How to learn 5 foreign languages ​​in a year. Secrets of polyglots: truth and fiction. Save money. The best resources are free

Come up with characters for each language. Create a new identity for yourself when you speak one of the languages. This will help you put things in order in your head. A great option is to use stereotypical phrases from each language. For example, if you are learning French, you might imagine that you are a very romantic person. Try making your lips look like a bow and imitate the French actors you see in movies.

Learn the same topic in all languages. If possible, try to focus on similar material at the same time. This will help your brain create stronger associations with words. For example, if you are learning animal naming in one language, focus on that topic in other languages ​​as well.

Add all languages ​​you learn to your language learning app or site. Some apps and websites like Duolingo, Memrise, Clozemaster, Anki, and Lingvist allow you to add multiple languages ​​at once. Download the application, and then list all the languages ​​you study, if available in this program or on this site. This way, if you're on the move, you'll have quick access to whatever language you're learning.

Color-code your learning materials. Buy multi-colored notebooks, pens, and markers so that each language is associated with certain shades. If you use online calendars such as Google Calendar to plan your learning schedule, mark each language with a different color.

Practice shows that in order to achieve good results in the language, it is not enough just to choose a teacher. Dr. Norman Fortenberry (MIT professor) says that a critical factor in any learning is multi-mode input is the use of several tools for obtaining information.

Depending on which one you havebasic type of perception of information (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), you need to saturate yourself with learning methods that suit you personally. And your English tutor is just a guide for you.

If your teacher is really good, then he will "weave" the language into your life and ask you to learn in different ways. A good Russian teacher will recommend practice with a native speaker, and a native speaker, if you need to seriously systematize grammar or specific skills to prepare for an exam, will ask you to “build a system” with a Russian teacher.

Your language will be sparse and irrelevant if only a textbook is used. Grammar will be lame if you study only with a native speaker, without using books or a strong systematizing tutor. The language will have an unusual melody and accent for foreigners if you study only with a Russian tutor. You will not be able to remove the language barrier if you study only from films with subtitles and so on.

The history of each of my 5 foreign languages ​​is different, BUT all languages ​​were learned with the help of multi-mode input. Here is a summary of my “learning formulas” for languages:

• English language(free)
• Kindergarten (Soviet!)
• school (6 years, somehow)
• Russian tutor (school, 1 year)
• practice with visiting Americans at AIESEC (2-3 months)
• special vocabulary (economics) at HSE (3 years)
• practical ika on trips abroad (regularly)
• education with subtitles on Coursera and EdX + reading articles
• French(free)
• school (10 years, but no practice)
• Russian tutor (gorgeous! 1 year)
• textbook by Popova-Kazakova (brilliant!)
• French tutor ( 1 month)
• study at the Sorbonne (6 months, but too much communication with Russian neighbors, little practice with locals)
• reading articles (rare)
• Portuguese(medium, you need to spend 2-3 days in a native environment in order to speak fluently b)
• tete-a-tete lessons with a Brazilian (4 months)
• 2 trips of 3 weeks to Latin America (communication with locals only on Rugalian!)
• songs (sometimes I look at the translation)
• Italian language(basic, you need to spend about a week in the environment of carriers in order to speak fluently)
• tutorial (10 lessons)
• Russian tutor (10 lessons)
• a trip to an Italian family (3 weeks + songs (sometimes I watch the translation)
• Spanish(basic, you need to spend about a week in a native environment in order to speak fluently it)
• classes with a native speaker online (5 lessons)
• practice in Latin America and Spain on trips + cartoons and songs with children

So, what will a good Russian tutor give you?:

What a good native tutor will give you:

Not all English tutors (both Russian and native speakers ) are equally good, it is important to understand how much your teacher involves you in integrating the language into life and using it.

Look, listen, write by hand, repeat to yourself or aloud what you want to remember better, practice as much as possible, surround yourself with everything related to the language, weave it into your daily life(at least 10 minutes every day, in any way use it, that's my next article!), and he will not have a chance not to become free;)

(P.S. if you're interested, watch Dr. Fortenberry's 10 minute video on what he considers key principles of learning in general, this applies not only to languages)

Anya Stogova

Some people think that there is a special gene that allows you to learn several foreign languages ​​in a lifetime. In fact, knowing 5-8 foreign languages ​​is not a special gift and not even years of hard work. Believe that everyone can do it, and follow 12 rules from experienced polyglots.

