The 100% Foolproof Way Of Learning Any Language is..

For the past 18 years, I've only had one hobby that I never gave up: learning foreign languages. A bit of a strange choice for an American, I know. But I had a good reason for it. I wanted to travel the world someday, even though I didn't have the money to do it. If I learned Spanish, that had to help somehow with getting me to Latin America, right?

Turns out it did. Most people think learning a language is extremely difficult and you have to be super smart to do it. Nah. You speak English, don't you? Well you've already learned one language then. Learning more is as simple as knowing how to study languages on your own, following a good framework, and having lots of persistence. In this video I'll lay out the steps I use to learn any language. Follow them, and the world is yours.

Language difficulty lists (for English speakers):

Language apps for learning the essential vocab and grammar:

Free flashcard app for testing yourself:

Find a language teacher online:

Language exchange app (find language partner online):

Find language exchange meetups in your city:

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#sabbatical

[SabbaticalTommy]

By popular request, a little bonus video on how to learn any language.

Language difficulty lists (for English speakers):

Language apps for learning the essential vocab and grammar:

Free flashcard app for testing yourself:

Find a language teacher online:

Language exchange app (find language partner online):

Find language exchange meetups in your city:

None of the above are sponsors, just what I personally use.

[carlosgabrielli]

Anyone can learn a language, if they put their mind to it, in my case, I learned english when i was young, and 5 years ago I started to studying French in my own, and I can already communicate very well despite my age. I am 70 years old and soon I want learn another language, because that make me happy !!

[georgetaylor]

In the 1960's I was stationed with the US Navy on a base on the island of Puerto Rico. I first took all the letters in their alphabet and memorized both the name of the letter and the sound of the particular letter in their alphabet. I then took two words and one number each day and wrote them on paper until I had filled the whole sheet of paper with the particular word while saying the word out loud each time I wrote the word. I also kept a sheet of paper with the words I had worked upon. Despues de algunos dos o tres meses estaba ya hablando, escribiendo, y leyendo el idioma. Entonces, entré en la universidad en Bayamon. Encontré mi esposa y hoy tenemos sobre 56 años juntos. Te deseo mucho exito -- muy importante que no rindes!!! Perseverancia es la llave mas importante!! EXITO

[vovobillinbrazil]

Immersive instruction is really a key. In the military we were sent to a foreign country for schooling. 1st week the host family would speak English with me. The second was a mix. Starting on the third week completely foreign to me for 2.5 months. Fluent to this day. Then. I married my wife and needed a (third) language. And yes. Beer helps.

[theway]

I love this kid. He is honest, bright and he is empathetical to other peoples. Great teacher.

[healthy]

I remember when I was searching around in Meetup I found you! I attended your Language Mixed events in Guangzhou in 2018. I met you in the bar, an enthusiastic guy! It's a beautiful memory. I met a lot of interesting people there. Thank you! Hope to see you again.

[blususpect]

Yo Sabbatical, thanks for dropping this game on us, Muchos Gracias! Spanish 🇲🇽🇪🇸 is the goal for me! If a white boy from NYC speaks fluent Kiswahili 🇷🇼, you listen to his advice!

[paranoidhumanoid]

One of the key things to remember when learning a language is to not be afraid of "sounding stupid" or in uncomfortable situations as he mentions at 13:15. I find lots of Americans learning languages hold back and don't learn fast or their accent sounds too "American" because they're afraid to step out of their comfort zone and sound foreign. It should sound _foreign, _ not like a dialect of American English (imagine J. Lo or Mayor Bloomberg speaking Spanish)! Those who are fearless (like Tommy) tend to pick up languages faster because they're *not* afraid to make mistakes or sound weird. You're going to make mistakes -- that is a given. When you let go of that fear, you'll suddenly find that you sound more _natural_ and when you sound natural, you learn faster because people tend to find you more approachable and then you find yourself having normal *non-textbook* conversations with people from all over the world.

[stevenfrost]

This was a huge help, Thanks! I used Rosetta Stone when I was with the State Dept. to get a grasp on Farsi and it was monster.

[olakunleolasanoye]

Hi my friend, I’m your true fan all the way from Nigeria….I love you and I love what you’re doing…, planning all my retirement will be traveling around the world. Great job man

[daveolifent]

Im Australian and recently moved to Saudi Arabia. In learning Arabic ive found a great tool for practicing pronounciation is google translate. I speak Arabic into the app and sometimes need to repeat the sentence 10 - 15 times before it understands me. By then i know ive gotten the pronounciation nearly 100%. Once google translate can understand you, everyone else will as they also will have body language and context to help.

[EugenioFranklin]

This is a great vid.
As a Brazilian born, I've been living in the US (Connecticut, right next to your Long Island) for most of my life.
When I got here, in 86 (I was 20 yeas old), I didn't speak a single word of English and now I'm happy to say I speak 4 languages. Learning Ukrainian is the mission I'm on. Not for the war reason but I've always been fascinated by that country and their beauty, if you know what I mean!
I love you channel and watch every content you post.
BTW, your Portuguese is awesome, should've been higher up un that list you made about you level.
Keep up the great work.

[brandonweemhoff]

I needed this. I'm an American who has been living in Indonesia for the last 8 years. My language skills here definitely could be better. I just haven't been putting in that time to learn. I had private lessons when I first came here but then just got too lazy because I could survive without speaking locally. Thanks for the motivation, it's time to start learning more!

[LaceyAnn]

I watch a lot of different kinds of channels and out of everyone and all the genres including travel, this is my favorite channel. Love ya Sabbatical you the man!

[shellyfullerton]

I was learning Spanish on Duolingo and stopped. This has inspired me to restart

[TheoVanUtrecht]

My tip for immerson if you can't travel yet for whatever reason: consume media. Listen to music(try and sing, too), watch TV/Films, radio/podcasts, news broadcasts. Training your ear is as important as pronunciantion. Also, if you play a game regularly and know the UI well, you can change the language and broaden your vocabulary.

[tommboya]

I like your passion. I speak 14 languagesand I understand others so I can travel to most countries. Assimilation from root language.

[ultorfnv]

As an American who has had the experience to live in Norway and France, and travel across the world, I can vouch for this video to anyone who needs or wants to learn a new language. It IS possible, so long as you are dedicated and patient!

[jeffbrunswick]

You are right about how easy it is these days with smart phones. I learnt French in school back in the 1990s and it was brutal. 4 years of lessons I only learnt around 1000 words. By using apps on my phone, I managed to learn 3500 words of Brazilian Portuguese in two years. I wasn't even living in Brazil, I only visited on occasion for work and it made a huge difference.

[christopherpayton]

Hey thanks a lot for this! I was excited for this video's release, and now I'm inspired to learn more languages! I've learned Spanish, and now I want to tackle Portuguese and Guaraní