Before I even start this video, I just wanted to say that you shouldn't feel down on
yourself if you don't feel like you can speak a foreign language
after studying for a week or a month, or even a year.
I really enjoy pushing myself to see what I am capable of,
and that's why I make these videos. And hopefully you can implement some of what
I've shared into your own language studies. But at the end of the day we
all learn at different speeds and we're also not all attempting to do
the same thing. Depending on what languages you already know and what you
want to learn. Wherever you are in the process, don't give up.
It's worth sticking with it. Okay, onto the video.
Okay, so we're
all here to see how well I can speak Portuguese after a week. If you don't know
what I am talking about or how we got here you can check out part one which
I'll link down in the description below. In part one I
cover three steps in how I learn foreign languages. And there's
actually a fourth step: after you gather the building blocks and the glue
and entered the bubble, if you will, there's only one thing left
to do and that is talk to people.
You cannot master a language by yourself in your bedroom without
communicating with other people. The only way to get good
at speaking is by speaking. Now there are actually a
ton of ways to find people to speak with
all of which are thanks to the internet. Be creative. You can use Tinder. I've
seen this been done in subreddits. You can probably use my comment section.
Actually a small plug here: my patrions on Patrion have
access to a private discard group and people were connecting
over different languages on there. Which is something I love to see.
This leads me to a very important point and I think this
is the single biggest reason why a lot of people don't end up ever successfully
learning foreign language. And that is that you are inevitably going
to sound like a dummy. You are going to say
stupid, nonsensical or embarrassing things
when you start using a language that you never used before.
Pão is bread in Portuguese and pau means stick.
I'm not even fully sure if I'm successfully saying this correctly.
And this is happens in all languages. Cou in French is
neck and cul is ass. I know a lot of
foreigners that struggle with the difference between bitch and beach,
shit and sheet. So I think it's just something that comes with all
languages. What I'm saying is: it's a very honourable position to be in
to speak a foreign language and a humbling one
if you approach it the right way. At the end day don't let perfection
interfere of making mistakes,
prevent you from being good, from getting good. So many people speak about
the wonders of how alcohol suddenly makes them speak foreign
languages so much better. It doesn't, okay? It just
removes the fear. Speaking someone else's language is a mayor sign
of respect towards that culture and people
appreciate the effort. Especially if you are a native
English speaker. Because, you know, it's everywhere now. Unfortunately Americans
are not known for trying very hard with foreign languages.
So it's cool to surprise people.
As you can see there was fair amount of struggling going on.
But it was of super cool to be able to carry a conversation
that I found stimulating and interesting.
This of course is just the beginning. Learning a language really is
a marathon and not a sprint. Attacking things this way is
meant to give you a lot of momentum.
But if wanna get properly fluent
you really do have to stick with things. And I will say this: it does not have to be
a massive commitment. As long as you activating that part of your brain
you...you maintain access to it.
Which is exactly what I am planning to do. As soon as it becomes possible again I
would love to visit Portugal and Brazil...uhm...
and document those experiences. Explore the concept of "Saudade"...
uhm...and talk directly with the people. We see how thing go.
Thank you so much for watching and I'll see you soon.