Leszek Trybała: The young polyglot revolution

Actual Fluency podcast episode 31 with Leszek Trybała.

Really?

Yeah, yeah, really.

You know, I I actually started chronically adding people, you know, that I don't even know to my list so I can, you know, like compete with them even though, even though they do not know about it.

Right, yeah, but that's motivation, isn't it?

So yeah, so I have on my list like 400 people or something. Wait, I can I can I can wait I can go on my Memorize because I can. Uh, it's quite easy available here on my page I have it like.

You're not in the lead for um for this week.

Not on.

No, not on my list. There's somebody called Muldefusta.

Okay, how many points does he have because I'm gonna beat him then.

126,000.

Oh God.

You have 89,000.

Yeah, I have 89,000. Yes, but look, I for example I am actually 14th on my list because there is a Claire21 who has only 500,000.

Wow.

And all time, all time, wait, all time. I am, wait, I just I am 66th with 4 million.

Wow.

And there is a guy his name is Dirk. And he has 103,000 points.

Wow.

Million points 100 million points. So, I mean I I'm quite a far away from them.

But you would you find yourself motivated by these astronomical numbers anyway?

Yeah, because I I mean I'm from I'm from like in Sweden. For example, if you if we can compare it in Sweden, like everybody are like private and everything. Even in school you don't compete with people because the grades are not told only the people, you know, only only the right people know about the grades and in Poland actually everything was very like teacher told you grades like out loud.

Oh really?

I'm gonna beat him then. So so actually I have like I'm 14th on my weekly list but I try to get at least to fifth place. Right.

Right.

So the person on the fifth place is has 183 points right now. 100,000, right.

Right. So you're close. You're close.

You're not recording yet, right?

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I I am but we don't have to start the episode yet. I just thought what we just talked about was really good. So if you don't mind I'll just keep it in. And yeah.

You might. You might. Okay.

Yeah, yeah. I I think it was really good because um you know usually when I record these episodes I I I I talk it for a few minutes with the with the the person just to, you know, lighten the mood a little bit and maybe get used to to speaking together and um what usually happens is that I forget to record.

Yeah, yes. You you let you can just cut it off whatever.

Yeah, exactly.

Actually on my side I'm also recording here on Audacity because I would like to I I record myself very often because I learn how to sing and I also practice my accents. So I I just want to keep the recording to go through it later.

Yeah, fantastic. I guess we'll just.

I'm 17.

17. Right. Yes. And you're studying how many languages at the moment?

Oh my God. I don't know I don't really know. I mean like before I had this a little challenges I made for myself, you know, but later I realized in the summer. I realized that I I I want to just keep the challenges away for a while. Not to do any challenges just learn and then not think about what's gonna be in the future. Not think I have to learn it up. I do not think oh I have to learn this and this until December. I just don't want to think like that. I want for a while learn without any like restrictions or any time limits.

So you're a bit of you're not you're not as organized as you know some people might be. You're just kind of doing what you feel like.

Actually, I am organized mostly but right now I just decided I would like to you know not limit myself to something or whatever. I mean mostly I'm I'm there are languages I am studying but I also, you know, when wonder a little bit off to others. Right.

Right.

So the languages I am studying right now is Spanish that I'm memorizing like every day and I actually started it in school.

Aha.

And so so I decided it would be cool, you know, I I I started it in school because I was supposed to take a lower course in German because last year I took course four in German because I haven't studying German by myself. And I was good enough to go to the fourth course. So I was like, okay. But I mean the grade system in Sweden is very complicated. So I would have to explain a lot to you to make make you understand why do I would I have to take course three this year. And I was supposed to take it actually. It's a lower course, but I was supposed to take it to have more grades in the course or whatever. I mean, it's complicated thing. But the teacher yeah, but the teacher told me like, but wait you can't take third course when you have force. And I was like, okay, whatever. I'm not gonna argue with you. I would actually like to take a better other language, you know, to have more fun. So give me Spanish or something. Right.

Right.

And she was like, okay, do you want to go on the course one and I was like, no, I think I'm good enough for course two. She just like looked at me and I, okay.

That was pretty great though.