1. Learn the right words the right way

Learning a new language means learning new words, a lot of new words. Some people think they have a bad memory for words, give up and quit learning. But here's the bottom line: you don't have to learn all the words of a language in order to speak it.

In fact, you do not know ALL the words of your native language, but you can speak it quite well. Just 20% of the effort to memorize new foreign words will provide you with 80% of your understanding of the language. For example, in English, 65% of the written material includes only 300 words.

These words are used very often, and this scheme works for all other languages. You can find these commonly used words or a specific topic and frequently used words by that topic.

There is a program for PC and smartphones Anki. Here the method of cards is used, when the question is written on one side, and the answer is written on the other. There are no cards as such, only questions and answers that will appear until you remember the word. Real cards can also be used, for example Vis-ed to learn different languages. You can buy them or make your own.

2. Learn related words

You already know a lot of the words of the language you are going to learn. Whatever language you start learning, you know at least a few words, so it's basically impossible to start learning from scratch. Related words are "true friends" of words from your own language that mean the same thing.

For example, in Romance languages ​​- French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and others - there are many words related to English. English originally borrowed them from the Normans during the conquest, which lasted several hundred years. Action, nation, precipitation, solution, frustration, tradition, communication, extinction and thousands of other words ending in -tion” sound exactly the same in French, and you can immediately use them once you get used to the pronunciation.

Just change “-tion” on the " -cion”, and you will get the same words in Spanish. Change the ending to “ -zione" - Italian language, " -ção” - Portuguese. Many languages ​​have words with a common root that sound slightly different. But still, you will have to try hard not to understand what is at stake. For example, helicoptere(French); porto, capitano(Italian); astronomia, Saturno(Spanish).

To find common words in the language you are learning, you can search for loanwords or related words. This method works for European languages, but what about the rest, like Japanese? It turns out that even in the most "distant" language you can find enough familiar words. This works especially well if you know English and want to learn another language. Many languages ​​have borrowed words from English and adapted them to their pronunciation.

So include borrowed and related words in your first list of new words. It will be much easier for you to learn them than completely new words that are not similar to the words in your native language.

3. You don't have to travel

Another reason (or justification, it depends) of not learning a foreign language is that people cannot visit another country where that language is spoken. There is no money, time, etc. Believe me, there is nothing in the air of another country that would make you suddenly speak a foreign language. There are cases when people live in another country for several years and do not learn the language.

If you need immersion in a foreign language, it is not necessary to buy a plane ticket - you can do it via the Internet. If you want to listen to conversations in a foreign language, here is Tunein.com with over 100,000 real radio stations from all over the world.

There is an app of the same name for smartphones on iOS and Android(free) where you can find several radio stations in the language you are learning and listen to them every day, anywhere. If you prefer to watch videos in your language, find the most popular videos in your country at YouTube Trends Dashboard .

Go to Amazon or ebay the country whose language you are going to learn (for example, amazon.es, amazon.fr, amazon.co.jp, etc.) and buy your favorite movie or series in a foreign language. You can use online news services from different countries, such as France24, Deutsche Welle, CNN Español and many others.

To read materials in a foreign language, in addition to the same news services from different countries, you can add reading blogs and other popular sites, and you can find them on the Alexa website. If you find it difficult to immediately translate foreign articles, Chrome there is special plugin, which will help you gradually learn different expressions in a foreign language by translating parts of the text. That is, you read the text in your native language, and some parts of it in a foreign language.

4. We train according to Skype and not only

So, you already have something to listen to, something to watch and even something to read, and all this in the warmth and comfort, in other words, at home. Now it's time for the next step - talking with native speakers. In general, if your goal for learning a language includes speaking it, this item should be one of the first.

Let's say you start learning a foreign language. It will take a little time to learn the basic words and repeat what you already know. And then immediately establish contact with native speakers and start talking with them.

For the first dialogue, you won't need many words, and if you start the conversation immediately after you have learned them, the gaps in your vocabulary will be found on the same day, and you can add the missing expressions to your vocabulary.

