How To Learn a New Language With Stories

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The RIGHT Way to Learn Vocabulary From Stories

⏱ TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 What is StoryLearning?
00:40 The science of stories
02:05 Why your brain loves stories
03:14 How stories help you learn any language
04:51 The 3-part “StoryLearning” method
05:15 Part 1: Immerse
08:30 Part 2: Learn
10:35 Part 3: Activate

::: IMMERSION RESOURCES :::

As promised in the video, here is a complete list of immersion resources, broken down by language:

🇪🇸 LEARN SPANISH:

🇫🇷 LEARN FRENCH

🇮🇹 ITALIAN

🇩🇪 GERMAN

🇯🇵 JAPANESE

🇨🇳 CHINESE

Here are some other good videos about learning a new language:

[GummyWummyWorm]

I think the funny thing I notice about myself when attempting language learning, is that I find myself researching and watching a lot of videos and reading a lot about different methods. To the point that I actually end up never attempting the language itself and freak myself out.

[ewandominicmcgregor]

"no translations... because as soon as you translate you remove all the struggles from the process. Your brain learns and grows when it struggles and grapples to understand" This is not just good language advice, it's good life advice too haha! I found this statement to be true in my Thai Learning too. I read the same book in Thai 3 times, and each time it was challenging, but gradually it got easier and easier! The struggle was very real the first time through though!

[lex]

I have a copy of a book titled "The avion my uncle flew", and it basically adds a few French words each chapter, until the last chapter which is completely in French. By reading the story, even passively, you obtain a basic reading knowledge of French. I wish I could find similar books for other languages.

[theocurtis]

Olly's voice is so reassuring. I don't even know why but I just feel hella calm when I listen to him.

[jboops]

very important video. i've been immersing seriously for 6 months and can confirm everything you said. get comfortable with the discomfort of not understanding and let your brain do what brains have been doing for thousands of years!! thanks olly

[juliamaia]

A bit of personal experience here: the first step really does sound like magic and craziness, but it also really works! I'm Brazilian, and around here it's very common for kids/teens (whose families can pay for it) go to language schools as something extra from the normal school itself. I went to one of those, Senac, for any brasileiros reading this, for 4 years, but the thing that made me fluent in English was not the classes or anything related to the course, really. The thing that made me closer and closer to fluency was actually YouTube. Back when I was around 12-13years old youtube didn't really have subtitles the way we have today, so by watching a bunch of videos (like diys, vlogs, hauls, etc) that had no subtitles whatsoever, I was forcing my brain to understand through context and "se virar nos 30" (find a way to work with those informations). And the boom in my english capacities was amazing. I know I had the course as a backup, teaching me grammar and giving me at least a few minutes of conversation per week, but the at home and independent stuff I did really was the difference for me.
So yeah, if you're also learning a new (or a few new languages like me (currently mandarin and spanish), give a shot to videos and stories, especially in audio format! They do really help!
I wish good learning sessions for everyone reading this :) ♡

[tonycolle]

I was in Russia visiting friends (my Russian was not very good). One night I sat with my friend's 5-year-old and we read some of his children's books together as the adults talked in Russian at the dining table. I learned a lot. I picked up on some grammar and vocabulary (the pictures helped, I must admit). I even won an argument speaking in Russian based on the story vocabulary.

[arman]

Wow, I have been using the same method to learn languages since the early 2000s.

When I start learning a language, I read very simple kids' books and listen to radio to learn vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. Then after I get a feel for the language, I look up some points of grammar. Next step is to find a native speaker to practise speaking. That's it.

I am amazed that I have been unconsciously doing the same method as you. I have always told people that my approach is "learning by doing".

[tullochgorum]

I also WRITE stories and memorise them. Either crazy mnemonic stories incorporating vocabulary I want to learn. Or stories about my life that I would use in practical conversations - "Language Islands" of well rehearsed info about my family, my work, my interests, why I'm learning the language etc - things that will come up in almost any conversation with people you meet. When your brain understands that something is personally useful, it's much more likely it will hold on to it.

[septembersage]

3 minutes into the video and I notice the pile of books of short stories on the table. I then realise that I have one for Spanish, I go to check the author name of my book and I realise that it's the same guy I'm watching now. wowee

[angelar]

I noticed how fluent and natural you sounded on day 5 of activate. Inspiring.

