Who Is Olly Richards? My Life, Language & Teaching Background

Рет қаралды 48,076

Күн бұрын

A lot of new subscribers have been asking if there is a video about my background, how I learned 8 languages, and why I started teaching languages. The short answer? No. So I decided to make one!
In this video, I share:
🎹 How foreign languages eventually overtook my first love (music).
💔 How a breakup led me to learn French in Paris.
💃🏾 How a love of Salsa and Bossa Nova music pulled me to Brazil and Argentina.
🇯🇵 How I ended up in Japan and fell in love with language teaching.
🇶🇦 What brought me to Qatar and then Egypt 🇪🇬.
✍🏼 Why I started my blog (I Will Teach You a Language) and how it evolved.
📖 What I am currently up to in my business (recently rebranded as StoryLearning®).
⬇️ GET MY FREE STORYLEARNING® KIT:
Discover how to learn any foreign language faster through the power of story with my free StoryLearning® Kit 👉🏼 bit.ly/freeslkit_mystory
📚 RESOURCES MENTIONED
My short story books:
iwillteachyoualanguage.com/books
My story-based language courses:
iwillteachyoualanguage.com/la...
📺 WATCH NEXT:
How to learn a new language with stories
• How To Learn a New Lan...
The RIGHT Way to Learn Vocabulary From Stories
• The RIGHT Way to Learn...
The RIGHT way to learn grammar with stories
• The RIGHT Way to Learn...
11 Things Only Polyglots Will Understand
• 11 Things Only Polyglo...
❓ASK ME A QUESTION:
iwillteachyoualanguage.com/ask
⏱ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Intro
01:25 - Basic Bio & Music Background (Cambridge & London)
02:54 - Running Off to France
03:43 - Back to Uni, Then Off to Brazil & Argentina
05:10 - Pro Musician to Pro Language Teacher
06:15 - Learning to Teach (Japan)
08:28 - Marrying Experience, Theory & Practical Application
10:42 - Professional Adventures in Qatar & Egypt
12:10 - Blogging Overtakes My Day Job
12:42 - Birth of my Short Story Books
16:50 - The StoryLearning Method
17:38 - Adventures in Cantonese, Arabic, Thai, Italian, German, Korean, and beyond
18:29 - Learning Languages → Helping Others

Пікірлер: 309

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Want more language learning tips? More about my StoryLearning method? Exclusive discounts on new courses? Join my free email newsletter! 👉🏼 iwillteachyoualanguage.com/tips

@demiposeidon 2 жыл бұрын

@antonboludo8886 11 ай бұрын

Learning a new language is actually learning a new way of thinking.

@SenorJuan2023 10 ай бұрын

Olly, It's obvious you're a very bright guy, so I'm curious as to what your parents do/did for a living. Do you have any siblings doing anything interesting?

@keithwagner2300 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Olly - you are actually quite the opposite of annoying and I really enjoy your videos! Compared to some other youtube polyglots who show off language skills like circus tricks, you approach polyglossia with humility and that is so refreshing. Thanks, merci, grazie, and mulțumesc!

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Lovely comment, thanks Keith!

@KNg-pt8wf 2 жыл бұрын

I concur with this comment wholeheartedly. As a learner of more than one language, I can relate to Olly’s experience completely.

@danielbenavi7197 4 ай бұрын

What value is there in learning languages a part of showing theme off

@faedollin5421 2 жыл бұрын

It makes me feel very happy that you’re British like me. And you look waaaay younger than 40

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Aww thank you

@joedwyer3297 2 жыл бұрын

Youre the first of the polyglots i saw who really got me motivated to learn my chosen language, youre very honest, you dont hide your shortcomings, and you give good advice which ive been trying to follow. Thanks Olly, this was an interesting video too

@joedwyer3297 2 жыл бұрын

Haha plus you look early thirties at the oldest so youre doing well😂

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

I really appreciate that Joe!

@MrAcousticScreams 2 жыл бұрын

Teachers should also be learners. I couldn't agree more. Learning Spanish, I always prefered nonnative speaking teachers because it seemed that they understood questions better for having suffered the same hardships. Whereas the intuition of native speakers seemed to be a barrier to understanding the hard parts of their language.

@kirannegi1994 2 жыл бұрын

I am interested english

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

If you ever want bad language learning advice, just ask a monolingual native speaker for tips on learning their language!