In 4-5 hours you will have time to learn a few words in another language, and among them it is desirable to include such words and phrases as “hello”, “thank you”, “Can you repeat it?” and I do not understand". All words for the first dialogue can be found in phrasebooks.

Now about how to find a native speaker and impose your society on him. And it's not as difficult as it seems. For example, on Italki.com you will find professional teachers, informal learning, and even just conversationalists.

Moreover, training is very inexpensive, for example, you can find courses in Chinese and Japanese in Skype for $5 an hour. If it still seems to you that one day of preparation is not enough to start communicating with a native speaker, consider that communication through Skype does not prevent you from opening a file with basic phrases in a foreign language that you have not yet managed to memorize well.

Also, you can use Google translate and along the way, learn the words you need in the dialogue. This is not a scam, because your goal is to learn how to speak and do it well.

5. Don't waste money. The best resources are free

It is worth paying for the constant attention of native speakers, but, as you can see, the courses cost a penny in general. As for the other facets of education - it is not clear why pay hundreds of dollars, if all this can be obtained for free. Duolingo has great free language courses.

Everything is presented here in a playful manner, so learning the language will be more interesting. If you already know English and would like to learn another language, FSI and Omniglot provide a number of free courses. On BBC languages ​​you can learn basic phrases from over 40 languages, and on the website about.com In chapter Languages there is information about specific aspects of different languages.

Although Asian languages ​​are not classified in this way, you can still take similar tests for Chinese and Japanese. So what will you be aiming for? And what do the words "possession" and "perfect possession" mean to you, if you translate them into real levels?

As a rule, "possession" begins with an increased average level ( upper intermediate, B2). This means that in social situations you will be able to speak in the same way as in your native language. You can easily chat with a friend in a bar, ask a person how he spent the weekend, and talk about your aspirations and relationships with people.

Of course, this is not the level of language at which you can conduct professional activities. To do this, you need a higher level - C2 (increased advanced). But you won't work in every language you learn, will you?

To make your goal achievable, lower your requests. For example, if you work in English, aim for C2 level, but learn German, French and Spanish only up to B2 level, which is enough for conversations, reading, watching movies and shows in these languages.

If you focus on speaking (maybe also reading) when learning a language, you can become fluent in a few months. And finally, to make your goal limited in time, it is better to set yourself limits for a few months.

Three to four months to get a new level is the perfect time. Tie the end of the goal to some event that will be relatively soon, such as your summer vacation, your birthday, the arrival of guests, etc. To track your progress, you can use special applications, for example Lift. And here is a selection of goals for those who learn languages.

10. From conversational (B1) to perfection (C2)

To constantly improve your level of spoken language and learn to speak fluently in just 3 months, you need to train constantly. You should speak a foreign language for at least an hour a day, and it is advisable to choose different topics in order to learn more and more new words that are used in conversation.

For example, you can start your daily workouts by asking the other person how they spent their day and talking about their experiences. Then move on to discussing what you have been told, talking about your thoughts and opinions. Talk about your hobbies, your aspirations and goals, what you don't like, how you are going to spend your vacation, etc.

Going from B1 to B2 in a short time is quite difficult, and you will make a lot of mistakes. But, as said before, mistakes are your progress and moving forward. After regular practice in speaking, you will begin to better understand grammar rules. However, this approach does not work with everyone: for some, it is more convenient to learn grammar from the very beginning of learning.

Once you get to level B2, the real fun begins. You will already be able to get a full buzz from communicating with native speakers. But in order to jump to the next levels, talking alone is not enough.

You'll have to read newspapers, professional blog posts, and other articles that aren't "light reading." You can accustom yourself to read news from well-known foreign newspapers every morning, and it is advisable to take topics from different categories.

Achieving perfect language proficiency (C2) is even more difficult. If you take an exam for this level and fail it, pay attention to your mistakes. For example, if you passed speaking and grammar but failed listening, it is clear what to look for in the future. Your workouts should include listening to foreign radio stations, interviews, and other audio material.

11. Learn to speak without an accent

At C2, you know the language as well as a native speaker, but you may still have an accent and make some mistakes. It depends less on your level and more on two factors.

