Unconventional language hacking tips from Benny the Irish polyglot; travelling the world to learn languages to fluency and beyond!

Category: video

“Hacking language learning”: My new and improved TEDx talk that includes the best polyglot videos online. Please share!!

written by Benny Lewis

I really hope this new and improved TEDx talk will get lots of views, inspire many new language learners and even be considered to be used in the main TED stream to ultimately reach millions!

Even though you may be well aware of my language learning advice, this video shares a new aspect of why I failed at my first attempt to learn Spanish which I have not discussed on the blog yet, and I go through the five most commonly used reasons why adults don’t learn languages and explain ways around them. It also includes clips of the most impressive polyglot videos online within the talk!

Language:

Reading time: 3 minutes

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“Skype me maybe” – Inspiring music video sung by 17 polyglots in over 30 languages

written by Benny Lewis

After a LOT of work to prepare the lyrics, round people together, send way too many emails, have contributors pick verses and languages, give them feedback for several different takes, blend it all together, get through the immense task of video and sound editing, and making sure everyone was happy with it… “Skype me maybe” is finally ready for the world! 🙂

As you can see, the storyline is that I’m a hopeless language learner, ready to give up, when 16 of the Internet’s most famous polyglots show up to give me some encouraging words… in the tune of Carla Rae Jepsen’s “Call me maybe” that was popular this year, and inover thirty languages. Yes, it’s as crazy and as good as it sounds! 🙂

Language:

Reading time: 9 minutes

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Interview in Irish (as Gaeilge): Raidió na Life, modern Irish use and how I got into the language myself

written by Benny Lewis

[Quick reminder: the next language mission will be announced in the Language Hacking League email list next week! Enter your email in the top-right of the site to find out in advance of the blog announcement] Check out today’s video interview with Diarmuid Ó Mathúna from Raidió na Life, and don’t forget to click Youtube’s […]

Interview in Mandarin with TV presenter and Chinese teacher Yangyang

written by Benny Lewis

Time for another video in Chinese! This is actually part of the summer project of improving many languages, and as such it is the first in a series of many interviews with natives of the languages in my list of 10. Yang Yang works as the Mandarin speaking presenter for the TV show “Hello Hollywood”.

Kung Fu: My experience learning about it in a Chinese farming village

written by Benny Lewis

[Click “CC” to activate subtitles in either English or in Chinese simplified/traditional. Those in China without a VPN can watch it on Youku] After getting a train over 2,000km through China, chatting with random people and seeing pandas, meeting a Buddhist monk, and even climbing a mountainside staircase to a Buddhist temple to try and […]

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