To anyone wondering. Yeah, she is pretty much fluent. No way I would be able to learn french this fast. This is impressive!

She's not just fluent, but pretty close to native level. A native Norwegian might notice some odd intonation now and then, but that's about it. Simply amazing.

There's a lot of good advice so I took notes for my reference, everyone enjoy. Preparation: a) Find motivation Have a goal in mind to help you keep up motivation b) make a plan based on your motivation and goal Because her goal was to speak Norwegian like a native, she decided to learn Norwegian the way a child would and approached all of her language learning from that perspective. 1) Listen as much as possible to Norwegian Because children spend the first few years of life just listening, she decided to listen to Norwegian as much as possible. She found many random podcasts to listen to at every possible opportunity, like while cleaning her room, playing mindless video games, and before bed. She did not understand what was being said so she wasn't picky about content. 2) Read things many times Kids don't learn grammar, but they do learn books by heart by reading books over and over again. She found text messages sent between characters in a TV show that she liked, wrote down the messages, figured out what all the words meant, and then read the sentences over and over out loud. She used Google translate to have it read the sentences to her and also sent the sentences to friends in Norway to get voice recordings by native speakers. 3) Learn simple words She made a list of words she thought would be useful, like "alone" "together" "to be" "to have" "before/after" "but" "already" etc. Any time she saw a sentence with one of her words, she wrote the sentence and then read it once a day. She includes pronunciation notes in her notebook. This method helps you internalize different sentence structures so you can create new similar sentences automatically. She didn't spend time on grammar initially, but learned grammar rules later in the process and thinks it would have helped to learn grammar sooner. 4) Write your own personal texts (e.g. journal or stories) When she started trying to write her own journal entries in Norwegian, she didn't know how to write anything at first so she used Google translate to type in 5 sentences about her day in English and get the Norwegian translation. She wrote down the Norwegian translation and then read it out loud many times. She got pronunciation help from Google translate audio. 4b) Adapt your method as you get better As she learned how to put together sentences on her own, she moved to writing her sentences in Norwegian, then writing the sentences in English in Google translate and comparing what she wrote to what Google provided to learn what her mistakes were. 5) Buy and read books She wanted to read adult level books even though they were too difficult and she couldn't read them at all. She treated like she had no choice and she had to figure it out on her own. She took a book with her everywhere, opened to a random page, and looked to see if there were any words she knew or sentences she understood. Her goal became to read the book she had chosen and it was highly motivating to her when she was able to understand parts of it. 6. Listen to audiobooks She often would read a book and listen to the audiobook at the same time. Sometimes she would listen to a chapter first and try to understand as much as possible just by listening and then she would pick up the book and read along as she listened to the audiobook again. 7. Use series and movies She would watch an episode of a series and then watch it again and copy down some sentences she thought were useful. She would watch a 2-5 minute scene the first time without subtitles to see what she could understand, then watch with Norwegian subtitles, then watch with English subtitles, then watch another time with Norwegian subtitles, copying down her sentences for something easy to read. 8. Make stories using the vocabulary you want to learn She had lists of vocabulary that she wanted to learn. She wrote stories in English using that vocabulary and then sent the stories to a Norwegian friend to get a translation and a voice recording. She read and listened to the Norwegian story until she knew it by heart, spending 1-2 weeks on a story. To work on listening and writing she would listen to the recording without reading and then try to write all the words that she heard. 9. Learn sentences by heart Learning stories and sentences by heart enabled her to speak without needing to stop and think about what she was saying so she could focus more on accent. This is how she speaks quickly and sounds native. 10. Speak to yourself From the beginning she would talk to herself in Norwegian. She got over discomfort by pretending that she is the best Norwegian speaker in the world. You can speak to yourself about your day, about a movie you saw or a book you want to read, or pick a picture and try to describe it, imagining the story behind it and telling the story. Conclusion: Don't give up Even if you feel like you haven't made progress in weeks, you still have made progress.

