Ollie Richards, polyglot and founder of StoryLearning, had a fascinating interview with Pablo Román, founder of Dreaming Spanish.
Ollie Richards is well known in the language learning world for helping students learn through stories.
Pablo runs a very popular YouTube channel where he teaches Spanish to learners around the world.
They sat down to talk about one of the most important questions in language learning:
What actually makes someone fluent?
At the center of their conversation is the concept called comprehensible input.
A principle that is completely counter to the way languages are traditionally taught in schools, language institutes, and traditional language learning schools.
In the conversation, you’ll learn:
• What “comprehensible input” really means
• The difference between learning a language and acquiring a language
• Why acquisition is counterintuitive and contrary to the school learning model
• Why learning leads to theoretical knowledge, while acquisition leads to practical fluency
• Why traditional language schools mostly focus on theoretical knowledge of a language, which eventually leads to a plateau
• Why your native language was acquired, not learned
• Why you know so little grammar of your native language, yet speak it so fluently and accurately
• How parents teach their children naturally, yet unconsciously, through constant comprehensible input
• How adults can, like children, acquire a language through comprehensible input
• Why acquisition leads to speaking without translating in your head or mentally checking grammar
Click here to watch the video.
Talk to you soon. Bis bald.
Gruß Manuel
Gruß
Manuel
P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are 5 ways I can help you take your German to the next level.