reading though, but reading, checking vocabulary, listening to the corresponding audio-book, and then speaking after the audio-book. But I could/would only invest the time I spend on my daily commute in public transport (2x15-20 minutes). In the beginning, it was a pain in the ass (or arse as you say). In every sentence, I had to check at least three words and the first noticeable progress came only after around 50 pages. Fast forward a couple of months later and by the end of the book I was fluent in reading (maybe checking one word per page). So with daily consistency, you can actually make good progress even with little time spent. Of course, my progress would have been much better if I had dedicated an hour or more on daily concentrated (meaning not in the busy public transport but quiet learning environment) studies, no question about that.
I’m wondering how can I apply this to my language learning if I am not that good at it yet? I am learning Japanese but I am not competent enough to think in Japanese and I definitely can’t read/type it. Should I press of with my schedule until I’m good enough to be constantly in a Japanese headspace or is there something I can do to get myself there?
So I commit myself almost 3h a week to learning my target language and now you changed my mind. I think I'm gonna add about roughly an hour to the existing 3h to really learn it :)
I didn't have options for subtitles in my native language when I was learning english. Sometimes you just have to act like there is no easier way even if there is.
At 15 minutes a day it will take you 8 months to complete the first 60 hours (i.e. approximately A1 if all goes well). I would recommend committing to 15 minutes a day on a reading and writing activity (which for beginners can be an app) and another 15 minutes on a listen and repeat activity (search for 100 or 1000 most common words in... on RUclips and then wade through bad ones until you find one you like). There is nothing to stop you from doing more when you have time. After those first 60 hours you should switch things up a bit.
I tried to do fifteen minutes a day and feel like I know absolutely nothing, a long time on. And you're right - it takes me a long time to get back into the right head space. Time to undo the damage and commit to more.
First RUclips video ever that made the thought and urge of pressing the like button multiple times cross my mind... Looking at it twice, what a silly comment and compliment... But it's true!!!
Hello + Days of French 'n' Swedish . If you don't have much time, at least for the first year or the 1,5 year , you might be in the case that 15 minutes is better than nothing. 1/It has to be really EVERY DAY, no break 2/at one moment, even for an exercise you should need to take 20 or 30 minutes. But in the same time, you are required not just to study your textbook, it is really important to practise orally: oral comprehension and speaking. Of course after 1 or 2 years, if you want to go further, you will be required to study 30/40 minutes every day or at least 4 times a week
I should watch videos in my target language (Croatian) and not yours in English 🤣🤣 gravity.... but your videos are amazing and make me feel so much better, give me hope. Thank you so much.
Was that guy learning Icelandic you mentioned, a doctor? Yes, I'm basically saying Iceland is so small I could potentially know him. But then again, it is very small and not many non-Icelandic people speak the language. I totally agree with you. My partner has been using duolingo to learn Danish, but, he's doing between 20 min and 2h a day, and, he's now moved to Denmark (I'm going soon), and we will be going to language courses, in actual schools. He's reached a1 and a2 (depending on the component; obviously his conversation is barely a1) in about 4 months of duolingo, and it's boring. I haven't done it, because I know it's not efficient and requires so much self teaching. I'm doing some Babbel, but only so that I don't go in blind once I start my lessons. Also, i already speak 3 languages and have studied linguistics, which means I've got techniques to learn and understand languages a bit faster and more easily.
Yeah I know how small it is 'cos I live in a city of exactly the same population (of Iceland) haha. His name was Robert and he was Canadian, I don't think he's a doctor but he may be. I think he's moved back to Canada now.
The best way to learn is to be surrounded by it. Use the apps like duolingo for 15+ minutes a day but also listen to a pod cast on your commute, watch a show in that language on your lunch break or some RUclips videos. Read a book. Even a children's book. Speak to the people you know who are fluent in the language you are learning. Practice the new words you've learned in your head and outloud throughout the day. Also set time aside to actually sit and study it. After finishing the video, you made several of the same points I did.
Absolutely, all these things. The only thing that I would personally modify is the Duolingo for 15 minutes a day part. I'd probably not advise Duolingo to anyone who is already motivated to learn a language... The Duo streak is good for motivation but I think the app is time consuming for what it offers you.
hello how are you i m faisal from morocco i was a long time when i learned english alone i have the difficult when i speak i can read but i can t understand just little can you give me the schedule how i can learn languages, please
I disagree. 15 Minutes a Day is actually a good way to do things. Even 5 minutes a day is good. Because what is the alternative?? Do you want people to study for 8 hours a day every day? Who has 8 hours to spare in a day? Unless you are a millionaire without any job or anything else to do during the day, most people don't have that amount of free time. But everybody has 15 minutes to spare in a day, no matter how busy you may be. That means you have no excuse to not study.
yeah, so this is a straw man. the only viable alternative to 15 minutes a day isn't quitting your job and making studying your TL a full time activity. the actual alternative would be spending 30 minutes a day on your language. maybe an hour. the goal is to commit enough time that you aren't going to give up and take the easy way out. not to make language learning your only goal in life.
It is a bad idea for the very reason you stated. In the 1990s, I learned Chinese and Vietnamese. I was highly motivated to do it, because it was part of my graduate program. In fact, I learned most of my Vietnamese in my first year, studying and speaking every possible second of the day. All while working long hours and co-parenting an infant/toddler. (Also, it was the 90s, so almost no one in China and Vietnam spoke English, and I had a family that didn't speak those languages and always needed help, so I benefited enormously from outside pressure). 3 years ago, I moved to Spain, thinking Spanish would be a walk in the park. I still speak only a little. I tell myself that it is because I'm older and I have a busy work life and a teen at home. After watching this, I had to admit, no, it is because I've never really made the resolve -- or intention or will, or hard decision-making or decisiveness -- that you talk about. The fact is, while I may not have the same energy, the real issue is that I don't have the resolve, so once gravity sets in, I'm finished. Watching this made me reflect on that. (And yes, once I got to basic fluency in Chinese and Vietnamese, I could be more flexible with my time commitment. But the determination is always key.) Thanks.
Excellent, honest comment. That's the thing; it's better just to admit that you're NOT going to do something (or not just yet anyway). Like a few years ago when I stopped practicing piano because I realised that yes, I would like to be good at piano... but I don't have time to be as good as I want to be, so I'd rather spend the time on something else.
I've been studying Chinese for about 12 years 1 to 3 hour a day and can barely speak complete sentences. Listening to childrens cartoons I'm lucky if I can understand 2/3rd of what's said. When adults talk it still sounds like gibberish to me. Call me an idiot, but I have been complemented by Chinese people about my reading ability of Chinese. I dont remember English being this hard. I was fluent in less than 6 years.
Maaaaaahn. 12 years. That's a long time. I mean sometimes it's not about the time u spend on learning but about the learning method. What works for English might not work for Mandarin.