So many people on youtube talk about the scandinavian languages as being weird and difficult to pronounce. as a native danish speaker, who also speaks mandarin, dutch, and english obviously, i am absolutely blown away. so many language videos on youtube aren't actually fluent. i am speechless at how fluent this sounds. i legitimately wouldn't be able to tell this wasn't a norwegian.

One of the reasons young kids learn languages fast is that they have close to no shame, and will just try, and eventually learn it. As adults we have a higher tendency to be scared of doing something wrong.

Sat here listening to a French person, explaining her method for learning Norwegian to an amazing level of fluency, in native level English... Amazing work Ilys!

in brief: **Introduction:** - Ilys, originally from France, has been living in Norway for 3 years. - She learned Norwegian on her own and is now fluent. - The video aims to answer questions about her learning journey and provide recommendations for learning resources. **Learning Approach:** 1. **Motivation:** The key difference between learning a language in school and learning it on your own is motivation. Ilys' goal was to speak Norwegian fluently, like a native. 2. **Listening:** Ilys began by listening to Norwegian as much as possible, using podcasts and other audio resources. 3. **Learning Like a Child:** She aimed to learn Norwegian as if she were a child, focusing on listening and repetition. 4. **Using Context:** Instead of isolated vocabulary, Ilys focused on learning words and phrases in context. She would write down sentences from movies or shows and practice them. 5. **Grammar:** While she initially avoided traditional grammar exercises, she later found value in understanding some grammar rules to enhance her fluency. 6. **Reading:** Ilys read books in Norwegian, even if they were challenging. She would also listen to audiobooks while following along with the text. 7. **Speaking:** Speaking to oneself is crucial. Ilys would often talk to herself in Norwegian, imagining different scenarios or describing pictures. 8. **Consistency:** Progress in language learning might not always be immediately visible, but consistent effort will lead to improvement. **Conclusion:** - Ilys emphasizes the importance of finding a method that works for you and staying motivated. - She hopes her journey and tips will inspire others in their language learning endeavors.

Your Norwegian pronunciation is fantastic. And I think it's fascinating that your native accent is much less noticeable when you speak Norwegian than when you speak English.

I'm from Days and Words. He made an entire video about you. I'm now excited to watch the original. Your method seems very close to what I decided to do once I started learning languages on my own.

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 01:32 *🌐 Learning motivation: The speaker emphasizes that motivation is crucial for learning languages. They had a strong desire to speak Norwegian fluently due to their move to Norway, which drove their success.* 02:15 *🎯 Goal-oriented learning: The speaker's goal was to speak Norwegian like a native, not just to understand or be understood. This long-term goal helped maintain motivation.* 03:11 *🔊 Immersion strategy: They focused on listening to Norwegian frequently, just as children do when learning their first language. This approach included listening to podcasts and other Norwegian audio sources during daily activities.* 04:20 *📚 Natural learning: The speaker avoided formal grammar exercises, opting to learn through repetition and exposure to authentic content. They listened to stories and repeatedly read familiar texts to learn grammar naturally.* 05:14 *✍️ Contextual vocabulary: They built a list of useful words and phrases, writing them down and practicing them in different contexts. This helped them remember vocabulary and improve pronunciation.* 06:14 *🧠 Memorization: Memorizing specific texts and learning them by heart helped reinforce vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, allowing for smoother and more fluent speech.* 07:10 *📄 Writing and re-writing: To improve language skills, they wrote their own stories in English and Norwegian, using Google Translate to check and correct their translations. This process also helped them internalize grammar and sentence structure.* 08:35 *🔄 Repetition and practice: They emphasize the importance of repeated practice, encouraging learners to read and listen to the same content repeatedly to improve comprehension and fluency.* 09:58 *📖 Advanced reading: Despite being a beginner, the speaker challenged themselves by reading advanced Norwegian books and listening to audiobooks. This immersion helped them understand the language better and stay motivated.* 11:09 *🎤 Speaking to oneself: The speaker suggests practicing speaking by talking to oneself, describing daily activities, and imagining scenarios. This exercise boosts confidence and fluency in speaking.* 12:19 *🔄 Using audio and text together: They recommend listening to audiobooks while following along with the text. This technique improves pronunciation and reading speed in a new language.* 13:04 *📽️ Watching and re-watching: They used TV shows and movies to learn, re-watching scenes multiple times with different subtitle configurations to improve comprehension and vocabulary.* 15:06 *🎨 Creativity in learning: To enhance vocabulary and grammar, they suggest creative exercises like writing stories and describing pictures, encouraging learners to be imaginative.* 18:17 *🗣️ Fluency and accent: The speaker attributes their fast speaking and good accent to memorizing stories and practicing long sentences. This technique helped them avoid frequent pauses during conversations.* 21:02 *🚀 Consistent effort leads to progress: They stress the importance of consistency in learning and assure that even if progress is not immediately visible, continuous effort will lead to improvement.* Made with HARPA AI

