Stop obsessing over grammar: focus on this instead

CC subtitles available in multiple languages.

Is vocabulary more important than grammar? In this video, I'll explain why I believe it is and share insights on how focusing on vocabulary can boost your progress.

⏲️ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
0:46 What's the point of counting different forms of the same word?
1:30 Why am I so focused on increasing my known words count?
3:20 Can you study grammar if you don't know vocabulary?
4:40 How I add words to known using my iPhone?
6:45 Learning vocabulary is like doing a jigsaw puzzle
9:57 Conclusion

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[Thelinguist]

❓What do you consider more important: vocabulary or grammar? Let me know in the comments!

[MosesKazadi-rdc]

Thanks Steve... And I believe you're completely right. Focussing on grammar only delays our fluency and language learning process.

[Poliglotovic]

I don’t learn the language through the grammar, but I learn the grammar through the language. I see the language in context through sentences, texts and books and through osmosis I see how the grammar works. However, if I only learn grammar, I will never be able to learn the language properly.

That is how I learned Mandarin: I would sometimes review the grammar and one should do so from time to time. However, I learned all of the language due to exposure including reading and listening on LingQ. The same applies to any other language: exposure, listening, using. Use it or lose it!

[Language_Antics_Arabic]

Totally agree - as a child, we subconsciously identify the patterns of speech without consciously thinking about it! I hope we can all learn like a child 🍼 as adults, too!

[gillianfisher]

This makes so much sense, considering how we learn grammar in our native language. Only after we have a decent vocabulary do we start to pick apart nouns, verbs, sentence structures, etc. And the examples we receive are quite basic so we can really hone our understanding of the grammar itself.

[mansmo]

When I began learning Japanese four years ago, I only read a grammar book once before diving into graded readers and other simple materials. I put all my energy on learning vocabulary. As I progressed to native-level content, I began encountering intricate grammar patterns that I couldn't understand with just a quick dictionary lookup. So I skimmed through all the JLPT grammar, adding every grammar point that thought challenging to Anki and leaving the easy ones. I have since deleted that grammar deck, and now I find reading much more enjoyable. I agree with Steve here that you should not obsess over grammar, but in my opinion there are some grammar patterns that deserve deliberate study.

[BrunaMancuzo]

I'm trying this technique with my Italian. I'm working on reading and listening and I already feel that I have a better comprehension.
Thanks for all the tips, Steve!

[nikiniki]

I noticed for myself it's better to know just one word and then listen a lot and noticing how this word is playing in different situations.. it may be not a word but a phrase etc. i don't use flashcards and stuff like that to grow up my vocabulary, - instead, if i see a new word when i'm reading or watching something, i check its meaning in the dictionary with examples and then it comes to my vocab the most efficiant way. hope it helps someone. thanks for your video you are a great man 🖐

[Sawaedo]

I think that Steve explains the natural process of acquiring a language.

We as children first learn to listen, then speak, then write, and that's where grammar comes in, but in an age that we already have enough words in our vocabulary to at least understand the rules, or retrieve examples from our own memories.

Maybe learning grammar early as an adult could help us understand the language structure faster, but it may not be as beneficial if our goal is to understand that language at the beginner-intermediate states.

In those early stages (and always really), I think words and exposure are the most important things. Grammar is a nice to have.

[Learnwithjony]

I couldn’t agree with Steve more . When I started learning English, I focused more in vocabulary rather than grammar. In just learning trough a lot of input, watching movies, tv series, listening to music, podcasts, and so on. And I noticed that I was learning grammar in a natural way. So I acquired the language more easily.

[DanielleBaylor]

I think this makes sense. As children, we have to first learn words to begin communicating. We don't study grammar until we've reached grade school. Our parents might correct us beforehand but in general we just aquire words, we start to hear them being used and learn how to apply them.

As I'm gaining words, I can start to understand the general concept of things I'm listening to even though I don't know the grammar. I've definitely been taking a more word first approach. It helps to know grammar of course but the issue I run into is not being able t use it because I don't have the vocabulary yet

[bellathereader]

Great advice! My method is along your lines. I listen to pop songs in my target language (Russian), find the lyrics, and learn words from the songs. For instance a song I love has the word “birds”. I like birds, so I learn birds in the target language. I also translate the songs, create the lyrics phonetically, and then sing along. Lots of repetition, but I love learning this way!

[maurice]

Like mr Linssen, teacher Latin and Greek, on Bernardinus College used to say: "Not learn by heart, but recognize the forms, " especially the in case of the verbs.

[slappywhite]

Thanks for another great video Steve. Would love to see more vlog style video updates the way you did everyday for Korean about 10 years ago

[mimill]

that's actually a big struggle of mine with my German learning. for A2 level, we are asked to masterise all the cases perfectly; and many other grammar rules. While I understand that, I feel (maybe I am wrong and I welcome advices!!!) that I need more knowledge in vocabulary, verbs, expressions, instead of cases. I know many people who speak German as a third or four language, they speak quite easily and still make mistakes with cases quite often and have difficulties with that. However, they can have a full conversation with native speakers !

[tedc]

Thank you very much for this detailed explanation. Learning a language is a complicated process.

[magdalenewebster]

I always follow your strategies and I can confidently say they are the best!! Thank you for another great strategy, your the best!!!

[AdamGuyot]

As always, thanks for posting this. Seeing how you use mobile is extremely helpful.

[oyaayaz]

Steve, I totally agree with you. I couldn't understand even only one word of native speakers when I came to Canada though my grammar was pretty good. Then I spared lots of time for listening and reading to learn new words. As time went on, I noticed that I learned tons of new words, and I was able to understand the context. It is impossible to understand or speak well without knowing enough words. Yes, grammar is crucial however, we also need to know enough words. Additionally, to be able to use grammar, we have to have enough vocabulary.

[Andrew_Bell]

I agree with Steve. I used to regard grammar as highly important when learning a foreign language. But my experience of learning Mandarin has led me to believe that vocabulary, common phrases and common sentence structures are all much more important than studying grammar, especially when time is limited. A short grammar book is all you need, as Steve says.