Learn Languages with Steve Kaufmann

When do we know a word? Who cares? Just keep pumping words into your brain. Keep on actively pursuing words. That’s what we measure at LingQ. How many words you have grabbed and thrown into your brain. How many stick or when they stick is largely out of our control.

Language immersion doesn’t depend so much on where you are, although it can. It depends more on your attitude towards the language you are learning, and your actions as a learner.

Some people are afraid to speak in their target language. It needn’t happen. We can prepare for speaking. We can recognize speaking as a part of our learning process, not a performance to be judged by others.

The journey is the reward. As long as you are actively engaged with your target language, listening, reading, speaking or writing, in ways that you find meaningful and enjoyable, you will achieve your goals.

Travelling around Poland has made me realize that there is always more to a place than initially meets the eye. This is true for cities and also languages. When we start exploring a language we see that what we thought was the big picture was only a part of it. I love this about the language learning journey!

We need to be patient when learning languages. We will learn and forget, learn and forget over and over again. This isn’t a sign of failure but rather the natural way we learn new things. Relax into it and you will be successful.

I have always been interested in the origins of languages and the differences between languages. In my latest video I explore some world languages that share a lot in common and try to answer the question “what is a language?“.

Beginner material needs to contain lots of high frequency words and these words should repeat many times within one lesson. There should also be many lessons. The Mini Stores at LingQ check all these boxes. Watch my latest video to find out more about this fantastic beginner course and why I use it when I start out in a new language.

It’s easy to get caught up in negative thinking when learning a new language: I make so many mistakes, my speaking is so unnatural, I don’t understand when people speak to me, etc. What if we chose to break away from that thinking and believe instead that these things are part of the process and nothing to worry about? What if we chose to focus on the good instead of the “bad”?

Should seniors pay more taxes? We are, generally speaking, a bigger burden on the health system. My answer might surprise you…

To succeed in learning foreign languages, we need to be resourceful, taking advantage of people around us, and what the internet offers us. Iclal of Istanbul is an inspiring example.

Language learning isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to made more difficult. In this video I go over the 10 most common mistakes language learners make that I have noticed over the decades. Would you add any?

Many people are put off learning languages because they think it is difficult to do. Language educators often don’t help, but instead complicate the process with jargon, seeking to describe the minute details of the natural and enjoyable process of language acquisition.

It is so important to stay curious and keep learning new things as you age. I have most certainly found this to be the case. I don’t just learn languages, I am curious about many topics and I feed this curiosity every day.

Learning a language means leaving the comfort of your native language and confronting the challenges of a new language and its uncertainty. Call it the learning zone. How do we make it more comfortable?

People often ask me which language they should learn and my answer is always the same: learn the language you are keenest to learn. Even if you learn for a few months then move on to another language, you don’t lose what you gained. Enjoy the language buffet!

Feli is from Germany but lives in the US. She talks a lot about cultural differences on her YouTube channel “Feli from Germany”. There are things she prefers about the US, and some things, not so much, like “ghosting”, a term I had never heard of before this chat.

When I learn a language, I also learn the history of the country. I am transported to that area. I gain a new outlook on the world. It’s a process I always enjoy and am in no hurry to end. In fact, in language learning, the process is the reward.

For a long time I have been convinced that the simplest and most reliable indicator of our potential and our level in a language is how many words we know. Learning words ought to be a pleasant task at the heart of language learning.

There are various ways ChatGPT can assist in language learning: Duolingo seems to have enlisted ChatGPT mostly for error correction and role playing. These are not areas of interest to me. However, these activities could help lessen the workload of teachers.

Elon Musk apparently believes that Neuralink, a computer chip that can be implanted in the brains of animals and people, will make language learning and even language obsolete. Here are my thoughts.

I will visit Denmark, Sweden and Poland, from May 17 to June 2. I’m working on my Danish, Swedish and Polish to prepare. Travel is a great motivator and stimulating, but we don’t have to leave our home country to travel. Hope to see some of you there.

When I want to improve my Italian, Davide’s Podcast Italiano channel is where I will go. The content is interesting and Davide speaks clearly and not too fast. In this my latest video I chatted with Davide about his channel and the Italian language.

To become fluent in a language takes time. It’s important not to be discouraged. Make the time you spend with the language as enjoyable and meaningful as possible and you will reach your goals.

In this video I have some fun with the hugely popular ChatGPT. Is it helpful for language learning? How can it be used with LingQ, the app I use to learn languages?