How to learn a language from scratch – Interview with polyglot Olly Richards
Summary
TLDRIn this polyglot interview, Ollie Richards, creator of the language learning blog 'I Will Teach You a Language,' shares his insights on language acquisition. He emphasizes the importance of genuine interest in a language's culture and people as a driving force for learning. Ollie discusses the significance of speaking from an early stage, using mnemonics for vocabulary retention, and the value of immersion over apps. He also stresses the necessity of a consistent daily routine for language learning success, advocating for a balance between structured learning and natural language exposure.
Takeaways
- 🌟 Ollie Richards, from 'I Will Teach You a Language', emphasizes the importance of genuine interest and passion for a language and its culture as a driving force in language learning.
- 📚 Ollie suggests that learning a language should not be rushed, and that progress is often non-linear, requiring patience and consistent effort over time.
- 🗣️ Speaking is highlighted as the key to fluency, with Ollie recommending regular speaking practice, preferably with tutors or language exchange partners, to build confidence and skill.
- 🔍 He advises against relying on friends or family for language practice, to maintain the educational aspect separate from personal relationships.
- 📱 Ollie is critical of language learning apps, recommending instead immersive experiences with real materials to avoid distractions and enhance depth of learning.
- 📚 For beginners, Ollie recommends using 'Teach Yourself' style textbooks to get a basic understanding of the language structure before diving into immersive materials.
- 📈 He suggests a balance between passive exposure to the language and active learning, using mnemonics to remember particularly useful words.
- 📅 Consistency in daily practice is underscored as crucial for language acquisition, with Ollie noting that regular, shorter study sessions are more beneficial than sporadic, longer ones.
- 🎯 Ollie's language learning materials focus on stories and immersion, aiming to make the learning process enjoyable and contextually rich.
- 📘 His 'Uncovered' courses and 'Teach Yourself' short stories are designed to help learners progress by engaging with narratives in the target language.
- 🌐 Ollie's blog and podcast are recommended resources for language learners, offering a wealth of advice and strategies for effective language learning.
Q & A
What inspired Ollie Richards to start learning languages?
-Ollie was inspired to start learning languages after moving to London at the age of 19 and realizing the diversity of people and languages around him.
Why did Ollie choose to learn French as his first language?
-Ollie chose to learn French because he was working in a cafe where there were cool French people, and he wanted to connect with them.
What is Ollie's approach to learning a new language?
-Ollie's approach involves a genuine interest and passion for the language, culture, or people associated with the language, which keeps him motivated throughout the learning process.
How does Ollie define fluency in a language?
-For Ollie, fluency comes from a lot of speaking practice over a long period of time, especially with people he is interested in or likes.
What are the common principles Ollie applies in his language learning journey?
-Ollie applies principles such as having a strong interest in the language, focusing on speaking to achieve fluency, and understanding that learning takes time without rushing the process.
How does Ollie approach vocabulary learning?
-Ollie believes in learning vocabulary through exposure and immersion, and occasionally using mnemonics to remember particularly useful words.
What is Ollie's opinion on using apps for language learning?
-Ollie prefers to stay away from apps due to the distractions they can cause and the lack of depth in learning that can be achieved through them.
What materials does Ollie recommend for language learning?
-Ollie recommends using a variety of materials depending on the language, including textbooks, stories, and immersion in real content, rather than relying solely on apps.
How does Ollie view the importance of regularity and consistency in language learning?
-Ollie emphasizes the importance of daily contact with the language, even if it's just for a short period, as it aids in better retention and understanding.
What are the uncovered courses that Ollie has created for language learning?
-The uncovered courses are beginner-level language courses that teach languages through stories, combining immersion and lessons to uncover the language naturally.
How does Ollie's blog contribute to language learning?
-Ollie's blog provides a wealth of information and articles on language learning strategies, tips, and resources, making it a valuable resource for language learners.
Outlines
🌟 Introduction to Language Learning with Ollie Richards
The video script begins with an introduction to a polyglot interview featuring Ollie Richards, a well-known language learner and blogger. Ollie shares his journey from being monolingual to learning multiple languages. He emphasizes the importance of having a genuine interest in a language and its culture, which he believes is crucial for maintaining motivation throughout the learning process. He also discusses his approach to language learning, which varies with each language he learns, highlighting the need for a deep connection with the language and its people.
