Mind hack: 7 secrets to learn any new language | Steve Kaufmann | Big Think

Mind hack: 7 secrets to learn any new language
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Canadian polyglot Steve Kaufmann has learned parts of 20 languages. He's come up with seven tips to help anyone attempting to learn a new language in their spare time.

First, you must commit the time and keep motivated. If you don't enjoy the process of learning a language, you probably won't get very far. Maintaining a positive attitude is key.

The sense of achievement in mastering a language is a profoundly positive experience. Focusing, at first, on vocabulary rather than grammar will help you in the long run.
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STEVE KAUFMANN:

Canadian polyglot Steve Kaufmann speaks 20 languages and counting and believes that anyone can learn a new language. You just need to be motivated, willing to put in the time and have the right method. Steve has written books and maintains a popular YouTube channel and blog.
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TRANSCRIPT:

STEVE KAUFMANN: The sense of starting with something that is just noise, listening to it, it's just noise. Looking at a funny script if you're learning Persian or Arabic or Russian or Chinese, and then finding that a few months later you actually understand it.

My name is Steve Kaufmann. I don't call myself a polyglot but I guess I am one. I have learned bits of 20 languages other than English, so I've developed some tips along the way so I tried to organize these. I came up with these seven tips, which I think are certainly some of the principles that I've learned from other people and I think they can be helpful.

The brain learns. The brain is a learning machine. The brain cannot do otherwise than learn. The brain always learns given stimulus, given enough exposure, but it learns slowly. And one of the biggest factors in language learning is time. How many hours or how much time you spend a day, and how long are you going to stay with it? So we have to spend the time.

The two fundamental factors in language learning are motivation and time. If you are doing what you like to do - you're motivated. If you don't like – as much as I like reading if someone doesn't like reading maybe they have to find some other way to learn. When you choose content to listen to and read, find content of interest, listen to people whose voice you enjoy. If you don't enjoy the voice or the subject matter, leave it and get on to something else. If you're doing things that you enjoy doing and if the process of language learning is enjoyable then you have a positive attitude and you're going to continue.

Many things happen in a language and some of these things we notice and some of these things we don't notice. For example, I could be listening to Russian and not notice how the cases work. I may not notice. Or maybe because it's pointed out I start to notice. Typically I find in language learning the more we listen, the more things we notice. And we want to notice. Insofar as pronunciation, for example. My father was from Czechoslovakia, so he would read words in English based on how he thought they should be pronounced. In Canada there's a province called Nova Scotia, for example. We even have a Bank of Nova Scotia. And my father can make the sound or could make the sound shuh, but he would always pronounced it Nova Sco-te-a: to him tia is sco-te-a. He didn't notice. He didn't make the effort to notice that, in fact, it's pronounced ""sco-sha"". So, we have to be a little bit attentive to what's happening in the language so that gradually we can develop better habits. Every time we notice something – a word, a phrase, structure, we're helping to put that into our, helping the brain create these patterns so that eventually we get the proper language habits.

To me language learning is a matter of acquiring words. Now, words and phrases, but phrases consist of words. You have to know what words mean. The larger your passive vocabulary, the more you understand. The more you understand, the more likely you are to be able to speak. Even if you only use a small subset of your passive vocabulary, the words that you understand. But...

[chaosrev]

Isn't it amazing how noise turns into meaning?

[Tehui]

1. Spend the time
2. Do you what you like to do
3. Learn to notice
4. Words over grammar
5. Be patient
6. Get the tools
7. Become an independent learner.

[itsmuimui]

"And occasionally I use it as a telephone" hahha love it

[jpny]

When I needed to learn English, I bought a book in English that I read few years earlier in my native language — I knew the basic plot, but didn’t remember too many details. I sat down with the book and a dictionary (this was before the internet) and started reading. First chapter took several weeks because I had to look up every word. But little by little I was reading faster and faster. It took about 7 months of daily reading to finish the book. But for the last chapter I needed to look up maybe only two words. I acquired about 80% of the vocabulary I use today from reading that first book. Of course, I couldn’t really speak the language because all I did was reading. But I understood spoken English from the radio. My brain somehow connected the sounds of spoken English to the visual/written form. So I could understand spoken language too. However, it would take maybe another year to learn how to speak the language.