@mandiepitre8063 2 жыл бұрын

It just helps so much when the teacher speaks another language! I tutor two Korean teens in English (grammar, reading, and pronunciation mostly), and because I am also learning Korean, I am able to say compare English grammar with Korean grammar. For example, with teaching possessives, I'll say "You know how in Korean you add "의" to say something belongs to someone? In English, you add " 's " for single things or " s' " for more than one", etc. It helps so much, because I have a way to help them understand that makes sense to them - and they also feel better about learning because my Korean is much worse than their English!

@eeeee323 2 жыл бұрын

Pfff I totally agree with you!! A veces como nativos no tenemos ni idea de cómo se llamen los tiempos verbales en nuestro propio idioma. Tuve un amigo con el que charlaba en inglés (el es de EU) y una vez le pregunté ¿por qué va esto con ing y no con x cosa? y le extrañó mucho la pregunta, simplemente me dijo que no podía explicarlo. Y ahora me pasa lo mismo con personas que me preguntan sobre mi idioma. No tengo más que ser honesta con ellos y decirles, no lo sé, la verdad no puedo ayudarte con eso. Y les recomiendo que busquen a un profesor profesional. SO SAD. Anyway :) tal vez el próximo año me certifique para enseñar correctamente. Pero sí, concuerdo contigo, MrAcousticScreams. Es cierto.

@eeeee323 2 жыл бұрын

@@storylearning pfff that's true

@babros1229 Жыл бұрын

Hey Olly. I've been learning languages for 10 years now. I guess most people will say I'm a language nerd and right now I'm trying to figure out what to do with my life. You kinda inspired me to build my own brand and try to make it my full-time job. I've been watching your and Steve Kaufmann's videos and you guys really helped me skyrocket my ability to learn languages... I mean now I know what I have to do in order to learn a language from scratch to a high level and I just do it. Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it

@nendoakuma7451 2 жыл бұрын

Totally agree that English teachers should also be language learners, and have experience outside of the classroom at at least the high intermediate level, but sadly they’re generally not really paid too much and often they’re even volunteers (in the United States). It says a lot that the requirements for teaching English to native speakers who already know the language are much more stringent than for those who don’t know anything at all. Ive really enjoyed watching your language learning empire grow since the early days.

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for all your support over the years!

@hotrodjones74 2 жыл бұрын

My teaching experience was similar to yours, but in Moscow. I was fluent in Russian and Spanish when I started. By the end I was also conversational in French and Portuguese as well. I found my teaching method to be slightly different from the other teachers. I had my own way for implementing ESL teaching practices.

@analuizahenriques1703 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Olly! I'm Brazilian and I've learned english since when I was 10 or so. Lately, I started learning Italian and French, you really inspire me to keep studying languages. (I really wanted to read your books, but they are hard to find here and quite expensive, so I can't afford them 😭)

@LisaMarie-eh7up 2 жыл бұрын

Very interesting! This is the first time I’ve found someone like me; interested in languages AND music. I speak 4 languages and play 4 instruments. But really, music is just another language, isn’t it. Thanks for sharing this.

@sahinoudiengo816 2 жыл бұрын

Truly

@frigginjerk 2 жыл бұрын

I'm the same way. Can't claim that I'm the greatest at any foreign language or instrument, but I'm quite a dabbler and I want to learn all of them.

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

It’s great to find kindred spirits isn’t it?

@hotrodjones74 2 жыл бұрын

They're very related. I love foreign rock, especially underground Russian rock music. 🇷🇺🎸

@Learninglotsoflanguages 2 жыл бұрын

I 100% agree. The best teachers have learned and/or are learning another language. Ideally, learning what your learners know. It builds respect and shows students that you care, you learn things about their native language that can help with teaching. And connecting outside of class in someone's native language. I think your next video should be about where you found the fountain of youth because 40? No way! Lol. Great video :)

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Haha… maybe it’s in the Devon water?

