How to speak fluently in any language. 1 Simple trick from polyglot | WORKS 100%

Olly Richards

20 Jun 201907:15

Summary

TLDRIn this insightful video, Olly Richards discusses the often-overlooked importance of speaking practice in language learning. Despite living in Tokyo and studying Japanese traditionally, Olly struggled with fluency until he began engaging in daily language exchanges. This transformative experience led to a significant improvement in his speaking abilities, highlighting the crucial role of conversational practice over mere study. Olly emphasizes the need for learners to actively seek speaking opportunities to truly master a language, challenging the traditional focus on textbooks and exercises.

Takeaways

😲 The speaker initially struggled with learning Japanese despite living in Tokyo, highlighting the common misconception that immersion alone is sufficient for language acquisition.
📚 The speaker used traditional learning methods like textbooks and classes but still faced difficulties in conversational Japanese, emphasizing the limitations of these methods for fluency.
🗣️ Language exchanges were a turning point for the speaker, allowing for significant improvement in confidence and fluency within a few weeks, underscoring the importance of speaking practice.
🤔 The realization that 'air time' — actual conversational practice — was lacking, was crucial to the speaker's progress, indicating that mere exposure to a language is not enough.
💡 The speaker's experience suggests that confidence in speaking a language comes from regular practice, not just from accumulating knowledge.
🔄 The transformation in the speaker's Japanese ability was not due to learning new words or phrases, but from activating and using existing knowledge through speaking.
👥 The script encourages finding speaking partners or using services like iTalki for regular speaking practice, as this is key to improving language skills.
📈 The speaker's teaching philosophy emphasizes the importance of speaking over traditional study methods for achieving fluency.
📝 The story of Courtney, a student from the Fluent Spanish Academy, illustrates how committing to regular speaking practice can lead to fluency, even after years of struggle.
👍 The speaker invites viewers to like the video if they agree with the message, indicating the importance of community validation for learning strategies.
🔗 Additional resources for finding speaking partners are provided in the video description, showing the speaker's commitment to offering practical advice.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial experience with learning Japanese?
-The speaker initially found learning Japanese challenging despite living in Japan, as they were in an English-speaking environment both at work and socially.
Why did the speaker struggle with Japanese even after studying for a couple of years?
-The speaker struggled because they had limited opportunities to practice speaking Japanese, as most of their friends, even the Japanese ones, spoke good English.
What traditional methods did the speaker use to study Japanese?
-The speaker used textbooks and took classes to study Japanese in a traditional way.
How did the speaker's approach to learning Japanese change, and what was the result?
-The speaker's approach changed when they started doing language exchanges, which led to a significant improvement in their speaking ability and confidence within a few weeks.
What was the key realization the speaker had about language learning after their experience with Japanese?
-The speaker realized that actual speaking practice is crucial for language fluency, as it allows one to 'activate' and comfortably use the language knowledge already in their head.
Why is it important to find speaking partners or use platforms like iTalki according to the speaker?
-Finding speaking partners or using platforms like iTalki is important because it provides regular speaking practice, which is essential for becoming comfortable and fluent in a language.
What was the speaker's previous assumption about the necessity of speaking practice in language learning?
-The speaker used to think that the importance of speaking practice in language learning was obvious, but later realized that it was not apparent to many people, especially those accustomed to traditional study methods.
How did the speaker's student, Courtney, benefit from the advice to speak the language regularly?
-Courtney, a student from the Fluent Spanish Academy, achieved her dream of becoming fluent in Spanish after committing to regular speaking practice, which she acknowledged was the key advice she received from the speaker.
What is the main rule of language learning that the speaker emphasizes in the script?
-The main rule of language learning emphasized is that to become fluent, one must engage in regular speaking practice, as studying alone is not sufficient for achieving comfort and proficiency in conversation.
What was the speaker's initial reaction to the realization that they needed more speaking practice?
-The speaker found it surprising and somewhat 'crazy' that despite knowing the language, they needed to actively speak it to become fluent, which led to a transformative experience in their language learning journey.

Outlines

00:00

🗣️ The Importance of Speaking Practice in Language Learning

The speaker begins with a dialogue highlighting a common issue where people assume language learning is intuitive, but it's often not. They emphasize that many language learners, despite their efforts, remain at an intermediate level due to a lack of practical speaking experience. The speaker shares their personal struggle with learning Japanese in Tokyo, where they were surrounded by English speakers, which hindered their progress. Despite traditional study methods like textbooks and classes, the speaker's fluency didn't improve significantly until they started doing language exchanges. These exchanges provided the necessary 'air time' to practice speaking, leading to a remarkable improvement in their Japanese within weeks. The key takeaway is that to become fluent, one must actively engage in speaking the language, which was a transformative realization for the speaker.

