How to Get Started Learning a Language

CC subtitles available in multiple languages.

As Aristotle said “well begun is half done”. Laozi said “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. This is true for language learning. Just getting started is half the battle, but you need to make sure you get started in the right way.

0:00 My favourite proverbs connected to making a start on a goal.
1:01 Getting back into studying Persian.
2:26 The best content to start with when learning a new language.
4:13 What you shouldn't try to study with when starting out in a new language.
5:20 Don't try to study conjugation tables, declension tables, etc.

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My Podcast:

#languagelearning #languages #polyglot

[Thelinguist]

How did you get started in your target language?

[caroveganec]

I love LingQ mini-stories. It's incredible how effective they are. I have learnt so many words in Polish in just one month and I don't need to rack my brain trying to understand what they mean, it's very easy to remember vocabulary when words are put in a context. Thank you so much!

[pauld]

Graded readers are a great way to start learning a language.
They are pretty much like mini stories.

[RorinoTheGreat]

Currently learning Russian. I’m 21 and in it for the long run. Hoping to eventually understand/speak many languages; I’ll list the languages in the order I want to learn them, let me know how you other commenters feel:
1. Russian
2. German
3. French
4. Spanish
5. Mandarin
6. Persian
7. Arabic
8. Korean
9. Japanese
10. Portuguese
11. Romanian
12. Polish

I fully expect this list to change over time, but this is my current feeling!

[darioshub]

I speak six languages (Croatian, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Japanese) and have one video in my channel speaking them and wanted to say that learning a language is a passion for any polyglot and whenever I learn any language, I use all possible tools online, from newspapers to radio channels and TV shows first getting used to the pronunciation even without understanding it. Any material online is worth using when learning a language. I try to immerse myself into the language that I try to learn.

[ericasouza]

Eu quero aprender inglês!!! Este canal está me estimulando! Obrigada!😘🇧🇷

[berenyiandre]

Dear Steve, I really admire your intelligence and your energy. There are very few people like you.
Warm regards. Andre BERENYI

[chikincinema]

Steve ever since I've been following your advice my Russian has improved a lot.

Так я просто больше спасибо. У меня есть был изучаю для 131 дней теперь. Пытаюсь становиться В1 скоро.

[MikePailleur]

I would also add with the mini-stories you don't have to ask yourself every day what am I gonna study. You just go through them, read and listen many times like you mentioned many times before. I used to try to find so many different beginner materials or what was the better method that I ended up learning nothing and wasting hundreds of hours.

[MDobri-syce]

When learning languages I remember when I was young growing up learning English and French this harsh at the time lesson but true like, Why is that word spelled and said like that? And a lot of the times I would get this reply, “I don’t know why but it is way it is!”

[MDobri-syce]

I have been learning Russian on and off maybe actively in you include high school maybe 4 years plus . I still get tried from reading the Cyrillic alphabet but gradually it becomes easier. No different from learning English growing up but the only difference is English less focus needs to be used compared to Russian.

[tomdoesstuff]

As an alternative to the mini stories, I am seeing more YouTube channels posting "absolute beginner" series. You Can Chinese has one that is over 12 hours long for example with lots and lots of repetition totally in Mandarin and it is fantastic. Dreaming Spanish has a ton of content too that is native language only for the very early beginner stage. Comprehensible Thai has many videos in the same vein, although needs some more absolute beginner videos. Alice Ayel for French, Naturlich German for...well, German of course, have more of the same. Assimil too is perfect for beginners. So what are you waiting for? Get listening!

[aspookyeel]

I just checked lingq to see georgian is now available! Perhaps I just missed it before, but I've been building up a lot of interest in georgian these past few months. Glad to see it

[budekins]

LingQ mini stories are useful to say the least.

[oobsmdk]

1.
Laozi proverb, One thousand miles jouney with first step.
Well begun is half job done
3.
Topics with verb repeatotion.
Jump into mid stream

[chaitanyag]

Hello Steve!
I'm Ms Chaitanya, your follower from India. I'm so impressed with your videos. When you say learning a language, does it necessarily include reading and writing?

[FrankKimono]

I learn whole sentences saying them aloud. 5 days - 300 repetitions per day at least. Later I don't need to translate. I know the meaning of words straight away like in my native language. And also I remember the meaning longer than by learning separate words. This method is called: chunking. It was a real game changer in my learning process and communication skills in English and other languages.😊😊

[routetomorocco]

Thank you for this vedio because it is very important

[gsantini]

I want to get started learning Russian with easy short stories with alot of repetition. I'll try your linQ as I'm very committed but seem to be stuck. Thanks for any suggestions, I love books but not easy to come by in rural Alaska and internet is spotty like the electric power, lol

[dutchessdreamer]

I’m learning six languages right now. I might learn more in college.😊