#AskSteve

For more tips on vocabulary, please read my post here: https://blog.thelinguist.com/how-to-memorize-vocabulary I don't memorize vocabulary. I rely on exposure to the language to acquire my vocabulary. I read, and listen a lot, and work the vocabulary using flash cards with all the information on the front of the cards. Exposure works better for me and is more enjoyable than trying to memorize, but to each his/her own. Transcript: Hi there, Steve Kaufmann here. I’m leaving today with my wife. We are going south to spend a month in the sun because it rains here; although, the month of October in Vancouver has been unusually dry. I’m quite happy to stay here in the rain and play my Old Timer’s hockey three times a week and go skiing up at Cypress, cross-country skiing 20 minutes from where we live. But my wife watches the rainfall every day and likes to go south for November, which is the rainiest month here in Vancouver. I don’t know whether I’ll be able to do videos down there, so I thought I would do at least one here before leaving. I want to talk about memorizing vocabulary with a little bit of reference to the conference again on multilingualism and cognitive processes that I attended at McGill. Read the rest as a lesson on LingQ here: https://goo.gl/t2dB7d Timelines: 0:02 Heading South for a vacation. 0:51 The reason I can’t respond to YouTube comments and questions. 1:52 Anthony Lauder. 2:16 Don’t memorize vocabulary. 2:52 The best way to acquire vocabulary for me. 4:27 Meaningful speaking and reading is better than drilling. 5:24 McGill University language research examples. 7:25 Why we experience an improvement in a language when we take sometime away from it. 8:25 3 key issues in language learning. 8:56 Flashcards for memorizing vocabulary. 9:37 Give yourself more exposure to memorize vocabulary. Visit: https://www.LingQ.com My Blog: http://blog.thelinguist.com/ My Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/lingosteve My Twitter: https://twitter.com/lingosteve

Full transcript: https://blog.thelinguist.com/multilingualism-brain-conference I attended a conference at McGill University in Montreal. There were many presentations about multilingualism from a linguistics and neuro-scientific perspective. I am not sure of the connection with language acquisition. Check out the website. http://multilingualism.conference.mcgill.ca/ Videos of the conference will be posted.

Can we learn multiple languages at the same time? I prefer not to do this, but obviously many people do like studying this way. It seems that many people like to study a second language via a third language. I spend most of my learning time in the target language. The language of the dictionary, or of any grammatical explanations, is not that important to me, as long as it is as clear as possible. Therefore I prefer to use my own language or a language that I know well for the dictionary or for any reference material. I tend not to learn a second language through a third language, although this seems to be a popular approach with many people. But to each his or her own!

Can we learn multiple languages at the same time? Yes, we can, but I don't do it. I prefer to focus on one language at a time. I devote at least 80% of my learning time to my major language, and 20% to one or more others. We can all learn more than one language. We need to find the ways to do it that work best for us as individuals, in my view. Timelines: 0:30 Being enchanted by a language is normal. 1:28 Language learning customs in Europe and North America. 2:46 What language instruction in school should be? 3:39 I prefer not to learn several languages at once. 4:12 The more intensive the experience the better you will learn. 4:54 You can’t have 2 full time jobs in language learning. 5:51 Learning a similar language is not as easy as it seems. 6:48 20/80 approach. 7:08 My experience with Czech and Romanian. 9:23 Advantage of focusing on one language. 9:59 Switching from one language to another instantly. 10:21 Summary. Visit https://www.LingQ.com My Blog: http://blog.thelinguist.com/ My Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/lingosteve My Twitter: https://twitter.com/lingosteve Follow the new LingQ channel: https://goo.gl/WVnzRS Follow "Steve's Cafe" channel: http://www.youtube.com/c/SteveKaufmann

Most people in language programs don't achieve their goals, assuming they have some. In any case many learners, or most, eventually drop out. Check my blog for more information. http://blog.thelinguist.com/language-learning-drop-outs

You can be a lazy language learner and still learn quite well. Motivation is the key. Timelines: 0:01 I am a lazy language learner. 0:59 Things I don’t do in language learning. 3:06 I am not concerned about mastering anything. 4:54 It doesn’t matter if you are lazy. 5:16 The fundamental thing is to be interested. 6:05 I spent enough time listening. 7:21 I look for the things that help me to notice. 8:00 Independence and the sense of purpose are the most motivating. Visit LingQ: https://www.lingq.com My Blog: http://blog.thelinguist.com/ My Twitter: https://twitter.com/lingosteve Full video transcript can be found here: https://lingqcentral.com/blog-thelinguist/motivation-lazy-language-learner

Listening and reading are my favourite learning activities but the goal is to speak. How do we get to speak and speak well? We need to speak a lot. It can be a struggle at first, but we usually do better than we think. We need to interact with native speakers, preferably face to face, and in natural and meaningful situations. And we need to pay attention but we should not be too harsh on ourselves.

Read full transcript on my blog: http://blog.thelinguist.com/active-and-passive-vocabulary Learn from this lesson on LingQ: http://www.lingq.com/learn/en/workdesk/item/6593300/reader/ To see the TED video I mentioned, check out my last blog post: http://blog.thelinguist.com/hacking-language-learning You need a lot of words to function effectively in a language because you need to understand what is said. Work on your passive vocabulary and don't worry too much about your difficulties in speaking and using words in the early stages. If you have the passive vocabulary, if you can understand what you hear, you will eventually learn to speak well.

Non ho parlato molto in Italiano, ma ho ascoltato e letto molto, e ho imparato un mucchio di cose.

Fluency in Japanese in three months, is it possible? Check out Benny's video. http://www.fluentin3months.com/japanese-mission/ Timelines: 00:07 Benny the Irish polyglot Japanese challenge. 1:06 Benny Lewis is a great motivator. 1:34 Unrealistic claim. 3:38 Japanese in 3 months - what’s the hurry? 4:10 You have to interact with a language. 5:32 Am I willing to use any polyglot techniques other than mine? 7:48 If I were in Benny’s shoes. 8:57 Quantifying VS quality. 11:53 Summary. Visit https://www.LingQ.com My Blog: http://blog.thelinguist.com/ My Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/lingosteve My Twitter: https://twitter.com/lingosteve Follow the new LingQ channel: https://goo.gl/WVnzRS Follow "Steve's Cafe" channel: http://www.youtube.com/c/SteveKaufmann

One often hears that extroverts make better language learners then introverts. I don't believe this is the case. Success in language learning depends on the interest and determination of the learner, the time spent with the language, and the ability to notice what's happening in the language. These factors are not influenced by whether the learner is an introvert or an extrovert. At least that is what I think. I would be interested in your views. Timelines: 0:01 You don’t have to be an extravert to learn languages. 0:42 The 3 keys. 2:37 Being introvert or extravert is irrelevant. 4:14 Input based activities make introverts feel more comfortable. 6:12 Extraverts have no advantage in the long run. 6:50 I may not agree with your opinion, but I appreciate it. Visit https://www.LingQ.com My Blog: http://blog.thelinguist.com/ My Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/lingosteve My Twitter: https://twitter.com/lingosteve Follow the new LingQ channel: https://goo.gl/WVnzRS Follow "Steve's Cafe" channel: http://www.youtube.com/c/SteveKaufmann

Despite a focus on French verb instruction in the school system, after ten years in school, most English Canadians speak French using the infinitive for all verbs, if they speak French at all. A part of the reason is because they tend to focus more on grammar rather than constant input from the language. This video's full transcript can be found on my blog: https://blog.thelinguist.com/grammar-for-writing