For the untrained eye, polyglots all look alike. They speak “many” languages and that’s it. The reality is quite different. There are 3 kinds of polyglots who follow different patterns but follow the same goal: gather knowledge in multiple languages.
The first one, and most often found around the world, is the language-family focused polyglot. These are the people who learn 10 or more languages in 5 years. You could think they are “geniuses”, but they aren’t. Their system is much simpler.
The two most common ones are the “Europe-focused” (1) and “East Asia-focused” (2). …
I spent my first year publishing online writing one article a day. On some rare occasions, I wrote two to cover for an incoming day during which I knew I wouldn’t be able to write.
I wrote almost every morning before going to work. When I had a party the previous night, I’d write after work. During weekends, I tried to find new ideas to reduce the time it’d take me during the week to get started writing.
That process worked well for a while but I can’t deny it was straining. Publishing 365 articles in one year after having…
No writer wants to see his creations disappear in the vast ocean of content out there. If you’re writing online, you want your words to matter. You want to change the world, even if only a fragment.
I’ve written hundreds of articles in the past two years and a half. In 2019 alone, I wrote 365 articles. Many were barely read by more than 10 people. I used to find it unfortunate.
Was it a waste of time to write these articles then? I don’t think so. These articles helped me sharpen my writing style and experiment with different types…
Becoming a polyglot isn’t all about spending thousands of hours sitting at a desk studying textbook after textbook. That’s only a recipe for craziness.
I love languages but I’d be lying if I said my favorite thing to do in language learning was sitting down to study. I push it away day after day. So how come I can speak six languages?
Time. Time counts for a large part. It’s no surprise. We all know if we spend enough time on something, we can get good at it. Or at least less bad. But time studying can be exhausting.
That’s…
I guess not, right?
I’m often amazed at the pointless vocabulary lists we can find in textbooks and online. It’s almost impossible for me not to find a few words I wouldn’t want to learn at all.
Learning a language takes time and, with enough of it, you’re bound to learn words you don’t use regularly. That’s fine. But if you don’t live in the country of the foreign language you’re learning, and if you’re not in the healthcare industry, why would you need to know the words for “doctor” or “emergency” right away?
There are enough words to learn…
I’m a biased writer. Just like every content creator that exists.
I used to think that, to change the world, we needed to create an innovative company or join one. In reality, no company will ever impact the world more than content creators.
Content creators rule the world. It’s that simple.
But why?
Have you ever read a piece that changed the way you thought? Seen a video that inspired you to take action? Listened to a podcast that tickled your curiosity? There are countless such pieces that can impact us.
Words move us. Whether they are written or spoken…
I’ve seen countless people complain they struggled to understand a foreign language. I was one of those as well.
There’s nothing surprising here. You’re trying to understanding something that used to sound like random sounds bundled together. When you start learning a language, you start recognizing the sound of the language as it is: words combined. You may even notice where words begin and finish. But you’re stuck at that stage.
You can’t make sense of all these words. People speak too quickly. They don’t articulate. They get interrupted. …
I spent my first four months living in Japan without having internet at home. For the first two, I didn’t even have a sim card. That meant the moment I entered my apartment, I was cut from the entire world. No way to contact me. No way for me to contact anybody.
It. was. amazing.
These four months were among the best of my life up until that point. I had a fulfilling life outside my home and a rewarding time whenever I was home as well. …
Getting lost isn’t about the time lost, it’s about the experience gained.
I’m not going to lie. I hated getting lost for the vast majority of my life. Apart from when I was traveling, each movement I did outside was with a goal: get to a target location without wasting my time.
I’m too busy to walk around. I’ll take strolls when I’m old.
That thought has completely disappeared now. Sure, when I meet friends, I might need to hurry. But in most cases, if you’re organized well enough, it’s okay to get lost a bit.
It’s actually even better…
As a polyglot, I’ve met many people who were envious of me. They said they wished they could speak many foreign languages as well. Some of them even followed tips and tried hard to become one.
Unfortunately for them, that’s not how anybody becomes a polyglot. No polyglot ever tried becoming one. They only became addicted to language learning.
You can become a polyglot too. But you shouldn’t try to.
You should only focus on the journey itself and your feet will get you there one day. If you don’t, you risk giving up learning languages entirely. …