#AskSteve
Over the years I have created a vast amount of videos and articles where I talk about language learning. Find them here.
For example, type "english" to search items about english.
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Language Learning Through Travel March 23 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3nfriXj CC subtitles available in multiple languages. I will visit Denmark, Sweden ...
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Learning Italian with Davide of @PodcastItaliano March 21 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3TvQsNI CC subtitles available in multiple languages. When I want to improve ...
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Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3n0tAcJ CC subtitles available in multiple languages. To become fluent in a ...
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Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3Ji9Cln CC subtitles available in multiple languages. In this video I have some ...
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Korean vs Japanese vs Chinese March 14 2023
Korean vs Japanese vs Chinese, ever wonder what the similarities and differences are between these three languages and how should we go about learning them? To what extent can learning one help you with the others? Let me share my experience in learning these three Asian languages. How I Learned Mandarin, Japanese and Korean […]
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DON'T Learn Slang March 9 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3Lb8nXG CC subtitles available in multiple languages. Using slang too early in ...
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How I Learn Languages From Scratch March 7 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3YrSAXu CC subtitles available in multiple languages. When I start a new ...
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Why I Don't Do Language Tests, Drills or Quizzes. February 28 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3m70pEC CC subtitles available in multiple languages. Do you think quizzes ...
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The Definition of a Polyglot February 24 2023
As people who speak multiple languages, polyglots like to use those languages; we like to see how we do. But there is an element of performance. Are you better than me? Am I better than you? For some people that’s fine. I think a lot of us are very happy, in fact, when we hear somebody speak better than we do.
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Why I Say “Don’t Aspire to Fluency in Language Learning” February 21 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3ZtseFJ CC subtitles available in multiple languages. It's not enough to have a ...
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ChatGPT, AI & Language Learning with @LucaLampariello February 16 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3IrpVNC CC subtitles available in multiple languages. No better person to talk to ...
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How to Deal With the Language Learning Plateau February 9 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3x92lP1 CC subtitles available in multiple languages. The plateau is a concept ...
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Tips for Learning Russian February 9 2023
I wanted give some important tips for learning Russian. First I’ll explain about the writing system, then some interesting things to remember about Russian verbs of motion, aspects of verbs and cases.
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The Key to Improved Listening Comprehension February 7 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3JNDqbk CC subtitles available in multiple languages. I spend most of my time ...
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Tips to Improve Your Pronunciation From Expert @hadar.shemesh February 2 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3XeN9e9 CC subtitles available in multiple languages. Improving in a language, ...
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The Most Effective Way to Increase Your Vocabulary January 31 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3jjQHO9 CC subtitles available in multiple languages. Reading is a vital activity ...
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The 5 Stages of Enjoyment in Language Learning January 26 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3HyXXik CC subtitles available in multiple languages. I enjoy every stage of my ...
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Atomic Habits & Language Learning January 24 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3DfTJcX CC subtitles available in multiple languages. Throughout his book ...
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When Learning a Language DON'T Study the "Basics" January 19 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3XJvPyA CC subtitles available in multiple languages. Some people say we ...
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Should English Be the Lingua Franca? | @EnglishWithVeronikaMark January 17 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3XTbfvq CC subtitles available in multiple languages. YouTuber Veronika Mark ...
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How to Learn Chinese: My Top 6 Tips January 17 2023
I studied Mandarin Chinese 50 years ago. It took me nine months to reach a level where I could translate newspaper editorials from English to Chinese and from Chinese to English, read novels and interpret for people, I did this in the age of the open-reel tape recorder, long before the age of the Internet, […]
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Can Learning Languages Help Prevent Dementia? January 12 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3iZc3jH CC subtitles available in multiple languages. There may be many ...
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One Thing I AVOID When Learning a Language January 10 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3Ja4gdC CC subtitles available in English. Do you enjoy answering ...
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My Language Learning New Year’s Resolutions 2023 January 3 2023Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3XuO5Mn CC subtitles available in English. In the coming year I want to follow ...
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Combien De Temps Faut-Il Pour Apprendre l’Espagnol? January 3 2023
Combien de temps faut-il pour apprendre l’espagnol ? Combien de temps faut-il pour apprendre n’importe quelle langue ? J’entends cette question assez souvent. Il n’existe pas de réponse universelle. Cela dépend vraiment de vous.