Many people like to say that language schools are not good for learning languages. But for me deciding to enroll into language school and follow the course means you are willing to sacrifice several hours of your life every single week and take the unpleasant tests. Off course, any extra input besides the language school helps you master the language. But the school itself is a good platform to start your rocket. And yes, right now I am using Busuu to improve and polish my Spanish before my next semester in the language school starts. But I doubt it might ever really have helped me getting to the level where I am now without having spent 4 hours a week in my language school. Plus extra activities. 15 minutes a day gives you only like one and half hour per week. It is only like 75 hours per year if you follow it without compromises. Like if you went for two weekends into your destination country and really immersed into the language and the conversation. You would need to do this for 10 years to get to like 750 hours level. And the gravity pull and all the demotivating factors after 10 years of trying for something seems to me just too big. After 10 years you usually want to be really able to communicate in the language quite well. But you just will not by just spending 15 minutes a day or just having gone 2 weekends a year there.
Not exactly related to the video but there is a poster near the Spanish classroom in my previous school that says "a, language isn't foreign once you learn it"
Im not disagreeing; I would like to study longer, but I observed through time keeping apps over 3-4 months that I have a generally low limit on the amount of deep work I can do in a week before burning out (about 7H weekly in total split between language, art, writing and music; depression really messes up the brain for doing intensive tasks) and anymore would really cut into my allowed time to get other things done, so I need to rely more on exposure and listening in down time. I don't need a high level of fluency right now/immediately so I'm comfortable at a slower pace but it really is a trade-off.
The potential to learn a language in 15 minutes a day is rather like these weight loss or get fit schemes where little effort is required. They don't work. I need to thank you for your recommendation of Busuu. I joined 4 weeks ago today . I am still using Duolingo and Memrise but the addition of Busuu has been so good. I love the interaction with native speakers. That gave me enough confidences to take part n a 30 day language challenge on Instagram . I have never even posted a selfie on Instagram and the thought of posting videos of me attempting to speak Brazilian Portuguese was inconceivable a few weeks ago. It is day 12 now and it does get easier, although I still look terrified at times
That's great to hear! Yeah, unfortunately, I have been unable to work Busuu into my French for sometime now, but I should start again. I mean, it's fun, it's just not quite as motivating to me as it used to be. But I'm really glad to hear that it's working for you. Sorry, remind me what language you're learning?
Here I am, spending 6-16hrs a day immersing myself in the language (for the past few months). I barely know what is going on in everyday discussions. 15min a day would be laughable. I wouldn't spend less than an hour a day, below that it's just throwing time away.
You actually do this, every day? I'd argue that even that is not as effective as just spending the 10 on one language. You'd be fluent in 6 months if you did that.
@@daysandwords In english yea I spend a lot of time reading, watching stuff in english and talking with native on discord but just typing :/. with the other ones I'm watching movies or practicing on duolingo but I want to be certain that it will work, and yea I learnt english really fast
So in other words, you did a lot more than 15 minutes a day? Plus you would have learnt English at school. Yep, basically what you're describing is MIA.
Hey guys!
Do you think learning a language (at the start) in just 15 minutes a day is a good idea or not!?
Days of French 'n' Swedish Maybe if you want to go at a very slow pace, but if you’re serious about it I recommend doing more than that.
Exactly. The pace is so slow that it's like hardly moving at all. It'd be like saying that you wanted to crawl around the Earth. Like in theory, you could (except for the water haha), but why would you when you could cycle, or fly.
It is a good idea. Of course, a few minutes a day aren't enough for learning a language, but to practice a new habit. The best way to learn a language is always learning it.
@@Hofer2304 Hey - yeah I know what you mean. But I'd say that the majority of people who GO INTO SOMETHING with the mind of only spending 15 minutes a day on it are not going to continue it. So yes it would be good to build the new habit... but I doubt that they'll even get that far.
Man, you're killing me, not motivating at all :) I know, you are saying "do it more" not "give it up"... but the later one is how it turns up in my head... so for me, it's either give up or decide that I have reasons other than get decent level of Spanish (well, now I need to think what those reasons might be) to do those 10 minutes of Duolingo a day... Well, I don't KNOW if 10 minutes a day is a good idea but I FEEL that there is some benefit in that for me... maybe because I don't look at it in a way "would I learn the language or not" but rather "what would I do in there morning to wake up otherwise?" and when the answer is "reading facebook", it seems that 10 minutes of Duolingo is better
This is absolutely spot on and something that everyone who is serious about learning a foreign language should know before starting. Learning a foreign language, although very possible, is a demanding and arduous undertaking. You’re much more likely to be successful in your learning if you realize that and don’t buy into the marketing.
Him: “Apply this to your language learning”
No, I’m applying this to my LIFE. Now I’m off to do my school homework I should’ve started last week
I'm not sure which bit you mean, but yes, increasingly I am applying all my own principles of language learning to my life as much as possible.
By the way, when you say "Language challenge videos", what kind do you mean?
Like, learning a bit of a language in a short time (I won't be doing that because I found it super non-productive), or like, challenges of how much of a language I know against someone else or something?
I've got a collaboration lined up very soon.
Days of French 'n' Swedish there are different types of language challenges like, one of them is trying to learn a language in a short period of time but there are others like “trying to speak “insert language” for 24 hrs” or taking a language test, or you and another person can test each other in your native languages specifically slang or if you can pronounce difficult words or guess the meaning of silly/funny words.
Days of French 'n' Swedish I was talking about making hard decision, it’s easy to do different things for a while but then the novelty wears off and gravity pulls you back into your comfort zone but I have to persevere and reap the rewards in my future, also looking for to collab love from the UK 🇬🇧
@@sammy-er7on Well yeah, that last one is what's going to be in the upcoming collaboration with a Swiss RUclipsr.
I can't really speak something other than English for 24 hours because I have a wife and son.
Wait I'm getting the impression that language learning isn't easy
It's easy....it takes time
@@mewan1708 : I think the hardest part of language learning (not for me), is actually sticking at it. Most people just don’t have the discipline necessary for the job. In my mind it’s just a matter of time before I speak Russian fluently, like Luca said, you can only get better (if you study well).
@@hannahseul9500 twas a joke
No it's not,thàts why is rewarding
@@louisronan5903it's been 2 years now, how is your russian?
Ok, i'm gonna watch this over and over again on different situations and different issues. I've needed something like this. Thanks man.
Awesome! What language are you learning?
I've been learning Spanish for about one year and now i'ce reached level B2. And in the quarantine i've decided to learn German too.
@@melrose8199 I only know fluent English and Spanish, but been learning German too!
@@melrose8199 any tips on learning Spanish? I’ve been learning seriously for about 2months but would love to hear what someone closer to me in the path has to say
Learning norwegian myself
This is is the second video that I watched and I couldn't stop asking myself why this channel isn't more popular. You raise a lot of good points!
Man, "more popular" than what haha.
Get this: When I made this video I had like 900 subscribers (I think). 1 month ago I had 4000. Since then I've been getting 26,000 views a day and ~500 subs a day. 😳 So... it kinda "is" more popular in my book.
@@daysandwords Wow, that's very impressive actually! I mean what I said in a good way though! That's amazing growth, but what i'm trying to say is that this is really content and I cant believe it took youtube this long to recommend your videos to me! Please keep up the good work! I'm officially a subscriber now too!
