how to learn languages in a LAZY way (advice from a polyglot)

My Podcast "Listen to Myself"🤗👇

📚 my lazy language learning routine

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🍄chapters
0:00 intro
2:59 very entertaining method
8:59 the best method if you are a busy person
10:28 weird but effective method
11:22 a method that calm your mind

[pearlywong]

I’m so excited to share with you all my lazy language learning routine Yayyyy!! There’s really no magic when it comes to language learning. I believe the two most critical things are to enjoy the process and to be consistent. I believe that’s exactly what made me a polyglot today. I hope you enjoy today’s video, and please do share with me your ways of learning languages that made you enjoy the process, I would love to know

[quirklyquibble]

Basically the advice is:

- watch videos in a foreign language
- listen to podcasts
- read books

And you don't really need to work on it, just do it to immerse yourself in the foreing language environment and have fun.

[bangkokadventures]

A lot of this sounds right to me. Polyglots don't really study or do homework. It's all just tons of listening and exposure to the target language

[e-genieclimatique]

in brief:
1. **Enjoy the Learning Process**: The creator emphasizes the importance of enjoying the language learning process. She believes that consistency, which is key to mastering a language, comes easier when you're having fun.

2. **No Strict Schedules or Goals**: Unlike traditional methods, she doesn't set strict goals or schedules, nor does she focus on memorizing vocabulary. Instead, she follows methods that make her happy and keep her engaged.

3. **Watching YouTube Videos**: Part of her daily routine involves watching YouTube videos in the language she's learning. She prefers videos on topics that interest her, spoken by YouTubers who speak clearly and talk a lot. This helps her practice listening skills.

4. **Listening to Podcasts**: While doing chores or running errands, she listens to podcasts in the target language. This helps her immerse herself in the language without needing to live in a country where it's spoken.

5. **Talking to Herself**: She practices speaking the language by talking to herself, which she finds useful when there's no one else to converse with.

6. **Reading Books**: She ends her day by reading books in the language she's learning. Even though she might not understand everything, it helps her practice reading and pronunciation.

7. **Using Social Media**: She has a separate social media account where she follows French influencers and accounts. This allows her to improve her French while scrolling through social media.

8. **Learning Multiple Languages**: When learning multiple languages, she prioritizes one (currently French) and spends at least 1.5-2 hours on it daily. For the other languages, she spends at least 10 minutes each.

The creator emphasizes that her approach is not about discipline or forcing oneself to study, but about enjoying the process and learning in a way that feels natural and engaging.

[youaremeish]

I never intended to learn Korean, but I’ve developed comprehension of the language since I watch a lot of Korean dramas and movies. I’m now thinking of studying it seriously since I’m familiar with the words, just not the grammar. I realized it was time since the other day I was telling my cat to get up in Korean, without even realizing I knew the word already 😂

[saucy]

Lots of polyglots use the method where you think in the language you're learning. A lot of it pertains to going back to when you were learning your mother tongue; how your parents and environment makes you fluent, and you have to think in that language. I watched another polyglot talk about how they also learn this way, and I didn't realize that I had done that with every language I know. It also helps to choose a language with a culture that interests you, much like how you said to watch a video with topics that interest you. It makes you want to engage in the language more <3

[philipdavis]

Great tips. This is basically Stephen Krashen's approach (and Marvin Brown). Not learning a language but acquiring it through comprehensible input.

[person]

School and formal learning can be so boring and filled with busy work that doesn't teach you much.
It is important to immerse yourself in the language, and there are many opportunities throughout the day to do so.

[moonyaan]

That's basically how I learned English too!! my mother tongue is Spanish and in school you waste at least 12 years since kindergarten to highschool learning grammar and memorizing verbs but surprisingly I got way more fluently learning for about 2 years by my own with this method (that's called Comprendible Input btw) and I can now understand and speak with natives without struggling. Now I'm doing the same for other languages as well, hoping to be a polyglot one day 😊

[Ludimie]

Talking to yourself to practice a foreign language is a free-essential if you don't live abroad. I'm so used to it now I don't even feel embarrassment anymore X'D
For your french, we have a cool youtube channel called "Arte" (it's a french-german creation, so sometimes it's more in german) with great topics, in case you've never seen it and you want to vary with news.
Great video, thanks for sharing it !

[robalexnat]

Have learned/speak 8 languages, and this is highly language dependent as well as what your base language is. For example, I have not met a single person whom I studied languages with that could do this with Mandarin nor Japanese, due to the pictorial nature. The learners were from Latin and Arabic script based languages and all struggled to some degree. Even classmates that were native Mandarin speakers learning English or French had to dedicate time getting familiar with the alphabets, pronunciations, and nuances of text writing.

The "lazy" method you recommend actually leverages a lot of intuitive abilities you developed as a child coming from a Mandarin/Hakka and from what I assume was early exposure to Latin scripts (via English). Notice how when you moved to Arabic, the different script and writing styles plus pronunciation techniques require some dedicated practice there as well.

I am not saying immersion isn't necessary. But blindly JUST doing immersion is not going to get you far as fast as if you have interweave it with dedicated targeted practice for vocabulary, grammar structures, and of course, actively practicing actually speaking the language since listening is always easier. There are a couple of great channels on YouTube that cover this and real life organizations that also use this targeted technique for more rapid language acquisition.

[dreamysol]

this is exactly how i feel. i tried all the popular advice like getting a good grammar book, using anki or quizlet for vocab so that i could learn spanish in 2020. i was only consistent for a few months before i burned out due to de motivation and not seeing progress. i honestly hated learning spanish when i was doing it that way because it reminded me so much about how we learn language in school. i learned about comprehensible input and i learned about the channel dreaming spanish and i decided to give it a try so i picked up spanish again this year in january. i think this method really works for me because i’m finding that i’m understanding a lot of the beginner/super beginner videos on their channel and even if there are words i don’t know, i can figure out what they are through context.

[protyper]

Best way for one person will not be best way for another. I have been learning French and what seems to work best for me is only just reading, rather than listening to stuff and saying the French I learn from reading to friends. This may not be most effective but it’s what works best for me. Best of luck to all fellow language learners out there 🎉

[woomygosh]

Oh yes talking to yourself is very important. Thinking in the language as well. That's how I perfected English. Now I got bored because I know it well enough I can call myself bilingual. I wanted to learn French but dropped it unfortunately but maybe this video is a sign. Now I decided korean sounds very beautiful so here we are. I also love to copy sounds so talking to myself even if I don't really know what I'm saying is good practice. Language is just sounds that mean things how hard can it be

[KovolosChannel_therealkovolo]

talking to yourself in the language you’re learning is suuuuch a useful tip. big ups

[alinagrinenko]

Girl you just described my day of learning. A lots of listening then speaking and very important, enjoying. By the way talking to yourself it’s completely normal

[joaomarcelo__]

😂😂😂 It was amazing!! I see languages, and the learning of it, as a way to connect people and understand the world around you...
That energy you have is such important to enjoy the process of learning.

[Celestina]

YouTube has a good transcript feature that moves along with each sentence so you can pause and see the words you missed. Also the kindle app links to audible to do the same thing for a lot of books. Very useful tools!

[LisaEveShow]

I love your personality so much. I love how you're making this work for you. Thank you for giving me permission to b a LAZY language learner. This is incredibly helpful because I've been doing most of this. OMGSH I also made a social media account in my target language!

[wolf_dietrich]

I really appreciate having found your channel, you have already become my favorite youtuber, every day i'll watch a video of you to improve my English.