[CasualEngineering]

I can relate to the moment at 11:50 when you said a Spanish word by mistake. In 7th grade, when we had just started learning French in school, we had to say something about ourselves like our name and age. And I said "catorce años" instead of "quatorze ans" (I immediately corrected myself but all the kids laughed anyway). I was more familiar with Spanish since watching movies in that language as a kid. Needless to say, everyone had figured out my passion for telenovelas, haha!

[thorvald]

I have been learning Danish and Norwegian with your books and audio for 9 months. My online tutors are impressed with my vocabulary and pronunciation. You have made learning languages affordable and fun. Can't thank you enough! :-)

[yoRockstardude]

The part about new words sticking from stories is so true. In 1st grade i was reading a story that used the word "neighborhood." I had no idea what this word meant so i went and asked the teacher, I still remember that conversation.

[fishboyridesagain]

I like using a dictionary in the language that I'm learning to look up words, instead of falling back on a "... to English" translation. Using a dictionary in the language I'm learning adds a layer of immersion.

[tamusic]

I learned English almost exclusively by listening and reading (I learned rudimentary English in school - never got fluent, and what I learned back then later became more of a hassle and a regret). I read magazines I liked, I started to read books because I like reading in general, but (as I was traveling all the time at the time) I couldn't get books in my own language, so I had to I buy books in English (you can often find books in English in train stations and the like in many countries). I never, not once, used a dictionary. I didn't look up words - I just continued reading. By the end of the book I would have come across the same words so many times that my mind got the right image from the context they showed up in. And for me words *stick* if I learn them by association. I listened to people and I watched TV and movies. And that's how I learned English. By now I must have read thousands of English-language books. I can't remember the last time I came across something I didn't immediately understand. Another good thing about learning words from association and not from a dictionary is that you get a much better feeling for the nuances of words - languages don't usually have exact translations for every word of other languages. But.. now I'm learning a language I can't immediately read. I have to.. study. Make an effort. Use translations. I'm at a loss. It takes *forever*. It's pretty frustrating.

[Siennaflower]

I have gotten interested in languages mostly through music. I fell in love with Andrea Bocelli's songs, and learned some Italian through them. I grew up around Spanish speakers, and took French for 5 years in school. I have enjoyed comparing and contrasting these romance languages with each other. Then I fell in love with Dimash, and learned a little Kazakh, Mandarin, and Russian from his songs, as he sings in many different languages (including French & Italian). I started watching a YouTube channel about Dimash in Russian, learned Cyrillic, and have been surprised by a somewhat natural aptitude I seem to have for Russian. Concurrently, I have also fallen in love with BTS, and both their music and behind the scenes content on Youtube are giving me a lot of exposure to Korean. I have learned Hangul, and practice singing along with their lyric videos. I have always preferred written language over spoken, so I tend to start with reading languages first, but eventually after listening, I find myself becoming willing to speak as well, and the words in my head start coming out of my mouth. Singing along with songs is also a fun and easy way to get comfortable with the spoken language. Other than that, my son is married to a Japanese woman, and I will work more in the future on my Japanese so I can keep up with my bilingual grandbabies! Languages are so fun and exciting! I am 65, and I plan on learning as many as I can for the rest of my life! It makes me feel like a truly global citizen. With Youtube, I don't even have to travel, and I can still find all the native speakers I want to hear to assist me!

[KC-vqot]

"You don't really know the place, until you get lost in it"

As true for languages, as for anything else. Immersing yourself without a safety net is something every learner should do early in their journey. I remember getting lost in Istanbul. A tourist outside of the touristic map he had and with nothing but English, Russian and some turkish borrowings into my native language. Let's just say, that years passed and I still am able to have a basic conversation in Turkish. Funnily enough, used in the similar situation in Germany some time later

[tumundolatino]

Man, You just opened my eyes.I have learned 2 languages and studying 2 more. I have read and watched many sources about the learning process, your video is the most important info I have found so far. Thank you so much and a big hug from Venezuela.

[Sununtall]

When I moved from Thailand to Chile, I spent my first year studying Spanish grammar and vocabulary but I couldn’t understand and capture any words Chilean said. But, a year later, I had a shop and attended customers by myself. My brain was forced to understand the conversation. Within 10 days after opening the shop, I could understand everything and be able to converse with customers.

After I listened to your VDO, I am sure that your method works. Our brain has its way to collect knowledge and use it when you need to.