Great episode, you touched on many important things in language learning that I strongly agree with. I just want to tell you about my own experience this past year with learning Korean because I did the exact opposite of what you are telling people to do. I had read a lot about the power of habit. That if you're going to create a habit for yourself the most important thing is to be consistent. A really powerful way to become consistent with something is to allow yourself to do the bare minimum. To set the bar as low as possible. So I set a goal for myself: every day I shall study Korean for 5 minutes. What happened was that I for the first time in my life managed to learn a language by myself. My goal was so low that it was almost impossible to not reach it. The first few months of learning were really hard. I could do a maximum of 15 minutes a day before I got bored and gave up. I barely knew any Korean so to watch a television program or read something was extremely challenging. But as time went by and I (very slowly) got better and better at the language I noticed that I was able to study for longer periods of time. Now one year later I study two hours every day. I know that this would not have been possible if I hadn't started with those 5 minutes every day last year. No, my way is perhaps not the most efficient way out there but at least I have managed to improve and stick to my goal. I can now hold a basic conversation in Korean and understand a majority of what is being said in television programs and movies. I have yet a long way to go but I am well on my way. Thank you for the video, it was great :)
Alot better than what i have done. Thanks
If anyone tries to learn something new with the idea of 'how little time can I spend on this everyday?' they'll always fail. If you really want to learn a language why would you only do it for such a short time everyday? I love learning languages so I take every opportunity I get each day to do something in one of my target languages. To learn a language you have to love it otherwise it will be a drag and you'll give up.
I know this was a while ago but yes, absolutely.
Maybe people don't have the time?
@@Beatriz-hs8eu exactly, I try to learn what I can in a day but on top of self care, I meditate daily, I'm also an artist so I have to invest time in art and improving in that too, plus with just overall real life stuff. It's hard to just flat out use that much time if you have other things going on.
Beatriz then do it when you have the time. i feel like you don’t learn much in 15 mins
@Keith Price - I'd disagree to a point. Sure you're not going to be conversationally fantastic any time soon if ever for that matter but I'm learning to draw 15 minutes a day. It doesn't feel like a lot but I notice I get less hand cramps, I can draw what took me 15 minutes before in like 7-8 mins now which means I have more time to focus on shading and editing etc.
15 minutes a day for five to six years is definitely going to get you quite far in any skill. It's all dependant upon needs analysis. If you need fluency in a year then no, 15 mins a day isn't going to cut it. But if you're doing it just because you want to create more neurological syntaxes over time and you wish the experience to be fun then there are definitely worse ways to spend 15 minutes.
I love this analogy with gravity and I see how it can be applied to so many different situations in life. Not only is the gravity amplify about getting out of your comfort zone but especially for language learning, like you said, that just 15 minutes a day won’t be enough to stop gravity from pulling you back down to your native language. Also, love connecting the idea of being in a rocket to really diving into something in depth by taking the time needed to dedicate oneself, such as for language learning. It puts the subject into perspective. I’m in Paris right now trying to get as good in French as I can on my own. Since I’m a full beginner, it’s definitely not easy, and I’m definitely letting gravity pull me back to English more than I should let it! Great video.
Oh so jealous!
I think I really need to set a goal to get to Sweden and France in 2020 because I just can't learn the same way I would if I were there.
Thanks for your comment Ina!
@@daysandwords This comment didn't age well lmao, miss Rona got you bad. I just found your channel and I love your take on language learning. It's gonna help me improve my English (get it from pop and internet culture vocabulary, to maybe a more advanced written one) and step up my spanish like a lot! Love from France :)
I use your videos to practice English, I really really want fluency in this language so you are part of my journey to improve my skills and master the language
Cool!
this actually reminds me of my mom. for around the last 15 or so years (basically since i started learning french in school) she's been talking about how she's going to learn spanish one day. every time we go to a bookstore, she buys one of those beginner spanish for english speakers books. one time she did duolingo two days in a row. she doesn't speak a single word of spanish. people who aren't ready to commit to a language just aren't going to learn it.
Very relatable video. After dabbling with a couple languages unsuccessfully, I made a decision almost 2 years ago to learn French. Since then I've done 1 - 2 hours of French every day and it has become a really significant part of my life. I can definitely say from experience that the more you put into a language, the more you get out of it. Not just in terms of fluency but also in terms of enjoyment and fulfilment. Focusing and putting in as much time as possible really allows you to explore a new culture in depth, which is hard to do with just 15 minutes a day.
Absolutely!
Sorry this is a while ago but what do you do to learn? I’m currently using the free version of Busuu at the moment and I feel it may not be great in the long term
@@auspicious6653 When I first started learning French, pretty much all I did was DuoLingo. I finished the whole course relatively quickly, not trying to memorize everything but basically just trying to get exposure to the language. It wasn't super efficient but it gave me a general background in French. I also found the "Stories" section of DuoLingo really helpful.
After I finished that I kind of got stuck for a while not knowing what to do, until I started listening to podcasts in French. I found some podcasts for intermediate language learners (InnerFrench and Français Authentique) and even though they were a bit too hard for me at first, after a few months I could understand them pretty much perfectly. Eventually I started listening to more "authentic" French content made for native speakers and I also started to read more books, which I've found to be the easiest way to learn vocabulary.
My learning schedule now entirely consists of listening to French podcasts and reading French books, I don't do any active "studying" anymore. Movies are still a bit tough for me sometimes but I'm getting there. I think for me my biggest mistake was waiting to start listening to French content or reading books, mostly because it just seemed way too difficult at first. This is just my opinion but I think the best thing to do is spend a bit of time with some sort of study resource (DuoLingo, Busuu, anything like that) to get used to the language, and then start listening and reading to content in your target language as soon as you can.
@@christiandimaria3420 Thank you for your feedback
I do agree but people who don't have much time, 15 minutes every day as a study duration for the first year of learning is correct and it is better than nothing. Of course you are required to practise writing, reading, oral comprehension and speaking.
I came to this video with a little bit of skepticism. But then when you described one of the symptoms of "gravity" I felt like my language learning journey in French has become exactly that. Never really taking time to specifically learn that language. Thank you for this. You've earned yourself a sub my good Aussie!
Great video and this is a really encouraging pep talk but I just want to say one thing. The 15 minutes a day line is not just a marketing thing it is a way to push people to actually start learning a language. If someone wants to get more healthy you tell them, just do so super easy exercises for 5 minutes a day. Now are they actually going to get any more healthy just with 5 minutes of easy low impact exercise? Probably not but it gets them started. Now this person has committed 5 minutes a day, that makes it relatively simple to keep expanding their program from there. Next week they might do 15 minutes in a few more weeks 30, and they can slowly ratchet up the difficulty of the exercises. This is an old trick, and it's one that you can even use on yourself because often the hardest thing is just getting started at all. A problem a lot of people have, myself included, is that you tend to think about everything involved in a task and make it into a huge problem to tackle leading you to give up before you're even started. A cyclist friend of mine once told me, if she doesn't want to ride somewhere, she will just tell herself, "I'm just going to ride to the corner." So she gears up, gets in the saddle and goes. Then once she's there she just.... continues on. The hardest thing was just getting started. If you make it into a smaller task it gets you over the psychological hurdle of starting at all. So you tell someone "you can learn a language by practicing 15 minutes a day!" and sure a lot of people will just screw around for a couple weeks and drop it but for at least a few people it will be the first step that leads them into more serious language study.
Yeah that is fair enough - I will raise that point in another video.
