Как выучить любой язык. How to learn any language

Hey guys, welcome to the Prosta English Podcast. My name is Nika and I'm the host of this project. Here we discuss various life-related topics. such as friendship, relationship, Healthy lifestyle, traveling, self-development. So on. As many listeners say, this podcast not only helps them improve their listening skills and expand their vocabulary, but also boosts their mood and makes their days better. So don't forget to follow if you haven't done it yet and let's get started.

Usually when I choose the topic for a new episode, I take ideas from my own life. For example, if I go traveling, I share my impressions. If I discuss interesting topics with my friends students, I write these ideas down in my notes so I can create a new episode later and talk about it with you guys. I can be inspired by my daily routine, something I've read in a book or seen in a movie, or by things happening in my

So this episode is no exception. Recently I started learning polish and I decided it would be great to talk about my experience. I know that many of you are currently learning English or other foreign languages, so I believe that my tips will be useful, inspiring. hopefully make your learning process But first of all, let me explain why I decided to get back to learning. We arrived in Poland four and a half years ago. At that time we had no plan to stay here for long.

To be honest, we didn't know what to do with our lives or where to live, but we definitely knew we wouldn't stay in Poland for a long time. Oh yeah. So during the first year we didn't even see the point in learning the language. And when we realized that we would stay longer than expected, I signed up for a beginner. My goal was to learn at least something in Polish to be able to understand what cashiers in grocery shops were. That was the only place where I communicated with Polish people.

And after I finished the course for beginners. I didn't move on to the next one because I had no reason and no motivation to continue. I already understood what the cashier is asking. and I could answer the questions and that was it.

But after some time, I started having more interactions with Polish people. For example, I had to go to different government institutions to get documents or apply for something. I had to communicate with doctors and sometimes I would get calls from the tax office. And every single time I felt so stressed because I didn't understand what they were saying and also I didn't know how to answer the

So I had to ask my husband or my brother-in-law to call instead of me and solve my problems. But I'm a very independent person. So, of course, it was really annoying. And that's why I decided to go back and take the next course. And this time knowing exactly why I needed Paul. And after a while, I reached a confident A2 level, and once again I stopped studying because.

Had achieved my goal and didn't see the point in continuing. I decided that I would continue studying by myself. I started watching movies in Polish and listening. Podcast. And thanks to that, I really improved my listening skills. And I can say that now I understand more or less 90% of what locals say. In addition to that, I started reading books in Polish and that helped me improve my reading skills.

But last year, my friend introduced her boyfriend to us, and he is Polish. And one evening we went to a restaurant and he told me, just in case we can communicate in English. I told him, Oh no, we will speak Polish, don't worry, I want to practice. And during our conversation, I realized that when we were discussing simple topics like work, hobbies, and traveling, yeah, I could easily express myself.

But when we started having deeper and more philosophical conversations, I kept quiet. I wanted to say a lot, but unfortunately my vocabulary was Next time they came to celebrate New Year's Eve with And again, I was so happy to see my friend and her boyfriend, but After a few hours, I felt disappointed one more time because I couldn't take part in all the conversations and I couldn't say everything I wanted. And that was the third moment when I decided to continue learning Polish. Now my goal is.

To be able to have engaging and deep conversations with locals. But I would say that this goal is much more complicated than the previous. Yeah, I live in Poland, so I have a lot of small talks and short daily conversations with people. That's not a problem. I do not have any close acquaintances or friends yet to really practice with. Yeah, there is only my friend's boyfriend, but they live in Germany now, and we meet just once every six.

So maybe I can say that my goal is more long term. I'm learning now so that in the future, when I get to know some cool people, I will be able to build real relationships with them. In addition to that, I'm motivated by the fact that Hopefully, one day I will become a mom. I'll be pregnant and I'll need to go to a doctor, for example. I don't want to limit myself to only Russian-speaking doctors because.

