How I Learn to Speak Any Language in 24 Hours
Summary
TLDRThe speaker shares their extraordinary experience of learning 56 languages within 24 hours each, a feat they achieved by overcoming initial struggles with language learning. They critique traditional pedagogical methods that focus on rote memorization and instead advocate for immediate speaking practice with native speakers. The speaker's method involves daily conversation sessions, sentence mining for key phrases, and using Anki for spaced repetition to memorize grammar and vocabulary. This approach is contrasted with the common practice of learning scripts and alphabets first, which they argue can be postponed until after achieving conversational fluency.
Takeaways
- 😲 The speaker learned to speak 56 languages in under 24 hours each, surprising strangers by speaking their language.
- 📚 Initially, the speaker struggled with language learning in high school, finding textbooks overwhelming and ineffective for speaking.
- 🌏 After moving to China, the speaker began to excel at language learning and now considers themselves an expert in rapid language acquisition.
- 🔠 The speaker criticizes traditional language textbooks for frontloading too much information, making language learning intimidating and confusing.
- 🗣️ The key to the speaker's rapid language learning is daily speaking practice with online tutors or friends for 10-15 sessions over 3 weeks.
- 💬 The focus of speaking practice is on practical conversation skills, starting from basic phrases and building up to complex conversations.
- 📝 Sentence mining is the second part of the speaker's method, where they record key words and phrases into Anki for memorization.
- 🔄 Anki, a flashcard program, is used with spaced repetition to optimize memory retention of the learned material.
- 📖 The speaker does not learn the alphabet or script initially, instead focusing on spoken language and memorizing sounds.
- 🔗 Sentences learned in Anki are not just memorized, but also understood for grammar, allowing for natural language construction.
- 🔗 The speaker archives language decks not actively studied, which leads to forgetting languages that are not in use.
Q & A
How many languages did the speaker claim to have learned to speak?
-The speaker claimed to have learned to speak 56 languages.
What was the speaker's initial experience with learning languages in high school?
-The speaker was initially terrible at learning languages in high school, despite getting good grades. They felt overwhelmed by the textbooks and couldn't speak the languages they studied.
What did the speaker believe was the problem with typical language textbooks?
-The speaker believed that typical language textbooks frontload too much information, such as alphabets, scripts, charts, tones, and grammar, which can be intimidating and mystifying for beginners.
How does the speaker describe the speaker's method for rapid language learning?
-The speaker's method involves two parts: speaking practice with online tutors or friends for 1 hour per day over 3 weeks, and sentence mining where key phrases or sentences are recorded into Anki for memorization.
What does the speaker call the basic phrases they use to start conversations in a new language?
-The speaker refers to these basic phrases as 'magic sentences'.
Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of speaking from day one?
-Speaking from day one is crucial because it helps demystify the language and overcome the fear of speaking, which was a problem the speaker faced in high school.
What tool does the speaker use to record and memorize key phrases or sentences after each speaking session?
-The speaker uses Anki, a free flashcard program, to record and memorize key phrases or sentences.
How does the speaker approach learning grammar while using Anki?
-The speaker only puts sentences into Anki whose grammar they fully understand, ensuring that they are not just memorizing sentences but also the grammar by natural osmosis.
What does the speaker suggest about learning the alphabet or script of a language?
-The speaker suggests that learning the alphabet or script can come later or not at all, depending on the learner's interest in becoming literate in the language.
How does the speaker use Anki to optimize memory retention of the phrases learned?
-The speaker uses Anki's spaced repetition system to review the phrases at intervals optimized for memory retention, ensuring that the phrases stick in long-term memory.
What does the speaker offer for those interested in learning more about their language learning method?
-The speaker offers a master class and a new website where one can get speaking practice with an AI tutor, with links provided in the description.