To be fair, I think 60-80% of people who start with "15 minutes a day" would end up dropping it anyway. So maybe it encourages more people overall, but we still "lose" a lot of people that way.
Hey, I'm from Brazil and I'm trying to learn English. I started at a language school, but I hated it, because the way they teach is very boring. I "lasted" a year there. So I decided that I would learn on my own. I searched a lot for ways to learn a language and I am convinced that the secret is that there is no secret. I believe that if you spend some time, at least 1 hour, every day listening and reading in the target language and using strategies to acquire vocabulary, it will greatly improve your learning. However, about this video, I will spend more time listening and reading about things in english. Thankyou so much!
try antimoon.com , u won't regret it
Decisions decisions decisions...
When I was at University I made one particular decision that I am proud till this day.
I was a fan of RUclips since high school (but I watched it in my native language).
Back in the day I hated my language classes and I was a very bad student. I've never imagined that I could ever will be learning second language willingly. But when I was at University I slowly started to like English language. I went to couple of language schools. I started to practice my listening skills very intensely. I watched a lot of RUclips and I was trying to watch some content in English but it was still quite sporadic. After several months of it I decided to delete my account on RUclips and take a new one. This account became English only. It was ~6 years ago or so. It was ages since I had my tutors but my English is still getting not worse but better. Also I don't read watch or listen anything in my native language. That's the only thing that keep my English alive (and even progressing a little bit). Some people call me extreme and insane but I did it because I know myself. I am veeery lazy lol. Decisions like that are the only thing that could help me.
(P.S. I still live in my native country and I've never been abroad (except couple of short visits of Europe back in the day) That's why I am not worrying about forgetting my native language.)
Wow! I can see you are now quite fluent in English. I've only seen one mistake in all of these paragraphs. The line "It's the only thing that keep my English alive." (Keep should be keeps) because the pronoun "it" is singular therefore your verb should have an (s). But you could've also accidentally typed that.
By the way, I'm also a non-native speaker. I'm a 13 year old from the Philippines and we are often described as the "best English-speaking Asians" and the reason why I think that's the case is because our language's grammar syntax is quite similar to English. The only difference is the language and some other little dissimilarities.
to be honest I learnt english the same way you did, except I didn't take the decision to learn it. I just started watching videos in english and to be honest I have no idea why. Maybe I was too bored of watching them in my native language? I'm not even sure. The thing is, I learnt it without taking any decision. It might as well have been luck. I do agree with the point he made in the video though. I don't think a 15 minute commitment a day is enough for learning a new language.
Hah.. same boat right now with French as a third language. This is wearing me down.
Here are a few corrections to all that you've said. I cannot really point out why they're wrong because i learned english purely by hearing instead of reading instructional books so, take it with a grain of salt. Cheers ♥
-i was a fan of youtube *ever* since highschool (sounds more fluid)
"that i could will be" is pretty wrongly worded. There are a few ways around this. Either just removing the *will* , so "could ever be learning", or removing could and saying *would ever be*
But when i was *in* university. You're talking about it as a stage or period. Instead of an actual physical place.
I decided to delete my account on youtube and *make* a new one. I suppose this was either a typo or a mistranslation from your native language.
So it *has been* ages since.. instead of "was". The continuation too "had my tutors" sounds very off putting. Should maybe change it with "had any tuition" or "had been under a tutor" though i prefer the first.
My english is getting *better rather than worse* or something along these lines. If you really want to keep the same structure then something like "my english is not getting worse, but actually better" would work as well.
I don't read, watch, or listen *to* anything..
"And even progressing a little bit" sounds off but i don't know how to make it more appealing to read. Maybe something along the lines of "and even making a little bit of progress on it" or something?
Except *for a* couple of
Kelly [Kilua rotmg] pretty sure you can say at uni or in uni. both is correct
Your concept of *gravity* is very similar to what Steven Pressfield describes as *resistance* in his book The War of Art. Great analogies to show how we are holding ourselves back.
Man I loved that book. It has a French translation that I am thinking of ordering to give myself the pleasure of reading it again.
Also I want to read his one "Turning Pro."
I can relate to this sooo much. When reading a book, someone who actually wants to learn will think "I don't want to read it in my native language, because that would waste time that I could otherwise spend reading in my target language", whereas the other kind of people always say "This is too hard, I'd rather finish the book faster in my native language."
A difference like this in mindset that seems small actually makes a HUGE difference
I'm old enough to have learned languages before any apps existed. I taught myself Spanish to quite a good level using... books. Hard to believe, eh? In those distant days there were also occasional BBC television and radio language teaching courses, but there was no way to record the TV programmes, so if you missed an episode it was bad luck. It wasn't ideal going to the O-level speaking exam never having had any lessons in spoken Spanish, but it worked out all right. Admittedly I was already doing Latin and French at school... from books.
Oh my sweet baby Jesus i absolutely LOVE your honesty, even if it has slapped me right in my face... I've been trying to learn French for months now but i go back and forth with it because of the amount of time i apply in my studies and because of this "comfort zone" that is watching a movie with subtitles on rather than not and so on and so forth... My native language is portuguese by the way! Love your videos, thank you very much! Good luck for us learners in this fight against gravity pulling us down 😂
I’ve just found out about your channel and I am extremely happy I have. I appreciate your take on language learning and your insights without gimmicks and magic tricks. Thank you for being honest and open about the rewarding yet arduous process of learning a foreign language!
Great video! I also agree that a language cannot be learned in 15 min a day. I spend at minimum 45 min every day on my target languages (German and French). Currently that is through Duolingo, Mondly (only the daily vocab, the rest of the app is terrible) and Busuu (which I started using again thanks to your review, i really like its structure), but once I return home in a couple days I will have access to all my resources. Throughout the past 3 months, I have seen my German vastly improve (after almost 7 years) after spending more than 15 min a day, to the point where I can interact with native speakers with few pauses. The "15 minutes a day" is just a sales pitch in my opinion.
Thanks for your comment!
Go easy on the sources! I am hoping to do a video soon on "resource overload" and how it's best to just choose 2 or 3 good sources.
Good luck with your German and French!
I think in English even when I speak my native language, send help I've gone too far
Me too. The problem is I always use English when I'm on the internet, I am losing contact with my native language. Even when it comes to writing, I am only confident in my English writing..
@@exquizeete so true. I have 2 native languages and yet I am forgetting how to write certain alphabets.
The same boat right here. I don't know if you feel the same about English but I love thinking and writing in it, it doesn't sound as " forced' as my mother tongue? And by " forced" I mean that it just doesn't sound right saying things in my mother tongue. For example, saying cheesy things like " I will never leave you" in your first language is extremely cringe worthy, but somehow isn't as much when the line is said in English.
@@thumbaroundreversefingerme4786 I resonate with you. Anything related to romance being said in my mother tongue makes me cringe or plain disgusted if it is about sex. And it is not just me feeling that.
In English, it sounds natural. I think the reason is that where I grew up, talking about love or sex etc. was a taboo.
I never even learned my own and I’m 10 🤡
Thank you very much for this video! I helped me to realise that my method of learning Italian is like wanting to crawl around the earth (I like the analogy). So, right now I'm thinking of a new approach to learn the language, maybe I'll make a plan or something like that.
