How to learn a language from scratch – Interview with polyglot Olly Richards

How to learn a new language? Where to start? Should you speak from day one? How to learn vocabulary? – I've discussed those (and more) questions with Olly. If you want to learn a language from scratch, check out my Language Key video course 👉 https://bit.ly/3n8PmvA ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 00:09 Who is Olly Richards? 00:27 Olly's language story 02:02 What are the general principles that Olly applies to his language learning? 02:22 You have to be really interested in the language you're learning 03:20 Speak a lot 04:39 Be prepared that it takes time 05:38 How to practise speaking in a foreign language? 07:22 Do you start speaking from the very beginning? 10:30 How to learn vocabulary? 11:00 The importance of massive exposure to language 12:22 Use mnemonics to remember new words faster 15:30 Create a system in your learning 17:26 What language learning materials to use? 17:35 Why to stay away of language-learning apps 18:48 Languages with very few materials 20:05 Well-resourced languages 21:50 How to organise your language learning 25:21 When apps are useful? 26:37 Olly's language-learning resources for beginners 💻 Olly's Uncovered course for beginners: - Spanish: https://bit.ly/3HkTGPg - French: https://bit.ly/40Os7V7 - Italian: https://bit.ly/41HvvTj - Brazilian Portuguese: https://bit.ly/3oPhzIk - German: https://bit.ly/3Lefa15 - Russian: https://bit.ly/41GtMxj - Chinese: https://bit.ly/3AyWBzZ - Japanese: https://bit.ly/3oOWXjl - Korean: https://bit.ly/41K16DR - Turkish: https://bit.ly/3AxZFw9 📚 Olly's Short Stories books: - English: https://amzn.to/34t04mG - Spanish: https://amzn.to/34c1fY6 - French: https://amzn.to/3olapZ7 - Italian: https://amzn.to/34vUtMo - Brazilian Portuguese: https://amzn.to/3of8SDS - German: https://amzn.to/3Gt7Fzi - Russian: https://amzn.to/3Gz9LO9 Olly's blog: https://storylearning.com/blog Olly's podcast: https://storylearning.com/podcast DISCLAIMER: The links above are affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for purchases made through them. How to learn a language? Actually, there's no one right way. Even polyglots have learned each of their languages differently. But there are some general principles and commonalities they apply to their language learning. Olly's are the following: 1️⃣ EXTREME INTEREST I have to be extremely interested in the language – meet some people, move to a different country etc. I have to be really passionate about the country, the culture, the people. This is what pulls me from the very beginning to the end and keeps me motivated and energised to keep learning for long enough. 2️⃣ A LOT OF SPEAKING Getting started is easy and there are many different ways but the hard part comes later when you have learned the language to an intermediate level. Then the task is to become really fluent in the language and confident enough to use the language in your everyday life. To get there you have to speak a lot over a long period of time. Fluency doesn't come from reading or listening, although it helps, but from a lot of speaking. 3️⃣ TAKE TIME Don't try to rush it otherwise, you'll end up frustrated. Stop worrying about your progress in the language from day to day and just enjoy the journey because you have a genuine reason why you're learning the language. 🗣️ HOW TO PRACTISE SPEAKING ❌ Olly doesn't look to friends or family to help him speak ❌ He doesn't take lessons as such because he can learn those things by himself ❌ He doesn't take language exchanges anymore because they take a lot of time. Anyway, they are a great way to practise speaking. ❌ He doesn't speak from day one – it's a very inefficient way of learning because you spend a long time to say a few things. ✅ He finds tutors online and has very regular short speaking sessions with them. ✅ He spends a lot of time getting as much immersion in the language as possible by listening and reading to get a solid foundation in the language to get stuff to say and understand. ✅ He doesn't wait too long to start speaking, because he learns a lot about speaking by speaking. ✍️ HOW TO LEARN VOCABULARY Learn vocabulary from exposure to the language, i.e. by reading, listening, and speaking. In such a way, you learn vocabulary naturally, in context. You simply cannot memorize enough vocabulary without that massive exposure. So try to reach a balance between exposure and memorizing. Don't look up and don't try to memorize every new word. If you want to LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE without all the basic mistakes every beginner makes, you should definitely check out my Language Key video course here 👉 https://bit.ly/3n8PmvA I'm a TED speaker, a polyglot, a conference interpreter, and a language mentor with many tips on language learning. Subscribe to the Language Mentoring channel to never miss another video. 😉 🎤 Have you seen my TED talk yet? 👉 https://bit.ly/3L6LenI Instagram: www.instagram.com/languagementoring Facebook: www.facebook.com/languagementoring