Outlines
😎 Mastering Language Learning in Record Time
The speaker shares his extraordinary journey of learning 56 languages within 24 hours each, a feat that he admits sounds implausible. Initially struggling with language acquisition in high school, he found traditional methods overwhelming and ineffective. His breakthrough came after moving to China and immersing himself in Chinese, which led to the development of his own language learning techniques. He criticizes conventional language learning materials for being too detailed and intimidating at the outset, which he believes hinders rather than helps beginners. His approach emphasizes practical conversation from day one and the use of 'magic sentences' to build a foundation in a new language rapidly. He also provides a free list of phrases for this purpose.
📚 Sentence Mining and Spaced Repetition for Language Mastery
The speaker details the second part of his language learning method, which involves 'sentence mining' after speaking sessions. He uses Anki, a flashcard program, to memorize key phrases and sentences, ensuring that he understands the grammar before memorization. This method not only helps in memorizing sentences but also the underlying grammar naturally. He emphasizes the importance of learning practical and immediately useful phrases rather than focusing on less relevant vocabulary. The speaker also discusses his approach to learning pronunciation and the benefits of using audio samples in Anki for better auditory learning. He mentions that learning the alphabet can be deferred until a conversational level is achieved, or even skipped if literacy is not a goal.
🌐 Overcoming Language Barriers with Innovative Techniques
In the final paragraph, the speaker wraps up his language learning strategy by emphasizing the importance of speaking from day one, using sentence mining to capture essential phrases, and leveraging spaced repetition software like Anki for memorization. He admits that he archives decks of languages he is not actively studying, leading to some language loss over time. However, his method ensures quick language acquisition without getting lost in translation. The speaker invites viewers to explore his master class for more insights and mentions a new website offering AI tutored speaking practice.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Language Learning
💡Overwhelmed
💡Conversational Ability
💡Textbook Style
💡Online Tutors
💡Spaced Repetition
💡Anki
💡Sentence Mining
💡Grammar
💡Polyglot
💡Cultural Relevance
Highlights
The speaker claims to have learned 56 languages in under 24 hours each, a seemingly improbable feat.
Despite initial struggles with language learning in high school, the speaker has become proficient in rapid language acquisition.
The speaker's method involves spending 1 hour per day speaking with online tutors or friends over 3 weeks to build conversational skills.
The importance of starting to speak from day one to demystify the language and overcome the fear of speaking is emphasized.
The speaker critiques traditional language textbooks for being too detailed and intimidating for beginners.
Learning languages is compared to exercise, not calculus, indicating it requires commitment rather than genius.
The speaker's language learning method includes sentence mining to record and memorize key phrases using Anki flashcards.
Grammar is learned naturally through sentence memorization rather than rote memorization of conjugation charts.
The speaker suggests learning the alphabet can come later or be skipped entirely if literacy is not a goal.
Spaced repetition software like Anki is highlighted as a game-changer for memorizing phrases and grammar.
The speaker uses audio samples in Anki to aid auditory memory and ensure accurate pronunciation.
The method focuses on learning immediately useful phrases and sentences rather than less common vocabulary.
The speaker archives language decks for languages not actively studied to prevent information overload.
The speaker's approach avoids getting lost in translation by focusing on practical conversation skills.
A free list of 'magic sentences' is offered for those interested in practicing conversational skills from day one.
The speaker's method is positioned as a leading expert strategy for the quickest language learning possible.
The speaker invites interested individuals to learn more through a master class and a new website offering AI tutor services.