Factor 1. Your accent and intonation

The emphasis is obvious. If you can't pronounce "r" correctly in English, any native speaker will recognize you as a foreigner. You are not used to making such sounds, and the muscles of the tongue are not developed in the right way. But that can be changed: good video on YouTube with a detailed description of the pronunciation will help get rid of the accent.

Intonation is much more important, although it is often overlooked. Step, rise, fall and accents in words. To make your speech similar to that of native speakers, from the very beginning you can follow the musicality and rhythm of speech and try to copy them. You can practice copying intonation on a special resource The Mimic Method.

Factor 2. Social and cultural integration

No matter how well you know a foreign language, people of other nationalities do not recognize you as their own. You may not even be spoken to in your native language, and you will have to use either Russian or English (provided that you learned another language, it will be a little insulting).

And the point here is not even that you do not look like a resident of this country outwardly - to a greater extent you are not similar in behavior. You dress differently, act differently, walk, gesticulate, hold your hands - it's not like foreigners do it.

What to do? As with intonation, you can simply copy the behavior. Observe people, pay attention to all the features of behavior, and you will notice the differences very soon. If you copy behavior, speech rate, gestures and other factors, foreigners will start talking to you in their native language.

12. Become a polyglot

If your goal is to learn several languages, you can start learning all at once, but it's better to stick with one until you reach at least an intermediate level and can speak it confidently. Only then move on to the next language.

Although you can make significant progress in a few months, in order to speak the language you have learned for the rest of your life, you need to constantly practice and improve your skills. But there is good news: if you have learned to speak a foreign language fluently, it will stay with you for a long time.

Many times I was going to write a huge article on the topic of learning several languages ​​at once. As time went on, my opinion on this matter changed. Now I have determined a certain balance for myself, and I think it's time to talk about it.

My main takeaway is read, apply, and always listen to yourself. You need to honestly evaluate your time, goals, opportunities, approach ... There is no consensus on how to do it right. So I will talk specifically about my experience.

As a child, I studied only English for several years. But somehow, during the summer holidays, I saw a French textbook from a friend and tried to read the dialogues. It was interesting, but not serious, and there was nothing left in my memory except for the basic phrases. I continued my more conscious study of several languages ​​at once at the institute. In addition to English, French and Chinese appeared.

How did I manage to do everything at once?

Clear schedule. I didn’t have to allocate time myself: every day there were lessons at the institute and homework. So the training was regular. Plus, I didn’t waste time creating programs, because all this was already in the finished curriculum. You just had to come to class, do the assignment and practice. Therefore, it was not difficult for me to periodically teach another one at home on my own, choosing it simply according to my interests.

After university, I tried to learn several languages ​​at once on my own and in courses. Even 4 at the same time! And here are the conclusions I came to.

1. Ask yourself WHY. Is it just idle curiosity and a race for more languages, or do you really need to learn a few in this period of time? If not necessary, it is better to devote quality time to one language.
2. Take your time to learn many languages. It is undesirable to simultaneously learn several languages ​​from scratch. As an option: start one new language, and maintain those that you already know at an intermediate level and above. It will be much easier this way: you will put in the first place the language that is in priority. That is, focus on one thing, and keep the rest afloat, using them as often as possible in different life situations (read articles, watch YouTube, visit conversation clubs or chat with a native speaker).
3. Apply the principle of "lightness". If it doesn’t matter to you which language to learn, then remember that languages ​​of the same group are easier to learn. For example, I immediately noticed that my Italian went easily after French, when he was at the intermediate stage. But this is provided that one of the languages ​​is already familiar to you. Back to point number 2.)) When I started learning Italian and Spanish at a language school from scratch at the same time, it was difficult. I had to decide.
4. Learn the basics. The language base can be mastered with a series of lessons by Dmitry Petrov "language in 16 hours". You will get an excellent base in a short time. I had an idea to conduct a small experiment with those lessons in the series that I have not yet completed. It's a secret for now, but I'll be sure to share the details later and put them in articles!
5. Choose the right schedule. At the initial stage, it is desirable to practice every day or at least 4-5 times a week, and at the same time maintain the language that is already at the proper level. For example, I learned Swedish from scratch 4 times a week, while at the same time I tried to watch films / TV shows in the original and read not in Russian, but immediately in English. This saves time too! I support Hebrew by talking to an Israeli woman I know once or twice a week, and in general I come across it in everyday life almost daily. I don't read textbooks.
6. If you have no experience of learning languages ​​at all, it is better to start with one.

