[0:04]I speak seven languages. And as soon as people find out about that, what I'm most often asked, other than for my phone number, is how did you do it? How did you go about learning all these different languages?
[0:20]Well, today, I'm going to share with you some answers. So, my phone number is 212.
[0:28]I'm just kidding. See, I was raised as a polyglot. And by the time I turned 18, I could speak already four different languages.
[0:36]And then, for the subsequent three years, I learned three additional languages, and it's about those three years that I want to talk about, because my language acquisition process was very different from that of my peers.
[0:49]In that, it was never this stressful, strenuous, difficult, seemingly impossible task, but rather something enjoyable, fun, exciting. I loved it, every single moment of it.
[1:02]And I want to share with you, why, what was it that made it so special. See, I did have a head start, in that I did have these four languages that I spoke ahead of time.
[1:15]But there were also these five techniques, five skills, if you will, that I used that made the language learning process so much easier. And it's about those five techniques that I want to talk about.
[1:27]So, let's dig right in. And for the first one, the first thing that we've got to do, is to take a very deep breath.
[1:40]And relax. And the reason for this is because our entire lives we're taught how to do things right.
[1:50]From the moment we're born, we're taught what things we should do, what things we shouldn't do, and how to do things properly. Well, when it comes to language learning, the golden rule of language learning, the most important thing, is to get things wrong, to make mistakes.
[2:10]And that is the first rule. Let me explain to you why. See, when we know languages, we know a whole collection of sounds and a whole collection of structures.
[2:20]Which combined make what I like to call and for the purpose of this presentation, our language database.
[2:27]And our language database will contain all the sounds and structures that we know. However, there's a whole family of sounds and structures that are beyond our database.
[2:40]And for us to be able to embark in those and to be able to explore those, there is nothing within our database, nothing within our knowledge that will tell us when we're getting these structures right. Nothing to tell us when that sound is precise.
[2:53]Let's say we're going to explore this one specific sound, there is nothing in our database. When we're saying it, we could say it perfectly.
[3:06]But in our minds, it will sound like a mistake. So you know that queasy feeling that we feel, that insecure thing, when we feel like we're making, we're doing something wrong?
[3:13]That is the trigger that you need to look for, because that is the signal that tells you that you're going beyond your database, and that you're allowing yourself to explore the realm of a new language.
[3:26]Let me show you how this works in practice. So let's say we're going to go and learn the word door in Spanish. So, the word door in Spanish is 'puerta'.
[3:33]So for 'puerta', we've got a few sounds that exist in English. So the 'pu', 'e', and the 'ta'. However, when it comes to the R, that sound is not in our database, the 'rr', the rolled 'r' does not exist in the in the English sound database.
[3:53]And it's it's a little bit on the outside. So, if we allowed ourselves to bridge through our database, and to really break through and to make the mistake, we could make sounds like the 'rr'.
[4:06]But instead, what sometimes happens is that we get the closest relative of it that is within the database and that is the 'r' sound. And that 'r' sound makes something that sounds like 'puerta'.
[4:19]Which doesn't mean a thing in Spanish. It actually it actually doesn't sound too charming.
[4:26]And and it doesn't tell you too much. So, for the first technique, allow yourselves to make that mistake, so that sounds like 'puerta' can come out.
[4:38]And then let's go to the second one. For the second one, I'm going to need some of your collaboration. We are going to read these four beautiful words, and on the count of three. So, let's start with the first one. On the count of three, one, two, three.
[4:50]Mao. Mao, perfect. The second one, one, two, three. Coco. Perfect. Third one, one, two, three. Wow. Perfect. And the third one, the fourth one, one, two, three.
[5:03]Oh, let me show you what what happened when we did this. We we get these four words, and we put them through a sort of an American English filter.
[5:15]And we get something that looks kind of like this. Um, which and and I'll tell you the results of that. So for the first one, 'Mao', which means hand in Portuguese, we put it through the filter, we get 'Mao'.
[5:28]Um, for the second one, we get 'coco', which is coconut in Portuguese, or 'cocô', which means poop. Um,
[5:38]we put it through the filter, and we get a warm cup of cocoa. Um, and for the fourth one, we have 'huo', which means fire in Chinese, and we get, if you're feeling really creative, maybe a dude doing karate. Um, but anyways, these are
[5:58]they don't tell you much about how these things are pronounced. And if you think it's only one way, only if you're going from English to a different language,
[6:06]think about non-native speakers and try to explain to them that this is pronounced 'though', and that this is pronounced 'thought', and that even though they look almost identical, they have nothing to do with one another.
[6:17]Or try to explain to them that this is 'enough' and that this is just simply wrong. See,
[6:24]there is nothing useful about using that foreign alphabet when you're trying to learn the language. Why? Because it will give you wrong signals.
[6:34]So what is the second technique? Scrap it. Scrap the foreign alphabet.
[6:42]Let me give you an alternative of how you can go about this. This is a Brazilian currency, and it's spelled like this. So on the count of three, can we all say the name of this currency, one, two, three?
[6:53]Real. We have some people who know the spelling. Um,
[6:58]yeah, 'real' for the most part. And as as useful as this might seem, it doesn't tell you a single thing. And when you're speaking Portuguese, 'real' means nothing.
[7:08]Let me give you an alternative. See, in Portuguese, the way that you say 'real' is 'real'. So, let me teach you how to say it.
[7:16]Um, so on the count of three, let's say 'he'. So it's 'hey', but without the 'e' sound. So, one, two, three, 'he'. Perfect.