this point she makes about "you only listen for the first 2 years, you dont speak", is so true. when i moved to england that's exactly what I did, people thought I was weird cuz I never talked, but I eventually started speaking fluently this way.

A channel called: ‘Days and Words’ posted a video about you Ilys, called: ‘You missed the best language learning video ever.’ I left the following comment, and then realized that I ought to share it with you as well: “I agree! I came across Ilys’ video about a month ago, and was quickly stunned by her depth of insight and the practicality of her suggestions! Though she likely shares here a few things, gleaned from others, I strongly sense that the majority of her tips are born of her natural intuition and her ability to quickly profit from her own experience of trial and error, as if feeling her way through the new tongue, trusting her perfect blend of instinct and intellect. Her video distills all of the web’s best language-learning advice into some twenty minutes of pure gold. Anyone committed to learning a foreign language needs to follow her lead. And every poster of language-learning content should be recommending her, passionately!”

That is quite genuinely, some of the best advice I've heard, when It comes to learning another language. I love the fact that you didn't want to just 'get-by' in Norwegian, you wanted to be fully conversive. That's what I'm aiming for. Your advice is bloody brilliant. Takk.

As a native Norwegian, I can confirm that Google Translate is amazing for Norwegian. I'm surprised how great the pronunciation is. Your Norwegian pronunciation is great. I literally couldn't detect a foreign accent at all. It makes me happy that you wanted to learn my language.

As a Swede, with Norway as our closest neighbor, I would never think from the little I heard, that she’s not a native Norwegian. Her pronunciation is great!

I learned Norwegian when I was 12, I did it exactly as you did. However, as I lived in Mexico I couldn't travel to Norway, so my only practice was through MSN and later while working as a tour manager for Norwegian bands touring Mexico. Then I used this exact method to learn Polish. Now I'm learning Chinese :) Great job, your pronunciation is awesome!

This is SO affirming, because it is almost exactly how I have always approached learning languages. I remember back when I was learning Spanish, I would watch videos from my favourite Spanish KZfaqrs and repeat them so many times that I could recite the entire video by heart. I would copy intonation, regional accents, pauses, absolutely everything, until I sounded exactly like the person in the video. Learning to say entire sentences, paragraphs, speeches, etc., is incredibly useful because - like you said - it helps you learn pronunciation and rhythm and speaking at a normal pace. Also, you will just start using whole sentences you've learned by heart, and then instead of piecing together sentences with words, you're piecing together whole speeches with sentences!

Ilys... I'm only half way through but already you've said SO many things that resonate with my experience and said so many things that most people don't seem to think of, it's EXCELLENT advice. My channel is about language learning, and watching this, I almost can't help myself but to make a response video to this. Would you mind if I did?

Are you able to change the title of this video to how to learn any language? It would go viral. Incredibly useful information. I saw another video by someone who learned Spanish in a similar way using TED talks. Immersion, Repetition, memorization. Why do we think there is any other way? This is totally comprehensive! Thank you so much!

