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Practical Advice from a Polyglot Veteran for Chinese Language Learners

· 2 min read

From 【Valuable Content! Super Practical Advice from a Polyglot Veteran for Chinese Language Learners】

Speaker: Steve Kaufmann, 76 years old, speaks over 20 languages, YouTube channel 👉 Steve


  1. Steve's Experience?

    Started learning French in Canadian schools but had no interest until a university professor inspired him, sparking his interest in French culture. After going to France and studying for three years, he mastered French very quickly. In 1969, when diplomatic relations were established with China, he learned Chinese, then went to Japan and learned Japanese...

  2. Which Foreign Languages Are Simpler, Which Are Easier?

    It depends on the distance between the languages you already know and your target language. For example, since Steve had already learned Chinese, learning Japanese was much faster.

  3. What If You Don't Have an English Learning Environment?

    🔑 Listen and read a lot. Being able to read English articles isn't enough - you need to deeply read novels, millions of words or more.

    🔑 Speak more, don't be afraid of mistakes. Speaking is for communication, not performance.

  4. Three Suggestions for Chinese Students with Basic English?

    💡 After a period, you'll feel like you're not making progress. This is because simple vocabulary appears frequently and can be mastered quickly, but difficult vocabulary appears less frequently, making it harder to learn and master. Solution: Connect with your interests. For example, if you like literature or history, find English elementary literature or history books as entry points.

    💡 Speaking your native language is comfortable, but learning foreign languages requires stepping out of your comfort zone.

    💡 Persist, don't give up. This process won't get worse, it will only slowly get better.