And actually the course two is too easy for me.

Oh, right. So you're ready to move on to three.

No, I mean I'm not I mean at the beginning it is easy. It seems easy. I just I I know a lot. Right.

Right.

But I'm gonna stay in the third one and in the second one and maybe next year instead of third one I'm gonna take fourth one or whatever. I mean, I I can think figure it out. And I then the other language I'm studying not so much at home, but more in school is also Mandarin that I started. I actually actually know also quite a lot of Mandarin. So.

So can we just take take a step step back here you what's your uh what's your language learning story? How did it all begin and and where did it begin?

Huh. It began because I moved to Sweden.

Yeah.

I mean, it was like I've always liked languages since I was a very young. My mother like introduced me to English, even though she doesn't speak so much English, she introduced me to the basic words and stuff like cat, dog, house or whatever. And also my father knew some Russian so he also like told me some words, you know, he taught me how to count and stuff like that. So it was like also when we watched the dubbed movies in Poland because in Poland they dub movies I always tried to I always tried to catch a little bit of the language spoken in the background. I was like, "Dad, what is that language?" And he was like, "English. What is that language? Oh, it's German." There was a lot of also German series going on TV.

Mhm.

Right.

But in school I did so so in English. So I mean I could say that everything like started in Sweden like seriously it started in Sweden. I came to Sweden 2011.

Aha.

Swedish.

Yes. Swedish. Yeah, exactly.

Not easy, is it with the pronunciation?

Yeah, I still have some problems. Actually I right now I'm trying to perfect it or whatever. I'm talking with my Swedish teacher about it.

If I may say so, you you sound like you have a little Swedish accent to your English. So that sounds like you're on the right way at least.

It's impossible. I can't have Swedish accent when I speak English.

No.

No.

No, that's what I feel like. That's what I feel like. But maybe maybe maybe a Polish English accent is is similar to the Swedish English accent.

My jaw is on the floor. I I nobody ever told me that. Uh okay, whatever.

Well I I I'm not saying I'm right. I'm just saying that's what I felt like.

No. No, it's funny. It's funny actually. It's funny actually. I'm gonna listen to the recording and see let's see for myself.

Yeah, may maybe you'll agree or or you'll disagree. Um so Yeah. But it sounds like you had a a very sort of supportive family in in terms of language learning and that kind of even if you didn't do let's say fantastically in school, you still went on to get the kind of the interest when you came to Sweden. What what kind of made you go I mean, I think you're you're very kind of hard working right now. I think you're one of the most hard working I have in my kind of network. So what what made the change from, oh I have a few lessons in school, I like languages to, you know, I'm doing hours and hours a day.

Exactly. Yeah. It became it it started in 2012 when I went for a trip. I went for a trip with my friend that lives here in Poland. We went to Poland because here in Sweden also Polish organizations they they organize trip like I I don't know, like holiday, you know, camps and stuff for Polish for Polish kids living in Sweden or living in Norway and stuff. So I actually went for a trip like that. And I've met a few Norwegian people, I mean, a few Polish people who lived in Norway. And I was and I quite fascinated with uh Scandinavian languages. I came, I came from the trip with a with a thought, I'm gonna learn Norwegian and I'm gonna, you know, go to them and speak with them in Norwegian. Go to Norway and speak with Norwegian. And that's when I started. Like I started in January because the trip was in December. It it was it it was not a holiday trip. It was more like yeah, it was in December actually. So, so, so I started to learn it. And I learned it quite I mean, it didn't go so well. I could write very quickly. I mean, I learned how to, you know, write correctly quite quickly. And I started to chat with my friends. But when it comes to speaking, I didn't even I didn't even say a word like besides like hello and goodbye because I because yeah, and I had problems also with understanding because and I realized that this problem with understanding was because of Swedish. Like the better I know Swedish, the better I know Norwegian. It's a fact. Right.

Mhm.

Right.

Like so I couldn't understand Swedish. I couldn't understand Norwegian, but right now when I can understand a lot of Swedish, I listen to Norwegian radio and I actually understand it.

Yeah, they're very similar when you get into them.