I was born in Norway so obviously I learned my language growing up. And why I watched this video, is because I always wondered what it’s like learning it as a second language. It’s cool to see how she approached as a kid in school. I may use this to learn a different language my self one day😃

I spent four years learning Norwegian through Duolingo and talking to myself an embarrassing amount, and I got to the point where, when I visited, I could communicate decently well with people from Østlandet (they might say otherwise). But now that I've stopped, and am not practicing it very much anymore, I really feel like I should employ some of your tips just so I don't forget it all. So thank you, and it's really nice to hear about someone else's experience.

Two key components: Motivation and immersion. Your norwegian is almost flawless.

I loved the introduction of your video explaining why you are in Norway. I think it is something very personal and special ,to have the interest and motivation in moving to another country because there is something about the place that makes you feel good and happy. I think we all have the right to choose where to live even though we weren’t born there. I also left my country to move to another one and learned the language and learned about their culture.

FRANÇAIS: Je suis vraiment surpris de votre qualité de prononciation en anglais parce que la grande majorité des français qui parlent anglais ont un accent natif très marqué et donc très facile à reconnaître. En fait, au départ, je croyais que vous étiez québécoise (je vis au Québec) car ici, étant innondé constamment dans un monde anglophone en Amérique, notre prononciation de l'anglais est en général plus aiguisée par défaut, comme une sorte de démonstration que nous sommes capables de parler en anglais avec le moins d'accent possible - hi hi! Je constate que vous avez un grand respect pour les langues que vous apprenez, ce qui est admirable. En passant, j'apprends présentement l'allemand, mais cette vidéo-ci de vous m'a donné envie d'apprendre le Norvégien par la suite. Merci de votre générosité, authenticité et accessibilité. ENGLISH: I am really surprised by your quality of pronunciation in English because the vast majority of French people who speak English have a very strong native accent and therefore very easy to recognize. Actually, at first, I thought you were from Quebec (I live in Quebec) because here, being constantly inundated in an English-speaking world in America, our pronunciation of English is generally sharper by default, as a sort of demonstration that we are able to speak in English with as little accent as possible - hee hee! I see that you have great respect for the languages you learn, which is admirable. By the way, I'm currently learning German, but this video from you made me want to learn Norwegian later. Thank you for your generosity, authenticity and accessibility.

I think this is the first comment I've ever left on a KZfaq video, but when you mentioned how you enjoy hearing people speak Norwegian and that it feels like home, that resonated with me in a way not many other things have (albeit for a different language). It feels like that's the language you should be speaking, and I have exactly the same goals as you in my learning process. I also think it's hard for people who don't care about learning languages to understand how it drives us. Thanks for articulating your motivation in a way I couldn't until now!

Honest tips. No marketing. No click bait. I love it. I learned English pretty much the same way. Now, I'm thinking of learning French

Girl, this is probably the best and most effective tutorial on how to learn any language! So many valuable tips! Thanks for this video and I truly adore your determination! I also have been a huge fan of Norwegian language, culture and the whole lifestyle of people overall. But since, now in uni I study Spanish (sadly Norwegian was not on the list), I gotta focus on Spanish and hopefully, when I learn it on a decent level, I jump on learning Norwegian)

I got crazy goosebumps in the beginning, I felt so calm and relaxed listening to you explain your reason to why. I've always found norwegian quite nice to listen to. "Jeg ville bli en del av Norge och att Norge skulle bli en del av meg" was so beautiful :)

The method is called "acquiring a language".

This is so inspirational!!! I’ve been working on my Spanish and Japanese for years. (Native English and Vietnamese ) . It wasn’t until I traveled to Japan recently that I saw my shortcomings but improved so much when I just did so much input and accepted the language that way that it is without overthinking it. Thank you for this video . I’m going to use this as the backbone to really boost my proficiency !

This is so helpful, I really love how creative these methods are! I'm inspired :) Thank you!

Je voulais sincerement te remercier. J’ai regardé ta video il y a quelques mois et ça a eu l’effet d’un declic sur moi. J’ai trouve ton approche de l’apprentissage du Norvégien très logique! Apprendre comme un enfant, ça fait tellement sens. Ça fait des annees que j’ai une profonde envie d’apprendre des langues mais je ne me lançais pas. Et grace a toi je me suis lancé. J’apprends le turc et l’italien depuis deux mois et je fais pas mal de progrès et je suis motivé. En tout cas bravo pour ton parcours!