🗣️ The Importance of Speaking in Language Acquisition
In this paragraph, Ollie delves into the significance of speaking in language learning. He advises against relying solely on friends or family for language practice, as well as against hiring a teacher for structured lessons. Instead, he recommends finding online tutors through platforms like italki for regular speaking sessions. Ollie also shares his strategy of immersing himself in the language through listening and reading before starting to speak, which helps build a solid foundation. He encourages learners to begin speaking as soon as they have a basic understanding, but not to rush the process.
📚 Balancing Vocabulary Learning and Immersion
Ollie discusses his evolving approach to vocabulary learning, moving from deliberate memorization to a more natural acquisition through exposure. He stresses the importance of massive language input and interaction, suggesting that vocabulary should be learned in context. While acknowledging the value of mnemonics for retaining words, he warns against overemphasizing memorization at the expense of immersion. Ollie advocates for a balance between the two, focusing on learning vocabulary that is genuinely useful and frequently used.
🧠 The Psychology of Language Learning and the Role of Systems
This paragraph explores the psychological aspects of language learning, emphasizing the importance of understanding one's learning activities and maintaining focus on the most important aspects. Ollie discusses the value of having a system or structure in place, especially for less experienced learners, to reduce stress and provide direction. He also touches on the importance of regularity and consistency in language learning, suggesting that daily exposure to the language is more beneficial than sporadic, intensive sessions.
📚 Material Selection in Language Learning
Ollie shares his preferences for language learning materials, expressing a preference for traditional books over apps due to the potential for distraction and lack of depth associated with digital devices. He discusses the importance of using available resources, such as textbooks, when learning languages with limited materials. Ollie also mentions his approach to learning well-resourced languages like Italian, where he immerses himself in the language through reading and listening before engaging in speaking practice.
⏰ The Role of Routine and Consistency in Language Learning
In the final paragraph, Ollie emphasizes the critical role of routine and consistency in language learning. He advises against sporadic, intensive study sessions, arguing that daily, even short, periods of language exposure are more effective. Ollie stresses the importance of integrating language learning into daily life and maintaining a regular study routine to facilitate brain consolidation and pattern recognition. He also touches on the importance of genuine passion for the language as a motivator for consistent daily practice.
🌐 Utilizing Apps and Content for Language Learning
Ollie discusses the limited utility of language learning apps, recommending them primarily for quick dictionary lookups and accessing content in less commonly taught languages. He also highlights the importance of input and immersion, sharing his own experiences with creating content for language learners. Ollie's approach focuses on using stories to teach languages, offering a more engaging and enjoyable method than traditional textbooks. He mentions his 'Uncovered' courses and books that help learners progress through immersion and story-based learning.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Polyglot
💡Language Learning
💡Immersion
💡Motivation
💡Speaking Practice
💡Mnemonics
💡Vocabulary
💡Fluency
💡Consistency
💡Resources
💡Passion
Highlights
Ollie Richards, known for his blog 'I Will Teach You a Language', shares his unique approach to language learning.
Ollie emphasizes the importance of genuine interest and passion for a language and its culture as a driving force for learning.
He shares his personal journey from being monolingual to learning multiple languages, starting with French.
Ollie's strategy involves immersing himself in the language through speaking with native speakers to achieve fluency.
He advises against using friends or family as language learning tools due to emotional complexities.
Ollie recommends avoiding language learning apps due to distractions and suggests more immersive methods.
He suggests using online platforms like italki for regular speaking practice with tutors.
Ollie discusses the inefficiency of starting to speak a language without having a basic vocabulary.
He explains the importance of having a solid foundation in the language before engaging in conversations.
Ollie shares his method of learning vocabulary through massive exposure and creating mnemonics for retention.
He advises against excessive memorization, suggesting a balance between learning and immersion.
Ollie emphasizes the psychological aspect of language learning and the importance of understanding one's learning activities.
He discusses the significance of having a routine and consistency in language learning for better retention.
Ollie suggests that daily contact with the language, even if brief, is more effective than long, irregular sessions.
He talks about his resources, including the Uncovered courses and Teach Yourself books, focusing on story-based learning.