Yeah, exactly. Uh, but I started learning it. But later I when I was in um school, I found out that I'm gonna go to Hungary with a with my class because we had a choir. I was in a special music class.

Mhm.

So, I decided so I decided I'm gonna learn Hungarian. Why not?

Yeah, why not, right.

Why not, right, yeah. I started learn learning it. And uh when I went to Hungary I actually I was pretty pretty uh disappointed because I couldn't say a lot. I didn't understand the grammar and stuff. So actually I had a problem with uh speaking with people. But I I I could, you know, say some things and it was it was still it was cool, but I was when I came to Poland, back to Poland, uh because after Hungary I just went to my sister to Poland. Uh so I decided that, wait, okay. I think Hungarian is difficult. I'm gonna start a new language.

Okay.

So I I didn't know what to start. But I actually opened my mail and I found a how do you call it? Like I I found a mail with saying, oh, fill this little survey of ours and you can choose one of the courses that we have on our site and use them.

Yeah.

So I filled the survey and I chose German like it was a 10 lesson course. It was like only it was text with audio files and then some exercises. So I I chose German because it seemed most interesting.

Mhm.

And uh after that I just went through the course and uh I did the course in seven days. Actually it was a 10 lesson course. I did like two two lessons daily because they were very short. Yeah.

Yeah.

And uh, you know, in between I actually also learned a new words. I tried to read a little bit and write my own sentences sentences. Actually I found using German pretty pretty easy. I I like using German, not speaking it correctly, but actually making sentences and stuff. It wasn't you know, I I I did it after, you know, my first weeks. So.

That's cool.

So I managed to learn German on a very good level. I just learned German back then. I completely stopped with my Hungarian and my Norwegian. And later I joined Edwin Challenge by Brian Kwong. And I don't know when it started. Actually it was uh September. September. It was September. Whatever. But I decided I'm gonna learn German for the challenge and actually on my YouTube channel there are videos from the challenge.

Great. So then I can go back and see your progress.

Exactly. So so first time I managed to learn a language by myself actually. And I actually could speak I mean, I won't say how I could speak was it good or not. I I could speak. Yeah.

Right.

The most important thing.

That's thing. But what did you do differently that that or what do you think looking back was so different from, you know, your studies in Hungarian towards you're studying in German? What what was so different that you got that feeling of being able to speak where before you didn't really get that feeling?

Uh motivation probably. I I mean I was motivated with Hungarian but I just I don't know how to explain it but with German it's it was just this pull. I don't know even why. I'm not fascinated with Germany. Like when when I see German people on the street I I go crazy actually because I I just want to speak with them. There's so so there's so little German people like over here and so but I had this pull for the language. I I knew it from my childhood because of the, you know, the dubbed movies that I've heard and stuff. Yeah.

Yeah.

So I just had this pull for the language.

It just came it's just came to you. Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, exactly.

Okay. And I just started and I couldn't stop.

So.

And that's how you you got into, you know, being really into language learning.

Yes, exactly. Exactly. Like after the challenge probably. Right.

Right. And and how did you then what what came next after German? Was that Spanish or?

I have to think actually. No, after German came in January was next one challenge and I decided to continue with my Serbian because also before I've learned some Serbian before I started learned languages seriously because I have a friend here here in Sweden and he's from Serbia and I I just wanted to learn his language. So on the one challenge I decided to learn Greek and Serbian. But I failed and I stopped learning after a while. But actually, no, actually I uh I think that I succeeded partly with Serbian because right now I'm I am able to talk a little bit and I know it like I feel that I've really really that I lot of pro I progressed a lot, you know, in Serbian, even though I do not learn it right now. So but later I just stopped it again. Again, I was a little bit like, okay. Will I ever learn a language properly?

Okay. So that's interesting. You changed your mind.

And uh.

Yeah, exactly. And right now I love Spanish. I love Spanish.

Oh, fantastic. So that's kind of that would be your tip to people who might have some kind of idea about a language, well try it and if you don't like it, then you can just quit it but if you find out you do like it, then you've you found something you like.

