Foreign language secrets of speakers of 9 languages

As the Ambassador of Babbel's language learning application, Matthew Youlden in Berlin, Germany, can speak 9 languages, understand more than 10 other languages.

During the TEDxTalks lecture, Matthew shared a simple method of learning a foreign language, which can be applied to all languages.

As a linguist and lecturer, I know what is needed to learn and study new languages. One of the biggest obstacles for learners is keeping "unrealistic thoughts" in mind. So the first thing before learning a foreign language is to get rid of these thoughts.

Learning a foreign language is too difficult

Many people think that "I will not be able to use a language other than my native language because I know it from birth". This is a wrong thought because we are born without any languages. We simply immerse ourselves in a very small common language because everyone around us uses it.

However, around us, many people have chosen to learn a second language, even spending years refining in a second language, and then they speak two languages, even more than two. They do it because there is never a limit to learning a foreign language.

Learning a foreign language is not necessary

Many people probably thought "I don't need to learn another language", but forgot about the great benefits of language such as improving job opportunities, improving financial ability, helping to avoid mental illness. neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's (dementia syndrome).

According to research by The Guardian newspaper, people who can speak two or more languages ​​are better adapted, better equipped to handle problems at work and life.

Only good at foreign languages ​​when around those who use it

Going to the language community you want to learn is an effective but not the only method of learning. My brother and I live in the city of Berlin (Germany), have taken the challenge of learning Turkish for seven days and succeeded. This means that you can completely learn foreign languages ​​where you live.

After getting rid of the "unrealistic thoughts" that hold us back in language learning, look for study tips to make the impossible possible. Language is often considered to be something far-fetched, unrealistic, but actually we still know about it and can master it.

With some of the study tips I've given below, you can see that the language is not as vague as imagined.

Analyze similarities, focusing on common ground

My main language is German and it is related to many different languages ​​like Latin, Hebrew and Hindi. When learning a foreign language, look for common ground between your native language and the language you are learning. Finding common ground helps learners guess new meanings and structure.

Keep it simple

If you are learning a language that doesn't have something in common with your native language, keep in mind the second, focusing on the simple things. For example, in German, many advanced vocabulary words are made up of a few simple words or verbs. The word "sprechen" (say), when adding the "be" prefix becomes "besprechen" (discussion), or adding the prefix "en" becomes "entsprechen" (correspondence).

Create relevance

When learning anything new, we also need to make sure it is relevant to us in order to maintain interest. Think about this, we learn English but why never remember the whole Oxford English Dictionary? This is because we only care about words related to our work and our life. So learn a foreign language starting from the topics you love and care about, which will make learning easier.

After we have prepared our thoughts well, we will come together to the stage of language learning practice. The first important factor is study time. In my opinion, spending 30 minutes a day learning a foreign language is a great and effective start. 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the afternoon, 10 minutes in the evening, we have 30 minutes a day to study and learn in different situations and situations to help promote learning flexibility. You can learn a foreign language on the way to work, school, when meeting friends or when you are alone. We can all take a few minutes every day to learn a foreign language.

After that, there are three rules that I consider to be the golden rule in learning any foreign language. By following these rules, you will have an exciting start to continue learning and mastering the new language.

- Living in language: The word "live" here includes a lot of activities like speaking, reading, writing, singing (yes, of course you can sing for yourself) and even dreaming about it. When my brother and I learned Greek, we composed the song in this language and performed it for each other. This activity sounds funny but not embarrassing because I have the opportunity to turn Greek into my language. Start by switching the language on your phone or computer to the language you are learning to create a sense of ownership.

- Make mistakes: You don't look wrong, I want you to make as many mistakes as possible because we always learn from making mistakes. It is the fastest, most impressive way for us to do the right thing. But as adults, people tend to be afraid to make mistakes for fear of being hurt, to be laughed at. Maintain at the beginning the thought that you are completely unaware of the language you are about to learn, but this will not stop you from learning it, and you will conquer and master the new language.

- Make learning fun: Grammar is not always a fun learning problem but remember how you learned grammar of your native language, you have overcome so there is no problem with other foreign languages. Make learning fun from the beginning so that you are always motivated to move forward, the more motivation you have, the better your chances of success. Studying by yourself is probably not fun, so why not go out looking for friends or invite coworkers? You can create friendly contests with exchanges and learning because these small competitions will improve the performance of players.