Ollie highlights the importance of using content like TV series and news in the target language for immersive learning.
The interview concludes with Ollie's encouragement for learners to find genuine passion for the language and commit to daily practice.
Transcripts
hey everyone welcome to a polyglot
interview with Ollie Richards I'm so
glad to have Ali here hi everybody
Welcome hi Lydia thank you very much
thank you so Ollie um is actually very
well known I don't think I need to
introduce him he has a wonderful blog I
will teach you a language and he helps
people learn languages
um in a similar way as I help others but
this time I want to talk to Ali exactly
about his way of
um how to learn a language from scratch
so Ollie could you first of all briefly
introduce yourself and your language
story yeah so um I grew up in the UK a
famously multilingual place where
everybody speaks 20 languages and
um I yes I grew up completely
monolingual with no no exposure to other
languages at all
um and then when I was about 19 I moved
to London from from the countryside I
moved to busy London and I and I
realized there was a big world out there
of people who are from different
countries speaking different languages
and that kind of plan to the seed in my
brain about languages and so I started
learning French
because there were some cool French
people
um in this Cafe where I was working at
the time in in London and then I took it
quite seriously so I ended up actually
moving to Paris
spent a few months there and I I was
quite successful at learning French
and so that gave me the confidence to
keep learning and then over the over the
following years I kept learning more and
more languages and then um you know who
we are today and I'm just kind of you
know moved around a lot and traveled a
fair bit got interested in different
people languages cultures and I've
always just learned the languages that
helped me
get to know
different cultures right wonderful we we
talked about how human languages and you
told me what actually every polyglot
tells me it's like I don't really have
one way to learn language I I learn
language differently in every single
language I've learned was different
right if I ask you like what are the
general principles that you are applying
your language learning or what would
that be yeah so
there are definitely a few commonalities
and I was saying to you before that the
most recent language I learned I used a
completely different way uh than the
first language I learned but there are
certain commonalities and the first one
is that I I only ever take on a new
language if I am extremely interested in
it so I have met some people I've moved
to a new country something has happened
that sparked his interest but it's not
just a mild curiosity it's a real
passion and love for for the country the
culture the people whatever it is and it
is that which pulls you through from you
know from from the very beginning to the
end because a lot of ups and downs along
the way and that's normal you know we
learn to anticipate those but it's your
passion for the language not even
necessarily for the language
often for me actually it's for the
people or the place that's the passion
for that thing
which keeps me motivated and energized
so that I can keep learning for long
enough so that would be the first thing
you know whenever I've tried to learn
language I'm not particularly interested
or I'm only half committed it never
works I always end up um giving up
eventually that makes sense tell me the
first thing the second thing is that
um I think there are there are lots of
different ways of getting started in a
language lots of different methods and
courses and approaches that you can find
out there but the really getting started
is the easy bit you know the the hard
bit comes later when you've you've
learned the language to maybe an
intermediate level and then the task is
okay am I going to continue on to try to
become really fluent in this language
very very confident to the point where I
can use this this language you know
genuinely in my life in a natural way
and that's where the real work begins
and for me that has always come down to
just one thing which is a lot of
speaking so it's it's spending time with
people who are
who I like or I'm interested in and just
speaking an absolute ton over a long
period of time and that's what that's
where the fluency comes from it's not
from Reading although that helps it's
not from listening or that helps lots of
things help
but for me to get to good levels in the
languages come basically from a lot of
speaking and um the reason I think
that's important is because a lot of
people you know really get round to that
like you stay on the sort of studying
hamster wheel but it's only really when
you transition to lots of speaking that
that helps
and I guess the last thing I'd mention
is you've got to be prepared for it to
take time
and if you try to rush it then you're
always going to get frustrated because
learning doesn't happen in a straight
line learning looks like this progress
looks like that right and so really the
magic really happens when you stop
worrying about your progress from day to
day and you just ride that wave of
learning the language because you have a
reason a genuine reason why because as
long as you're using it for authentic
purpose communicating with people
getting to know the culture then the
language will take care of itself
eventually so those are the three things
that have always been present in every
language that I've taken on I'm very
glad that you mentioned speaking this is
something that is repeated in all of the