I actually wrote a post on Facebook about that because um a few I mean, maybe one week ago or something. I told my friend, oh, I don't like Italian. The same like with Spanish. I was like, I'm never gonna learn Italian. It's such a boring language. Like it's also so overrated and everything. And later I went and I played the great language game. You know it, definitely. You have to know it, right?

Yeah. I've seen it. Yeah.

And there was and there was Italian clip and I just listened to it. I was like, oh my God, how beautiful it sounds. And I and and then I wrote a post on Facebook that I don't believe that any language can be ugly or whatever. You know, like every language can be beautiful. You just need to look at it from a different perspective or whatever. So I think that every thing right now it's it's bad or I mean it's just boring or whatever. I actually believe that maybe in future I will like it. It's possible. Yeah.

Yeah.

It happened twice, right.

Yeah, there you go. I mean you're living proof that just because you thought you didn't like it doesn't mean that's actually the truth.

Exactly.

That's great. And how how much time would you say you spend on a on a typical day on on language learning? Everything from, you know, grammar to Memorize to everything.

You know, to to be honest. I would say that most of my time that I do on language learning is Memorize. Right now I really abandoned books and grammar and I just started like like planting words like crazy. Uh when it comes to Spanish, when it comes to German, when it comes to German, I I I only planned words here like on Memorize. And maybe sometimes I read I can read a little bit of a book. I have here actually. I I hold it in my hand. I have a book that I bought that I've gotten on the polyglot gathering. It was like Damosva Friderich or whatever. And I read it actually because it's not so difficult to read and it's not such a big book. So sometimes I read a page or two.

While you do Memorize? Or is that outside?

Yeah, I mean I yeah, besides Memorize. And then I also I also learn Spanish on Memorize and I use a little bit of Duolingo. So I do not use anything really like special. You know, I just listen to some music here. I listen to a lot of radio actually. Try at least, you know, daily to get get some listening. Yeah.

Yeah, that's a good tip.

And then I have twice a week I have Spanish in school.

Oh, that helps too, I suppose.

Exactly. Yeah, I can speak some Spanish and I'm actually waiting until we get our books because I know I know which books we are going to get because when I started learning Spanish, I actually borrowed them from library and they are quite cool. I don't have any like really good book for Spanish. And this book from school could actually be cool to, you know, just scheme through and see what like closer. Take a look closer to texts. They have this little vocabulary lists below the texts. So I can read texts and then yeah.

Right. But how many hours would that amount to because I I know you're you're a very hard working guy and, you know, it's very inspirational to see. So I just wanted to to to get you to say how much time.

I do not count but after after I come back from school, I spend whole day. All right. Like mostly, you know, sometimes I watch some dumb video YouTube. Oh my God, video on YouTube or whatever. But I mean, but I mean I I never I never take out long break. I'm memorizing at least every hour I'm memorizing at least once. Right.

Right.

You know. I think it would be it would be.

So you're feeling like I think I asked you this, do you feel like you're getting addicted to the Memorize interface, the kind of game with the points and everything?

Quite. I mean everything is boring after a while for me at least. Right.

Right.

So I.

How do you fix that in Memorize?

I I had a Memorize crisis actually, but it was before I started to Memorize like crazy. It was like a few weeks ago. Yeah.

Yeah.

Uh like it was actually actually during the summer I didn't Memorize a lot and it it was then when I had this Memorize crisis. I I didn't really Memorize a lot. I just didn't want to do it. I was like, okay, it's boring. And later actually in the last weeks of summer I just came back to it. I just know I don't know how. I just went on Memorize because I was really bored and I was like, okay, let's water some words and I started all over again. And I started even with a bigger um how do you say it? Velocity because when I because I had so much to water that I actually I started to get a lot of points and stuff. And I was like, okay, cool. Right.

Right.

So so I was like, let's some more courses, you know, and I saw her as like I found a couple of good courses and I'm doing right now.

Oh, great. Maybe a break is good. I mean, I I've had the same with uh with Memorize where I've been doing it sort of daily for a while and then I was like, uh, I don't feel like it. And then suddenly the watering kind of fills up and I'm like, ugh, I don't want to do it. And then I had a break and now I'm kind of back in it and I feel, you know, pretty motivated to do it. I I it's not like I'm flying through it with the same speed as you are, but it's not boring like it was before. So I think taking a break sometimes is definitely helpful.