Transcripts
I learned to speak 56 languages and I
learned each of them in under 24 hours
yes I know that sounds a little bit
ridiculous uh even to me but it is true
and it's actually the only way that I
could have posted 56 videos of me
surprising strangers by speaking their
language in just the past few years so
I've talked about this before but I was
actually terrible at learning languages
in high school not that I got bad grades
my grades were actually pretty good but
I just couldn't speak any of these
languages that I studied I would just
see this language textbook full of super
intimidating alphabets and scripts and
charts and tones and just become totally
overwhelmed you know and having grown up
in a monolingual English speaking
environment in the United States I would
just think to myself man it's either
Geniuses or Dutch people who can
actually learn to speak multiple
languages and I really wanted to learn
to speak but I would try by reading the
textbook which is how I thought you were
supposed to learn a language but I would
inevitably get bogged down in the
details and then just totally give up
but after I moved to China and started
learning Chinese I started experimenting
more and more with language learning on
my YouTube channel and especially since
this became my full-time job a few years
ago I actually started getting really
really good at learning languages to the
point where now I consider myself
possibly the world's leading expert on
how to learn a language as quickly as
possible which by the way does not make
me anything close to the world's
greatest polyglot there are millions of
people in this world who have way better
language skills than I do but having
gone from zero to basic conversational
ability in 56 languages from every
continent on the planet except
Antarctica I do think that I at least
have some experience in the topic of how
to learn any language quickly see what I
realize the problem with typical
language textbooks is is that they
frontload too much you have to learn all
of these alphabets and weird scripts and
charts and tones and grammar before you
even get to chapter one there are these
incredibly boring and by themselves
useless things that you're somehow just
expected to memorize out of context and
it isn't just textbooks that teach like
this this forms the basis of our
language learning pedagogy in almost all
language learning classrooms around the
world and while I do understand the
desire to create a solid foundation I
think you end up instead intimidating
beginners and mystifying language
learning you make language learning feel
like calculus when it's actually much
easier than that don't get me wrong
learning languages is hard but as Matt
versus Japan likes to say it's hard in
the way that exercise is hard not in the
way that calculus is hard it does not
take a genius to go jogging but it does
take a certain level of commitment and
this textbook Style by the way is also
not the way that 99% of people who
actually succeed at learning languages
actually learn their languages a really
interesting example of this is that most
Chinese Teachers like to teach you
Chinese characters on day one before you
even learn to speak because that's how
they first learned Chinese when they
went to elementary school in China but
what this overlooks
is that on their first day of elementary
school in China they already spoke
fluent Mandarin which they had learned
word by word phrase by phrase sentence
by sentence from their parents and not
from a textbook so by the time they were
learning the writing system they already
understood the entire essence of
Mandarin speaking and grammar to which
they could then apply the characters so
my system has two parts and part one is
speaking practice the key to my rapid
language learning is spending 1 hour per
day speaking with online Tutors or
friends and I do this for 10 to 15
sessions spread out over 3 weeks the
focus here is purely on practical
conversation skills I start from zero
from very basic phrases and then we
gradually build up to more and more
complex conversations and I Do by the
way actually have a free list of phrases
that I like to use for this purpose
which you can also check out at the link
in the description I like to call them
my magic sentences and I think speaking
from the very beginning literally day
one um is crucial because it helps to
Dem the language and it also helps to
get over your fear of speaking which is
precisely the problem that I had in high
school when I would spend all this time
studying my textbooks and then when it
came to actually speak I would be
petrified I wouldn't know what to say
because I had never actually spoken
before everything I learned had come
from the textbook plus the direct
interaction with native speakers helps
me internalize the flow of the language
very quickly an analogy that I often use
is that trying to learn to speak a
language by reading a textbook is like
trying to learn to ride a bike by
reading a textbook you know you're just
just studying the physics of how your
feet move and the rotations at this
number of RPM create this movement so
all I have to do is turn left into the
torque and like we've all been
brainwashed by school into thinking
that's how it works but it's not and in
theory maybe it is possible to learn how
to ride a bike by reading a physics
textbook but practically speaking you do
need to understand the rhythm of bike
riding and actually ride a bike in order
to learn how to ride a bike now part two
of my method is sentence mining after
each speaking session I collect and