@ibrahimali9564 2 жыл бұрын

I notice that your channel is growing fast these days. That's amazing! I hope you hit 100,000 subscribers very soon 💪

@valeriagalvan8362 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for everything you Share!! Your work is really usefull

@BensonWallace Жыл бұрын

Interesting video Olly. It felt very genuine, like I was having coffee with you and listening to your "backstory". I have even more respect for you now that I know you are a jazz musician! I'm about two years older than you and have been on your list for a while (I found you via Benny Lewis). I'm fluent in spoken Mandarin and can type what I speak, but still struggle with reading real Chinese media (that's been a lifelong journey since I was a teenager). Like you, I taught myself Spanish "the hard way" in my 20s (through a combination of traditional language learning methods and travel, including a health scare of my own in Argentina!) and also dabbled in the TEFL thing for a while (in China rather than Japan). Unlike you, I never made the leap to that elusive 3rd fluent language (have dabbled in Thai, Portuguese, Italian and Vietnamese over the last 10 years, but just haven't found the time or motivation to go beyond "travel survival" level) and I neglected my blogging during the 2010s while I focused on my career in STEM teaching (International Baccalaureate Maths and Physics - I studied engineering at university). Anyway, just wanted to say I'm finding your "topics that matter" series in simple Spanish really useful for reactivating my Spanish at the moment - any plans to expand the series into simplified Chinese? Also, there was one gap in your history that didn't appear in the video - how and when did you learn Cantonese?

@mandiepitre8063 2 жыл бұрын

Great video! Thanks for sharing your background with us - I always find it fascinating!

@sashaamethyst2174 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for posting this video sir. It is very helpful and refreshing!

@Anton-se3po 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing, very inspiring testimony

@ibrahimali9564 2 жыл бұрын

Awesome video, Olly! Thanks so much for sharing your background with us ❤️

@ManessDC 2 жыл бұрын

Given that almost all reporting on my church is full of errors, I was surprised by the accuracy of your video on the Missionary Training Center. You hit that nail right on the head. That showed me that you are a cut above, so I had to subscribe. I hope you get the chance to visit the MTC someday. Don't be shy to ask.

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

I appreciate that, thank you. I would absolutely love to visit the MTC, but I wonder if they would welcome me as a nonbeliever?

@BecciBuck 2 жыл бұрын

@@storylearning I’m not trying to be a downer, but I just want you to know that if the MTC thing never happens, it’s not personal or even because you’re not a believer. The Church just really protects the spirit and focus of these training centers. They’re not really public-facing campuses. Even members of the Church aren’t allowed to just stroll through there. They do take volunteers for those role-play discussions you and Derek mentioned in your video, but even there, they have some pretty strict requirements. We view the MTC as a sacred place with a very focused purpose. Before seeing Jonny’s comment, I would have assumed outside tours would detract from that a bit and not be allowed. I’d never heard of them giving tours at all.

@BecciBuck 2 жыл бұрын

@@storylearning and I’m assuming you’ve seen this video. (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jZZdY9GfzqneZp8.html) I recognized some of the clips as ones you’ve used. But as someone who’s been to the MTC as a missionary, this is a pretty good tour. I don’t honestly know if an in-person tour would give much more, except to feel the spirit and energy of the place, which is palpable. But I doubt, if they give tours, that it involves sitting in on any classes.

@mellowasahorse 2 жыл бұрын

You're on fire at the moment. Very interesting video too! All the best for you and your team!

@leonorah3740 2 жыл бұрын

You look 27 actually 😆😆 Thanks for the video, you answered questions I had about your experience. I discovered your channel recently and I'm so impressed by the content you make and the ideas you provide, I'm going to live in Turkey the next month, and I began learning Turkish, and I'm impressed by the idea of learning languages by story, I'll surely follow it for studying Turkish

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Best of luck with your move!

@desireeo7635 2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely love this video!! Being a learner myself has definitely helped me to teach English better

@jackolantern7342 2 жыл бұрын

I really enjoyed watching your language learning bio. It's always inspiring to see someone discover the passion and develop it further!

@keepperspective 2 жыл бұрын

So I am ravenously consuming your videos, love the quality of these videos and content but even more, love your uplifting attitude! The humility, positivity and genuine admiration you bring is so encouraging.

@rafalopes575 2 жыл бұрын

You’re amazing Olly! Superb journey, congrats

@SpanishWithNate. 2 жыл бұрын

Awesome video Olly! Really enjoyed learning more about you

@jalexsilva8162 2 жыл бұрын

I love your channel Nate

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed!

@Ronlawhouston 2 жыл бұрын

You have quite an interesting journey. I do think being a musician sort of primes the brain for languages. Now I am waiting for a video to hear you play.

