Transcriber: Наталья Овчинникова Reviewer: Adrienne Lin
As soon as people find out about that,
other than for my phone number --
How did you go about learning all these different languages?"
Well, today I'm going to share with you some answers.
(Laughter)
See, I was raised as a polyglot.
And by the time I turned 18,
I could speak already four different languages.
And then for the subsequent three years,
I learned three additional languages.
It's about those 3 years that I want to talk about.
Because my language acquisition process
was very different from that of my peers,
in that it was never of these stressful,
strenuous, difficult, seemingly impossible tasks,
but rather something enjoyable, fun, exciting.
I loved it, every single moment of it.
why, what was it that made it so special.
in that I did have these four languages that I spoke ahead of time.
But there were also these 5 techniques,
5 skills if you will, that I use
that made the language learning process so much easier.
And it's about those 5 techniques
the first thing that we've got to do
is to take a very deep breath.
And the reason for it is because our entire lives,
we're taught how to do things right.
From the moment we were born we're taught
what things we should do, things we shouldn't do,
and how to do things properly.
Well, when it comes to language learning,
the golden rule of language learning,
See, when we've known languages,
we know a whole collection of sounds
and a whole collection of structures,
which combined make what I like to call --
and for the purpose of this presentation --
And our language database will contain
all the sounds and structures that we know.
However, there is a whole family of sounds and structures
And for us to be able to embark on those and to be able to explore those,
there is nothing within our database,
that will tell us when we're getting the structures right,
nothing to tell us when that sound is precise.
Let's say we're going to explore this one specific sound.
There is nothing in our database.
When we say it, we could say it perfectly,
but in our minds, it will sound like a mistake.
So you know that queasy feeling, that insecure thing,
when we feel like we're doing something wrong?
That is the trigger that you need to look for.
Because that is the signal that tells you that you're going beyond your database
and that you're allowing yourself to explore the realm of the new language.
Let me show you how this works in practice.
Let's say, we're going to go and learn the word "door" in Spanish.
So, the word "door" in Spanish is "Puerta."
So, for "Puerta" we've got a few sounds that exist in English.
However, when it comes to the "r,"
that sound is not in our database.
The rolled "r" does not exist in the English sound database.
And it's a little bit on the outside.
to bridge through our database, and to really break through
we could make sounds like the "RR."
But instead, what sometimes happens
is that we get the closest relative of it that is within the database,
and that is the "ah-er" sound.
(Laughter)
makes something that sounds like "pue-er-rta,"
which doesn't mean a thing in Spanish,
and actually doesn't sound too charming.
And it doesn't tell you too much.
allow yourself to make that mistake,
so that sounds like "Puerta" can come out.
And now let's go to the second one.
I'm going to need some of your collaboration.
We're going to read these four beautiful words.
So let's start with the first one, on the count of three: one, two, three.
(Audience) Mao. SE: "Mao," perfect.
The second one: one, two, three. (Audience:) Coco.
SE: Perfect. Third one. One, two, three.
(Audience) Cocao. SE: Perfect.
And the fourth one. One, two, three.
(Silence)
Oh.
Let me show you what happened when we did this.
and we put them through a sort of American English filter.
And we get something looks kind of like this.
And I'll tell you the results of that.
which means "hand" in Portuguese,
we put it through the filter, we get "Mao."
(Laughter)
For the second one we get "coco,"
which is "coconut" in Portuguese,
or "cocô," which means "poop."
We put through the filter, we get a warm cup of cocoa.
(Laughter)
which means "fire" in Chinese.
if you're feeling really creative, maybe a dude doing karate...
(Laughter)
these don't tell you much about how these things are pronounced.
And if you think it's only one way,
only if you're going from English to a different language,
think about non-native speakers.
that this [though] is pronounced "though,"
and that this [thought] is pronounced "thought."
And even though they look almost identical,
they have nothing to do with one another.
Or try to explain to them that
and this [enuf] is just simply wrong.
See, there is nothing useful about using that foreign alphabet,
when you're trying to learn a language.
Why? Because it will give you wrong signals.
So what is the second technique?
Let me give you an alternative of how you can go about this.
On the count of three, can we all say the name of the currency. 1, 2, 3.
SE: We have some people who know the spelling.
Yeah, "re-al," for the most part.
And as useful as this might seem, it doesn't tell you a single thing.
And when you're speaking Portuguese, "re-al" means nothing.
Let me give you an alternative.
See, in Portuguese, the way that you say "real" is "heou."
So let me teach you how to say it.
So on the count of three, let's say "he."
So it's "hey" without the "y" sound.