Thank you!!! Really, this motivated me so much and I have felt sad for a while about not being able to pick back up a language I had been learning whilst in school. But your video just excited & encouraged me so much. I have already started to immerse myself more in my target language. 💛💛

You have such a sweet comforting vibe and a very positive language learning mindset. Thank you for that❤️

This is the best language learning video I have watched! I’m learning French this way and it almost feels effortless compared to the traditional language learning I’ve done before. You’re great!

1) What is your motivation to learn (in my case) French and Portuguese? 2) Make a plan that reflects your motivation. a) Learn like a child b) Listen a lot to podcasts in 🇫🇷/🇵🇹 c) Children don't learn a language by doing Grammar exercises in the beginning. d. Listen to the same book over and over again. e. Listen/Read an excerpt and learn the content (eg. Vocabulary, grammar, conjugation, and pronounciation) then apply it. f. Make a list of often used/useful words. g. When reading/watching something, if you find that word, write down the sentence on paper. Add to a list. h. To learn a word, find it in context then write it on another piece of paper. Read once a day. (Write how you would read it in English and show where the accent is). i. Write daily journal. Use translator if needed. No shame. j. Change method eventually to writing first in target language, then translating it and comparing it with the correct translation. k. Buy books: my goal is to read this book one day and be able to understand everything. l. Listen to an audio book x1 then listen to it again with a text. m. Series and movies: watch a scene 2-5 minutes, then copy the sentences. Add to list of sentences. n. With your vocab lists: write stories, get them corrected and also ask that person to also record a message reading your story. o. Learn your stories and sentences by heart. p. Speak to YOURSELF. Imagine you are the best at speaking the language you are learning. q. Find photos with a lot going on. Describe what you see and make a story about it. r. You will get better!! Persevere xx

Thank you so much for sharing this video! The points that you covered in this video, can absolutely be applied towards learning any language. As someone who has been on/off with their language learning journey, this really gave the genuine motivation to get back into it :)

Considering how English and Norwegian are not her native languages, she does an incredible job with both Norwegian and English. If we had to speak perfectly to be accepted, the vast majority of us would never open our mouths. Well done!

This is the most important, definitive, explanatory video about learning a language that I have ever seen. Your work is truly appreciated. Thank you!

You have no idea how many times I've watched this video, it changed the way I see languages sooooo much. Ty

This is the BEST language learning video I have ever seen. Thank you from the bottom of my heart

This video had honestly some of the best ideas, i cant wait to try them out! It just makes so much sense to learn a new language how a child with that native language does! Thank you for this video, you've single-handedly increased my motivation even more than before!

Thank you for all the great tips, Ilys! I will definitely try to improve my learning skills with them ♡⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

All I can say is..This video is the best video I've ever seen of learning languages, I loved how determined you were to learn the language like a native speaker.The video is really motivating and you explained everything, no more distraction. Thank you ❤️

I'm a russian guy and i learn English and Norwegian languages. Good luck everyone

This is amazing. I've been learning Icelandic on my own using methods that are in some ways similar, but there are so many insightful ideas here that never occurred to me to try, and I can't wait to put them to use. Thank you, Ilys!

Your video was super helpful and inspiring! I have more ideas for things to try with my language learning, as well as that of my students. 😊 It's like I was in a nice little workshop! Thank you for taking the time to share in such detail!

A year and a half ago I started my way of mastering English. And you know what? My method of learning it was (and is) almost the same as yours in Norwegian. Now I need to learn Norwegian. I'm so happy to find out that different people come up with the "child" method separately, and that it actually works. The only differences that we have is that I don't like watching movies, but I am a music nerd. So I listened a lot to one single song for a few days, and that's how I get vocabulary and pronunciation. Also I want to add one magic thing. Learning something (for example history or math) in foreign language when you stack somewhere at A2 language level helps to sift your attention from language learning to understanding the subject. Firstly it is very difficult but keep going, and you will see how from "hmm I am learning a new language" to "oh wow, now I could add it to my list of native languages" just in half of the year. (Ppl I know that I may make mistakes that native would never do, but if I can live my life by using only this language and do not feel limited I wold count such as my new native :) )

what i really like is your focus on creating stories that you memorize l. and your fierce determination to mimic how children learn so naturally. gerald lesser, one of the brains behind sesame street (my professor in grad school) would definitely approve. nice going elys!