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In Language Learning Do It WRONG The First Time December 30 2022Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3HpqDu3 CC subtitles available in multiple languages. We shouldn't penalize ...
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Speak Your Way To Fluency December 20 2022Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3XyMc19 CC subtitles available in English. To speak well in a language we're ...
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Can Writing By Hand Help You Learn A Language Faster? December 15 2022Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3Wz9fHA CC subtitles available in multiple languages. Writing is a great way to ...
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7 Reasons to Learn Languages December 14 2022Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3Wyq6um CC subtitles available in English. Aristotle's Metaphysics begins: "All ...
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How Close Are Ukrainian and Russian? December 9 2022Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3uC8PES CC subtitles available in multiple languages. Ksenia, from Russia ...
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Joe Rogan on Language Learning: Disappointing in My View. December 6 2022Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3kynwXU CC subtitles available in multiple languages. Joe Rogan on language ...
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How Long Does It Take to Learn Spanish? December 5 2022
How many hours a day will you spend with Spanish? This is perhaps the most important consideration and does not refer to how many hours do you spend in a Spanish language classroom. It means how much time do you spend listening, reading, speaking or writing in Spanish. It can be listening to podcasts while walking the dog, reading, watching movies, listening to songs in Spanish or being engaged in a conversation in Spanish. In some ways, exposure to Spanish outside the classroom can be more intense than exposure inside the classroom, unless you are lucky enough to have one-on-one instruction.
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How Do We Improve Our Writing in a New Language? December 2 2022Learn languages like I do with LingQ: https://bit.ly/3XxNutg CC subtitles available in multiple languages. I recognize that writing ...
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Want to Learn German? Here’s How I Did It. November 4 2022
In 1987, I decided I was going to put forth a major effort to learn German. I’m going to explain that to you in detail. Long before I decided that I was going to learn German, I did have exposure to the language. My parents were from Czechoslovakia and they spoke German at home, […]
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The Best Way to Learn Italian October 25 2022
Italian is a language that has always appealed to me, as Italy is such a lovely country. I have traveled and hitchhiked through Italy and, at that time, I didn’t speak Italian, so I was relying on my knowledge of Spanish to communicate with people. With so many fascinating places to visit, great food and […]
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How To Become Good at Speaking a New Language October 11 2022
You have all heard me stress the importance of input. You have to get the language in you, meaning you have to acquire words, and you have to let your brain get used to the language. I spend most of my time practicing different forms of input, however, the ability to effectively speak is the […]
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How I learned French September 23 2022
When I was 16, we had the option to do our first year of university instead of grade 12 in high school. I decided to move on to McGill University in Montréal as I found high school to be a bit boring. Not knowing what to study, I chose a number of courses in French and English literature. My professor at university named Maurice Rabotin was great!
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To Improve Language Comprehension DON’T Try to Understand September 9 2022
Experienced language learners accept uncertainty, yet they keep going. They accept that they don’t fully understand. In the above video I refer to two kinds of comprehension, listening comprehension and reading comprehension, but in this post I will simply refer to them as language comprehension. Language comprehension is the most […]
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How to Expand Your Vocabulary Without Memorization August 18 2022
Accumulating words is the fundamental task in language learning, in other words it is very important to acquire new words. Many learners are under the impression that this is done through memorization. This is not, however, the most effective way to grow your vocabulary. I’ve never been able to learn new words by deliberately trying to memorize them. The more effective way to learn new words is simply through exposure to the language.
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How Long Should it Take to Learn a Language? August 1 2022
Language learning depends mostly on three factors, the attitude of the learner, the time available, and learner’s attentiveness to the language. If we assume a positive attitude on the part of the learner, and a reasonable and growing attentivenes…
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Listening: Language Learning Goal 3 July 18 2022
My third language learning goal is listening. It’s the third goal in the hierarchy, but in many ways it’s the most important because it’s the major activity that I do when it comes to language learning, simply because it’s so easy to do. So I can get up in the morning and listen, I can listen while doing the dishes, I listen while I exercise. I listen while in the car, the train or wherever I am. I can always listen. I can listen 15 minutes here, 20 minutes there and before you know it, I have an hour of language learning done.
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Comprehensible Input and Compelling Input (CI) July 4 2022
What is meant by comprehensible input in language learning? Stephen Krashen uses this term, as well as the term compelling input, to refer to the kind of language exposure we need in order to learn a language. The term CI, in language learning, can apply to both. What do they mean?