Exactly.

And also picking, you know, maybe mixing it up. Do you feel like having a lot of different courses makes it more interesting than just, you know, doing 10,000 basic words of Spanish or whatever they call those courses, you know, the frequency courses?

I do not like to learn I I like to learn grammar actually. Like it depends on the language. There's there are some language when I prefer just to learn words and then try to like mumble some sentences that I think might be correct. But there are some languages when I have to look at the grammar and think, okay, this has to go here and here because I don't really I'm not really bothered by grammar. I actually like grammar. Hmm.

Hmm.

So I mean with German I don't know with German I did some grammar, you know, I went through some exercise books and stuff. And with Spanish I went through a was it Spanish in three months or something like that book? I don't know how it was called. So it's like that whatever. But it had some basic grammar and I actually went through most of the basic grammar in like one day. It was like the plurals. The you know, the indefinite definite articles, you know, and stuff like that the present tense the conjugation, you know, and I went through all of it in one day. And I just I just picked it up pretty quickly because it was so straightforward. And since then I didn't touch so many grammar books. Besides maybe Duolingo, you know, that I did a little bit.

Yeah. You're a big fan of Duolingo for the languages that it has right now. It's not all.

Uh right now I have a Duolingo crisis actually. Big one.

You're you're getting bored with that now or is there a different?

Not even not even it's a different crisis because when I went to polyglot gathering I stopped using Duolingo on my Spanish. And when I came home all of my skills, you know, like lost their strength or whatever. And I have to re re-do all of the courses. And I'm so mad.

No.

Like it's so much. My whole tree needs to be re-done, you know.

It's did.

And I'm like, yeah, not completely but oh but it has some like but but still like every every every lesson. So I'm like, no. And it's actually I had almost whole tree done. I had maybe 12 or 12 or 13 courses left. So it's it's pretty difficult right now to go through it all over again.

Yeah, I can imagine. Speaking of the polyglot gathering, uh what did you think of it and did you have fun there?

I had fun. It was the first time when I could actually travel by myself to an country where I've never been and Berlin is a huge city and I was actually completely alone. It was the first time. Yeah.

Yeah.

And the the the polyglot gathering itself was amazing because, you know, the first time like here in Sweden I don't I don't have many people that actually that I can share my interest with. No.

No.

So when I speak, you know, about like some weird things like, you know, cases in Serbian or whatever. So my friend just look at me like.

Yeah.

Oh, it's boring. So.

Yeah.

So, you know, on the gathering I could actually test my languages. Meet the people that I knew from internet. Some of them are like like my idols or whatever. So.

Yeah, totally, man. Me too.

Yeah.

Talking to Richard and Benny and Luca. That was quite special.

Yeah. I really enjoyed talking with Alex Alex Rawlings.

I didn't get to talk to Alex. I'm so sad. But there there were so many people that talking to everyone was impossible. I didn't even I didn't get to talk to you for instance because there's so just so many people, you know, it's it's impossible to to talk to everyone. But everyone that I talked to had such an interesting story, you know, it it's so cool to be in an environment where, you know, everyone is truly interesting. You know, you can have the Lucas and the Richard Simcott and the Benny Lewises and Alex Rowlings, but everyone has an interesting language learning story, I feel like.

Exactly. Yes.

And great talks as well.

Yeah. I mean, I was more for the social aspect. So very often I actually skipped the talks. Right.

Right.

There were some talks I attended, but also I I came from gathering very late at evening. I had to go through I don't know quite a lot with trains and stuff. So I was pretty tired. So I actually I actually woke up quite late. So I missed at least the first two talks in the morning, like every day. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. I I think most a lot of people did at least. They were weren't that many in the morning.

And that's cool. And also in the during the day I was like, no, I I I'm not I do not feel like sitting just listening to somebody talk. So maybe I can just, you know, wander around and just talk with somebody. Right.

Right. Exactly. And you planning to go on onto more conferences or gathering in the in the future?