[7:25]And now let's say 'ow'. It's like 'ouch', but without the 'ch' sound. So, it's 'ow'. One, two, three, 'ow'. Perfect. So,
[7:33]he? Ow. He? Ow. He. Ow.
[7:46]Perfect. Now you all sound like passionate Brazilian capitalists. And so why would we go and use something that looks like this, that looks real, when instead you can use something that looks like this and gives you so much more information about how to say something in a foreign language?
[8:09]And that puts us in a really good spot, because at this point, we allowed ourselves to break through our database and to make mistakes, to go into that uncharted territory of a new language.
[8:21]And then we figured out how to take notes, in a way, that the information is actually meaningful. But then how can we test it?
[8:28]And that's where technique number three comes in. Technique number three is about finding a stickler. So finding someone who's detail-oriented and who won't let you get away with mistakes.
[8:41]And more than finding someone who's really that person, the guru for the language, it's more about establishing the right sort of relationship.
[8:50]Relationship with someone where they will correct you. They'll feel comfortable correcting you and making sure that you're getting to that spot you wanted in the language.
[8:58]But at the same time, someone who'll encourage you to get things wrong, and to make those mistakes in the first place. And sticklers could be your teacher, it could be your tutor, it could be a friend, it could be someone on Skype or Craigslist.
[9:12]It doesn't matter. You can find sticklers all over the place, and with technology, it becomes a lot easier to find them. And then it's time to practice.
[9:23]And for practicing, we've got the fourth technique. See, I always thought I had this thing that was a little bit of a Sid craziness, that I did, and then I realized how useful it was.
[9:32]I always did what I like to call shower conversations.
[9:39]And shower conversations are exactly what they sound like. When I was learning a new language, I would stay in the shower for a few minutes, and I remember having all these discussions.
[9:50]I remember when I was learning Chinese, and I would haggle and like try to get two UN more on to get that that wonderful dumpling and getting the discount.
[9:59]Or I would go to Rome and I would ask for directions to the best pizza. It was amazing. And the beautiful thing about a shower conversation is that it allows you to find wherever you have a gap in your knowledge,
[10:11]because you're having the conversation on both ends. For example, it's easy to ask for directions, how about receiving them? Or even better, giving directions.
[10:21]Well, the shower conversation forces you to have both sides of the conversation. And you don't need to have them in the shower.
[10:28]The wonderful thing about them as well is that you can have them anywhere. So you can have them in the shower, in your apartment, walking down the streets, in the subway.
[10:37]And seriously, if you're in the subway speaking to yourself in a foreign language in New York, you'll fit right in. You're fine. And it's great, because it doesn't, you don't depend on anything or anyone to get your practice.
[10:50]And I did this for years, and later on I found out that professional athletes do it too. Michael Phelps is known to visualize every single one of his races several times over before jumping in the water.
[11:02]Worked great for him, and it works great for me too, so it would work for you as well. And now, let's go to using the language.
[11:11]Because up to now, it's great. We've figured out how to do all these things that puts us in a really good position to use the language. And for that, I recommend you finding a conversation buddy.
[11:23]And to find a conversation buddy, I recommend you follow what I call the buddy formula. And that is a way that you can make sure that your incentives are always aligned to use the new language.
[11:38]So for that is the target language should be your best language in common. Why? If you're anything like me, you like to learn languages so that you can communicate with more people, so that you can reach out and understand a little bit more about their brains and their hearts.
[11:57]And so, if we try to talk to someone in a foreign language that both of us don't do really well, when we could be speaking English or whatever language you're more comfortable with,
[12:06]as a pair, odds are that you're going to revert to that language that is easier. So, I recommend you find someone where your best language in common is your target language.
[12:15]And if you can't find one locally, try technology, or if you can travel, that would be perfect. There's a problem with that, and I realized it, because it's difficult to find someone that fits that profile exactly.
[12:28]Well, I've got good news. And I found it out when I was I was at work, and one of my colleagues, he's a linguist too. He speaks a ton of languages,
[12:39]and our best language in common was definitely English. Our second best language in common, definitely French. But we always spoke in German to each other in the office.
[12:50]Why was that? It was because there were people in the office who spoke English. There were people in the office who spoke French. But we could talk about Friday and Saturday night in German, and nobody had any idea what we were talking about.
[13:03]So, it can also be your best secret language in common. And it becomes such a convenient tool.
[13:12]You can have that with your friends and you get a sense of privacy in public, no matter where you are. You can have a private conversation. So, let's recap.
[13:21]With the first technique, we allow ourselves to break through the barrier of language and to explore the uncharted territory of sounds and structures outside our database.
[13:32]Then with the second one, we learned how to take notes and how to make sure that we can take notes in a way that we can replicate those sounds and structures later.
[13:42]Then we can check the mistakes by finding a stickler. Fourth, practice, have your shower conversations, wherever you want to be.
[13:50]And then, follow the buddy formula, and you can find someone to practice your language with. And after that, arriviamo a un posto veramente bello.
[14:00]foreign languages are no longer something stressful, difficult and boring, pero un mundo de posibilidades, donde tenemos la oportunidad de explorar de nouveaux cultures, et tous les différents manières de vivre.
[14:17]O mais gratificante é que, com isso, aprendemos mais sobre nós mesmos. foreign language in Greek, you learn how to understand.
[14:32]A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. And this is not a problem because now you all know how to walk.
[14:41]Thank you.