record key words phrases or sentences
from the session into Anki a free flash
card program to gradually memorize what
I just learned in the speaking session
over the next few weeks by the way
always front card English and back card
target language to make flashcards that
force you to actively recall the words
rather than just passively recognize him
and I only put sentences whose grammar I
fully understand into Ani so so I have
to learn the grammar from my teacher
before I can go and memorize the
sentences and so this means that I'm not
just wrote memorizing sentences I'm
actually memorizing grammar as well by
natural osmosis what I'm definitely not
doing which I used to do in high school
all the time is memorize big conjugation
charts or memorize alphabets or memorize
tone rules or things like that and so as
I memorize these sentences I'm also
naturally memorizing the grammar of the
language as I said before the grammar of
most languages isn't too hard hard as in
calculus that this is really so
difficult um with the possible exception
of some Native American languages which
you know so for each language that I
study over these 15 sessions I end up
developing an decks you know that
contain anywhere from 50 to 100 cards
and that really is all you need to know
in order to have basic conversations in
any language about 50 to 100 words and
phrases and yes you also pick up other
things by osmosis from your speaking
sessions because you're continually
practicing as well so the anid deck
doesn't form the entire basis of what
you learn but it forms much of the key
grammar and vocabulary that you'll need
to actually have conversations in your
language and the phrases in the anid de
are all things that are natural and
immediately useful to me and I'm
typically not learning stuff that I
don't think I'll need to use a lot of
textbooks will start you out by focusing
on color and Direction words and I find
personally I never use those so why
would I learn those at the beginning as
the first things that I ever learned and
again I don't learn the alphabet or the
script in the very beginning either I
actually write everything into Anie the
way that the word or the phrase or the
sentence sounds to me rather than how
it's written in its native script which
I find actually helps me learn way
faster because I'm not so worried about
like what's sounds the CH make in this
language or like what does this weird
squiggle mean I don't really care I just
write what it sounds like to me I'll be
honest I do have very good auditory
memory but I do think you can do this
even if your auditory memory is not so
great you can actually put audio samples
into Anki as well so every time you load
up the card you get an immediate sound
cue for what it sounds like and you can
play the audio from native speaker so if
you do it like that you don't have to
worry that you're not perfectly
remembering the sound either I found
that learning the alphabet can come
later once I have an actual
conversational level um or never you
know because if you're not interested in
becoming literate in the language you're
studying you might not be interested in
becoming literate that's your choice you
know you can completely ignore the
alphabet or the script of the language
and so this way this way I'm not bogged
down in the task of learning a new
script from day one I do these anky reps
every day so I'm going to show you right
now let's load up um the language I'm
currently learning which is Scottish
glic so we have cows uh that's
NA okay good what whiskey do you
like
um
J it something like that right
J okay good that was good and you see
I'm learning things that both are
culturally relevant but um also like
these basic phrases you know sentences
like do you like or cheers or basic
nouns like cow things I can actually use
to build more complex conversations off
of Scotland is beautiful
um
ala ala Bria and you can see when I'm
learning these sentences and phrases I'm
not just memorizing sentences either I
mean I am memorizing sentences but these
are sentences that you know can be
modified and changed and a sentence like
Scotland is beautiful is the same thing
as a sentence like the Apple is tasty
you know they work the same way so if
you memorize Scotland is beautiful um
and you also know the words apple and
tasty then boom you have two sentences
there right you didn't have to memorize
two sentences you just needed to
memorize one to get that grammar and so
space repetition systems like Anki are
an absolute GameChanger because they
help me review these phrases at
intervals optimized for memory retention
so by reviewing my an for just a few
minutes every day I actually ensure that
these phrases stick in my long-term
memory ready to be whipped out in any
conversation though because I'm lazy I
actually do archive the decks of
languages that I'm not actively studying
meaning that I for get languages that
I've learned in the past and so right
now I can't speak anything like 56
languages at the same time so that's
basically it speak from day one use
sentence mining to record the key wordss
and phrases and then memorize everything
with space repetition software like anky
this approach has helped me learn
languages as quickly as possible while
ensuring that I don't get lost in
translation so if you're interested in
learning more about how I learn
languages make sure to check out my
master class the link in the description
below and now you can get speaking
practice with an AI tutor at my new
website your teacher.
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