If you approach the process qualitatively and competently, then you will master several languages ​​at a basic level, develop your memory, increase your opportunities in communication, work, and broaden your horizons. In the future, you can continue in-depth study of the language that you need at a particular life stage.

Action plan

• Write down specific goals. It will immediately become clear whether there is a need to learn several languages ​​at once. For example, if the goal is immigration, then it is reasonable to focus on the one that will be required in a new country. If you just love learning languages ​​and want to get by with basic knowledge while traveling without moving to higher levels, then you can regularly master different languages ​​​​at the basic stage.
• Imagine perspective. Decide how you see your mastery of each language in a week, a month, six months. Keep a special language diary in which it is convenient to plan the study of several languages ​​for any period of time. Such an online diary is maintained by the participants of ours. For 30 days of practice, a whole log of records is collected.
• Write down the route to your destination. Make an appropriate action plan for both the language you are learning from scratch (for example, lessons with a teacher at school on Mondays and Wednesdays) and those that are already at an advanced level (communication with a native speaker once a week, reading professional literature only at in this language, attending webinars once every 2 weeks, and so on).
• Add details.

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How to effectively learn two or even three languages ​​at the same time, told the manager of the online platform for finding tutors Preply Victoria Zhukova.

Learning several foreign languages ​​at the same time is a very real task. The main condition is reasonable motivation.

Before you start learning, weigh not only your capabilities, but also your desires. Give yourself a clear answer to the question "why do I need this" - and if the answer came quickly and effortlessly, go for it.

To learn several languages, you will need willpower, sufficient time, and the ability to manage it effectively.

All tips are suitable for both adults and children.

Time distribution

To achieve the highest results, it is necessary to devote at least half an hour a day to each language. Daily classes will help you stay in good shape, consolidate the material covered earlier and literally “layer” knowledge on top of each other.

Decide which language is more difficult for you, and which one is easier. The complex should be given about 60-70% of the allotted time, and the easier - 30-40%. In this case, classes can be divided into several stages. For example, read and translate a text in the morning, listen to a podcast in the afternoon, write an essay or grammar exercise in the evening.

Similarity of topics To make the learning process more effective, “synchronize” the topics of the lessons. If in the first language you are learning vocabulary on the topic “Weather”, try to find the corresponding words in the second language as well. Associative thinking makes it easy to remember them all.

You can even make a correspondence table - your own dictionary, in which translations and transcriptions of the same word from Russian into all the languages ​​\u200b\u200bthat you study will be recorded in a row.

The same goes for grammar. By finding differences and similarities in different languages, you will quickly remember the nuances and catch the essence, and the process will become even more interesting.

Variety of resources

Modern technologies help to make learning not only comfortable, but also interesting. Don't miss out on these opportunities. Immerse yourself in the languages ​​you are learning. Use audio, video, social networks, messengers - any tools for this.

There are 24 hours in a day, and you can connect almost all of these hours with learning in one way or another.

For example, in the smartphone settings, you can change the interface language to the one you are learning.

After work, it's nice to relax watching a movie with subtitles. Listening skills are well trained if you make playlists with songs in the desired language. It is also useful to write shopping lists (to-do list) in the languages ​​being studied.

The more diverse the learning process, the better.

Training different skills

When mastering several foreign languages ​​at once, you need to remember that knowledge of a language is assessed by four main components: writing, reading, listening and speaking.

Be honest with yourself and do not avoid those exercises that are difficult for you.

Uniform development of all skills is rare, and this is normal. You don’t need to scold yourself (and even more so the child), just don’t forget to pull up those “skills” that are less developed.

For example, if you have mastered reading perfectly, but still do not catch the language by ear, give up voluminous texts for a while and devote more time to listening, listening to songs and watching movies. Most likely, it will not be easy to force yourself, but it must be done.