Polyglot Reacts: Secrets of Learning a New Language? @TED

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👉 Another great talk by Lydia:

📖 LEARN A LANGUAGE THROUGH THE POWER OF STORY:

00:00​ Intro
00:36 Lydia learns a new language every 2 years
01:22 How do polyglots learn lots of languages?
03:59 I learned a language by watching Friends!
05:30 Practise speaking using self-talk
06:30 Fun and enjoyment are NOT enough
07:30 How create a system for language learning
09:50 Polyglots are geniuses... right?

Other language learning projects I've documented on YouTube:

👉 Learn Thai in 14 Days:

👉 Daily Study Routines and Schedules

And here are some other cool videos I like about learning languages fast:

[saulgoodman]

I was doing Japanese immersion and at one point I completely understood, without breaking down the sentence and words or even translating it, I hear "そろそろ学校は始まるね？”. And I was so taken aback and happy and got a massive rush of motivation!

[RachelEliason]

"In the beginning I enjoy it (a language learning method) but then it starts sucking" Sometimes the "right method" changes with my level. I love language apps when I'm starting out but later on they feel boring and repetitive. Often we are not looking for the one perfect method, but the best one for right now or to reach the next goal, IMHO.
Great video though, both yours and Lydia's. Thanks for sharing.

[zyrob]

I'm super grateful to this TED talk for kick starting my foreign language learning journey again. I remember watching this TED talk 1.5 years ago. At that time, I had the experience of learning Japanese for 4 years in school, but I found it very difficult. I tried my best but I still didn't feel confident in the language at all, and absolutely could not speak it, so I steered clear of language-learning afterwards, thinking I just had no "talent" in languages. This very video motivated me to believe that anyone can learn a foreign language to a high degree, it may take more effort for some, but it's not impossible. So the very next day I started learning Korean, a language I had always wanted to learn. I revamped my entire studying method, focusing on speaking and immersing myself in the language. 1.5 years later, I'm at a high intermediate level and can speak to native speakers without much problems, understand more than 80% of the content of videos in Korean without subtitles. On a recent trip to Korea, I even ended up having conversations in Korean with locals about all sorts of topics and explained to an elderly Korean man how to use the locker at a subway station (this was difficult). In the meantime, I also learnt a 2nd foreign language to low intermediate level and am starting on my third one.

[Learninglotsoflanguages]

This is encouraging. I started learning Korean 10 years ago. Actually studied about 4 or so. Now I have a plan and recently started working with someone who helps me. And I hope I will be able to speak comfortably in the future!

[paulhowlett]

Hi Olly, I watched this TED talk some time ago. Lydia is a fantastic polyglot and explains the different ways everyone can learn a language. I had an "Ah-Ha" moment similar to Lydia's understanding of German for the first time. Mine, was reading a notice on a photo of a noticeboard outside a castle. The script was in two different non English languages. When I read the notice, I was halfway through the second different script before I realised that I was reading a different script! I then had that "buzz" of knowing that I have progessed in understanding those foreign languages!

[GSpandy]

Yes, I agree with you. At the beginning when you are learning a new language you can’t understand what’s the structure of language and its grammar etc.. After 1 or 2 months You understand logic of language and people’s conversation. I know 3 languages. Now I am learning French.Wish me luck👌🏻

[ebereezike]

Lydia! One of my faves. This video made me see language learning in a new way❤️

[Frenchie]

I came across her Ted talk about 18 months ago and it inspired me to start learning my third language.

[thelanguagemadelazyshow]

OMG you and Lidia are my 2 favorite polyglots!

[aussiesurfer]

Thanks for standing up for Lýdia Machová. She does amazing work and is very down to earth with her advice and language learning structure.

[livedandletdie]

I learned English for the most part through video games, TV, reading novels and only partially through school, despite 9 years of formal English Education, yes schools are highly inefficient for language learning, however they are a good stepping point for getting the basics, you need to learn the syntax, aka grammar and such, then textbooks, help you understand conversations and their structures, dictionaries help you with vocabulary, and finally someone you can talk to, question and learn from, is important help if used correctly.
It's also really helpful if someone can teach you how to pronounce the words correctly, some languages have pitch or some other form of tone to differentiate words or phrases, for example Japanese which has 4 different pitches, or Swedish which has a lot of words that looks the same but are not the same, due to tone. For example the noun Apa(monkey), and the verb Apa(act goofy) rise rise vs rise fall... Or you could take my native tongue Scanian, which have da(then/that) dä(that) dää(this is/that is/there is) dää(there) de(that/you) or i(you plural) and i(inside/within).

Learning languages is easy, it's just excruciatingly slow and time consuming.

[renji]

This is great. My dream is to become a polyglot and I'm currently learning my third language so this is very helpful.

[FruityHachi]

lol i’m not entirely sure about this 2 year thing either, but if i remember correctly i think she mentioned it somewhere on her blog or something, that when she gets to a certain level (b2 at minimum) she picks up another language
and she discovered that it takes her approximately 2 years to get to that level

[foreverlearningfrench]

J'ai aussi apprécié la vidéo de Lydia. Elle est très inspirante !

[tobid.]

"That doesn't mean watching Friends is a language learning method" 🤣🤣 - so sad, that would be so easy to do

[CouchPolyglot]

To me it was also "random" to become a polyglot 🤣, I never planned it. But yeah, learning by having fun is the best. I am more of a "listener", it is the best way for me to learn 😄
I also must admit that I sometimes talk to myself in different languages when I am alone, glad I am not the only one 😁

[wardachrouaa]

I never thought I was that good in languages. I had very average grades in school for English and French. But I never loved going to school. I was studying because I had to. Also did not have real friends. I was okay with everyone, but kept my distance. I always felt older than them. When I started studying Arabic, I got a lot of negative feedback from people I knew. But it was so reviving to learn something completely new, completely different. I just jumped into it. After 6 years I spoke rather well. And 2 years later I think I was fluent.
The biggest surprise still had to come, though. I met people who had been studying Arabic for 10 years or more, who were still on an A level. So I thought; maybe I CAN learn languages.
So that was the trigger for me to relearn my English and French, and above that I also learned German, Indonesian, Moroccon dialect, and now started with Turkish. Of course I am not great in all my languages, and I speak them in various degrees of fluency.
But learning languages has changed me as a person. It made me much opener and more selfconfident.

[tatenewnham]

2:40 That reminds me of a chess strategy i used when playing online. Have one game with your friend and another with a bot but you play what your friend did and copy the moves the bot does in response.

[rsalc]

Olly, thanks for a nice reaction video.
I've watched several of Lydia's videos. I think that it takes her 2 years to feel comfortable with a language. It is at that point (the 2-year mark) that she becomes excited about learning a new language, using the system that has worked for her up until that point.

[imite]

Helle from Slovakia! (Lydia’s Motherland)