Learn Languages with Steve Kaufmann

Though listening is the third goal in my hierarchy of language learning goals, in many ways it is the most important. Listening is easy to do and it is the best preparation for speaking.

Ukrainian was my third Slavic language after Russian and Czech. Relationships between languages of the same language family are interesting. Discovering the individual histories and cultures behind these languages is a major motivator.

Reading helps enormously in acquiring new words, and in achieving some level of comprehension for what you hear in a new language. It is harder to for me remember words just by hearing them. Seeing the words written gives them form, definition.

The number one goal in language learning is to acquire words. The number of words you know is the simplest measure of your knowledge of any language. We acquire words mostly incidentally, not deliberately. That is at the core of LingQ.

My 7 language learning goals: 1. Acquire words. Passive vocabulary is the best measure of my potential in a language. 2. Read a lot. Reading is easier to understand than listening. I may read new material or re-read old material, but I read every day. 3. Listen everywhere. I listen every day, either repeatedly as a beginner, or more extensively as I progress in a language. 4. Speak when I have the...

Francesco’s story is typical. A passion for languages and a passion for the culture of his homeland, Italy, took him from his background in economics to creating an online presence helping people learn Italian via videos and podcasts.

Listening is the easiest language learning activity to do, anywhere, any time. To be effective, there should be some ability to understand at least some of what you hear.

When I was 17 I essentially spoke only one language, English. Today I speak 20 languages, six of them quite well, six fairly well, and the rest are work in progress. How did that happen?

We don't need to be perfect to communicate in a foreign language. John Cena doesn't speak perfect Mandarin Chinese, far from it, but he communicates effectively from the heart.

I love French for its history and cultural influence. For English speakers, or speaker of other Romance languages, the amount of familiar or recognizable vocabulary is a major advantage to learners, despite the occasional "false friend".

Will John of Goluremi Languages is an American polyglot and professional soccer player, who has played in many countries. He grew up in the "heartland" of America. He credits his mother for his interest in languages.

I hear people say their level in English isn’t good. Many have unrealistic expectations. English is an international language of communication. If you can communicate you’re doing just fine.

LingQ has been rewritten from scratch. Mark & I discuss new features which make it easier to learn languages and easier for the LingQ team to add additional functions and features to meet member requests.

Ancient Greece and Rome had an outsized influence on the culture of Europe, and even the world. We may call their languages dead today but they were living languages for much of recent history.

In language learning, the obsessive pursuit of perfection can be an obstacle to achieving a comfortable ability to communicate in the language.

Can we learn several languages at the same time? Are we better off to focus on one? It all depends on your goals and personal preferences. You will progress faster if you focus on one language, however you will give up the chance to explore other languages during that same period.

Daria teaches Russian and looks for learning material that is of interest to the learners. Learn Russian with Star Wars! More important than insisting on correct grammar, especially in the early stages.

When we start a new language, we're excited to discover new sounds, new words, new structures. Early there is a sense of achievement as what was just noise is starting to become meaningful. Certain words repeat often enough that we learn them. But after a few months, we start to feel we're stuck. It's the doldrums. What can be done?

The difficulty level of any language depends on the learner. How motivated is the learner to acquire a certain language? Is he or she confident of their ability to acquire the language? To a confident and motivated learner, no language is really difficult. In fact, the learning process becomes its own reward.

In acquiring a foreign language, reading is often underrated as a goal, and as a learning activity. When I learned Chinese, over 50 years ago, I did a lot more reading than I’m doing now in Arabic and Persian. Today I rely on the audio to help me read. In 2022 I plan to focus more on reading, even in sentence mode, but without the constant help of audio.

How To Learn Vocabulary by Steve Kaufmann

We often hear that speakers of certain languages have trouble losing their accents, speakers of English or Slavic languages, for example. Iryna sounds Mexican, both in English and Spanish, yet is a native speaker of Russian and Ukrainian. Best to avoid generalizations.

I started Standard Arabic, Persian & Turkish to better understand the region. Dropped Turkish to focus on reading Arabic script. Now I'm doing more colloquial Arabic. Things change.

I hitchhiked in Italy in the 60's, getting by with French and Spanish. In the '70s I got a Linguaphone Italian course. I avoided the exercises but listened over and over again, occasionally reviewing the grammar explanations. That was it until I discovered the power of audio books.

When I learn a language I'm curious about the culture. However, I first need to get a sense of the new language using subject matter familiar to me. More exotic details of the culture can wait. Unfortunately these are often included in beginner texts.