(lively music)
- Now, for those of you who don't know,
levelling up is a computer term and you're pushing
yourself to the next level, you're trying harder,
you're doing something really important.
What I would've called this before is social skydiving
in the context that you understand it
because what it involves is using our language,
going up to people, complete strangers
and starting to speak to them.
That sounds scary and impractical and whatever,
but I've just done that today with Moses
and it just answers so many of these excuses
people tell me that I can't practise my language
because I'm not in the country.
We're almost up to 10 languages here in Columbus, OH.
It really emphasises that where you are does not matter.
I hear people giving me excuses
and they're in California or New York.
I do this over the internet, but I have
to say I was surprised at how easy
and non-intimidating it was to do this.
So could you tell us your view?
How does this whole levelling up work
and why should people consider it?
- Just use something very common.
For example, like today I went up to a guy and I asked him,
hey, do you know where there's an arcade?
We're looking for the arcade.
And he said, "I don't know.
"I think it's down outside the mall somewhere."
And that's very common.
It's not rude to ask someone where a particular place is.
So once you do that, you know, get them comfortable,
then you can ask them kindly where they're from.
Ask them, hey, I noticed that you have an accent.
May I ask where you're from?
And then they will, 99% of the time
they want to tell you where they're from.
Once they tell you where they're from,
then you can ask them in that language,
hey, do you speak this language?
And then, oh, they get surprised, and there it is.
You broke the ice, conversation started.
You may even be there for an hour or two speaking
with these people because once you do that,
they're very, very interested.
They're wanting to know why you're learning this language.
- Yeah, because this major excuse
people would give, even me.
I haven't done this before in this kind of context.
I would generally go to a couch surfing party
or I would message someone over the internet to meet up
in person and that way we have some kind of connexion
and there's no problem for me to go up and speak to them.
But people would generally say in all contexts,
not just with strangers, but with somebody who
you might already have a social connexion with,
that you are going to frustrate them.
- Generally, people aren't going to be frustrated.
They're not going to be annoyed.
Once you start speaking with them, it's like.
It was a quote you.
It was something by Mandela, I think you said.
- Yeah, yeah, Nelson Mandela.
He said something about speaking a language
a man understands touches his head.
Speaking the language he was born with touches his heart.
I forget the exact quote.
- And it's true.
It's like, even if, some people say,
"Well, I'm not fluent yet.
"I don't want to do it."
No, it doesn't even matter.
If you say a couple phrases, a couple words,
you touch these people, literally.
Now I'm not saying that everyone, go get phrase books
and just learn a couple words and phrases and that's it,
don't take it to a higher level.
Basically, what I'm saying is just get out
there at the beginning because it's motivating
and makes you want to learn more.
It's very, very (mumbles) just because of this experience.
You say, oh, I had this little
conversation with a native today.
I want to learn more so when the next time I go level up,
I will be able to express myself more.
- Absolutely, and the one thing that both of us
that's the core of how we learn languages
is we both have a speak from day one philosophy.
It really does work like that.
You learn a couple of phrases like even just
I want to learn your language, or hello,
how are you, just to start off with.
When you get into speaking that with somebody,
you will see a big smile on their face.
This is why the whole thing,
maybe very, very rarely you might find someone frustrated.
But every single person we went up to today had
this beaming smile on their face and it's been
my experience as well in the country and abroad.
The only difference that you were telling me
is in America, generally, you would never go up
to the person and just speak the language to them.
You would generally start with English and say
something like do you know what time it is,
you know, an excuse just to start talking to them,
and then where are you from.
And at that stage, you've broken the ice
a little bit and people, they'll answer.
Even the people who were working,
they were very busy working, they were still
very patient and very happy to talk to us.
So this whole thing, it's amazing.
I've seen Moses do what he does and he's been
doing this for a long time here in Columbus.
You can really find any language you want.
- Any language.
- I mean, it's incredible the random languages
that we were coming across today.
- So random.
And like I said, malls.
I think malls are probably the best place
to go to because it's so random.
You just see so many people.
And like I said, it's very common for someone to ask
about the time or what time the place closes,
so you can't go wrong by walking up to someone,
hey, do you know what time this place closes?
Do you know what time it is?
Just something very simple to break the ice.
- And when you ask the question of where you're from,
what languages do you speak, if they're not interested,
which is actually a lot rarer than you think it is,
but if they say, oh, I'm sorry,
or if they don't speak the language that you
want to practise, you've wasted one minute.
- One minute, that's it. - That's it.
You're not going to get any kind of aggression.
They're not gonna shout at you.
There's nothing like this.
People have such worse case scenarios
envisioning going up to somebody.
I have to admit it is new for me.
And you'll see in the footage, I'm really hesitant
because I'm used to more social situations.
I'm not the kind of person to just walk blank up to
a complete stranger and just start speaking to them
without any rhyme or reason, unless they were
in a particular social environment.
But Moses has shown me that even that, even my own
limitation, I have to question that because it's amazing.
People are so open to these situations,
especially in America.
