#AskSteve

📲 The app I use to learn languages 👉🏼 https://bit.ly/3Yqu5vy 🆓 My 10 FREE secrets to language learning 👉🏼 https://www.thelinguist.com 🧠 Do you need to consciously memorize grammar rules? Nope. Do you need to spend lots of time focused on "the basics"? Negative. For one thing, the so-called "basics" are far from easy. They require a lot of time and exposure to become familiar and automatic. But the good news is that our brains will naturally internalize a language's rules when we get enough listening and reading practice. Conscious memorization of the rules—without sufficient exposure—simply doesn't work. 📺 WATCH NEXT: When Learning a Language DON'T Study the "Basics" https://youtu.be/B2zRk4PqMSA

📲 The app I use to learn languages 👉🏼 https://bit.ly/451em8E 🆓 My 10 FREE secrets to language learning 👉🏼 https://www.thelinguist.com 🧠 An important message from your Grumpy Language Grandpa: keep it simple in language learning. Don't overthink grammar or try to use overly complex constructions when a simpler pattern will do. 📺 WATCH NEXT: What is the Key to Success in Language Learning & Life? https://youtu.be/IMOXHnviCH4

🔥 Learn languages like I do with LingQ 👉🏼 https://bit.ly/43YQIs2 CC subtitles available in multiple languages. 🚪 Languages can unlock doors you never even knew existed, but you first have to reach out and turn the handle. The doors won't open themselves. Don't overthink decisions. Just take action and see where the language learning adventure leads you! I've made a number of pivotal decisions that completely changed the trajectory of my life, languages, and career... Hopping on a Europe-bound ship at age 19. Switching my major to Political Science and then studying in Paris. Moving to Hong Kong to learn Mandarin in the late 1960s. I could have easily overthought these decisions and decided otherwise. But the key is that I made a decision and took action. Just do it! ⏲️ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - Just Do It! 0:30 - Pivotal Decisions 1:40 - Hong Kong Bound 2:35 - Live More, Think Less 2:59 - Action Begets Motivation 3:41 - Push on That Door and See What Happens 📺 WATCH NEXT: Should You Start Speaking a Foreign Language Before You’re Ready? https://youtu.be/wXP-dxU8EKc 🎙️ LISTEN TO MY PODCAST: Soundcloud: https://bit.ly/3iZsbic Apple: https://apple.co/3z1F1lD Google: https://bit.ly/2W3DYmK Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TbcX8ilVmVTi6jdQVHuwK 💡 LEARN MORE: Get my 10 Secrets of Language Learning: https://www.thelinguist.com Download my FREE grammar guides: https://www.lingq.com/en/grammar-resource/ Join the LingQ Discord server: https://discord.gg/ShPTjyhwTN Read my language learning blog on The Linguist: https://bit.ly/2MW83Ab Read the LingQ language learning blog: https://bit.ly/35yvaqK ✅ FOLLOW ME: My Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/lingosteve_ My TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lingosteve

📲 The app I use to learn languages 👉🏼 https://bit.ly/3DCVgtn 🆓 My 10 FREE secrets to language learning 👉🏼 https://www.thelinguist.com I sometimes feel like Sisyphus or Tantalus from Greek mythology when I’m learning a language… 🪨 Sisyphus was doomed to repeatedly roll a huge rock up a hill, only to have it roll back down again when he was almost at the top. 🍎 Tantalus was stuck in a pool of water under a fruit tree. The tantalizing fruit remained forever just outside his grasp, and the water below would always recede before he could steel as sip. Language learning can feel like that sometimes, with progress seemingly just out of your grasp. But this is an illusion. Our work is never wasted. Any time we spend working on a language stays with us. We advance our skills bit by bit every time expose ourselves to the language... even when listening to Persian while mopping! 📺 WATCH NEXT: I’ve Learned 20 Languages, but THIS One Has Been a Real Struggle… https://youtu.be/39opTIlVGjk

🔥 Learn languages like I do with LingQ 👉🏼 https://bit.ly/43HWmig CC subtitles available in multiple languages. ❓What is the most difficult language to learn? The short answer? It depends! The difficulty of a language depends on a number of critical factors, 6 of which I share in this video. I also explain why certain languages tend to be more difficult than others, and why ONE language has been particularly challenging for me. Later in the video, I am joined by the Chinese polyglot Zoe from @zoe.languages. It turns out that she has ALSO found this same language to be the most difficult one out of the 6 she has learned, despite our different native languages... ⏲️ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - Why are some languages more difficult? 0:18 - Reason 1 0:35 - Reason 2 1:36 - Reason 3 1:52 - Reason 4 2:10 - Reason 5 2:30 - Reason 6 2:47 - Chinese Polyglot Zoe ranks her 6 foreign languages 4:41 - Elements of language difficulty 5:27 - Why ALL languages are equally difficult at a certain point 6:49 - The importance of good learning content 7:59 - How well do you want to speak a language? 8:27 - Steve's experience learning Mandarin Chinese 10:04 - What are the easiest languages to learn? 📺 WATCH NEXT: Is Chinese Difficult? | 中文难学吗? https://youtu.be/YxCjyMNl8eU 🎙️ LISTEN TO MY PODCAST: Soundcloud: https://bit.ly/3iZsbic Apple: https://apple.co/3z1F1lD Google: https://bit.ly/2W3DYmK Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TbcX8ilVmVTi6jdQVHuwK 💡 LEARN MORE: Get my 10 Secrets of Language Learning: https://www.thelinguist.com Download my FREE grammar guides: https://www.lingq.com/en/grammar-resource/ Join the LingQ Discord server: https://discord.gg/ShPTjyhwTN Read my language learning blog on The Linguist: https://bit.ly/2MW83Ab Read the LingQ language learning blog: https://bit.ly/35yvaqK ✅ FOLLOW ME: My Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/lingosteve_ My TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lingosteve