I've watched this video many times!!! Thanks, I think these are the best tips I've ever heard!

Phenomenal video. I've never seen language learning covered quite like this. Found out about you from Days and Words, too. Keep up the great work!

I am very impressed with you. You know yourself so well and are very insightful. The motivation and bravery you have shown is stunning. On top of that, you have the maturity above your years. I am glad you are living the life you want. This video is helpful and motivating. Luke Raneri over at polymathy just had a video describing much of what you have done here. Thanks for sharing

even me as a swede could understand your Norwegian.

I continue to come back to this video many times in my language learning journey. So much practical gold here for independent learners. Thank you❤

This is superb, so plain, straightforward, and inspiring. Thank you so much for this. Found it from Days & Words as well. Subscribed now.

Your video really motivated me to pick up my Swedish learning properly again! I've been learning for about 1,5 years now, mostly through duolingo. When I was in Sweden in 2022 I bought a book as well, one that I had read in my own language already so that I would understand the story, and I just started reading it. For me it really helped to write the translation above the word/part that I didn't understand yet. I also watched some series in Swedish, and it helps a lot to get a feel for the language! You gave some good tips that I'm definitely going to try! Thanks!

Wow this video was so good. I love how you "romanticized" the process, basically saying stuff like "i love getting lost in the words" or how you wanted norwegian to "become a part of you", that was really touching to watch. Im not particularly interested in norwegian but i come from the daysandwords video and ill probably apply some of the tips to the ones i'm actually learning.

Days and Words recommended your video and now I see why. Your advice is so great and inspires me to modify what I've been doing. Thanks.

Loved this video - so pragmatic in advice and so inspiring!! Thank you 🙏

You're doing great! I'm a Norwegian teacher so feel free to reach out if you need any help and I can give you some tips and advice! Happy learning!

I’ve only been learning languages organically without the textbook work and flooding my ears with audio of the languages I’m learning. It’s always worked for me, but always felt that I’m not learning ‘quite in the right way’ since the language learning sphere is worlds away from my methods.. but listening to your way of learning was such a reassuring and confidence boosting video in following all the curious moments you find about the language you want to sound like a native in, and just run with the immersion in those moments :D

Thank you for the video! You are such an inspiring person ☺ Waiting for more videos about Norwegian and Norway

This video helped me a lot with learning, and was very good at conveying the information in a digestible manor, I loved hearing how you described things and it was exciting to follow these methods, Thank you so much!

Lemont (Days & words) really didn’t overestimated this video. This is the best video on language learning I’ve seen in a long time. It made me think about my language journey and how I want to move on - even questioning my journey itself. This video made me think for days now. Honestly, thank you for this great video, Ilys! ❤

Du er utrolig dyktig, og vi nordmenn er heldige som har fått deg som en del av befolkningen! Jeg håper du får et skikkelig godt liv her i Norge, og at alle behandler deg bra ❤

I'm not preparing to learn Norwegian, but YT put this video in front of me and sounded interesting.. very glad I clicked. You've covered a great many excellent tips for learning many things, not just a language. This is fantastic info, thank you. I'm sure I'll use many of these tips for various things.

This is a really top class video honestly. Very comprehensive and some great ideas. I’ve saved it with my Norwegian notes and subscribed

All that self doubt at the beginning and a polyglot called it the best language learning video ever made

Absolutely fine to use translator apps. DeepL I think is a little bit more natural than google translate but you can also compare translator results for phrases. They’re also even better once you’re intermediate in language learning because you can spot mistakes.