It's such a novelty when you see somebody
try to speak their language, you know?
They're so helpful, they'll be encouraging
depending on the person.
Some people, it's that they're in such an English mode
that they'll be complimenting you,
but they'll be doing it in English.
That's not ideal.
It's nothing against your particular level.
I think it's just because it's their own associations.
But even the people who would speak to us a bit in English,
they were happy to exchange contact details
to introduce us to their friends and their families.
And from there you have even more opportunities.
How did you come up with this?
It's just such an interesting way to get
into learning languages, you know?
- I just remember back when I started learning Chinese,
I was with my best friend and we
started by going to universities.
That's where it started because
universities are very diverse.
So we would just walk around the library,
just on campus in general, and when we see Asians,
we approach them, ask them, hey,
do you know what time it is?
Say, oh, yeah, yeah.
May I ask where you're from?
I'm from Japan, I'm from China,
and we'd just practise with them.
Then we were getting a lot of just the expression.
They would say, oh, wow, you're learning Chinese,
learning Japanese, blah, blah, blah.
And we'd said, you know what?
I want to do that again.
We'll go back home, get our books out,
look through some notes, say, you know what?
I'm gonna use this tomorrow.
Get right back on the battlefield, do it again.
Do it over and over and over and over and over again
and you'll be surprised how much you will learn.
- Yeah, it's really effective because you're combining
both the, as people call it, output,
actual interactions with people, and studying.
And for me, this is such a huge motivation
because generally I find studying to be quite boring.
If you just tell me, Benny, go study this language,
that's not gonna work.
But by interacting with people, I feel pumped.
I'm like, wow, now I know particular things that I need to
work on to be able to express myself a little bit better,
and I feel I want to push the conversation up a little bit.
I feel like I study effectively and efficiently
with a plan of action because I've spoken.
My studying works around my spoken sessions
rather than the other way around.
That's the way it always should be
that you're using the language from the start.
It's a means of communication.
Studying does help a lot.
It helps you tweak your grammar.
It helps you learn new vocabulary,
but when you do it in the right context,
it's how people can learn the language effectively.
And just seeing today the various languages
you're breaking into, some, as you said you are survival,
but they still really appreciate it.
- Yeah, very basic.
For example Fulani.
I only know, like, three words in Fulani.
When I was in that African market and I threw
that Fulani out there, they loved it.
So it doesn't matter what level you're on.
And again, I'm not saying to get phrase books,
learn a couple words and just do that.
You want to go to a hire level.
But the thing you want to do is get out there right away
because there's something you're going to feel.
You're going to feel this motivation.
You're gonna want to learn more,
want to get back out there tomorrow,
get back out there the day after
tomorrow and just keep doing it.
- And it's easier to find people than you think.
We've had all of these languages in Columbus, Ohio.
It just boggles my mind when people
say all these excuses, I can't practise.
Or they say I have to go to the country.
You do not have to go to the country.
Most people that I talk to are learning
the likes of French and Spanish, major languages
that are very, very easy to find, and I hear them,
I need to go to Spain, I need to go to Mexico.
I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
You've got so many opportunities here.
Today we went to this Spanish store
and we just started talking to people.
We complimented this guy.
Cute baby, and that got us into a conversation.
And then in the market, we ended up buying a fish.
When you think about it, we were in there
a good 20 or so minutes and the fish is $3.
So it's not that big a deal.
If you're in a situation where you're expected
to buy something, then buy something.
Buy the cheapest thing you see.
That works out way, way cheaper than
a private lesson or something.
And you never know, in that one interaction you could get
more motivation to meet people, more friends, and so on.
- It's very, very motivating.
Very, very motivating.
Hey, you guys saw it.
You saw the video.
Benny got out there.
He was a little hesitant, but, hey,
all we can say is just get out there and try it.
- Yeah, you gotta level up, and my next projects
I believe I will be levelling up quite a lot.
It's very effective.
You got your adrenaline flowing
and you're really getting into it.
A language is this living part of your life, you know?
Absolutely amazing, I love it.
Do you have any closing words for us on...
- The only thing I can say is just get out there and try it.
Don't be afraid.
I would probably say I...
I was very, very shy.
I was probably one of the most shy in my school.
I wouldn't talk to anyone.
I would put myself in the category of antisocialism.
I wouldn't talk to anyone.
But after getting into this language learning,
levelling up, it changed my life completely
when it comes to speaking with people, communication.
So I would advise anyone to just get out,
especially if you have a problem with
socialising with people, learn a language,
get out there and just try to interact with them.
That's all I can really say.
- Yep, I agree absolutely 100%.
Well, I've had a wonderful day with you.
I'm sorry the visit has been so short,
but I have been very glad that I finally
got to meet the man himself.
Big fan of your YouTube channel.
Let's switch hats. (laughs)
- He wants to switch sweaty hats.
- Switch sweaty hats.
Look at this.
I love this hat, man. (laughs)
All right, guys, thanks for watching.
I'll have more language updates coming soon enough.
- Happy language learning.
- See you guys later.