The guy in the video is Basque. He could very well advertise some skincare gunk (have you seen his face?), though he's actually a teacher at Deusto, one of the most prestigious private universities in Spain (or at least he was when I first watched one of his videos). But that's not the most interesting thing about him. He's a hyperpolyglot who has very clear ideas about language learning, and he's the only one (that I know of) who dares to challenge the idea that the "comprehensible input hypothesis" is totally true.
He says a bunch of other interesting things, like the use of mnemonics for learning vocabulary, or how slow it is to learn languages as children do (which I totally agree with), and he also debunks some ideas that are considered (in his words) "the big fat truth" right now.
I don't know about you, but I like some debate about the language learning methods that everyone assumes to be great, but in reality don't quite add up. Loïs Talagrand interviews Mikel. I hope you find some food for thought in the video, or at least enjoy it.
There's a lot of controversy about this guy and whether he's actually a polyglot. He dramatically oversells his ability to speak 12 languages when he actually has a basic knowledge of most of them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY023GhSO_Y
Hi Coral! I like comparing language learning to sports: when you find a sport you truly enjoy, working out suddenly feels like fun rather than a chore. It’s the same with learning languages, in my opinion. There’s no single perfect method that works for everyone. People who seem 'talented' are often just those who genuinely enjoy what they’re doing. Some prefer reading, others prefer speaking. Some love studying grammar (I do!), while others can’t stand it. When you enjoy something, you naturally spend more time on it and stay more engaged — and that's what does the trick, really! As regards mnemonics, it totally works for me. I'm using Anki regularly as well. I know it can be boring in the long run, but it's super effective. I know perfectly every word that's on my decks. One thing that helped me make the most out of Anki (apart from the user's manual) is this book: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/dab339b6-25e0-4148-9377-9ef0fd5196b7 Gabiel Wyner's Fluent Forever. The shortest takeaway: use impactful images in your cards and full sentences. What works best are sentences with blank spaces that you have to fill in while reviewing. I have a lot of fun creating funny cards. For example I learned the Portuguese word "comprimento" with a card saying "O ___ médio de um pênis ereto é de aproximadamente 13,1 cm", accompanied by a picture of a cucumber. 🤷🏻♀️ I'm sorry 😆 but this is the kind of cards that work. 😁 It becomes a reflex — I see a cucumber, I say "comprimento". However, as I said, I like grammar because I like logic, so I also add very boring conjugation/declension lists to my Anki 😁 But that's my kink. In the end, I have to say I'm learning a lot from you guys. I first heard about the comprehensible input method from Uly’s post I read a few days ago, and I immediately started looking for videos with easy Hungarian input. Engaging with you is really inspiring.
Spot on, @Lokus! Everyone has to find their own method, and I also believe that most people who are really good at languages happen to love them. But we often forget the people who need to learn a language for less attractive reasons. Maybe they’re living abroad or doing it for work. It’s a necessity rather than a pleasure, and there's rush. Those people are the ones who struggle the most. My point in writing this post was to share "yet another" approach to learning languages, regardless of who the teacher is, how many languages he actually speaks, or what color his underwear is , which seems to matter more to some people than learning itself. I’m really glad to hear from you again! (I love your mnemonics😄🥒)