You have boiled down the essences of language learning. You have delivered the essences in a genuine sincere way that's relatable. Keep this formula for your future videos and your channel will be successful. Keep on learning to keep the brain sharp and may You have many blessings:)

Congratulation! for me it was one of the best pieces of language learning content I've seen.

Pretty good advice! I've started norwegian recently, but the method you described is very similar to what I did with Italian. Increasing exposure without focusing on grammar at the beginning is a good way to develop a more "natural" feel to the language, and afterwards, when it's necessary, you can reach the next level with grammar more easily and much more motivated. This is way better than what you would do in most language school systems.

J’ai déménagé en Norvège il y a quelques mois, je galère encore pas mal mais rien que le fait de regarder mes films favoris avec les sous titres norvégiens ça m’a vachement aidé ! Merci pour ta vidéo d’ailleurs, elle m’est très utile 😊

I love that you basically figured out the Krashen method on your own and then added your own twist and proved how effective it can be. Fantastic job, you're an inspiration!

Tusen takk for making this video! I started to learn Norwegian because of Skam which made me fall in love with the language and now I'm studying it on Duolingo because for me it's an easier beginning to get myself introduced into the language, but after finishing the course on the app, I intend to study it further. I'm glad you made this video because I feel that there's too few content about Norwegian on KZfaq compared to other languages and I'll definitely apply all of your tips to my learning journey ❤

Du snakker med en imponerende god uttale! Nesten umulig å høre at du ikke er født og oppvokst her! I'm so impressed! Thanks for sharing these tips, perfect to learn other languages as well! You're an inspiration! Greetings from Norway! 😊

I am definitely going to try this! I love your approach and I think it really suits my learning style as well. We also have a very similar motivation. I am Greek and I have the exact same feelings about France. I have taught myself for quite some years now but not consistently. Now next week I am moving to Bordeaux and finally committing to it! I am so happy I found this video. I hope I will get to speak french with an amazing accent soon!

Wow this was super helpful. I have been learning Spanish on and off for 3 years and this really helps me find more motivation and try different techniques ❤ thank you

This is so helpful! I am learning Swedish for reasons similar to why you learned Norska and this is very very very good information! Thanks for making this!

I’m impressed. But, more importantly, your explanations are very helpful. I gave up on Norwegian after learning a few simple things. I’m now inspired to attempt Norwegian again. Thank you.

Ive seen this happen before too, it’s so sweet. Your English has a Norwegian twang on it. 😀 and yeah interesting how languages adapt. Your Norwegian is super impressive btw! That’s some dedication and disipline to get to that level in such a short time😊

This was such a cozy video, your love for norwegian really shows, also while you put in more effort than I did the way I learned english was not that different.

Thanks Ilys, you're a big inspiration! I'll follow your tips, it's been 2 weeks that I started learning Norwegian and I'm doing great with your advice. Thank you, thank you, thank you!🙏

This has definitely been my experience with Spanish and Korean. I did study Spanish in school but it didn’t become good until I decided I wanted to study abroad in a Spanish speaking country. With Korean I listened to a lot of K-pop and after moving to Korea that’s when I became motivated to study it. I actually applied a lot of similar techniques to the ones you mentioned to Korean and it helped a lot

Ilya, I too was watching ‘Days and Words’ video that he made featuring this video that you made. I agree with him that you really made a gem that will be beneficial to anyone learning any other language. What sets your video apart from most others is your on-camera presence. You communicate naturally and expressively. It’s riveting. You have what method actors spend years trying to perfect. Are you ready for a dramatic role in Norwegian?

This video helped me a lot! I feel so inspired ❤❤ Tusen takk Ilys 🤗🤗

Thank you for sharing this video. I'm 61 and hoping to learn Spanish before I retire in Central or South America. So many good tips you shared. Here's to the journey!

As a 18 year-old Frenchman who's been learning Finnish pretty intensively for over two years (after a first failed attempt at Russian), I find this video both very relatable and very motivating. I also chose a method focusing heavily on input, and I'm very satisfied with my level, although I'm still far from native-like. I can understand most TV shows and KZfaq videos, especially with Finnish subtitles, and my speaking skills have improved since I moved to study in Finland 3 months ago. However I still struggle especially with reading, which easily gets very arduous. So it's good to know that someone who's several years ahead of me has reached such a high level. Congrats!

