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It is scientifically proven that the most effective way to learn a language is - a girlfriend

I found that watching childrens tv shows in the language i was studying was a huge help

I used to be a tutor, and the most frustrating thing was when I'd assess a new student, give them resources, and encourage them to start acquiring language outside the comfort of a textbook. Sadly, adult students often refused to put on a podcast in the background or read one news article a week, instead asking for adapted materials and grammar exercises. Children are easier in this regard because they don't know how much they don't know. I now want to focus on expanding my own knowledge. I'd love to acquire a new language.

00:02 Focus on acquisition, not commercial programs, for language learning.
02:16 Language acquisition through understanding
04:32 Look for language materials that provide rich and comprehensible language rather than just focusing on memorization
06:55 Focus on meaning over form while learning languages.
09:03 Focus on acquiring language rather than monitoring it
11:06 Focus on understanding 95% for effective language acquisition
13:03 Vocabulary is acquired through comprehensible messages and understanding the language.
15:19 Vocabulary is acquired incrementally through repeated exposure to words.
17:13 Memorizing vocabulary explicitly is not very useful in language learning.
19:15 Shift from memorized words to rich instruction for efficient language learning
21:05 Lower your expectations and enjoy the learning process.
22:51 Language acquisition takes time, be realistic in your expectations
Crafted by Merlin AI.

There is really excellent advice in this video.

I'm a native English speaker. I am fluent (C2) in Italian and almost fluent (C1 on a good day, B2 on a bad one) in French.

I learnt both languages as an adult.

The following are really notes for myself.

The idea in this video is to focus on acquisition and meaning. The essential "incremental" part comes when you encounter the same word in a variety of contexts.

Inevitably you will come across a more unusual word and you will look it up then imediately forget it - even if you carefully write it down and try to memorise it. However, if you keep coming across a word in different contexts you are much more likely to remember it, and, for that, you need to concentrate on *acquisition*.

The more you read and the more you listen, the more likely it is you will come across the same words in different contexts. (Note to self) Incremental acquisition is also key to being able to recognise what is common and what isn't. For example "pigro" and "indolente" both mean "lazy" in Italian, but you will almost never hear an Italian saying "indolente".

Read and listen *a lot*, to understand which of these two Italian words (and there are of course others which mean "lazy") would be most appropriate to describe "lazy" in a given context. Get there by continually bashing your head against the wall (reading and listening, reading and listening, reading and listening). The word enters your brain in the end and, slowly but surely, the word "pigro" starts to sound right when you see a teenager lounging on a sofa, but "indolente" doesn't.

I would add that everyone makes mistakes, even in their native language. It's absolutely fine to make mistakes in a foreign language - it's almost expected of you. If people want to speak to you they will, even if you don't conjugate your verbs properly. However, if you haven't done any practice with acquistion and don't understand anything people say to you, the conversation will end rather quickly.

Comprehension is key.

EDIT: to add to above, in case I gave the impression that you can learn a language by just reading and listening. You should have at least a basic idea of the grammar of your target language. You should understand the basic concepts of classes of words: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, etc. This will make life much easier for you.
Verbs are quite complex in French and Italian, and in many other languages too. At the very least, if you don't know what a verb is, then brush up on your grammar before trying to learn another language.

30% theory or learning, 70% practice or acquisition. That is what I learned.

I’ve been watching tons of videos on how to learn a foreign language and this was the best one so far

I can confirm the point of language acquisition versus conscious learning. I have learned way more English by watching YouTube videos about things I am interested in than I learned in the 5 years of school.

The most important part of this interview comes right at the very end. Adults must learn to be patient. Certainly in the West, adults are in a rush. Language acquisition, however, is a tortoise vs. hare situation. Slow and steady wins the race. I saw an ad headline many many years ago which read: GET RICH SLOW. Really grabbed my attention and stuck with me. Same could be said of language acquisition: LEARN RUSSIAN SLOW. Or LEARN JAPANESE SLOW. Give the brain oceans and oceans of content. Oceans. Your brain will figure it out in time and learn to swim. The only thing we as adults need to do is (a) show up everyday and (b) find enjoyable content that's at our level, or very slightly above our level. Then give the process TIME.

"Adquisition is understanding language" That´s the clue. Thank you teachers.

I’ve watch hundreds of people talk about there methods of learning a language and one says you must ready more others say you must be in survival mode, others say get a teacher or buy my program . But out of all them I’ve found one thing in comen. they never stoped practicing the language or gave up they either did a little at a time or some crammed for hours but in the end it always comes down to who keeps at it chipping away at the mountain.

As a language tutor and language learner myself I find this comprehensive video extremely useful. I can't emphasize enough the value of this video!!! One viewing of THIS video is enough to learn ANY language. Thank you for this, I can't stress enough how valuable this is!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤

I love grammar. It's like an intriguing puzzle.

The kids learn by watching, listening, repetition, understanding, comprehending …

At 7:22 - that was me in the past when I would stop in the middle of a sentence to check my grammar in Spanish.

Low-key sent the link to this video to my group of friends taking a Spanish class at uni. They might not be thrilled since they’ve already paid for the semester…

I believe this is one of the most helpful youtube video for language learners. What Dr Jeff McQuillan told is truly enlightening!

30 years of adult ESL / ESOL under the belt, and I couldn't agree more! Isn't that how children also learn? Anyone noticed we begin studying grammar in school when we have already acquired our first language!!

Humor, relatability, and honesty are the commentary trifecta.