1000 Subscribers Q+A!

We answered your questions in honour of 1000 subscribers! Thank you to everyone who asked something!

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~~~~ Social Media ~~~~

~~~~ Abigail ~~~~

~~~~ Matt ~~~~

[PassionforDreaming]

I wanted to thank you guys for answering my questions and congratulate you again on 1000 subscribers (now even more)! Can't wait to see even more of what you have in store!

[rredmc]

"...and some books in a thing."
-Matt 2017

[maxens_is_here]

That was great, thanks for answering my questions. The plushie is cute! Also, enjoy discovering new foods :p (And I really like your hair, Abigail!)

[danahalazme]

aye the dan and phil pro tip reference!! also thanks for answering my question I will definitely give more attention to my beloved languages, love you guys truly

[madamshante]

Thank you for answering my question! Congrats on 1k!

[maccaj]

Great vid. Re: Languages in schools, I think the only way to get languages taken seriously in the US is to start teaching subjects *through* other languages... this is how non-English speaking countries turn out so many functional English speakers. If you live in a non-english speaking country but your math class is taught in English, two things happen - firstly, you'll get *functional* in the language very quickly - "I don't understand (how you got that answer). Can you show me again(how to work that)? Where (did you find that explanation)? Can you explain more slowly or use different words?" Those phrases as a whole are common phrases one would hear and use all the time in math class, but the parts *outside* parentheses are *broadly* useful English, not just useful in math class. So that's the first thing that happens. The second thing that happens when you teach *other* (non-language related) subjects through a foreign language is, because you do learn all sorts of useful phrases, that language automatically begins to develop some innate *utility* in your mind. What is English good for? Math! (In this example, anyway). So even if you never meet a native English speaker, numbers would on some level "belong" to English for you, and that makes English valuable, which drastically increases the desire to maintain/improve it outside of class/school.

We can unfortunately see the reverse of this phenomenon in the Republic of Ireland. The ROI is an example of how "just make language courses mandatory" doesn't work, and often backfires. All students in the Republic are required to take Irish as a language subject for almost their entire education (on average, an Irish student will have 11-13 years of Irish language instruction, as a regular length, full time course, throughout their education). With some rare exceptions, they leave school *loathing* the language, disliking speaking/hearing it, barely literate in it, and unable to say more than a handful of words with any confidence. (There's an old joke, sadly more true than not, that the only thing the average Irish student can say *in* Irish when they leave school is "An bhfuil cead agam dul go dtí an leithreas?" - "Do I have permission to go to the toilet?") The vast majority of Irish people are at best indifferent to Irish, at worst outright hostile toward it, and most of them also feel ashamed at how little they are able to use/understand after so many years of study (a quick note to say there are other reasons for this, ranging from old political issues to poor teaching methods and a lot in between... but whichever way you slice it, 11-13 years of formal instruction in a language should leave one *functional*, no? Yet that's not what happens.)

Contrast that with what we see in the Gaelscoileanna (Irish medium education schools, i.e. Irish is the language of instruction for *all* classes). Those schools turn out fluent, confident Irish speakers who, by and large, love the language and are fiercely protective of it... because it's been given utility and usefulness in their minds. It's the language they use to chat to their friends, it's the language a great many of them think in, etc. They're fluent in English too (many if not most of them come from households where their parents are English-only speakers), but they like Irish, and they use it daily.

One of the biggest threats to the continued survival of Gaelscoileanna (and thus the Irish language as a whole) is not funding, but rather the internet.... when Gaelscoileanna students are asked what language they use to *speak* to their friends, the answer is almost always "Irish." When they're asked what language they *text* their friends in, comment on Facebook in, etc, the answer is almost always "English." Whether that's because English is the dominant language online and they don't want to be seen as different, or because Irish is a little harder to type out (extra keystrokes to put the accents) or because Irish has lots of long words that are difficult to spell (they're phonetic and regular according to the rules of Irish, but you won't get anywhere close trying to sound it out if your brain is in "English mode").... no one is quite sure... but the Gaelscoileanna gave Irish its sense of utility back, and the internet is starting to erode aspects of that rediscovered sense of utility.

My two (long) cents.

[Kyle-ivyu]

Yo Matt, congrats on becoming an iTalki instructor! I Googled the requirements for becoming one a few months ago, and they said you need C2 in the language you want to tutor, is that right? (You could even make an entire video on the topic, I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd be interested in hearing about the selection process).

[martinlelarge]

Holy shit, I actually got in there~! (I didn't expect that, I should've asked a more serious question...) 4:02

[mayamaes]

I love Abigail's hair! Thanks for responding to my comment. Also, "Du Fortenar Ein Dom Meg" by Daniel Kvammen is really good along with his other songs.

[ericshook]

I watched the Tim Doner THNKR video so many times😂😂😂

[paulinacortes]

I love you guys! congrats on the 1000+ subscribers :D
I the japanese writing system too! It's just the most adorable xD
Boys over flowers and my little lover are amazing! Japanese tv shows are like the cutest haha every time I start watching something asian I end up saying a lot of phrases that I don't even understand :p so I have to translate something I already memorized.

[higorambroso]

You said my name and I LAughed out loud but thanks for answering :)

[Faithy]

Kaizers Orchestra - norwegian band that got me into studying Norwegian

[nendoakuma]

Are you plans for summer language study still the same as you said in earlier videos?

[monate]

Shakshoka!!!! Hahahahaha yup its delicious for breakfast 🍳 giv it a go😂😂😂

[ecodania]

Nice.I know 3 languages. Learning Fench soon. For some reason, I can't learn two or three languages at the same time. The main reason I learn different languages is that I don't enjoy reading translated materials. It waters down the story and the hidden meanings of the book or the play.

[DespicableGru]

She reminds me so much of Audrey, a Youtuber of toys and gaming. 😊

[Chuulip]

Wow I really have a crush on both of you... send help

[josepho]

its pronounced like jif!!!! the g is pronounced as a j when before an i or e

[kaimaeofficial]

DUDE IF YOU NEED ANIME TO WATCH LET ME KNOW I HAVE A HUGE LIST.
First recommendation, Kids on a Slope