interviews that I've done with everyone
and of course I also stressed it in my
video course because I think this is the
key and this is something that polyglots
come to realize naturally when they are
learning their fifth language and they
see what has worked before so I'm glad
we're stressing this part so can you
give us some more practical tips um
about that speaking like how does that
happen how do you how do you do it do
you find a tutor do you find an exchange
partner when do you start speaking and
what do you speak about at the beginning
at the beginning yeah so I mean at the
beginning I'm quite particular about
finding what I would call speaking
partners
so it might be easier to to say what I
don't do because I think a lot of people
get a bit they run into trouble with um
with certain things so I don't look to
friends or family to help me speak
because there's too much
stuff involved you know emotions
friendships my friends and family not my
teachers they are my friends and family
so I don't look to friends and family I
also don't hire a teacher I don't take
lessons as such
because I look to other resources to to
learn by myself right I want to spend I
don't want to pay someone by the hour to
watch YouTube videos Molly coddle me
through you know I can I can learn that
stuff in in books
um I I also I used to do language
exchanges where you'd you know I'd be
we'd speak Japanese for an hour and
English for an hour I don't tend to do
that anymore because it takes up a lot
of time but I think that's a great way
to do it so what I personally tend to do
is find tutors online through a service
like italki
uh and I just have very regular short
regular speaking sessions with them and
I like to actually pay them because it
just keeps it regular and there's you
know there's people people they they
turn up usually
and so you can actually get that
reliable regular speaking practice in
and so I look for somebody specifically
for that do you start speaking from
very very
big tomorrow
no
no for the simple reason that if you
don't know any words what are you going
to talk about I mean I have done in the
past you know I but I tend to do that
only when I'm learning a language with
very few resources so for example when I
learned Egyptian Arabic there are very
few resources for Egyptian Arabic and um
the only ones that there are are written
in Arabic so it's impossible to use as a
student so I actually did find local
tutors
um who I could just sit down with spend
time with
ask very simply like how do you say this
how do you say that but it's a very very
very inefficient way of learning because
you're spending a long time with almost
a couple of things so assuming that
you're learning a relatively popular
language with lots of resources I would
um I would spend a lot of time just
getting as much immersion in the
language as I can
so last year for example I learned
Italian and for for an entire month I
didn't say a word of Italian I just
spent all my time listening and reading
to very low level resources
and um just trying to flood my brain
with with that
information you could call it you know
and I'm just and what I'm doing is just
trying to make sense of the information
gradually just getting used to it and
maybe look up a grammar rule here or
there or look up a word here or there
but generally speaking what I'm trying
to do is just to get a very kind of
solid foundation in the language because
then once you've learned some some some
words and phrases when you do come to
speak later it's just you've got stuff
to say you can understand you know these
kind of really fundamental things
um so I don't start speaking from the
very beginning but having said that I
don't wait too long because I actually
find
that you do learn a lot about speaking
through speaking and I don't I don't
feel you have to wait that long because
even if you're not particularly
confident even if you don't know a great
deal I I do I do like to start speaking
but mainly I think for me because that's
what's in that's what interests me oh
you know what I want to be able to do is
to speak and so I just get motivated by
speaking with somebody I think it's fine
to wait longer I think it's fine to
start speaking on day one if that's what
you want to do but I personally like to
um have a little bit under my belt
before I start speaking yeah absolutely
I couldn't agree more with you as this
is exactly the way I I do it as well I
and I recommend it to people to wait a
little bit and as you said have
something to say in in first
conversations but it's really stressful
that way yeah of course absolutely and
as I said it's also about efficiency you
don't want to waste a lot of time going
through the basics many many times when
this is the first time you ever heard
those words so this is your first
important exposure so I believe it's
it's better to to have had some exposure
before that yeah okay cool how about
vocabulary that's an interesting yeah as
well my thoughts on vocabulary are
always changing in always developing um
right you know I went through a phase of
really trying to develop different
techniques for Learning and memorizing
vocabulary I've kind of gone through
phases of
um deliberately memorizing new words and
then other phases of doing no memorizing
whatsoever and just letting it all come
naturally the conclusion I've come
through is it on a big a big picture on
the grand scale I think the basic
principle is
has to be that you should learn
vocabulary from exposure to the language
okay so that by interacting a lot in The
Language by reading listening speaking
and by doing a lot of that then