Maybe I can help you; I'm b2 in Italian so maybe I can converse with you and give you a little extra imersion.
Your point about how monolingual people perceive languages was right on! I was standing in front of a tapas place in Parramatta with a friend, checking out the menu. She's a lovely person, but very Australian. About halfway through the discussion of if we should eat there, she turned to me wide-eyed and said "you speak SPANISH" in great surprise. All I had done was read the menu items out loud, which pretty much any american can do without consciously learning any spanish at all!
I had a car alarm going off while I was watching this, so when you said, "I have a car alarm going off," I paused the video, and was very confused why I could still here it 😂
Hej! Jag har tittat på flera av dina videor de senaste veckorna. Den här gjorde djupast intryck på mig av dem alla. Du har nog gett många tittare en tankeställare om skillnaden mellan verkligt engagemang och en flyktig känsla av att det "skulle vara roligt om man kunde ett annat språk" etcetera, om man ändå inte behöver offra något särskilt. Bref, cette vidéo a un contenu de grande valeur. Je t'en remercie et te salue depuis ma maison en Suède ! //Josef
So glad I found this channel. Awesome content
Another excelent video! I've often wondered about this and you put this into the words I couldn't find myself. You are spot on with this! It's uncomfortable to learn a new language. For such a long time I dind't want to be the
"pushy" teacher and make my students run for the hills if I tell them they need to make this commitment more than just a few minutes per day (or zero minutes as it happens so many times). Thank you. You've inspired me to inspire my students.
This was a great reality check. Thank you. We all needed to hear this.
Hello, I found your channel today while i was searching reviews about effectives language apps. I saw your review about Buusu, it was very honest and accurate. After this, I have fallen on this video and it let me very reflexive. I am Brazilian guy that started to study English at 22 years old and now i have 32 years old however during that period my skill with language seems a Russian mountain having higher and lower, because I always stop the studies. I never ever jumpped of mid-intermediate to advance level and hearing your words made me to do decision to start a solid course next year and involve more around me with the language (films, youtube videos like your, books, etc). Thanks, Success to you!
Thanks for the comment - keep it up!
Totally agree on this. I have that problem with my wife, we both have different mother language and want to learn each other languages. The matter is that we always get back to english when talking to each other whenever there is a word we don't know in the target language
Can confirm -- had my first french conversation yesterday after a couple days of study. Haven't spent much time with it since high school (where I learned the basics). I swear you could see my brains running out of all the holes in my head after that conversation, but I learned a lot and spent as much of it in French as I could. I only used English when I didn't know enough words to even begin saying something (like, not knowing how to explain my fiance works for a start-up, for example). After that conversation, I researched more of the things I was lacking and spent the rest of the day studying verbs.
You can learn in 15 min a day and I have done this for a year. The problem is that at a certain level (say B1-B2) you really need to increase the amount you study per day to get to the next level. At the extreme (your native language) you're actually studying most of your waking hours per day, though it doesn't feel like studying anymore.
So, I saw your video and I finally found out how I managed to get a decent level in English even though I wasn’t the best in my class: I’m a computer scientist, my native language is Spanish, but most of the CS resources online are in English. So, one day I just decided that I was going to read them even if I had to use a dictionary. Eventually, I could make deductions on what some of the words meant. I asked questions on forums and replied to posts made by other people. I watched some tech conferences on particular CS topics. And suddenly I realized that I was able to watch movies and RUclips videos in English with no subtitles. I had a lot of comprehensive input. And that’s exactly why I’m struggling with French, because, even though I’m attending French classes, I have never attempted to include it in my life. Thanks so much, now I know how to improve my French :B
Btw sorry if I made mistakes. After all, I said that I improved my English comprehension, not that I was an expert :P
came to get some languages learning advice - got a therapy session instead :D really love your content
I remember January of last year I woke up and after doing my usual (having breakfast getting dressed etc) I saw a video by a RUclipsr I know talking about their experiences with living in Germany and learning the language and without even considering what I’d be saying no to I just decided to learn the language and now here I am a year later and whilst I’m no where near fluent I’ve still learned way more than I ever would have had I not made that decision then and there and every day that I keep learning more and more I’m just increasingly glad that I made that decision instead of just carrying on like I would usually have done otherwise.
Yeah, nothing wrong with spending the time that you *can* spend on it a day either. Some people devote themselves and its just really unrealistic for most people. The full immersion approach for example just sounds exhausting, as much as I love love love my target languages. Not for everyone.
I came to watch this video in order to learn something new about language learning - and here I am, adopting this brilliant approach to my whole life
Great to hear!
Your videos are actually very interesting. Thank you so much. 😇
It'd be nice to be able to have the ability to just say "no" to optional things, but when you're chronically ill or disabled its just not possible.
You're already saying "no" to most everything else in your life - including the things necessary to live.
Learning a language is difficult when your stomach and digestive system doesn't work.
If i wanted to spend a whole hour or two a day studying it would mean not being able to eat or drink for about 12 hours beforehand at least. I'm already sectioning off my food and drink to certain times of day so I can make sure the house is clean enough and the washing gets done, but I'm constantly at risk of malnutrition. All food and drink (yes, including water) affects me like food poisoning - intense nausea and fever for about an hour. Getting enough calories, protein, vitamins, fiber and water in a day is hard.
At least I have some level of control over it, for my partner who has CFS... don't underestimate Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Nothing you've said is incorrect, its just disheartening when you're disabled. That's not your fault either - its just how life is for people who aren't as healthy and have no cure or relief.
When 15 minutes is all you can physically manage to give these sorts of "courses" are very appealing. I know disabled people who have tried throwing themselves into Duolingo because they feel they have no other option - but they're all ineffective traps.
Would it even be possible to create something that, with only 15 minutes a day, could actually get you to some decent, usable level of knowledge?
Being a medical student, I’ve definitely seen CFS before, and I’m so sorry you’re struggling with that. Stay the course, and do your best with the little energy you have, but you know what your priorities are. Take care of yourself.
Also, you can learn a lot by just reading real content at a normal, adult level. I learned plenty in 15 minutes a day because I had no choice, being a busy medical student. I never re-read stuff, and that made a big difference in what I could cover, and I was very pleased with the little I could do. It’s actually quite a lot.
I would suggest many things from Fluent Forever by Gabriel Weiner. The biggest points:
Anki is your best friend that makes your flashcards work for you (though it is always best to make your own)
To play the game, you have to learn the rules: learn grammar. I like to learn a new grammar point and figure out how I can play with it. Surprisingly, the basic pieces end up helping more complex points.
(And if you can, I would follow the twenty/five rule. Twenty minutes of work, five minute break. At least two twenty-minute sessions so you can plan in one and play in the other.)