That narrows my options. If I speak Polish well, I can choose any good doctor, hopefully in a clinic not far from my home. And it will not matter whether they speak Russian or And then I will give birth to a child. In the hospital, doctors and nurses will definitely speak Polish. I want to be able to understand what they are asking me and I want to be able to express my feelings, fears, or requests. Clearly. Later on my child will go to a kindergarten and that

School. And I know that there will be moments when I need to have deep conversations about. Maybe my child's development, behavior, relationships with other kids, and so on. And I want to fully understand what the teachers are saying, and I want to be able to reply the way I want. Not just the way my limited vocabulary So, yeah, as you see, my goal is pretty long term, but I truly believe that there are moments in life when you

suddenly need to speak the language right now, immediately. And by that time it can be too late to start learning. That's why I want to start in advance so I do not feel stressed or confused when those. Now, when you know my motivation, I can share what exactly I'm doing to get closer to my goal. And maybe you can take some ideas for

First of all, I use a habit tracker. During my winter courses, I created a tracker for my students to help them build the habit of learning. And now I'm using the same tracker for learning polish. On the left side, there are skills like reading, listening, grammar, speech. And on the right side, there are the days of the month. The idea is to learn English or Polish for at least 15 or 20 minutes, but every single day.

I truly believe that if you do something consistently and regularly, you will definitely We do not give our brain long break. And thanks to that, we keep the information fresh. And we don't have time to forget it. As the result, every day we learn something new and we keep moving forward. And of course, after some time, when we see progress, it motivates and encourages us to keep going. Plus the process itself becomes more enjoyable and satisfying. We know that we need

Only 20 minutes. It's not long and it's not as hard compared to studying for three hours in a row. So yeah, the tracker helps me stay on track. and reminds me to study even on the beeziest. Every day I choose what I want to do and what I'm in the mood for. When I'm not overwhelmed and not too tired, I can, for example, do grammar exercises. When I don't have time at all, I at least listen to a podcast while brushing my teeth before bed. And sometimes when I'm, let's say,

cozy and calm mood. I read an article on the platform or a chapter from a book. And the tracker reminds me that language learning can include all kinds of activities. And that helps me stay interested and avoid getting bored.

But to be more consistent and organized in my studies, I recently joined a course. We have two classes a week and twice a month on weekends we have additional speaking clubs. I truly believe that the best way to learn a language is with a teacher. not alone, because a teacher can explain the structure of the language. A teacher can correct your pronunciation. A teacher can help you get rid of common mistakes and most importantly, help you stay.

For me, it's much harder to stay on track when I study by myself. Because I have no deadlines. I have no responsibility to do homework. And I always find more important tasks to Now that I've joined the course I can, for example any questions I have and I don't need to plan what to study today or tomorrow because I just open the platform and all the exercises are already there waiting.

The third thing I do to improve my polish is read books. I've already read four or five books and I'm super proud of this fact. I've noticed that reading helps me expand my vocabulary and structure sentences better and faster. And in general, I really enjoy reading, so why not to do it in Polish and kill two birds with? When I was choosing the books on my own, I usually picked novels, some love stories and simple, even naive plots.

Usually the vocabulary in those books is modern and the language is quite simple. So I had no trouble reading in Polish. But when I joined the course, we were given a book to read. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Oh wow, to be honest, I had to reread the first chapter. Twice to understand what was going on. There were millions of new words for me, even in a single sentence, and I had to use Google Translate all the time. The point is that this book was published in 1876. eighteen.

And Dorita an even earlier. So the vocabulary, the language, the And even the actions of the main characters are pretty old school. And on top of that, it's a well-known fact that fairy tales and old literature can. Actually, it will be harder to understand than real-life modern stories because they use words that are rarely used in everyday speech, and you will mostly see them only in books.

I'm a little ashamed to say this, but I gave up on that book after just the first Because I realized that I have too many things to do in life. And I don't have the energy or desire to get through a story that I'm not interested in. I would rather find another book with modern language or an engaging plot, something that I'm actually looking forward to reading.

So, with this example, I just wanted to show you guys that sometimes the problem isn't us, it's the books which If you've never read anything in English longer than an article and you want to start reading, so buy an adapted book. Even one for a lower level. If your level, for example, is B1, get a book for A2. If you are at preintermediate or A2, pick a book for a beginner. trick your brain. It needs to believe that reading is easy and enjoyable. You should feel smart when you read, not dumb.

And once you've read one, two, or three, even five books like this, like easy books. You will build the habit of reading in a foreign language, and then you can move on to something more. Because if you start with something too difficult. Your brain will block the activity and find a million excuses not to do it. And in the end, you will read just one chapter like I did and then forget about this book forever.

