Is there a shortcut to conversational fluency?

CC subtitles available in multiple languages.

Ever wondered if rapid conversational fluency is just a myth? In this video I share my opinion and lay out the roadmap to genuine conversational skills.

@timferriss videos featured:

⏲️ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 What is conversational fluency
0:32 Q&A announcement
1:20 Why comprehension is so important
2:45 Tim Ferriss' deconstruction method
5:04 How do we learn vocabulary?
6:29 Is spaced repetition effective?
8:29 Getting ready to output

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[Thelinguist]

❓Do you have a question you want me to answer in the Q&A video? Leave it in the comments below!

[hatersgotohell]

I agree with you. There's no way to short cut learning a language. You need to consume it in massive quantity, especially with reading.

[Suhnik]

I think what people tend to forget is what true „learning“ is. Being able to recall something after a certain amount of time does not mean you „learned it“ in my experience. The degree to which something seems to deeply engrain into your brain when you use it everyday for a long time in different circumstances, the moment when you stop thinking about a word in its different translations for example and just KNOW what someone said or wrote when you look at it, that is so different and there is no shortcut to achieving that. You can memorize a few thousand words or characters in a few months, but they will hang in your head very loosely and won’t be of great use, at least that’s what my experience was with things like Anki. The return for the time and effort invested is extremely small compared to just natural exposure to the language.

[robertoestrangeiro]

People sometimes talk about subjects without knowing much about them or without thinking much about them - They just want to show off, show how eloquent they are, Steve Kaufmann however talks about his experiences - His speeches are never empty!

[BijuuMike]

Hey Steve! Congrats on the huge milestone. Here is my question:

How many hours a day did you spend when you first learned Chinese and Japanese in order to become fluent and if you could go back, would you do anything differently to be more efficient?

Been using LingQ for a while now for Japanese and I'm really enjoying it!

[muhammad-emdad-rony]

This golden prize not only makes you happy but we also happy with you. Love you for your daily class.

[Ngt]

1M subscribers 🎉
Congratulations Steve.

[RyNzOr]

Reading and listening is the best way to really improve, but once to use a word you have to really understand it to let your brain be confident to prompt you when you speak.

[radheo]

Thank you for sharing The 13-sentence method. I don’t see it as the destination, but rather as a helpful jumping off board from which to start learning some of the intricacies of a new language.

[lazstan]

Thanks for the videos Steve. I'm born bilingual English and Hungarian in NJ... Then at age 50 you and others got me to go full on into Spanish reading Harry Potter. Never missed a day for 3 years. Now I'm onto french because of you and Olly and others.

[paulwalther]

I have to comment on the making the same mistakes week after week with your tutor. I took online Japanese small classes and this website offered several classes taught by a few teachers. Once in a while they would get a new teacher etc. but usually they were regular. I remember one new teacher and I was kind of excited because she was a young and kind of pretty. Well, she taught us a lesson... and explained a few expressions, grammar etc. The lessons aren't designed to review material but for whatever reason we asked the same questions about the same things again and she had to explain the EXACT same things again to us... and I think I was the only one who even noticed that she explained this the week before (And I only noticed AFTER she explained it again). I could tell by the look on her face she might not be the patient type that's able to explain things over and over and over to adults that can't remember much. She was gone shortly after. When you find someone who really can explain something to you over and over even though you're a dumb foreigner that just doesn't get it.. you've found someone special. Patient teachers are the best.

[flashgordon]

Congratulations on the well-deserved subscriber count! You've been such a source of encouragement on my Japanese language journey. I wish you continued success!

[luisguilhermeoliveira]

I love watching videos on YouTube in the language I'm learning and leaving a comment even if the only thing I'm able to say is "nice video, I agree with you". Understanding a language and using it well are two distinct abilities. It's like memorizing recipes and actually cooking something. I'm always trying to have conversations with myself since I usually don't have anybody to practice it, and it's a great way to find the gaps in my knowledge.

[larrysankey]

Makes so much sense. There are no shortcuts. Put in the work.

[didierlafond]

C Cordialement de Montréal, votre ville d'origine! Didier Cher Steve! Un grand bonjour de Montréal. Je suis vos vidéos depuis longtemps et les trouve toujours passionnantes. J'apprends le japonais de manière intensive depuis 3ans et, cette semaine, je commence un livre scolaire unilingue en japonais pour les élèves du primaire. Comme vous le dites, il faut prendre du plaisir dans l'apprentissage des langues. Cela me plaît énormément de lire en japonais - sans traduction.

[tomasmills]

How effective has your general approach of "dont spend too much time on grammar and just let the language wash over you" been when studying a language as gramatically complex as Arabic? Congratulations on one million!

[KateWitt]

When he speaks about your brain knowing what you're supposed to do but still wanting to revert to your native language! Truth. I definitely experience that. Sometimes I speak a Korean sentence and then I'll stop and just say "wow I just Englished all over that thing!" Yeah, it's technically using Korean words but it said in a very Englishy way.

[headinthemountains]

Congrats on the gold Youtube plaque. !!
My questions for the Q&A:
-How many hours of Comprehensible Input should you have before you start speaking (ie output)
-What is your opinion on watching material in your target language (eg spanish) with subtitles on in the target language (eg spanish)
Thanks for sharing

[LeftToWrite]

I think a lot of people don't realize how many skills are needed to be in a conversation. As I learn Italian, I find I can understand the conversations of others as long as I am not taking part in the conversation.

[eliscmj]

It's so cool to see the progress you've made over the years with this channel and your app project. I love the refreshing takes you've done lately, where you challenge ideas.

My question is: Do you have any favorite books in Mandarin Chinese, any subject.