You may try speakly he spoke well of it on this channel. I have only used it a little bit. It is kind of meant for shorter periods of time maybe you can try it. It has audio, reading, and teaches important words first.
i think it's definitely possible to learn a language with 15 minutes a day. the point in the video is more that most people committing only 15 minutes a day are doing that because they aren't serious about language learning and are trying to do as little as possible, so they're going to give up because 15 minutes a day isn't very long to start with. if i had 15 minutes a day to learn a language i would do a really small amount of new vocab every day, probably something like 2-5 new words (i use anki and it really builds up over time). but you could do more depending on how long reviewing a card takes you. i would keep new vocab to about 5 minutes out of the 15. once a week i would review new grammar rules from a textbook. the rest of the time i would spend reading or listening to something that is around my level in the language but still has vocabulary or grammar i'm not 100% familiar with. i would adjust the reading and listening ratio depending on which one is harder (do more of the harder one). since reviewing vocab takes 5 minutes i have only 10 minutes left for reading and listening, so i would do only one of those per day and alternate which days i'm doing each thing on. i would also try to spend non active learning time (outside of the 15 minutes) playing stuff in my TL. this can be music or podcasts or materials for learners, whatever i feel like having on. i also recommend doing research for resources in your TL before starting the language because 15 minutes a day isn't a lot of time and you don't want to spend that initial time when reinforcing what you've learnt is really important just googling more resources for your TL.
so i think it's definitely doable. it will take longer in overall time spent, but you can do it. with 15 minutes a day a language like french that takes 480 hours will take like 4 years or something but it's still possible. the point is about whether people actually commit to 15 minutes a day or not and most people decide on a low number because they don't want to commit
I see this as really the same for many pursuits. Your first 5-10 mins of practising an instrument is usually crap, or studying, reading, skills like writing, mathematics, puzzles, etc. Meditating is an amazing example too. Anything that needs you to think in a different way usually takes time to transition into that different way. As you practise that thing you get better at switching faster and thus an expert speaker can switch astonishingly fast, or a multi instrumentalist (see: conductors), or any experienced worker in job which requires the integration of a variety of skills and fields of knowledge to be effective is able to do their job at all.
It's hard for me doing things in my target language as an absolute beginner because I don't know enough for most conversation or to have comprehensible input. I think I need to study vocab more and do some basic reading
Thank you so much for this video! I realized I was trying to do too many things but you made me realize the importance and defining what is important.
This is like listening to my mom explaining to me why I should clean my room. I know she's right but if I accept it, I have to actually get off my ass and put effort into it. Uncomfortable but important truths in this video!
I really like your videos, man! I always get pumped to work on my Polish. I've just started a couple weeks ago, so struggling with motivation/prioritizing. Anyway, thanks for the great insight and motivation!
Update: Said hello to my niece in polish and ashed how she was, I was told she will have a quiz prepared next weekend!
Cześć , powodzenia w nauce polskiego! :)
real good points dude.I believe most importantly is, that you are excited about learning it, if you're not excited and you just want to learn it, well that's where more intelligent people can sell you ideas, like "learning a languange in 15 mins a day" :-) still, if you focus learning on the essentiell, get the "idea" of the language you still can quicken up the process radically, i believe.
well my problem is that english is my 2nd language my first is arabic but i want to learn Japanese but also i want to keep improving my english cuz i wanna be a English teacher so i get pulled to english cuz it kinda became like my native how do i keep improving my English with getting my basics of Japanese
Bonjour :) Je te trouve quand j'étais cherché des gens pour motivation. J'ai été apprendre français pour la dernière deux mois et je peux améliorer mon français avec d'aider . Tu es gentil et ce que te dis, c'est très honnête, pour ça merci :) tu as une nouvel subscriber :)
The word that came to mind was escape velocity (the speed required to exit the orbit or escape the gravitational pull of a large body). I talk to my kids about opportunity cost, what you have to give up to do something, and find it is true in language learning as you state. In order to carve out an hour a day (my minimum) to learn a language, there is something you have to do less of or put on the back burner, not to mention the other things that one does to expose oneself to more of the language. Lingo Steve mentions listening while doing the dishes, which I have taken to heart. I do this for entertainment, much like listening to Swedish news in the car on the way to pick up the kids, to see how much I understand.
As my step dad always said, every fishing lure catches something (meaning the fisherman), the same could be said about a Chinese language on clearance in the post office. This probably satisfies the language curious, checks a box, or sits on shelf.
What a great video, thank you! I have been learning German since August last year (my first foreign language) and i agree with everything you said. The gravity analogy is spot on.
Currently, I'm a beginner in German and I started out doing 1 hour per day. Then 4 hours then again at 2 hours per day over the past 2 almost 3 months. 15 minutes is nice to refresh, read over, test yourself or practice but when you're a beginner try to put in at least one hour of :
Learning (Grammar/Vocab),
Reading,
Listening,
Speaking
or Writing
Or all combined and you will see progress.
It makes so much sense now, I've been wanting to learn Swahili and french, but it seems impossible, I just look for new vocabulary, but I don't seem to learn it. Because I feel so comfortable speaking and listening English (second language). I'll have to push my self, not just being sited watching others.
I always enjoy your videos.
Thanks for your support! I really appreciate comments like that!
Thought provoking video! Can confirm it took much more than 15 minutes per day to get my Chinese to a reasonably fluent level haha. Also definitely agree about making conscious decisions and finding balance. Can be applied to all aspects of life.
For me it took 4 hours of classroom instruction (taught in Mandarin), and lots of practice outside of class, every day for 2-3 months before I was fluent enough to function without much issue in China. So with maximum immersion, it still takes months. 15 minutes a day? It'd take decades (and that's assuming you're not forgetting as you learn).
Very good analogies!
A lot of products advertise 10-15 minutes a day and/or learn a language in 3 months. I've seen one or two that foolishly mix the two and decided to do the math.
15m per day for 3 months is, at best, 23 hours worth of study. Most likely at least 4 hours of that is review.
This is such amazing information, and thank you for the wisdom :)
@2:32 Some people learn languages that way, "tough guy". It all depends on what you want to achieve, how fast you want to achieve it and how motivated you are. ;)
@8:03 Learning in itself is a sacrifice. It is effort. So what? English is my second language and I achieved it without a tough guy attitude. It took about a decade but I did not commit to it fulltime. Maybe I should have aquired it instead of learning it. That is said to be faster.
Thank you for a great channel! Just watched a couple of videos and you have given me a lot of both motivation and great tips :)
C'est vrai, je pense que on doive pratiquer beaucoup chaque jour. 10, 15 minutes c'est pas suffisant
Maintenant je apren de le français depuis quelque mois et cela pourquoi je peux te comprendre ! Je me sens bien ! Et je suis d'accord avec toi. Pour apprendre une lang, realment on à besoin de pratiquer cette lang pendant tout moment que est (soit?) posible.
J'apprends aussi le français et je vous comprends! C'est gènial! Bon courage à vous!
@@mechgunz7809 et à vous aussi, merci !
« C’est vrai, je pense que l’on doit pratiquer beaucoup tous les jours » Bravo! Ton français est très bon, bon courage, continue :))))))
tanheavy aka ispeakmucho « j’apprends le français depuis quelques mois maintenant, donc je peux te comprendre. (I don’t know what you meant by je me sens bien, « je suis content » maybe?). Je suis d’accord avec toi. Pour apprendre une langue, on a vraiment besoin de la pratiquer au maximum. »
Même si il y avait des fautes, j’ai bien compris! Bravo et bon courage ☺️
Fully focused, intensive learning 15min a day, PLUS an hour or two of passive listening and you'll improve quickly
Yes, plus an hour or two is kind of a big "side note" there.
