#AskSteve

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

I have been learning languages for over 50 years. In this time there is one development in particular that has allowed me to learn more efficiently and given me access to new worlds of meaningful and interesting content: the MP3. 00:00 The MP3 has created language labs in our pockets! 01:26 Using MP3s to create lessons with transcripts on LingQ. 02:15 Learning languages karaoke style. 03:45 Finding MP3 resources in my target language. ___ Study a language on LingQ: https://shorturl.at/jGQ04 Study this video as a lesson on LingQ: https://shorturl.at/bqwZ7 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

I like analogies, they help us understand. An analogy I thought of recently was how our knowledge of a language is like an iceberg: what we can produce or think we know at any given moment is just the tip of the iceberg and there is deep familiarity with the language underneath. 00:00 How is language learning like an iceberg? 01:00 Your familiarity with the language runs deep and is always there beneath the surface. 02:17 Traditional language learning is aimed at the tip of the iceberg, but this is not a good way to see our progress. 03:53 We need to give ourselves credit for all we have done to engage with the target language. ___ Study a language on LingQ: https://shorturl.at/aDOQ5 Study this video as a lesson on LingQ: https://shorturl.at/kpIU4 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

The great educator Rubem Alves once said that learning should be a vagabond experience. We just wander around, following our interests. The language gradually penetrates our brains spreading its words and patterns. It’s not a matter of deliberate memorization. 00:00 Why I don't use any memory techniques to learn languages. 01:26 Knowing how the brain works will help you with your language learning. 02:50 The importance of the right kind of repetition in your language studies. 04:30 We need to provide the brain with novelty in order to learn. ___ Study a language on LingQ: http://surl.li/iimqz Study this video as a lesson on LingQ: https://shorturl.at/xFTY3 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