Thank you!!! I can’t wait to try your advice! If anyone is curious these are some small things I found helpful learning french. - As soon as I could I stopped using english translations to learn new words and I began using a normal french dictionary. This meant I learnt my french vocabulary in a french context. Sometimes I had to look up multiple other words to understand the definition of the word I was originally trying to learn, but this helped me learn more words than I would have otherwise and it got rid of the difficulties that happen when a word doesn’t translate exactly. It also really helped my confidence! - Music was helpful for intuitively learning the rhythm of the language - As a beginner I started using french words when talking to myself in english, and then transitioned to occasionally using english words while speaking french. When I spoke or wrote if I didn’t know a word I would either try to define it in french or just fill in the word with english. Then I would look up the words I didn’t know later! This made mistakes less scary and let me practice other aspects of the language without interruption or frustration. One of my friends and I had conversations like this all the time as beginners :) - learning vocables, words that aren’t really words like um or ouch, is much more important than I expected! - you can do a lot of things to immerse yourself more like change your phones language or download the keyboard in the language you’re learning. I swear those little things add up!

Great advice! I’m glad Days and Words recommended your video. I will definitely be sharing your insights with my English and Portuguese students!

Came here because the guy from Days and Words highly recommended your video. And indeed your fluency is remarkable. Even more impressive is your documenting your process and sharing it 😊

One of the ways I learned English was by watching movies, TV shows, KZfaq videos that were in English (I also played video games that were in English), and over time I learned from that. Also over the past few years I learned even more by just being on the internet, writing and talking to people, and that way my Norwenglish (Norwegian-English accent) has almost disappeared. The best way to learn is learning by doing, and observing.

Man må høre godt etter for å høre at du ikke har norsk som morsmål. Noen få ord har trykket på feil sted, det er alt. Så utrolig bra!

Great video and has given me motivation to keep up with my language learning struggles! One other effective repetition method I've found is learning songs - they have their own rhythm which helps with pronunciation and accent, they often repeat words over and over and once you learn them by heart, you feel like you can really let the language flow and pretend like your the best (in my case French) speaker in the world!

This is really good language learning advice and keeps me motivated on my learning journey. I think the main point is motivation and doing what feels right. I was going the traditional classroom learning path for a while and was thinking "when will I be able to enjoy native material". I never felt ready until I finally started immersing in the language. I had to accept that it is OK to not understand everything and it is OK to make mistakes here and there. When I look back I can clearly see the improvement. One tip that I find really interesting is the one about the journal and the speaking aloud (forming own sentences or shadowing), so far I haven't been doing much output myself and this is a way to practice this by myself. Thank you very much for making this video and congratulations on your success in chasing your dreams.

Woah, you speak Norwegian incredibly well. Greetings from Oslo :)

Hej I learn some Norwegian because it's the easiest Nordic Language to learn, everyone says, and I already seem to understand a good percentage as a C2 English and B1 German speaker. However, I wanted to share my story, with regards to how I feel the same passion about Estonian. I was born in Portugal but I felt for a long time I wanted to live in the North of Europe. When the opportunity to go to Tallinn came up, I seized it. Since then, I've been practicing Estonian and getting involved with the culture. It's a great feeling!

Thank you for this story, wonderful motivation. I love the being lost in the language part too.

Impressive, Irys! A living example to anyone who says they cannot learn a language on their own. YES YOU CAN! if you're motivated enough and you are ready to do the work! Thank you, Irys, for sharing this with all of us, you're amazing! This is gold! ;-)

I'm learning French and this is all VERY helpful. I'm already rethinking my approach and trying some of your ideas and I can see straight away that a lot of your ideas will definitely speed up my learning. I love the idea of teaching yourself and working out your own language learning approach rather than following someones course, having lessons or using apps. Thanks so much!