@@daysandwords Definitely, but it can be done quite easily just by having it on while you're doing daily things. Cooking, working out, cleaning your place, going to the grocery store, driving/walking...are all activities that can be done while doing listening practice.
@@NaturalLanguageLearning I mean, you don't need to tell ME that. I'm just saying, that this is NOT what my video was about.
@@daysandwords after thinking about for a while, I believe it can be done even without the listening. In fact, I might try...
I've made the decision to learn Spanish 😊 Thanks a lot for your video ❤️
Seeking tips on how to a learn language.. instead got a life lesson 👏👏
Great content 😊
I really needed to hear this, thank you
I'm probably the laziest English-speaking learner of of Japanese in history but I'm doing alright. Part of why I'm making so much progress at the moment, and managing to move forward in elementary Korean despite putting basically no time into it is that I've learned how to learn a language so it's easy for me to choose challenges, decide what to study, and fit input in. Whereas learning Japanese was an on-off struggle with learning how to learn over 12 years with little improvement followed by a period of massive growth through the whole of intermediate level up to where I am now where I'm about to hit C1 in the reception skills (and maybe in spoken interaction a bit after,) I feel like I can just kind of coast through A1 Korean over the course of a year, taking my time to focus on phonics research, and then I'll be in a good position to hit the books really hard when I get the urge. I don't really time myself though, I just get what study I need to do to keep up with my study plan done, and then do research to make sure I'm teaching myself correctly. (E.g. today I figured out that Korean is syllable-timed, and the Seoul dialect doesn't have pitch accent, but some regional dialects do.)
I would say yes and no. Most of what you say is true. And it's important to get out of the comfort zone. But addressing the 15 minutes a day - as you've mentioned, there are different types of people. There are those that really have the goal to learn the language. They will integrate the learning process in their life and commit more time anyway. They will not reduce their commitment just because some program says "you can learn the language with 15 minutes a day". That's usually people that know realistically, everything you want to achieve needs (hard) work and they've already made the decision to put that work in. The best thing that can be done for them is to show them methods that don't necessarily reduce the quantity of their learning, but raises the quality of their learning and also make the "hard" work feel(!) less hard (aka more enjoyable) and thus help to keep the long term motivation. The other type is the people who would like to be able to speak another language and kind of want to learn it, but don't want to commit too much time. Most of them will not learn the language, no matter what. But among them, there are some people who could be introduced into language learning as a small hobby. In learning, consistency is king, so it's important to do it on an almost daily basis. Most people just won't prioritize language learning enough to dedicate an hour a day to it, but 15 minutes a day is something everybody could dedicate. There are just no excuses to not spend 15 minutes a day on something they want. If they don't spend those 15 minutes, you can straight out tell them they maybe fancy the idea, but they actually don't want it. Those that stick to those 15 minutes can create a habit which, with a little noticeable progress and feeling of success, can positively motivate them to incorporate language learning more into their daily life and thus progressively spend more and more time on it.
Little personal anecdote: I'm also learning Swedish. I started maybe 15 years ago for a bit but didn't continue over an A2 level. So last year, over a decade later, I decided to pick it up again. The basics were still there and I decided I'm going to learn by reading a book in Swedish. It wasn't just reading though, but reading, checking vocabulary, listening to the corresponding audio-book, and then speaking after the audio-book. But I could/would only invest the time I spend on my daily commute in public transport (2x15-20 minutes). In the beginning, it was a pain in the ass (or arse as you say). In every sentence, I had to check at least three words and the first noticeable progress came only after around 50 pages. Fast forward a couple of months later and by the end of the book I was fluent in reading (maybe checking one word per page). So with daily consistency, you can actually make good progress even with little time spent. Of course, my progress would have been much better if I had dedicated an hour or more on daily concentrated (meaning not in the busy public transport but quiet learning environment) studies, no question about that.
I’m wondering how can I apply this to my language learning if I am not that good at it yet? I am learning Japanese but I am not competent enough to think in Japanese and I definitely can’t read/type it. Should I press of with my schedule until I’m good enough to be constantly in a Japanese headspace or is there something I can do to get myself there?
So I commit myself almost 3h a week to learning my target language and now you changed my mind. I think I'm gonna add about roughly an hour to the existing 3h to really learn it :)
I didn't have options for subtitles in my native language when I was learning english. Sometimes you just have to act like there is no easier way even if there is.
At 15 minutes a day it will take you 8 months to complete the first 60 hours (i.e. approximately A1 if all goes well). I would recommend committing to 15 minutes a day on a reading and writing activity (which for beginners can be an app) and another 15 minutes on a listen and repeat activity (search for 100 or 1000 most common words in... on RUclips and then wade through bad ones until you find one you like). There is nothing to stop you from doing more when you have time. After those first 60 hours you should switch things up a bit.
I tried to do fifteen minutes a day and feel like I know absolutely nothing, a long time on. And you're right - it takes me a long time to get back into the right head space. Time to undo the damage and commit to more.
First RUclips video ever that made the thought and urge of pressing the like button multiple times cross my mind... Looking at it twice, what a silly comment and compliment... But it's true!!!
Glad you liked it!
Hello +
Days of French 'n' Swedish . If you don't have much time, at least for the first year or the 1,5 year , you might be in the case that 15 minutes is better than nothing. 1/It has to be really EVERY DAY, no break 2/at one moment, even for an exercise you should need to take 20 or 30 minutes. But in the same time, you are required not just to study your textbook, it is really important to practise orally: oral comprehension and speaking. Of course after 1 or 2 years, if you want to go further, you will be required to study 30/40 minutes every day or at least 4 times a week
I should watch videos in my target language (Croatian) and not yours in English 🤣🤣 gravity.... but your videos are amazing and make me feel so much better, give me hope. Thank you so much.
Sretno!
Javi ako treba pomoć. Kad naučiš Hr. možeš se sporazumit sa cijelim Balkanom. Sve je isto ipak.
You could turn auto-translation on to Croatian, and read the translation if you are fluent enough in the language.
@@abdokaddouri3534 Not a bad idea. But the auto-translations are often inaccurate. Especially to Croatian.
Was that guy learning Icelandic you mentioned, a doctor? Yes, I'm basically saying Iceland is so small I could potentially know him. But then again, it is very small and not many non-Icelandic people speak the language.
I totally agree with you. My partner has been using duolingo to learn Danish, but, he's doing between 20 min and 2h a day, and, he's now moved to Denmark (I'm going soon), and we will be going to language courses, in actual schools. He's reached a1 and a2 (depending on the component; obviously his conversation is barely a1) in about 4 months of duolingo, and it's boring. I haven't done it, because I know it's not efficient and requires so much self teaching. I'm doing some Babbel, but only so that I don't go in blind once I start my lessons. Also, i already speak 3 languages and have studied linguistics, which means I've got techniques to learn and understand languages a bit faster and more easily.
Yeah I know how small it is 'cos I live in a city of exactly the same population (of Iceland) haha.
His name was Robert and he was Canadian, I don't think he's a doctor but he may be. I think he's moved back to Canada now.
@@daysandwords ah nope, the guy I knew was kiwi 😊 And I never found out why he decided to learn Icelandic, out of the blue, and moved there!