I hope that I can I'm I'm gonna be able to go on the next one in uh in next year in May.

Yeah, in Berlin. Hopefully.

Yes, definitely. We should talk then.

Yeah, definitely.

Yeah, okay. Yeah.

It's gonna be pretty I mean, I think they did such a great job for a first time and I'm definitely reserving that week for for that because I I was really really happy with the the social aspect. I mean, I'm totally agreeing with you that yeah, the courses were interesting, but you can always look them up on YouTube afterwards. Yeah.

Exactly. Yeah.

But you can go and talk to anyone and everyone has interesting things to say and you can speak in funny languages or you can have trans-Scandinavian conversations where we're like Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish next to each other. That was quite fun. Yeah.

Yeah. A lot of people wrote about it actually.

Yeah. Or maybe it was you that wrote about it and I just read it on your blog or whatever.

Yeah, that's very possible. I I wrote 10,000 words from the conference. So. Yeah.

Yeah, that's a small part. So I mean it was pretty surprising that there was like once I go into the room and I like hear Swedish and there were like five people sitting on something. I was like, oh my God, you speak Swedish like so many people. That was pretty.

Yeah.

Yeah, Swedish was so popular. I I didn't I didn't even realize that but, you know, I have the I had an Austrian friend who was speaking Swedish. Actually two Austrian friends and then there was a Luca who speaks Swedish as well. Of course.

Of course Richard. I I spoke a lot of Swedish with Richard.

Yeah.

Actually also because Yeah, once I think I was going back with Richard from the conference and we actually spoke quite a lot of Swedish then.

Yeah, there you go. So yeah. And uh obviously living in Sweden for you must be uh I mean, you must be pretty good at it.

I'm not. No. I would say even Richard is better.

Oh, really?

I would say Richard is better. Yeah, he.

You gotta you gotta go out and uh talk to the Swedes in Swedish.

Yeah, I mean, I I go to school. I I go to a normal educational Swedish system. So I go to a normal classes with normal Swedes and I speak Swedish at lessons. Right.

Right.

But I still think I could do better and my pronunciation is not so like, I mean, it is good, but it could be better.

You're probably just being modest.

Actually, I'm talking a lot with my teacher about my pronunciation because I'm very interested in phonetics. Yeah.

Yeah.

So I'm like, you know, I've noticed that in Swedish something like that. Am I pronouncing it right? And and she's like, and she just like tells me and she actually told me a lot of fun funny things about my pronunciation that I'm actually trying to get rid of. So she's very helpful about it.

Yeah, that's that's a great do you wanna pursue a an academic career in linguistics or do you have other plans?

I don't really know. I mean, I I I've thought about it but every week I have a different I have a different thought or whatever. Like I wanted to study in England but later, no, I thought maybe America and maybe later I thought, wait, in Poland there is a good language university in Poznan. And but right now I'm thinking about Spain. I don't know why I just want to I just want to study in a different language than my than English, Polish and Swedish. I just want to go to a university and study a course in a language that I'm not so good at yet.

Yeah, that's a good idea.

I mean, of course I'm gonna be able to speak it, but I I would just like to go to a university not only to study a subject but also learn something more. So I thought that for example perfecting my I could also study in Germany in German to perfect my German or whatever. It would be cool.

Yeah, and and it would be a.

Yeah. So I don't know what what I want to start.

And it would be a language related course or not.

Yes. Yes. You can speak. Yeah, exactly. That's that's what I do not know. You know, I love learning languages and using them with people. But I every field that has to do with languages seems boring for me. I just I just can't can't find this like, hmm, translator or teacher or I mean linguist. Even linguist. I mean, I'm not I I don't want to sit in university. I would like I would actually have to I would actually like to have a Benny's lifestyle. It would be so cool. But I'm not I'm not such a good blogger so.

Yeah.

I'm possibly never gonna be able to.

Well, if you're good at uh if you're good at teaching languages, you can you can become a language teacher and do it from anywhere in the world. Just teach via Skype.