vocabulary you learn naturally in
context it's the most powerful way of
learning that's the that's the big
picture now when you start to look at
more practicalities that can be
difficult because it takes a long time
and it can be quite frustrating
when you are having you know experience
after experience after experience where
the rewards that you don't know you
don't understand things you can't say
things that mentally like like
psychologically for people is very very
tough and with experience I think you
get better at that but I think that
there is a kind of a balance
to be had
and I think where I where I come down
now is is that you need to be getting
that that massive exposure because
without that you're never going anywhere
it doesn't matter how much you try to
memorize you can never memorize enough
vocabulary okay so the massive exposure
and input that's your core that's your
fundamental now after that I think that
in order to make that more effective I
think there are things you can do to
help yourself retain words and I think
mnemonics so the idea of creating memory
devices uh word play things like that
little hooks I think consciously
thinking of those mnemonics can really
help you retain vocabulary faster so
what I tend to practically do is get a
lot of exposure that's my go-to thing
and then when I find vocabulary that I
think is really useful I stop I pause
and I just think okay how can I remember
this word and I try to create a mnemonic
of some kind to uh to remember that word
um I I used to go much more
uh in depth with that but I've come to
the conclusion now that really the more
time you spend consciously trying to
memorize stuff the more time you're just
taking away from the actual real work if
you like of immersion and input so I
think that the best kind of practical
guidance
that I can give based on what I do is to
say plan to forget 99 of everything that
you learn but that one percent of stuff
that you think man that that word if I
if I were to learn that word I would be
using that every day like that's super
useful stuff take that spend a bit of
time with it come up with some ways to
remember it because that will speed up
the process but just don't let that
creep into you know a state where you're
trying to look up every word and
memorize every word because that's when
you really get into trouble because it's
just a never-ending cycle yeah okay I
like that that's uh that's a good tip I
would say maybe not one percent or maybe
a little bit more uh just to you know
have enough words to useful words to to
use and use them long term
I mean that's as a proportion of what
you're listening so if you're spending
really lots and lots of time reading and
listening then one percent of that is
actually quite a lot and if you're only
doing a small amount of
overeating and listening then maybe you
need a slightly higher percentage you
know I mean no one's going to sit there
calculating the percentage of words
they're trying to remember but the kind
of basic principle I think is not to let
the active learning and vocabulary get
in the way of of more holistic work
which which for me is that kind of input
and that reading and listening because
that's the big danger you know the big
danger and the the Trap that everybody
falls into is just to spend too much of
their time and energy
on memorizing stuff
um and that that's when it starts to to
get to get tricky
yeah and then maybe look at it from a
two technical point of view like this is
the amount of words I need to cover and
uh yeah and then they actually forget to
use the language and communicate right I
mean so much of this stuff that we're
talking about I mean it's interesting
because like your question is phrased as
as all good language learning questions
are like how does one learn vocabulary
but actually the technical answer is not
really the point because what most
people have to deal with is the
psychology of actually working on
something every day and
um and the psychology of understanding
what activities they're doing and for me
I've always found that to be far more
important you know if you let yourself
go down too many rabbit holes it doesn't
matter how good your techniques are they
won't help you because you're doing the
wrong things thinking in these kind of
Big Blocks of principles is so important
because it just helps you stay focused
on on the really important things
without which learning would become
impossible yeah exactly well as you
probably know I have these four basic
pillars of my language learning
philosophy make it fun
um effective methods in a system and
enough contact with the language so yeah
that is kind of along along the lines of
this is the overarching principle and
and you can of course apply it to
anything else
um I think I think that's just one thing
I'll just add is that I think when
you're a big when you're just starting
out if you're a less experienced learner
that's when I think the systems become
important because you know when I'm
talking about the things that I do now
what's so important to say that so much
of this
has grown out of 15 years of experience
doing this right but if I hadn't if I
didn't have that experience
then I would start on day one with a new
language and just ah what am I supposed
to do like you know tell me what to do
and that's where the system is is
fantastic because it reduces the stress
levels
um it might not be that the truth as it
were but you don't need the truth when
you're just starting out you need some
assistance to just get you going and
give you the give you the confidence to
just do something that moves you in the
right direction so you know as with all
