Hi everyone! A question I get asked a lot is
how is it possible to speak so many languages?
The question is how I am able to speak so many languages
First of all, I'd like you to understand that all of my languages are at different levels.
I can communicate in a few; I can help myself in a few, and I can have a fluent conversation in others
The second important point is
One really needs a lot of practice.
From what I've seen, if someone sees another person who speaks a ton of foreign languages,
They just think that person was born with a talent
They just have skills. That's what people think.
And they think that they aren't able to do the same.
But they can!
It just takes time and a lot of practice is needed.
So when people look at somebody who speaks a lot of foreign languages, they think "oh, it's just that person's talent, I will never be able to do that"
I'm too old
There is a lot that goes into learning languages, it's not just like that.
So yes, some people do maybe have a talent,
but there's a difference between having a talent and just letting it be,
and maybe not having a talent but having motivation
and time and skills to be able to master a language.
So, somebody might be born with a talent to be able to speak many languages,
but they might just say "yeah, you know, I don't need to practice"
whereas someone else who doesn't necessarily have that inborn talent, if that even exists,
they will be putting in so much time and effort and hours, and they can actually get to a higher level than the person who has the talent.
And the third thing is: The more you learn, the easier it becomes.
That's because you are able to discover what learning methods work for you.
And sometimes, languages have a lot in common.
For example, Japanese and Korean have many similarities in terms of grammar and vocabulary.
In English, there aren't particles like 은/는/이/가
And it was really difficult for me to understand those particles when I started learning Korean
And as I started studying more, I realized exactly what they meant,
and after that I started learning Japanese. Japanese also uses similar particles
and since I knew something similar from Korean, it was easier to comprehend.
"Ah Korean also has something like that"
and because of that I was able to learn Japanese faster and easier
The other thing you need to remember is
patience and motivation.
And you really need to force yourself to do a little bit each day.
It doesn't help if you take a language class at school and just study one hour in class from Monday to Friday and don't do anything after that.
There really is no shortcut to learning a language.
You have to put in the effort and the time. Even if you're doing 10 minutes a day, you can get a lot done.
Rather do a little every day than a lot in one day and nothing for a month.
And another way to answer "how do you speak so many languages" is that it's my passion and my hobby.
Some people ask me how I have time for all of that.
There are 24 hours in a day and if you really love something and if it's your passion, you will make time for it.
There's something I'd like to say to Koreans
Many Koreans think English is very difficult.
I believe it starts with an education problem.
In Korean schools, students often just take English comprehension exams. And that means they don't really learn words that are used in daily conversations.
And lots of students are unable to have a conversation in English.
So, apart from schools and hagwons,
one needs to make time to practice.
So in closing, I just want to say
there's a lot you can do if you put in time and effort
as long as you're doing something that you're interested in,
the language learning part will come easily.
In one word, make it fun for yourself.
Don't think of it as studying, but think of it as getting used to a language.
Thanks for watching until here
and if you haven't subscribed yet, please do so
and if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!