The best way to learn is to be surrounded by it. Use the apps like duolingo for 15+ minutes a day but also listen to a pod cast on your commute, watch a show in that language on your lunch break or some RUclips videos. Read a book. Even a children's book. Speak to the people you know who are fluent in the language you are learning. Practice the new words you've learned in your head and outloud throughout the day. Also set time aside to actually sit and study it.
After finishing the video, you made several of the same points I did.
Absolutely, all these things.
The only thing that I would personally modify is the Duolingo for 15 minutes a day part. I'd probably not advise Duolingo to anyone who is already motivated to learn a language... The Duo streak is good for motivation but I think the app is time consuming for what it offers you.
What a fantastic analogy!
hello how are you i m faisal from morocco i was a long time when i learned english alone i have the difficult when i speak i can read but i can t understand just little can you give me the schedule how i can learn languages, please
Congratulations on hitting 1000 subscribers!
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I disagree. 15 Minutes a Day is actually a good way to do things.
Even 5 minutes a day is good.
Because what is the alternative??
Do you want people to study for 8 hours a day every day?
Who has 8 hours to spare in a day?
Unless you are a millionaire without any job or anything else to do during the day, most people don't have that amount of free time.
But everybody has 15 minutes to spare in a day, no matter how busy you may be.
That means you have no excuse to not study.
yeah, so this is a straw man. the only viable alternative to 15 minutes a day isn't quitting your job and making studying your TL a full time activity. the actual alternative would be spending 30 minutes a day on your language. maybe an hour. the goal is to commit enough time that you aren't going to give up and take the easy way out. not to make language learning your only goal in life.
How to push yourself to speak a language with no one to speak or practice with?
It is a bad idea for the very reason you stated. In the 1990s, I learned Chinese and Vietnamese. I was highly motivated to do it, because it was part of my graduate program. In fact, I learned most of my Vietnamese in my first year, studying and speaking every possible second of the day. All while working long hours and co-parenting an infant/toddler. (Also, it was the 90s, so almost no one in China and Vietnam spoke English, and I had a family that didn't speak those languages and always needed help, so I benefited enormously from outside pressure). 3 years ago, I moved to Spain, thinking Spanish would be a walk in the park. I still speak only a little. I tell myself that it is because I'm older and I have a busy work life and a teen at home. After watching this, I had to admit, no, it is because I've never really made the resolve -- or intention or will, or hard decision-making or decisiveness -- that you talk about. The fact is, while I may not have the same energy, the real issue is that I don't have the resolve, so once gravity sets in, I'm finished. Watching this made me reflect on that. (And yes, once I got to basic fluency in Chinese and Vietnamese, I could be more flexible with my time commitment. But the determination is always key.) Thanks.
Excellent, honest comment.
That's the thing; it's better just to admit that you're NOT going to do something (or not just yet anyway). Like a few years ago when I stopped practicing piano because I realised that yes, I would like to be good at piano... but I don't have time to be as good as I want to be, so I'd rather spend the time on something else.
I've been studying Chinese for about 12 years 1 to 3 hour a day and can barely speak complete sentences. Listening to childrens cartoons I'm lucky if I can understand 2/3rd of what's said. When adults talk it still sounds like gibberish to me. Call me an idiot, but I have been complemented by Chinese people about my reading ability of Chinese. I dont remember English being this hard. I was fluent in less than 6 years.
Maaaaaahn. 12 years. That's a long time. I mean sometimes it's not about the time u spend on learning but about the learning method. What works for English might not work for Mandarin.
Wow, god this is so wise. I'm really inspired now and this video has really benefited me. Thanks so much!!
Many people like to say that language schools are not good for learning languages. But for me deciding to enroll into language school and follow the course means you are willing to sacrifice several hours of your life every single week and take the unpleasant tests. Off course, any extra input besides the language school helps you master the language. But the school itself is a good platform to start your rocket.
And yes, right now I am using Busuu to improve and polish my Spanish before my next semester in the language school starts. But I doubt it might ever really have helped me getting to the level where I am now without having spent 4 hours a week in my language school. Plus extra activities.
15 minutes a day gives you only like one and half hour per week. It is only like 75 hours per year if you follow it without compromises. Like if you went for two weekends into your destination country and really immersed into the language and the conversation. You would need to do this for 10 years to get to like 750 hours level. And the gravity pull and all the demotivating factors after 10 years of trying for something seems to me just too big. After 10 years you usually want to be really able to communicate in the language quite well. But you just will not by just spending 15 minutes a day or just having gone 2 weekends a year there.
Not exactly related to the video but there is a poster near the Spanish classroom in my previous school that says "a, language isn't foreign once you learn it"
When an app say 15 minutes
I end up spending up to 2 hrs on the app. I guess I just like learning diffrent languages.
Same here! :-)
Im not disagreeing; I would like to study longer, but I observed through time keeping apps over 3-4 months that I have a generally low limit on the amount of deep work I can do in a week before burning out (about 7H weekly in total split between language, art, writing and music; depression really messes up the brain for doing intensive tasks) and anymore would really cut into my allowed time to get other things done, so I need to rely more on exposure and listening in down time. I don't need a high level of fluency right now/immediately so I'm comfortable at a slower pace but it really is a trade-off.
Listening and reading in downtime counts. I count anything that is going in my ears or eyes in Swedish as time in Swedish.
Awesome thoughts!
Great video!
The potential to learn a language in 15 minutes a day is rather like these weight loss or get fit schemes where little effort is required. They don't work.
I need to thank you for your recommendation of Busuu. I joined 4 weeks ago today . I am still using Duolingo and Memrise but the addition of Busuu has been so good. I love the interaction with native speakers. That gave me enough confidences to take part n a 30 day language challenge on Instagram . I have never even posted a selfie on Instagram and the thought of posting videos of me attempting to speak Brazilian Portuguese was inconceivable a few weeks ago.
It is day 12 now and it does get easier, although I still look terrified at times
That's great to hear!
Yeah, unfortunately, I have been unable to work Busuu into my French for sometime now, but I should start again. I mean, it's fun, it's just not quite as motivating to me as it used to be.
But I'm really glad to hear that it's working for you. Sorry, remind me what language you're learning?
Here I am, spending 6-16hrs a day immersing myself in the language (for the past few months). I barely know what is going on in everyday discussions. 15min a day would be laughable. I wouldn't spend less than an hour a day, below that it's just throwing time away.
Gravity is working against to me
Gravity wants to bring me down
😂😂 Sorry
Did you do a full reaction video?
Good solid truths there thanks.
Highly doubt it. A lot of time and effective practice is required. There are no shortcuts unfortunately.
Very insightful. Thx.
can i learn 4 language giving each one 1 hour except the main one that i give to it like 6 hours a day
You actually do this, every day?
I'd argue that even that is not as effective as just spending the 10 on one language. You'd be fluent in 6 months if you did that.
@@daysandwords In english yea I spend a lot of time reading, watching stuff in english and talking with native on discord but just typing :/. with the other ones I'm watching movies or practicing on duolingo but I want to be certain that it will work, and yea I learnt english really fast
This understanding extends to all things.
Thing is, I'm from Denmark, and I have ALWAYS watched RUclips English only... and I don't even know how/when I started understanding it.
So in other words, you did a lot more than 15 minutes a day? Plus you would have learnt English at school.
Yep, basically what you're describing is MIA.