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Language Learning Goal 2: Reading Comprehension June 20 2022
Reading is easier than listening. I can work my way through a text at LingQ, look up every word. Let’s say I’m in sentence mode, it’s a brand new language and if there’s seven words in that sentence, I can look up each word and I can kind of figure out what the sentence means. Fuzzy, maybe not totally clear, but I have a sense of what that sentence means. I have a sense of which words correspond to the verb, to the noun and so forth. So the reading is easy. If I just heard those words, I wouldn’t be able to do that. So reading is a sort of a step towards being able to understand what you hear.
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Which is better for language learners, monolingual or bilingual dictionaries? This question often comes up.A monolingual dictionary explains the meaning of a word in the language that you are learning. A bilingual dictionary provides a translation…
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Language Learning Goal 1: Learning Vocabulary May 23 2022
The number one goal in language learning is to acquire words. Keep that as your goal, your major activity, be conscious of the fact that you are acquiring these words. Even though at times it seems that you can’t remember them. You can’t remember when you need to use them. You keep on forgetting their meaning. None of that matters.
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My 7 Goals of Language Learning April 19 2022
My hierarchy of goals is what I consider to be more important at what stage in my learning. There are seven of them and I’m going talk about the seven today, and then I’ve been giving some thought to doing one video on each of these seven goals. In other words, how do we achieve those goals? How do we use those goals to improve our ability in the language that we’re learning?
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Language Learning Distractions March 24 2022
We live in an age where there are lots of distractions. The multiplicity of media has made it easy to be distracted from whatever task we are engaged with.
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The Seven Secrets to Language Learning Success: Part 2 March 17 2022
Last week I wrote about the first four secrets to language learning success: spend the time, do what you like to do, learn to notice and words over grammar. Today’s post reveals the last three secrets.
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The Seven Secrets to Language Learning Success: Part 1 March 10 2022
People often ask me how I learned 20 languages. I will tell you what works for me; you’ll have to decide if this can work for you. Here are the first four secrets to language learning success…
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You DO NOT Need to Be Perfect February 24 2022
Why do I want to talk about perfection? First of all, I am a dilettante learner. I also recognize that there are people who need the language for professional reasons because they want to get into a school so that they’re not just dabbling in the language, exploring, having fun like I like to do, they actually need it. So how good do they need to be in the language?
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Ser Vs Estar in Spanish February 17 2022
Every language has some issues, often grammar issues, that cause learners difficulty. In the case of Spanish, one thing that gives people special trouble is the existence of two forms of the verb “to be”. Both ser and estar translate into English as “to be”. Ser vs estar, here’s how to get them straight. […]
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How to Learn Vocabulary January 27 2022
*** This post is a transcript of a video on my YouTube channel. Studying English? Here’s the transcript as a lesson to study on LingQ. I have said in the past that the best and simplest judge of where you are in the language, of what you have achieved, of your potential in that language is […]
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Levels of Language Proficiency: What Is Fluency? January 20 2022
I recently watched a video which features polyglots Luca Lampariello and Anthony Lauder. In it they make the point that you don’t need to have a large vocabulary in order to be fluent. Anthony has said in the past that even with a few hundred words you can be fluent, or you can be fluent at a relatively low level of proficiency in a language. I don’t agree at all.
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Don’t Just Learn Business English January 14 2022
*** This post is a transcript of a video on my YouTube channel. Studying English? Here’s the transcript as a lesson to study on LingQ. So many people I know listen to my videos and podcast to improve their English. English is, whether we like it or not, the most widely used international language. So there […]
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Google Translate Doesn’t Work? Google and Language Learning January 7 2022
I hear all the time that Google Translate doesn’t work. It’s not accurate. It’s this and that. I think Google Translate is a tremendous resource and not only for language learners. It’s not 100% and it’s better for some languages than others, but I find it extremely useful.
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My Language Learning Motivation December 29 2021
I want to talk about history. Why history? Because history fascinates me. I realize that people watch my videos either because they’re working on improving their English or because they find my videos in some way motivating and encouraging and therefore encourages them to continue with learning languages, which in turn motivates me to make more videos.
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Is It Hard to Learn Japanese? December 21 2021
Japanese, simply in terms of the vocabulary, the structure being very different from say English, if you’re an English speaker, is going to be more difficult. However, there are a number of things that make Japanese easier, in my opinion.