Polyglot is a person who knows many foreign languages. Usually such people are fluent in two or three languages, while others know superficially, usually colloquial speech.
It should be noted that the first language is learned longer and harder, while the rest are much easier. There are many different myths and rumors around polyglots, in particular about how they can learn several languages at once, when sometimes they can hardly master one.
Myths around polyglots
These are people who have the ability to learn languages
This is the opinion of the majority of those who find it difficult to learn one language. They think that the brain of polyglots is different, perception is developed and any information is easily assimilated, and they do not make much effort during training. In fact, polyglots are normal people who like to learn several languages, they make every effort to achieve their goal. Therefore, it is not necessary to have any particular mindset for this.
Polyglots have excellent memories
Many people believe that in order to learn several languages, you need to have a unique memory and be able to memorize new words and grammatical structures the first time. In fact, it is learning languages that develops memory.
Not all people with phenomenal memory can be polyglots. This, for example, if you take the ingredients for a dish and try to cook it without knowing the recipe. The dish won’t work. It is the same with studying: you need to be able to operate with words, insert them into the right places and sentences. Therefore, in general, polyglots have an ordinary memory, but are constantly engaged in its development through the study of foreign languages.
Polyglots learn languages from early childhood
Often, many are sure that people who speak several languages began to learn them in childhood, so now they easily speak several foreign languages. In general, polyglots begin to study languages much later, as they realize and understand that they are interested and need it. Psychologists believe that adults find it easier to learn because they know what they are learning for and that it is important for them.
Polyglots learn any language in a short amount of time
You can often hear from people who speak several foreign languages that they learned them in three to four months. At the same time, they offer to buy accelerated study courses for decent money. However, don’t take these suggestions seriously.
In fact, to thoroughly learn a language, you need much more time than three months. For such a period, you can only learn the basic grammatical and lexical foundations. But to freely communicate and speak on any topic, you need a lot of time. Those who truly know several languages learn them for several years, improving their knowledge.
Polyglots have a lot of free time
It would seem that people who speak several languages are only engaged in their study and nothing more. In fact, most polyglots study for an hour or two a day, which does not prevent them from working and doing other things. This time is enough to master the language at a basic level in a short time.
Polyglots are travel lovers
There is an opinion that they often travel to different countries, since it is much easier to learn the language of the country in which they are. Actually it is not. To learn a language, it is not necessary to travel to other countries. It is enough to communicate more often with native speakers, to be interested in the culture of their state. It is quite affordable at home. There are many resources on the Internet for learning foreign languages. You can also find an interlocutor from another country and improve the language. This is what polyglots use.
Polyglots are rich people
Since many people believe that people who know many languages travel often, this gives rise to the opinion that they have a lot of money. They can afford expensive teaching materials, textbooks, dictionaries, lessons from foreign language teachers. In fact, polyglots have enough opportunities to learn a language without spending a lot of money. Fortunately, Internet sites, free online lessons, and training courses allow this.
Secrets of polyglots for learning foreign languages
Goal setting
It is important to understand why you need to learn a language. If just to know, then learning will not be fruitful. Motivation is needed. For example, getting a high position or going abroad.
Learning with a teacher
Many polyglots begin to learn the language themselves, but most of them are still of the opinion that it is worth using the services of tutors at the beginning of the study. It is better to learn languages from scratch together with a teacher, as he will help you get comfortable in the initial program, lay the foundation for basic knowledge. After that, you can already move on to learning on your own.
Saying words out loud from day one
In order to better remember lexical constructions and develop correct pronunciation, it is best to pronounce words and phrases out loud from the very beginning. As experienced polyglots advise, the best way to learn a language is to communicate with native speakers. In the course of a conversation, phrases and grammatical constructions are better remembered.
Memorizing words in sentences and phrases
It is best to learn words in sentences, so they are remembered much faster and it is easy to remember the rules for their use. Therefore, most polyglots are advised to learn words in context, then it will be easier to compose phrases and sentences.
More attention to practice
Some people think that studying grammar, for example, in English is useless at all, since it is enough to know tense verbs and words. This is not true. To know a foreign language well, more time should be devoted to practical grammar lessons: do a lot of exercises, tests. Studying one theory without grammar, it is impossible to achieve deep knowledge of the language.
Listening to foreign language recordings
Many polyglots recommend listening to recorded speech for quality learning. Even if a person does not understand what they are talking about, he can listen to the intonation, hear how the speech sounds. But this method is not suitable for everyone. For example, some people, listening to a foreign speech and not understanding anything, lose interest in learning the language. Therefore, to begin with, experts advise listening to individual words, and after a person gets used to them and can understand them, you can already listen to individual phrases and sentences.
Reading in the target language
When a person reads a text, he sees how phrases are built, how words are written. Visual memory is involved here, which allows you to remember the necessary information. Now on the net you can find enough texts for beginners, so you need to read from the beginning of training. Polyglots are advised to read the text in Russian and English at the same time. This makes it easier to see the construction of sentences and phrases.
Improving pronunciation
It would seem that pronunciation is not the most important part in learning a language, but most polyglots are sure that it needs to be given a lot of attention. The pronunciation of words plays an important role, since the understanding of the interlocutor of speech depends on it.
Making mistakes
Polyglots advise not to be afraid to speak the language you are learning and not to limit yourself to simple phrases. This creates an obstacle to further learning. No need to be shy about making mistakes in pronunciation, spelling of words. We must learn from mistakes and gradually eradicate them.
Regular classes
It is important to be diligent when studying and practice regularly. It is impossible to learn a language in two or three months, studying once a week. Polyglots love to study foreign languages and devote all their free time to this.
Memory Development
The better the memory, the easier and easier it is to memorize words. In itself, learning a foreign language is already a great memory training. You can use a variety of learning methods, such as solving crossword puzzles in the target language or memorizing poems and songs. Thus, many words and phrases are easily memorized and memorized.
Using the experience of successful people
Polyglots not only learn foreign languages on their own in various ways, but are also interested in the experience of more successful people who know many languages.
Focus on specific techniques
A huge variety of learning materials makes it fun to learn languages. However, it is worth adhering to certain methods. If, for example, you first start learning from one textbook, then go to language learning sites, then use video tutorials, then, in the end, there will be a mess in your head, and you won’t be able to remember anything. Therefore, you need to choose the optimal resource of sites, textbooks for high-quality language learning.
Learning is fun
Basically, all polyglots are happy to learn foreign languages, as they understand how important, interesting and necessary it is for them. So that this lesson is not boring and uninteresting, you can study by reading books in the target language, watching movies.
Foreign languages can be learned by anyone. This is not difficult, given that there are currently many materials available on the Internet and it is not necessary to spend huge amounts of money on teachers. The main thing is to understand what it is for, what prospects are possible for a person who knows several foreign languages, then the training will be easy, without much effort, and will bring only pleasure.