It's like "ouch", but without the "ch" sound,
so it's "ou." One, two, three,
(Audience) HE-OU. SE: Perfect.
Now you all sound like passionate Brazilian capitalists.
(Laughter)
So why would we go and use something that looks like this,
when instead you can use something
that looks like this and gives you so much more information
about how to say something in a foreign language.
And that puts us in a really good spot
because at this point we allowed ourselves
to break through our database and to make mistakes,
to go into that uncharted territory of a new language.
And then, we figured out how to take notations
in a way that the information is actually meaningful.
And that's where technique number 3 comes in.
Technique number 3 is about finding a stickler.
So finding someone who's detail-oriented
and won't let you to get away with the mistakes.
And more than finding someone who is really that person,
it's more about establishing the right sort of relationship.
where they'll correct you, and feel comfortable correcting you
and making sure that you're getting to that spot you wanted in a language.
someone who will encourage you
to get things wrong and to make those mistakes in the first place.
And sticklers could be your teacher,
it could be your tutor, friend,
it could be someone on Skype or on Craigslist; it doesn't matter.
You can find sticklers all over the place,
and with technology, it becomes a lot easier find them.
And then it's time to practice.
And for practicing, we've got the fourth technique.
See, I always thought I had this thing
that was a little bit of "Sid craziness" that I did,
and then I realized how useful it was.
I always did what I like to call "Shower Conversations."
And shower conversations are exactly what they sound like.
When I was learning a new language,
I would stay in the shower for a few minutes.
I would remember having all these discussions;
I remember when I was learning Chinese,
and I would haggle and try to get two yen more,
to get that wonderful dumpling, and getting the discount;
and I'd ask for directions to the best "piazza."
The beautiful thing about the shower conversation
is that it allows you to find wherever you have a gap in your knowledge,
because you're having a conversation on both ends.
For example, it's easy to ask for directions, how about receiving them?
Or even better, giving directions.
Well, the shower conversation forces you to have both side of the conversation.
And you don't need to have them in the shower.
Another wonderful thing is that you can have them anywhere.
You can have them in the shower, in your apartment,
walking down in the streets, in the subway,
and seriously, if you're in the subway,
speaking to yourself in a foreign language in New York,
because you don't depend on anything or anyone to get your practice,
And later on I found that professional athletes do, too.
Michael Phelps is known to visualize every single one of his races,
several times over, before jumping in water.
and it works great for me, too,
so it would work for you as well.
And now let's go to using the language.
Because up to now, it's great,
we've figured out how to do all these things,
and that puts us in a really good position to use the language,
and for that I recommend you find a conversation buddy.
I recommend you follow what I call "The Buddy Formula."
And that is a way that you can make sure
that your incentives are always aligned to use the new language.
the target language should be your best language in common.
Why?
so that you can communicate with more people,
and understand a little bit more about their brains and hearts.
And so, if we try to talk to someone in a foreign language
that both of us don't do really well, when we could be speaking English,
or whatever language you're more comfortable with as a pair,
odds are that you're going to revert to that language that is easier.
So I recommend you to find someone where your best language in common
And if you can't find one locally, try technology.
Or if you can travel, that would be perfect.
There's a problem with that, and I realize it,
because it's difficult to find someone who fits that profile exactly.
And I've found that out when I was work,
and one of my colleagues, he's a linguist, too,
and our best language in common was definitely English.
Our second best language in common: definitely French.
But we always spoke in German to each other in the office.
It was because there were people in the office who spoke English;
there were people in the office who spoke French.
But we could talk about Friday and Saturday night in German,
and nobody had any idea what we were talking about.
So it can also be your best secret language in common.
(Laughter)
And it becomes such a convenient tool.
You can have it with your friends
and you get the sense of privacy in public.
No matter where you are, you can have a private conversation.
we allow ourselves to break through the barrier of language
and to explore the uncharted territory
of sounds and structures outside our database.
and how to make sure that we can take notes
in a way that we can replicate those sounds and structures later.
Then we can check the mistakes by finding a stickler.
Have shower conversations, wherever you want to be.
And then, follow the Buddy Formula,
and you can find somebody to practice your language with.
(Italian) we get to a truly beautiful place,
(German) where learning languages
is no longer something stressful, difficult and boring,
(Spanish) but rather a world of possibilities.
A world, where each of us has the opportunity to explore
(French) new cultures and all the different ways of living.
(Br. Portuguese) The greatest reward from this,
is that we end up learning more about ourselves.
(Greek) As of now, it may all sound Greek for you.
But that doesn't mean that you can't learn it.
(Mandarin Chinese) "A journey of a thousand miles
(English) And this is not a problem, because now you know how to walk.
(Applause)