🔥 Learn languages like I do with LingQ 👉🏼 https://bit.ly/3rIqjkV 📚 Reading is a powerful way to improve your language skills, expand your vocabulary, and build fluency. Obviously, the more you read, the better you get. But how much can you reasonably read in a year? How attainable is the goal of 1 million words in your target language? 🎥 Watch the full version of this video here 👉🏼 https://youtu.be/PkJecJbBZmw 🎙️ LISTEN TO MY PODCAST: Soundcloud: https://bit.ly/3iZsbic Apple: https://apple.co/3z1F1lD Google: https://bit.ly/2W3DYmK Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TbcX8ilVmVTi6jdQVHuwK 💡 LEARN MORE: Get my 10 Secrets of Language Learning: https://www.thelinguist.com Download my FREE grammar guides: https://www.lingq.com/en/grammar-resource/ Join the LingQ Discord server: https://discord.gg/ShPTjyhwTN Read my language learning blog on The Linguist: https://bit.ly/2MW83Ab Read the LingQ language learning blog: https://bit.ly/35yvaqK ✅ FOLLOW ME: My Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/lingosteve_ My TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lingosteve ℹ️ ATTRIBUTIONS: “Bookshelf Roald Dahl.jpg “ by solarisgirl is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bookshelf_Roald_Dahl.jpg

🔥 Learn languages like I do with LingQ 👉🏼 https://bit.ly/3QcALvi CC subtitles available in multiple languages. I've learned 20 languages so far, and I usually enjoy the process. But one particular language has been a real struggle for me. In this video, I explain why this one language has been such a challenge for me and how it differs from others I've learned. I also share a clip of me speaking this language after a 90-day challenge I did in 2014. I haven't reached the fluency level I want yet, but I am not going to give up! ⏲️ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - My struggles 0:22 - My first exposure to the language in the 1970s & 80s 1:50 - Restarting the language in the 2000s 3:03 - Boredom strikes & Russian steals my focus 3:37 - Attempting to restart the language 5:23 - My enthusiasm high point 6:02 - My effort has not been lost 7:10 - The critical importance of enjoyable content 8:03 - Studying on LingQ 10:04 - Importing a news article into LingQ 12:05 - Speaking with my language tutor 📺 WATCH NEXT: Is It Hard to Learn Japanese? https://youtu.be/Zv6nAnaq784 Is Chinese Difficult? | 中文难学吗? https://youtu.be/YxCjyMNl8eU 🎙️ LISTEN TO MY PODCAST: Soundcloud: https://bit.ly/3iZsbic Apple: https://apple.co/3z1F1lD Google: https://bit.ly/2W3DYmK Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TbcX8ilVmVTi6jdQVHuwK 💡 LEARN MORE: Get my 10 Secrets of Language Learning: https://www.thelinguist.com Download my FREE grammar guides: https://www.lingq.com/en/grammar-resource/ Join the LingQ Discord server: https://discord.gg/ShPTjyhwTN Read my language learning blog on The Linguist: https://bit.ly/2MW83Ab Read the LingQ language learning blog: https://bit.ly/35yvaqK ✅ FOLLOW ME: My Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/lingosteve_ My TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lingosteve

🔥 Learn languages like I do with LingQ 👉🏼 https://bit.ly/43DqGKW CC subtitles available in multiple languages. 📚 Elon Musk allegedly reads 2 books a DAY! That's over 37 million words a year! (For comparison, the average person finishes only 14 books a YEAR.) Most of us will never get to Elon's reading volume, but we language learners should at least aim for the attainable goal of reading 1 million foreign language words a year (or roughly 1 book a month). In this video, I share why reading is so important in language learning and my best tips to get more (and BETTER!) reading practice. ⏲️ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - Elon Musk & Warren Buffet's Daily Reading Rate 0:38 - Average Person's Annual Reading Volume 1:03 - Reading in a Foreign Language 2:26 - Read at Least 1 Book a Month 3:14 - Build "Phonemic Awareness" 4:30 - Connect Audio with Text 6:00 - Choose Interesting Content to Read 7:53 - Read Books in Multiple Formats 9:08 - Ignore the Words You Don't Know 10:22 - Advanced Learners Should Read a Book a Week 📺 WATCH NEXT: How To Improve Your Speaking https://youtu.be/jyenD4vg4EA 🎙️ LISTEN TO MY PODCAST: Soundcloud: https://bit.ly/3iZsbic Apple: https://apple.co/3z1F1lD Google: https://bit.ly/2W3DYmK Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TbcX8ilVmVTi6jdQVHuwK 💡 LEARN MORE: Get my 10 Secrets of Language Learning: https://www.thelinguist.com Download my FREE grammar guides: https://www.lingq.com/en/grammar-resource/ Join the LingQ Discord server: https://discord.gg/ShPTjyhwTN Read my language learning blog on The Linguist: https://bit.ly/2MW83Ab Read the LingQ language learning blog: https://bit.ly/35yvaqK ✅ FOLLOW ME: My Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/lingosteve_ My TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lingosteve ℹ️ ATTRIBUTIONS: “Bookshelf Roald Dahl.jpg “ by solarisgirl is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bookshelf_Roald_Dahl.jpg