Yeah, I thought about actually teaching via Skype. So right now I'm actually I I'm not like, how do you say it? Uh I'm not really, you know, telling people that I teach languages, but I'm trying to catch some little occasions, you know. Oh, I might help you with this or with that, you know. Just to once right actually I called a woman they wanted to have her somebody who would help her husband to learn Polish here in Sweden. But actually she was she she told that they already had some anybody somebody else. So it didn't work out. But it's still possible that I can catch this little occasions, you know.

Yeah, I I think you can definitely do that. And you know, language teaching around the world is is is in high demand. Particularly English, which I mean, your English is is good and you can definitely you know, definitely teach people who are very bad at it. For instance in Asia or, you know, they they have many places where they demand.

I mean, the languages I feel very comfortable about teaching, you know, are actually English and Polish and Swedish just on the basic level. And maybe some some German.

That's all you need. You just need a basic level.

Yeah, exactly. So, you know, because it's easy to teach people because you can look at the rules clearer and explain them to to them. Even though you sometimes, you know, miss them when speaking. So I I feel actually that when I speak English, maybe it's not so grammatically correct every time, but I would be able actually to explain this grammar and all of this for to to the students. So it wouldn't be a problem.

Um if you had to if you had to kind of tell somebody who's interested in learning a new language what they should do, what would your 30 second method to learn Spanish be?

Oh God. Oh my God. That's a very difficult question.

I know.

I mean like not not everybody not not everybody is not not everybody is a grammar geek or whatever. So I would say you should first learn the, you know, you know, like basic expressions, of course. And you know, I would say that very difficult, no, it's a very difficult question. How how would I do it if I want it?

Exactly, yeah.

I don't know. I would probably first learn a lot of words. Like I would try to learn the basic verbs, the basic nouns, the basic adjectives. And I would just try to make sentences as quickly as possible, you know.

Create.

Like yeah, creating sentences, exactly. So there is a basic grammar needed. But I mean it's it's just a basic grammar just to like present tense, pronouns and maybe, you know, basic adjective the, you know, declinations. And that's all you need, you know. So like like I would look a little bit into the grammar and then I would, you know, collect some basic words and start making sentences with them. That's what I would do.

Okay, that sounds great because then you use the active part of your brain that's generating.

Exactly. I'm mostly about the active part because I found I find reading boring. I don't know why. I'm a language learner, but I I do not like to read. I read on the internet. I read stories on the internet. So but I don't read the classical books. No.

No.

I just I just I just don't find it interesting. Uh and listening, I prefer TV because I can see the pictures and stuff. I mean, and it's not so boring. But when I have to sit through the radio audition or whatever, it just it's too intimidating. It's very difficult. Right.

Right. Well, I I think that you know, that is a very good answer to the hard question and I think that together with the other things that you've said about for instance correcting your pronunciation, which I think is something that a lot of people don't do. I mean, they'll acquire some kind of pronunciation and they won't really work on it. Um and often that pronunciation that we acquire first is quite let's say less optimum because we often we don't live in the country. I mean, I don't live in Russia so my pronunciation is probably horrible. I mean, I can improve on it, but I I need to listen to myself to do that. So I think that's a a very a good tip that you're recording yourself and you look into, well, how do I actually sound? Because how can you know if you're not listening?

Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. I I learned that everything I do out loud, I record. If I read a text and I feel, oh my God, I would like to read it out loud. I have my microphone with me. So I or recorder or whatever. Right.

Right.

So for example, when I when I yeah, when I read something or whatever, I I try to record myself as much as possible. Also with singing. You know, it it started actually because of singing, you know. I just wanted to practice my voice. So I decided I have to record myself. Get used to how my voice sounds. Because very often people just listen to their voice and like, oh my God, I sound like this. But after a while, after a while, you know, of listening to your voice, you get used to it. And you you you get like yeah, you start to like, I don't know. You start to get used to the sound of your voice and then you know what you could improve on and stuff. So that's the same with accents. You know, I record myself very often and then listen to it. And I do it again and listen to it. Right.

Right.

And I actually get pretty obsessed with accents right now. I'm trying to learn better pronunciation all of my languages. I I do not try for some kind of native speaker like, but I would like to be, you know, more like yeah, more speak more clearly and everything.