[abesapien]

Steve Kaufmann is the real deal in the polyglot community and is a well-loved teacher. Excellent pick, Big Think!

[Aditya-teoo]

I completely agree with his no. 4. words over grammar and 5. be patient points. Vocabulary is more important than grammar. We didn't learn grammar in our native languages, still most of the time when we speak, we speak grammatically correctly. I'll say first learn most common 5, 000 words in your target language, then learning other words will be much easier. And be patient 'cause language learning takes time; so don't frustrate if you're not understanding everything at first.

[aschelkownikoff]

"I don't call myself a polyglot but I guess I am one", I really like this man ХD

[YuHaoHuang]

my only little tip for learning:
find a topic you like, watch about it on youtube

[hosseinomidrafighdoust]

Hi Steve happy to find you. I am an Iranian doctor (pathologist)living in Iran. It’s been 20 years that I passively have learnt English and maybe I am in upper intermediate level. Thanks for your kindly advice in your interview with Lisa that I caught you. I knew there are hundred thousands Iranian living in Canada yet I am ready if I can help you learning farsi language. please do not hesitate to get help. I’ll follow your remedy learning English too

[felipemaldonadoguzman]

Hello steve l'm from dominican republic and l'm 18 years old, l'm learning 4 languages for my own, sometime l feel tired, but everytime that l watch your useful videos l get motivated and keep moving on with my languages learning, you are a amazing human being, keep it up.

[maximellow]

I accidentally used this methode to learn english and got fluent.
I just read an watched movies because my fav show wasn't translated to german yet.
Didn't know this methode existed, but it worked really well for me.

[KaninTuzi]

Tips 1 and 2, I like to express as: Be driven by passion and guided by patience

[shrikantraut]

Spoilers ahead:




1. Spend time.
2. Do what you like.
3. Learn to notice.
4. Words over grammar.
5. Be Patient.
6. Get the tools.
7. Become an independent learner.

[PracticalInspiration]

One of my favourite videos on the channel! Recently I've come across the idea of vocabulary over grammar a lot, so definitely going to try and put it into practice

[tumtumpak]

I'd like to point out one tip that helped me a lot when learning a new language, as soon as you know the basic turn your phone language to the one you are trying to learn. At first it can be overwhelming but as smartphones nowadays are so intuitive most of the things you do with it will come out inconscuously. It's a great way of getting continuously involved in the language and not only the time you sit down and study. Also is great to acknowledge a lot of vocabulary, also get your self a g-board keyboard of that language and look up in the internet using it. Another thing, don't base you learning on only your native language, for example. I am Spanish and i am learning Ukrainian, i usually search for gramar explanation on those 3 language as a lot of the phrases formations are more similar in English than in Spanish, some of them we don't even have it in Spanish (for example "already" (вже), in Spanish is "ya" which has a much more open meaning than the word in English) some other things must been learn in the language you are learning as there are not such things in your own. I hope this can help anyone!

[alanmalaquias]

You are the best mentor of the you tube, for leanguage learning!Thank you.

[LoisSharbel]

This is the best info on language learning....or learning of any kind....that I've come across. Having realized late the truth that we learn what we need and like, I'm chagrinned to know I didn't connect this with just listening a lot and reading and speaking the extra language aloud, however imperfectly. THANK New adventure coming up!

[moaznayle]

شكرا يا استاذ
Thank you professor
Gracias profesor

[januskaminsky]

I speak a few languages myself and the way I learned them is by memorizing the words phonetically ("translating" it to my mother tongue) while expanding the vocabulary, followed by getting the grammar right, then listening to the correct pronunciation by a native of that language....and repeating it many times.

[marcomill]

I've been stuck for years on learning German. After so much effort I've never felt to hve made any progress! Thanks to Steve Kaufmann I know what i did wrong. I focused only on grammar, totally neglecting vocabulary