things it changes over time and you you
become you refine your methods over time
to suit your understanding of your own
learning absolutely yeah I totally agree
um what about materials that you like to
use do you like to use books to start
learning a language or are you a friend
of apps what do you usually pick
I stay as far clear of apps as I
possibly can
um I'm a real anti-app person I have to
say and it's nothing against apps there
are some good apps out there although
not many but
um the big thing about apps
is not the fact that it's an app it's
the fact that you're on your damn phone
getting distracted pressing buttons and
that's not what language learning is the
research on
social media smartphone new screens in
general it's Crystal Clear it destroys
our brains in so many different ways and
language learning is so much about the
depth that you get into you know when
you're with a text or you're listening
to some audio or you're watching a TV
series and you're just getting so do it
you're really in the zone like you can't
get that depth when you when you're
looking at a smartphone so although I'm
sure there are some good things out
there and I do use some apps
um I've got a few who I could show you
if you're really interested for very
specific things but in general I still
well clear of apps I I for me I find
that like old school paper works really
well because there are no distractions
I'd like the feeling of holding stuff
so um the exact material it depends on
the language actually because I think
four if I refer to the uh the Italian
project I mentioned before
in that particular case there are lots
of resources for Italian it's a very
well resourced language especially for a
beginner so I could find lots of
material
in Italian that is written for beginners
that I could just spend time with I had
no particular need for a textbook to
tell me how a verb works and all of that
stuff you know I can just spend time
with the material so that's great now
for other languages you try and do that
and you're you're stuck because you
don't you don't understand the thing
it's far too hard it's very distant from
English and you might not even have any
materials so in that case you use
whatever you can find I I'd be
interested to know what it's like for
Swahili actually because I I have no
idea about that but certainly for
languages I've learned like Cantonese or
Egyptian Arabic or Thai there's almost
nothing out there for a beginner so the
question of what materials do you like
to use that's a luxury you know you just
use whatever you can find and you make
do with it because that's what you got
so with lots of languages you know I
found that but you know assuming that
someone is assuming it's a
well-resourced language
then um if it was a language that I
didn't know anything about or I didn't
know a similar language then what I
would probably do is just get a kind of
teach yourself textbook and just work
through it I just go through it quite
quickly I wouldn't do the exercises or
anything I just go through I'd read the
dialogue I'd look at the grammar point I
tried to just kind of map it onto my
brain you know what what are the key
things I need to know about this
language the key characteristics
um and then after that I would go as
soon as possible into finding material
to read and listen to so then you're
starting that process of getting you
know input in the language and spending
as much time with the real thing uh
every day as
as possible
yeah wonderful I I like that
um as you say with some languages it's
easier than with others but fortunately
now these resources such as teach
yourself SML Etc they're available for
so many languages that you can find them
even for the less frequently World
languages
yeah okay
um actually we're getting to the end of
this interview so let me just ask if
there's anything else you'd like to
mention that is important I think we've
covered a few really really important
points is there anything else that you
you find importantly imagining for
Learners who are just starting with the
language from scratch
this is the thing isn't it I mean you've
kind of got the big principles which
we've covered yeah and then a lot of a
lot of little tactics and
um you know really if you get the big
the big the big picture right then I
think the tactics kind of take care of
themselves but I think the one thing we
haven't mentioned it which is very
important is the idea of routine and how
much uh how you organize your your own
time and how you step up to the task of
learning every day
and this is always difficult because
everybody leave these busy lives and
um we all have lots of things to do
competing commitments one day we feel
great the next day we feel tired and all
these things one of the the really core
Notions in language learning is that you
learn through regularity and consistency
so if the only time that you spend
learning your language is
Saturday morning let's say all day
Saturday
the fact that even if you do say eight
hours studying on a Saturday the fact
that you then have six days before you
know to wait until you come back to it
means that your brain is you're missing
so many opportunities that you're in
which your brain could be consolidating
it would be far better to do just 15
minutes a day but make sure you do it
every day because your brain will will
start to
connect the dots recognize patterns make
sense of the language when it's coming
into contact with it every single day
and I think it's very difficult to
stress enough the importance of that
regularity over time you know
and and it is a long time you need to
