Why READING in a foreign language will speed up your learning: Where to begin with Olly Richards
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- čas přidán 5. 08. 2024
- “The very fact that you can do (read) anywhere, without barriers, makes it an incredibly important tool.” - Olly Richards @storylearning
For many, reading is the least of their worries when it comes to learning a new language but Olly Richards, inventor of the StoryLearning method, says it’s not something to be overlooked.
Olly’s method teaches reading skills through stories - using the same natural learning process children use to learn their native language. The polyglot, who speaks 8 languages, calls reading the “brain-friendly” way to learn a new language and claims it can speed up your overall learning.
This series of the Language Podcast is a toolkit for all you language learners out there - whether you’re learning for the first time, or adding another language to your arsenal.
In this episode you will learn
The biggest mistake people make when they start reading in a foreign language
How to choose the correct reading material
Why you should stay away from reading children’s books
Why you don’t need to understand every word on the page
Get 20% off the ENTIRE Olly’s Short Stories books from Teach Yourself here:
teachyourself.com/discount/OR...
Find out more about Olly’s StoryLearning Method here: storylearning.com/
Your host is polyglot Richard Simcott - @SpeakingFluently
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review and a 5-star rating - it really helps to reach more language lovers like you. If you want to see more of us, you can find us on:
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Website: www.podpage.com/the-language-...
The Language Podcast is an OG Podcasts production.
Reading out loud had helped me a lot with understanding better what I'm reading and paying more attention. Even in my native language I read out loud when I want to remember better the text 😅
As a teacher of Japanese (and a couple other languages), I agree with almost all of Olly’s points except the point of reading out loud. Studies have indicated that reading out loud facilitates language acquisition, and I believe it’s especially important for Japanese to reenforce the “sounds” of the kanji. Other studies have shown that people who are successful at learning kanji can also associate them with their respective pronunciations. So you definitely should use reading as an opportunity to strengthen the sound-meaning connection, because it’s one of the few ways to do so.
On the other hand, learning to quickly scan through a text and pick up meaning without focusing on sounds can be an essential skill for passing the JLPT and working in Japan. Scanning like this can also be a good way to prepare yourself to read a text with many unfamiliar words and readings.
I just finished War and Peace in Spanish. I speak English and got a kick reading a book written in Russian translated to Spanish.
Though i agree with Olly, a lot of his views are subjective. Reading out loud aids in confidence when speaking even if it's your mother tongue. Additionally, flashcards and spaced repetition will assist in remembering words and it's a proven technique used for many university studies.
He did say that one can use flash cards and spaced repetition but pointed out that words are more complicated and often require context. That has been my experience. Anki did not work with German until I started using phrases. Thus - Das gefällt mir. Ich bin um zehn Uhr bei der Arbeit angekomm. Wir sind in den Wald gegangen. It then becomes much more natural. And I don’t think his views are subjective, research does provide some support. Incidentally, school and university language teaching can be somewhat old fashioned.
Great insights from Olly. I've found writing out the language through telling my own stories. AI LLMs like ChatGPT have helped me decode books and my own stories.
Awesome point with Japanese by the way. I've been learning Japanese for 20 years. It's only in the last 2 that I've successfully learned enough Kanji to begin reading very slowly in Japanese.
That's after 5 years living and working in Japan, grinding podcasts, and making friends with Japanese people. Extremely time consuming, but very much worth it.
My mother language is Portuguese. I'm from south america Brasil, in the southeast, São Paulo :).
English is my second language and I love reading. I'm reading the fellowship of the ring, then I will read the two tower and then the return of the king. I'm 17. XD
And congrats on your apparent level of English; from what you wrote, I can't (as a native) see any errors or mistakes. Well done!!
@paulfaulkner6299 Thanks! I apreciate the compliment 😁😁
I'm from Recife
I’m also from Brazil, can you give me tips on how to learn English better.
Thanks.
I'm just learning poor languages to find a boyfriend. I will learn Portuguese next. Because I heard Portuguese are very good
Olly, you are absolutely right about reading being something which unlocks foreign languages. I just wish I could do more of it
Since I began learning English (and because I speak English very seldom) and keep my English "fresh" just reading and listening BBC World Service. But reading is so important when you are learning another language.. Not only you improving your new Vocabulary, the pattern of the written it will be fixed in your memory.. Keep on reading and keep on learning 👍
This is very informative. I am on my second foreign language (German), and it is a challenge, even though the first (French) was and is relatively straightforward. I have learnt such a lot about language acquisition, and gradually came round to the views expressed here i.e. most people underestimate the amount of work involved, rote learning does not work and intensive grammar study does not work. Unfortunately I don’t like reading, and I hate novels. That said I regularly put time aside to listen to a video while simultaneously reading the transcript. That has been one of the most beneficial exercises that I do. As an aside, I have used Duolingo, Busuu, Babbel and LingQ. The only one I recommend is LingQ because it uses natural material. The others were not effective.
I've learnt that Oli's not fussed about "keeping up" languages that he doesn't have a reason to use right now. That's really interesting, because I always have a twinge of regret, after all the work I put in to get fluent in a language. This applies most to me with Italian, as I loved it, so would like to still be able to speak like I used to, but less for Japanese, as I've never really found reading material that grabbed me and made me want to get better. For Catalan, I do miss it in a way, but it's easier to rationalise because it doesn't have that many speakers, so it can't really "compete" with other more widely spoken languages like Spanish or Portuguese.
I wonder though if Oli doesn't feel it's worth keeping up home languages in the family, even if everyone around a child speaks totally fluent English as well as these other languages? I have many friends who kind of regret the missed opportunity to grow up with a "heritage" language, because their parents didn't really stress that, and then when these friends are adults, they feel embarrassed about their limited ability and "foreignness" in the language. If my parents had different home languages, I would really hope they would bring me up in those languages, even if I would never need to speak them going out of the house.
But I do agree that all of these are totally personal decisions, and the only important thing really is being okay with your own choices.
I found your story learning books to be incredibly helpful for Russian!
In my experience, reading makes me speak much more fluently.
Good, this chatting.
In the Harry Potter Spanish audiobooks that are available on CZcams, they do pronounce it “private drive.” 🤣
Maybe you already knew that, and that’s why you pointed it out. I figured I’d mention it just in case. Because it is a good point. Also it’s funny.
I tried to look up a lot of words while reading Spanish and it was soooooo boring lol. I prefer to just be immersed and just re-read or re-listen to the same thing!
Saya daftarkan Kresna Adhiatma.
what about in the dark?
Reading is amazing, when you're learning another language
Commas are amazing, when they're unnecessarily used
@@properpolymath2097 well done!! Sherlock
Not necessarily. I don’t even have a clue what people are saying in manga for God’s sake. 😢
But I think you have to be fluent to read
Thank you. Read first. Listen second. Talk last.
In the good old days that was the only possible order.
To tell a person to never say anything they have not seen in an authoritative book is a hard sell. But in the long run the read first method saves lives.
It is unfortunate, but in Latin America saying something one has heard only can lead to one's instant death!
Will a Cartel member post a comment to this effect? No! That is not how they work. They are not linguistics. They do not devote their lives to scholarship.
Al Capone is to me one of the greatest language instructors who ever lived.
Here is Capones view on what results when one is not circumspect and tactus in speech.
czcams.com/video/KdNSlyrbcDY/video.htmlsi=gOCa3k7nd1WNWL8E