Less foreign sounding. Yeah.

Also has to do with annunciation. Yeah, and it also has to do with annunciation. So I'm doing a lot of exercises with tongue twisters. You don't know with pen in your mouth technique, you know. Yeah.

Yeah.

So I do it very often.

Oh, that's great. And uh singing, is that something you recently got into because of this or did you have that interest before languages and just they kind of melted together?

I've I've always liked music because I I have been producing music digitally on the you know, on the computer software and I have been writing lyrics for rap songs and I have been rapping for quite a quite some time. But when I came to Sweden I started in a music class. I started to sing and I have been learning it since when when did I join music class. It was it yeah, it was in 2012 in the middle of 2012. Hmm.

Hmm.

So that's when I really like got into singing and actually I I see improvements like, you know. Great.

Great.

But I'm not I'm not gonna make a career out of it. Not yet at least.

No, but maybe it can help you with the accents because actually the first uh or second chapter in Fluent Forever by Gabriel Weiner that just came recently came out, he's a singer. He's an opera singer and he says that opera singers learn the accent first and then they learn the words, you know. Because that's the most important bit, which means that we can learn good accents. We don't have to have this foreign accent if we just worked on it like you do.

Actually I I think that like I improved my musical skills, my listening skills and my language skills at the same time. Like I don't know I I sing some and then I realize I actually hear sounds better and then I I, you know, like everything it's like connected with with each other with each other. So like I improve I improved a lot in both. In being, you know, in having an ear when it comes to music and also to languages. So. Hmm.

Hmm.

So I actually get better at at imitating accents. But it's a slow process but I think I will get there some.

Well, you're working on it, which is already better than most people.

Yeah.

So, you know. That's great. And I just a final thing I wanted to to to talk about, which is something you said at the beginning was that the school kind of attitude from Poland that you were used to is that it was a competitive environment and that the teacher would say your grades out loud. And then we have the Scandinavian attitude, which is basically everything should be kept secret and you should be as modest as possible and everyone's good. Um I I really just wanted to emphasize that because coming from Denmark I can totally relate to the the the Danish thing. You know, if you tell somebody you're great, it it almost feels like you're boasting here. But in in language learning, we we shouldn't be afraid of, you know, competing. Of course, it shouldn't be about competing, but why not use that fact to help you to motivate you to to work harder. Like, you've added 437 people on Memorize. You obviously don't know all of them. But but you're just kind of you're motivating yourself to be better than them or you at least seeing it as some kind of goal, a target. And I think I just want to emphasize that because I think it it's a lot of value to have, uh it's a friendly competition, isn't it? You know, it's not serious that, oh you did 2,000 points more than me.

Yeah, exactly. I'm I'm not gonna, you know, get Yeah, I'm not gonna get depressed because I just didn't get I didn't get the first place this week, you know, it's just like, okay, yeah, I can do better next time. It's it's just like I just try to, you know, get better and better.

Yeah, but maybe it's 437 people. Yeah, I I have it open here. I have to do my research.

I just have it in front of my face right now.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, okay. I just Joke. I'm I'll catch you one day.

Yeah. Yeah.

I hope so. But anyway, it's been such a pleasure to talk to you and it it's very refreshing to hear from the kind of the young generation. I I know that it sounds weird to say that when I'm only, you know, about um oh God, I'm getting old. Nine years older than you. Um but it it's just it's just a different in in in it's like a new wave, I feel like and it's very nice to see people getting into language learning from a younger age and being so uh hard working like I said and and I'm totally motivated more motivated to to work because I see all your great efforts. I mean, I I see all the points that you make and I'm like, oh God, I need to make more points, you know. So, so thank you for for being so active in the community.

Yeah. Yeah, no problem. Thank you for having me today. So.

Yeah, no problem and uh good luck going forward and I'll see you in Berlin hopefully.

Yes, definitely. We should talk then.

Yeah, definitely. Definitely. Yeah, okay. All right, see you. See you.

Thanks for listening to the Actual Fluency podcast. For more information, be sure to check out actualfluency.com. Until next time, enjoy learning and have a great day.