Point number four, what I do in Polish is watch movies and series. I've recently bought a Netflix subscription, and now it's super easy and convenient for me to find movies in Poland. If you guys want to start watching movies in English, I highly recommend getting a subscription to a platform where you can easily access movies in English with cat. I suggest services like Auraw.tv and puzzle movies. I've never used puzzle movies myself, but some of my students say that they really.

I know that on autorah.tv there is a really cool You can turn on English subtitles, and if you don't know a word, you simply click on it and immediately see the translation into Russian. I think it's super convenient because you do not have to constantly use Google Translate or switch between. And again, if you are not used to watching movies in English, please do not start with anything complicated, like science fiction, fantasy, detective stories, or historic.

Begin with simple movies that use clear vocabulary. like family movies, romantic comedies, adventures, or light comedy. And also, you can re watch movies that you've already seen. That way, you will not be afraid of missing. Plot and of not understanding what's going on in the movie, but you will be able to focus more on the language. U words and phrases. In my case, I try to choose only original Polish movies. Because Ether Movie is originally in English and dubbed in Polish.

The sound is usually terrible. That's why sometimes it takes me a while to find an interesting Polish myth. So if you guys are living in Poland and also trying to watch movies in Polish and you have some great recommendations, please send me your list. I would be absolutely thankful. Point number five that I do is listen to podcasts. Actually, thanks to the fact that I was listening to lots of podcasts in Polish, I created my own podcast.

Because in the beginning, when I didn't want to go study Polish since I had no clear motivation, I was always listening to different podcasts. I chose topics I was interested in. relationships, social media, mental health, Healthy nutrition, psychology, and so on. And I listened to them while riding my bike, doing household chores, cooking, and taking a walk. Basically, whenever I had some free.

And with the help of podcasts, I improved my listening skills and expanded my vocabulary. And this is how I realized that I would love to create a product that would help people learn. And just in case if you enjoy listening to this podcast, Please take two minutes to send me a message on Instagram or Telegram. I would really appreciate that. Let me know what episode you are listening to and where you are listening to.

I'm always curious. Your messages always boost my mood and make my day better. I always smile, imagining that. Somewhere in another country or in another city, you're walking together with me, or cleaning your house together with me, or sitting on a balcony and looking out of the window with. So yeah, I'm looking forward to getting your messages, but now let's continue.

Point number six on my polished to-do list is writing. Ten years ago when I was living in Lithuania, I decided to learn Lithuania. I didn't really need it because older people in Lithuania speak Russian and many young people speak English. But sometimes there were situations when I found myself in groups of Lithuanians who were speaking Lithuanian only, and I wanted to understand what they were talking about. So I found a free offline course, and in just six months, I got an A2.

And at a certain point my Lithuanian was so good that I could actually join any conversation, maybe except for politics, medicine, space and But in addition to the queries, there was one thing that helped me learn the And it was Rytang. Every week, my Lithuanian friend would give me a task to write an essay based on a certain topic. And at first it was really difficult. But the more essays I wrote, the easier it was. And thanks to this task, I learned a lot of new words that I was missing.

Words that were important for my spoken language. And writing essays helped me learn how to build sentences correctly and express my thoughts on the topic. Now in my Polish course, I also have to write essays for my homework. And to be honest, every time I see it, I see this task, I think about skipping. But I know how useful it is based on my own experience, so I try to write at least two small essays every week.

So if you guys want to learn English, I highly recommend you write essays in English too. Use the words you want to memorize in the text. And then, for example, if you do not have a teacher, you can ask Chat GPT to check it and explain any. Trust me, it will be fun, interactive, and very

That's it from my side, guys. With this episode of the podcast, I wanted to show you that. Learning languages can be cool. Just try to integrate the language into your daily routine. Do things that bring you joy, and you will barely even notice how you are passively. But first of all, please identify your goal. Why do you need this language? What motivates you to speak it?

What will change in your life when you become confident using it? When you find a real goal that drives you and inspires you, you will have no excuses. Thank you so much for staying with me today. Please share this podcast with your friends and colleagues who are currently learning English. And maybe together we will help them fall in love with English and get better. Have a wonderful day and I will talk to you soon. Bye bye.