Polyglot speaks 20 languages. Here's how he did it.

Big thanks to @Thelinguist for the interview!

NAVIGATION:
0:00 - 0. Steve speaks 20 languages (Intro)
1:15 - 1. Who is Steve Kaufmann?
2:14 - 2. Language learning is a Skill
3:03 - 3. Trust your brain. It will learn for you.
4:45 - 4. Steve’s method and Linguist Stephen Krashen
8:06 - 5. The content has to be interesting
9:28 - 6. Indicating to the brain what is worth learning
12:23 - 7. Why traditional language instruction is so bad
13:40 - 8. Why is Japan’s English so low level?
17:00 - 9. Acting and Language
20:19 - 10. When should we study grammar?
22:27 - 11. Time spent reviewing?
24:27 - 12. The problem with flashcards
25:43 - 13. What do you think about “core” words?
28:19 - 14. Is Steve some kind of Genius?
30:24 - 15. The Secret to being a Successful polyglot
31:42 - 16. Television is better than a classroom
33:39 - 17. How would you define fluency?
36:42 - 18. Language learning ties into his hobbies

[nachoursdez]

"If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you." My favorite quote that keeps me going.

[Rock_Appreciator]

No joke I learned Norwegian by changing the in game language on Minecraft. Played on a Norwegian server as a kid, wanted to know what items the foreign players were referring to so I changed the language. 6 months later I could speak with them in game fluently. Still not sure how I actually did it, seems ridiculous, games make time fly by I guess haha. Also being a child helps

[ernestwest]

It's not just that he's learned a lot, he learned the most difficult languages from diverse language families

[heckdongle]

My Spanish teacher was really ahead of the curve on this. He basically had us sing songs in Spanish, only spoke to us in Spanish, and had us read books in Spanish. We could only reply in Spanish, with of course substituting English words if we couldn't remember the word, which he would then say in Spanish. I only took three years, but I can still understand the majority of conversations in Spanish. It's really crazy, because it didn't really "feel" like I was learning Spanish, when I really was.

[mikzin]

Basically, I think the theory boils down to the fact that learning should be interesting, which sounds stupidly obvious when you say it out loud.

[Loyannelima]

I saw a conference with polyglots and one thing I found interesting they said was after speaking about 5 different languages they get new ones quickly cuz they start to notice the patterns with the languages they already learned

[person]

Seriously, it's not just language; almost every subject is taught so poorly in schools that even the ones you are really interested in become really boring to learn. As a student, you just end up trying to simply do whatever is required to pass the class instead of really learning much. After you take the final exam, you forget almost everything you learned. Self-learning can be very powerful and I agree with Steve that television can be very useful.

Great interview!

[specialknees]

The most unbelievable part of this is the fact that he’s 75

[Dekuna]

I'd like to add this. The same is true for learning mathematics. Mathematics was always very difficult for me in school because I would always ask the teacher why certain things were the way that they were and the teachers would always just shrug, rarely having an answer. Without meaning in mathematics you will not retain most things. Many people consider mathematics to be another language.

[ryanrodriguez]

I dated a Brazilian once, and for months I tried learning Portuguese through Grammer books and Duolingo. I struggled, until when i met her family (who only spoke Portuguese), after only a week I was conversational in the language. I still speak it to this day and can read and speak it in their specific Southern Brazilian accent.

[fizjoterapiasan]

His way of learning is actually proven by the nature itself. Your native language is the first one you learn as a baby, and for the whole life it's the one you know the most. And as a baby you don't learn to speak it by dictionaries or grammar manuals. You simply become more and more familiar with understanding and using words you hear around, because they make your whole world. All this is constantly stimulating your brain, just like bombarding, and you don't even notice your growing skills, as the brain learns it for you. Seems all of us know the best way of learning - we used it in the beginning of our lives without noticing. Seems you just have to act once again like a baby getting to know the world, but this time in another language. It's so simple and brilliant.

[bakeymykakey]

as a 20 year old i genuinely thought i was too old to start learning languages. i’m so glad i gained the determination to learn german out of the blue, i am 4/5 months in and i’m at A2 level speaking (high beginner) but definitely at an intermediate understanding. i love it and i truly believe it’s much easier learning languages as an adult. 100% i agree with what this video talks about.

[UnexpectedTurnOfEvents]

I speak only 4 -- Italian, English, Russian, Spanish -- but I'm currently studying French and German and I find that at 56 I have an easier time with languages than I did when I was younger. I'd like to eventually add Dutch, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Swedish, Norwegian and Icelandic. Of course, that may be too much, but I'd like to try just because. :)

[MosesMatsepane]

I speak 5 languages and understand 9. Currently learning Japanese. 90% of everything I learned about all these languages was outside the classroom.

[MacDeece]

I dream of learning all major languages as this man has. To be able to connect with almost anyone you meet, no matter where you’re from or who you are, would be a gift, and when you begin to speak fluently in someone’s native language and they hadn’t expected it, the look of joy and awe on their faces is priceless.

[StoicSmr]

This man didn't only learn the language, it looks like he learned the culture and demeanor as well. You can see how his demeanor changes from language to language. Such an impressive person really

[MATTierial]

Steve Kaufman is great because he's still in the thick of it! He's learning right there with all of us, and shares such incredible insight!

[matiaslangon]

I've learned english by playing videogames in english, and at some point I knew how to read english, then I started watching english speaking youtubers with subtitles, then at some point I just turned off the subtitles and was still able to understand everything, there's no doubt that interest and having fun when learning a language is one of the most important aspects of the learning process. If you get bored you just won't ever remember what you learned.

[quatzxice]

I love the way Steve says the word "boring". The passionate contempt is so relateable.

[coolbrotherf]

I totally agree with the accent thing. Some people get so obsessed with trying to get rid of their foreign accent in other languages. As a American I'm so used to hearing all kinds of English accents from all over the world and it doesn't bother me at all. So I don't think that accent makes you fluent or not in a language, unless it makes you difficult to understand.