05:00

🔑 The Secret to Fluency: Regular Speaking Practice

This paragraph delves into the distinction between knowing a language and being able to use it fluently in conversation. The speaker advocates for finding speaking partners or using platforms like iTalki to practice speaking regularly. They recount a student's success story from the Fluent Spanish Academy, where the simple advice of speaking regularly led to the student's fluency. The speaker stresses that while studying is crucial, it's the act of speaking that makes one comfortable and proficient. They encourage viewers to like the video if they agree with the message and offer a link to an article with tips for finding speaking partners. The core message is that the secret to becoming a fluent speaker lies in the practice of speaking the language actively.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Language Learning

Language learning refers to the process of acquiring new languages. In the video, it is the central theme, with the speaker sharing his personal experiences and insights on learning a new language to fluency. The script discusses the challenges faced by the speaker while learning Japanese and emphasizes the importance of speaking practice over traditional study methods.

💡Fluency

Fluency in a language means being able to speak, write, and understand a language with ease and accuracy. The video's theme revolves around achieving fluency, particularly in the context of the speaker's struggle with Japanese and his eventual realization that active speaking is key to reaching this level of proficiency.

💡Method

A method refers to a particular way of doing something. In the script, seasoned language learners are said to have their 'method,' implying a set approach or strategy that works for them in learning languages. The speaker contrasts this with his own realization that simply studying is not enough to achieve fluency.

💡Traditional Learning

Traditional learning often involves classroom instruction, textbooks, and exercises. The video script critiques this approach, suggesting that while it is important, it does not necessarily lead to fluency without the inclusion of active speaking practice.

💡Language Exchange

A language exchange is a mutual arrangement where two individuals who speak different languages help each other learn by conversing in their respective languages. The speaker highlights the transformative effect of language exchanges on his Japanese fluency, indicating that this practice was instrumental in his improvement.

💡Confidence

Confidence in language learning is the self-assurance to speak and express oneself without fear of making mistakes. The script describes how the speaker gained confidence through daily language exchanges, which allowed him to overcome nervousness and communicate more effectively.

💡Conversation

A conversation is an informal talk involving two or more people. The video emphasizes the importance of engaging in conversations as a means to practice and improve language skills. The speaker's improvement in Japanese is attributed to the increased frequency of his conversations in the language.

💡Activation

In the context of language learning, activation refers to the process of using learned knowledge actively in speech. The speaker explains that he needed to 'activate' the Japanese words and phrases he already knew by speaking them in conversation to become fluent.

💡Practice

Practice is the act of performing an activity repeatedly to improve or maintain one's skill in it. The video script underscores the necessity of speaking practice as the key to achieving fluency, rather than relying solely on theoretical knowledge or passive learning.

💡Mediocre

Mediocre describes something that is of only moderate quality or ability. The speaker uses this term to describe his initial level of Japanese, indicating that despite his efforts, he was not making significant progress until he incorporated more speaking practice.

💡Transformational

Transformational refers to something that causes a significant change or development. The script describes the speaker's experience with language exchanges as 'transformational' because it led to a dramatic improvement in his Japanese speaking skills.

Highlights

The importance of realizing that not everyone is aware of the basics of language learning.

Acknowledgment of the existence of seasoned language learners who have their own methods.

The challenge of learning a language when surrounded by native speakers of your own language.

The struggle of not improving in language fluency despite traditional studying methods.

The transformative experience of language exchanges in improving Japanese fluency.

The revelation that confidence in language use comes from speaking the language regularly.

The contrast between knowing a language intellectually and being able to use it conversationally.

The necessity of 'air time' or face-to-face conversational practice for language fluency.

The advice to commit regular time to speaking the language being learned for improvement.

The misconception that language learning is solely about studying and not about active speaking.

The story of Courtney, who achieved fluency in Spanish by committing to regular speaking practice.

The emphasis on the non-obviousness of the need to speak a language to become fluent.

The encouragement to find speaking partners or use platforms like iTalki for language practice.

The reminder that the secret to speaking a language fluently is to actually speak it.

The call to action for viewers to subscribe for more language learning insights.

The offer of a link to an article on finding people to speak with in the video description.