How to Become a Polyglot

CC subtitles available in: English, Italian, Russian, German, Vietnamese, Spanish and German.

I'd like to thank the volunteers who created this video's translations:

Sara
Fernando Arancibia

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To become a polyglot, you have to start by wanting to learn just one language. If you do so you may find you're motivated to learn another language, because you enjoyed the experience, the cultural enrichment, and the sense of satisfaction of becoming fluent in a new language. You're on your way.

0:00 Learning some of the language before travelling abroad.
1:59 The mentality of a polyglot.
3:08 I didn't set out to be a polyglot.
4:37 To be a polyglot you cannot be afraid.
7:00 The secret to becomming a polyglot.
8:14 The languages I am thinking about learning moving forward.

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My Podcast:

#learnlanguages #languages #polyglot

[Thelinguist]

How motivated are you to become a polyglot?

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Social Media

[overratedprogrammer]

The main thing I learned over the years on how to accomplish something is to stop watching videos on *how* to do something, and just do it

[NaturalLanguageLearning]

I haven't seen anyone whose main reason to learn languages was "I want to be a polyglot" actually be successful at speaking multiple languages. You get fluent at several languages, because you learn one language you're really interested in. And then another one, and so on.

[dro]

Hi Steve 80 years old here and work a little bit every day on Spanish and German. Not perfect but can get by with what I have learned. Your channel is motivating
Thank you from Yuma Arizona.

[akhilsharma]

You are an inspiration to me, usually people say you can't learn new things when you are old. I show them your channel then they start thinking and just divert the topic

[Minimalrevolt-m]

Being a polyglot or learning multiple foreign languages is absolutely not a competition of you to the others, but to yourself only. The mentality needs to fix correctly or else it is unhealthy to compete with others. No need to rush. You just need to listen to your gut of your preferably kind of method or technique that you always pinned for. It should be fun as well! It is not about how perfect you're good at that foreign language, it's about the process of learning and the result will be utterly fantastic. You do you! 💯

[MariaTheMillennial]

Yes, I totally agree. I think being a Polyglot means learning different languages, always thinking of languages, and knowing that you can never be finished with language learning. It is a lifelong process, and there are so many possibilities. Thank you Steve Kaufmann for all the inspiration :)

[teddynkwabi]

Finally someone said it🙌. If it's about showoff, then 3 months(or even less) worth of learning will get you to a show off point, no biggie. However being somewhat fluent in a language is actual hard work and it takes time, no shortcut. And that is what I believe to be the mindset of a polyglot.

Either way, Totally agree with all that you said Steve.

[Surgehero]

I love learning languages, the idea of connecting with other people in their native language was non-existent to me last year and I can’t imagine going back to that mindset. I’ve come so far with Korean, Japanese, and Chinese ( I’m still a beginner in all of them ) but I love learning them all and I also study a bit of Spanish and French occasionally as well.

[AlexWitoslawski]

Haha, the comment "of course, I was gonna push LingQ, you know - which I did, of course" is golden. Had me laughing. xD

I love your style, Steve.

[spoudaois]

My grandparents spoke cajun french, and later when we moved in my high school there were cuban students speaking spanish. I though it was the coolest thing to be fluent in more than one language. When I speak spanish I feel like my personality is different and thats fun. Its like you have the code or free pass to a secret society when you speak another language especially when traveling. In addition I enjoy the process because when I watch a french or spanish movie and work through it on lingQ, my entertainment is not a waste of time. I'm learning at the same time as being entertained.

[suzetteccc]

Good advice. In my youth, people always asked me if I were French. At 24 having "learned" it in school and University, I still couldn't speak it. So off I went to Paris to be an au pair. Worked like a charm. Came back got a job at the French Consulate General for 5 years, quit to have kids and traveled there many times once they grew up. I've had the opportunity to speak it here and there, so I think I will always have it, or so it seems so far. I then thought that since I took Latin and Spanish in high school, I could probably learn Italian as we were going there. Did night school (intermediate twice a year apart), and went a couple of times. I did pretty well, I think. Boy they speak fast! Had to get directions out in the country and it took a while, but we got there!. Took a garden tour a couple of years ago in Japan and learned at least a few phrases. You have to there. Apart from the hotels, it's tough to find someone who speaks English. For me the motivation is travel. I don't think you really get a place unless you speak the lingo. I also think it is only polite to have a few necessary words in your arsenal. They may laugh, but they love it.

[sauceboss]

"I learned one language then after wanted to learn another"

You hear that? Language learning is a gateway drug

[tkhrzxe]

im malaysian and i learned chinese, english and some malay. 3 of my language are not fluent, but at least i could understand most of the words in my daily language
i learn 3 of them together and i started learning my fourth language japanese.
your channel gives me motivation to learn language, and i found its fun to learn.

[kilam]

Just got some books from the library to start learning Dutch. I'm learning alongside Français
aussi. This video came at the perfect time when I'm motivated and inspired again. Wish me luck guys! And good luck on yours🙏🏾

[annasolanis]

I just read about you in the papers. I was very skeptical, how can one person become fluent in 20 languages. However, after listening to this, I get you can converse and read in many languages, so you can communicate with people. It was a bit of an assumption on my part that polyglot meant high fluency in many languages.

[elliecorson]

You’re completely right about the “English language disease”; and this is outrageously conceited when you think about it. To assume that others will bend to your spoken language and not even attempt any basic words/phrases is both unbelievable and maddening to me. British people (I am also British) are particularly guilty of this, especially in places like Spain where there is a lot of British tourism. It’s disrespectful - when in Rome, do as the Romans do! Plus native speakers are usually far more forgiving than people realise and just appreciate the attempt, even if its basic or you make a lot of mistakes. I went to Thailand recently and made every attempt to speak very basic Thai, and made sure I did the wai (bow with hands together) to everyone I met; people were pleasantly surprised and asked if I lived in Thailand. To see them smile and congratulate me on my (very limited lol) Thai was very gratifying.

[buunuki]

I am sooo happy that you are going to make Urdu available!!

[maprangrr]

Thank you! I was always afraid to write or speak in another language, but I want to become a polyglot to broaden my world. This video has made me not scared anymore to learn a new language.

[kelletazadu]

I just find out of your YouTube channel today in one of your interview and really enjoyed it specially when you said not to worry about accent