really aim for daily contact with the
language
and to keep that up over a long period
of time like if you if you do that it's
very difficult not to learn and not to
improve you know it's almost impossible
I'd say to be you know learning spending
time with the language every day and not
to improve but I think so many people if
you pin them down and say so how much
language then did you do last week and
you looked on their diary actually you'd
find a lot of big gaps right and that's
the easiest quickest way to just improve
start doing it regularly yeah
and um and it is difficult because
people have got busy lives and this is
where that whole we come back to this
principle of really having a genuine
passion for the language because if you
don't have that genuine passion you're
not going to be motivated to uh to spend
that time every day so
I think it's
you really have to have an honest
conversation with yourself and say how
much do you really want to learn this
language and are you prepared to put the
time into doing it that it that is
required because what's required is
daily work
over a long period of time and even if
it's only 15 minutes 30 minutes that's
okay but it's through the consistency
that your brain will just be your best
friend and will start to
um we'll start to do so much of the work
for you so consistency consistency
consistency yes absolutely I'm glad
you're saying it so openly because
people need to hear this a lot of people
out there saying oh you know this will
happen just like that within two weeks
fluency Etc it will yeah especially
enough yeah exactly a little less than
one another big friend of labs actually
so in my video of course there is a
module on apps and I actually don't
recommend using apps either maybe as a
fun activity like okay last five minutes
of the day well let's do Duolingo right
but not as a main resource okay there
are two cases where I think apps are
genuinely useful
um and the first is dictionaries so you
know to be able to look up a word
quickly is just a phenomenal asset you
know then the second is content so if
the only way you can read in Swahili for
example is to access the Swahili Daily
News or whatever it is on your phone
then great that's fantastic yeah
fantastic resource it's also very good
actually for a non
uh Latin scripts languages so if you're
learning Chinese or Japanese for example
then these apps can help you look up the
Chinese characters very very quickly so
it's kind of like a dictionary really
and and I think apps are like beautiful
for those things because it just speeds
speeds it up so much and gives you
access to that content so those are the
things that absolutely really really
important I'm actually using right now
an app for Swahili or well I'm trying to
because so it's an app with
um TV
um TV series in Swahili but it's so bad
like it's so badly done it looks like a
student video it's a quality is just so
bad
I I really have to force myself also
what's the importance of input okay only
my last question I'm speaking of content
um well you're actually a very good
person to come to content for because in
the last years you've been creating
amazing
um content material for language
Learners of different languages can you
briefly tell us what you have available
especially for beginners
yeah so my focus is to create material
for people to learn languages through
this input immersion method that we've
been
talking about here is the antidote to a
textbook where you learn about the
language but you don't actually learn
the language so what I do is to create
material and programs that help you
learn specifically through story that's
that's what I what I do so I have a
series of courses called uncovered
courses and these are beginners courses
so teach you Spanish German Italian
French for example and we teach you
through story and that's a combination
of immersion at the beginner level plus
lessons that help you learn by
uncovering the language from the story
which is a you know a very good
immersion focused way of doing it I also
have a series of books with teach
yourself
and their books of short stories and
that's for people who have got a bit of
a grounding already in the language and
it helps you start to read and this
because we have audio books from an
early stage so you can get all the
benefits of reading books without having
to wait till your super advanced and
then beyond that we have programs for
what intermediate level which focus on
things like listening skills and grammar
and again all of this is tied in with a
story methodology so that you're
learning all these things by uh combine
by reading and listening to fun uh
stories in the language and so that's
that's really what I'm trying to do I'm
trying to just bring that sort of
immersion focused
story-powered approach to uh delected
language learning I like that including
story in it making it more enjoyable
more fun not all these boring types that
we
that we so thank you for for doing that
and creating amazing resources
um and I definitely recommend to
everyone to check out that blog I think
it's it's uh probably the best the best
look out there in English about learning
languages and it's huge and there's so
many really great articles I also love
your podcast so I definitely recommend
people to follow you and to to listen to
your tips because they're great
okay thank you very much for your time
Ollie I I'm sure people got a lot of
really interesting uh information from
this interview and I'm looking forward
to seeing you somewhere
um very soon yeah good luck everybody
okay
bye foreign
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