🙋🏼‍♂️ People often ask me "When should I start speaking? Should I wait until I am ready?" I've learned 20 languages, and one of the most important lessons has been that you shouldn't wait! You will NEVER be fully ready to start speaking, and there will always be more to learn. So you might as well start practicing. The good news is that you can start communicating even with a small vocabulary and shaky grammar. 📺 WATCH NEXT: Watch the full version of this video here: https://youtu.be/wXP-dxU8EKc Watch my full interview on Easy Polish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WaMuTRgc3s Watch my first chat in Polish: https://youtu.be/1gfPVDkY-8A 🎙️ LISTEN TO MY PODCAST: Soundcloud: https://bit.ly/3iZsbic Apple: https://apple.co/3z1F1lD Google: https://bit.ly/2W3DYmK Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TbcX8ilVmVTi6jdQVHuwK 💡 LEARN MORE: Get my 10 Secrets of Language Learning: https://www.thelinguist.com Download my FREE grammar guides: https://www.lingq.com/en/grammar-resource/ Join the LingQ Discord server: https://discord.gg/ShPTjyhwTN Read my language learning blog on The Linguist: https://bit.ly/2MW83Ab Read the LingQ language learning blog: https://bit.ly/35yvaqK ✅ FOLLOW ME: My Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/lingosteve_/ My TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lingosteve

One of the most common questions I get is, “When should I start speaking? Should I wait until I am ready?” The short answer? Don’t wait! Because you will NEVER be ready to start. There will always be more to learn. The good news is that you can start communicating even with a small vocabulary and shaky grammar (as you will see in a recent interview I did for Easy Polish in Kraków, Poland using my very limited Polish). Stick around to the end of the video to see some excerpts from the interview. It was tough. I struggled. But what matters is that I showed up and managed to (mostly) understand and (mostly) be understood. I wish you the same in your own foreign language adventures. 00:00 - Should we speak before we’re ready? 01:44 - The more you speak, the better you get. 02:00 - My recent trip to Poland. 03:50 - You’re NEVER ready. 05:10 - Easy Polish Interview. My full interview on Easy Polish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WaMuTRgc3s My first chat in Polish: https://youtu.be/1gfPVDkY-8A ___ Study a language on LingQ: https://shorturl.at/wPUWX Study this video as a lesson on LingQ: https://shorturl.at/twBM6 My Podcast: Soundcloud: https://bit.ly/3iZsbic Apple: https://apple.co/3z1F1lD Google: https://bit.ly/2W3DYmK Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TbcX8ilVmVTi6jdQVHuwK Get my 10 Secrets of Language Learning: https://www.thelinguist.com FREE grammar guides: https://www.lingq.com/en/grammar-resource/ Join the LingQ Discord server: https://discord.gg/ShPTjyhwTN My language learning blog on The Linguist: https://bit.ly/2MW83Ab My Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/lingosteve_/ My TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lingosteve The LingQ language learning blog: https://bit.ly/35yvaqK #languagelearning #languages #polyglot

Some people argue that you must work with a teacher to get fluent in a language, others claim that teachers are unnecessary and that you can learn on your own. So which is correct? Like most things in language learning (and life!) the answer isn’t black and white. 00:00 Can we benefit from teachers when learning a language? 01:17 The two types of language learner and how they should utilize teachers. 03:10 The teacher doesn't need to be the source of knowledge in language learning. 04:47 We need teachers when we're ready to speak our target language. ___ Study a language on LingQ: https://shorturl.at/AJTY2 Study this video as a lesson on LingQ: https://shorturl.at/koDTX My Podcast: Soundcloud: https://bit.ly/3iZsbic Apple: https://apple.co/3z1F1lD Google: https://bit.ly/2W3DYmK Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4TbcX8ilVmVTi6jdQVHuwK Get my 10 Secrets of Language Learning: https://www.thelinguist.com FREE grammar guides: https://www.lingq.com/en/grammar-resource/ Join the LingQ Discord server: https://discord.gg/ShPTjyhwTN My language learning blog on The Linguist: https://bit.ly/2MW83Ab My Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/lingosteve_/ My TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lingosteve The LingQ language learning blog: https://bit.ly/35yvaqK #languagelearning #languages #polyglot