@GeoffreyABruce 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Olly! I just retired from a career as a gigging drummer (mainly jazz) in Toronto, but found languages through my passion for Latin music. The transition is hard when all your friends are musicians, and I really appreciate you sharing that experience. Definitely made me feel less alone!

@TheBasketballFanatic Жыл бұрын

Very new to your channel but I started learning Spanish and the algorithm did a good thing and brought me here. Really love your videos, Olly. I can tell that you have a lot of passion about languages and language learning in general; your expertise really shines through as well and I think all of us learners are better off because of it.

@jf5336 2 жыл бұрын

Just found you. You are going to help me learn French...to start. I am so looking forward to this. Your story resonates.

@double5bbq 2 жыл бұрын

I have been learning Spanish for about 26 years now. I am comfortable in most conversations etc. It’s interesting when I watch this video because I was self-taught through text books, music, and reading. I’ll never forget being in Puerto Rico and picking up a readers digest when I was in the Navy. It took me about a year to get through it but I know exactly what you mean when you talk about learning through reading. It extended my vocabulary and when I learned about idioms and idiomatic phrases, the world opened up to me. I do believe that reading and listening to music has been two of the greatest tools in my toolbox. Anyway, I love your videos and thanks for your passion about language.

@brendan1529 2 жыл бұрын

Great content, enjoyed this video, you are knowledgeable in your field with a sound theoretical background

@coolpersonwithcake98 2 жыл бұрын

I'm a polyglot with a CertTesol qualification and I am so inspired by your story! I hope I can follow in your footsteps one day

@christiandimaria3420 2 жыл бұрын

I've been following you for a couple of years, glad to see your channel is starting to get more attention. I've really liked the interviews and method breakdowns that you've been doing recently. Keep up the great work!

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much!

@beneu95 Жыл бұрын

I just ordered Short Stories in French for beginners. Thank you for the useful video talking about how you evolved into this great author.

@genemw 2 жыл бұрын

Hey Olly, I just wanted to give a quick thanks. I am also a jazz pianist, soon on my way to study at a music conservatory, and I recently got interested in Brazil through its music as well. I am attempting to learn Portuguese now, started by learning only through music and lyrics. When I watched your video on Brazil, and you mentioned your interest in samba, bossa nova, and studying piano, I suspected you must be a jazz musician. It made me feel good to see such similarities in myself. 🤝 Your channel is an inspiration! Thanks for making these videos!!!

@billr6887 Жыл бұрын

A simply delightful video and an excellent example of how one’s pathway in life is slowly revealed. I enjoy and learn from all your videos. Coincidentally, referring to one of your other videos, my interest in Portuguese and Brazil was sparked by Brazilian music I heard when I was a teenager.

@CarolWalker 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing. I'm a new subscriber and I just wonder who you are. So today I found this video. 🌟 awesome! I'm very lucky! 😘😘😘😘

@lukehammond2924 2 жыл бұрын

I’ve been learning Spanish off and on now for two years, with traditional methods and was making decentish progress, but not as much as I would like. I found your channel about two weeks ago and have found it sound motivating and brought a brand new energy to my learning. The story learning method has already allowed me to grow my confidence in Spanish and feel like my knowledge is expanding. I’m currently reading your Spanish book and really enjoying it. Having dyslexia too reading can be a struggle, but with the goal in mind of learning and expanding my vocabulary and Spanish knowledge, the reading is very enjoyable. Thanks Olly for the motivation and great videos 👍

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for your comment

@victoryinhim9689 2 жыл бұрын

You have such a soothing gentle voice.

@Alex-jb2vb 2 жыл бұрын

Love your work Olly, big fan of your books and vids. Keen to get involved with a story learning course in the near future. Keep up the good work!

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Cheers Alex!

@Sonja25997 2 жыл бұрын

I really enjoyed getting to know more about you and how your life changed over the years! I have found that it is so much better to have a teacher who learned a second or third language themselves as well. It makes them so much more aware of the struggles and hardships one faces during that process. Also thanks to your approach to learning I have started to pick up French again. I was so glad to never deal with that language ever again after stopping lessons in my final years of school, but I was sad as well because I love how the language sounds, I just disliked learning it. So I decided to give it a shot again with your method, and I already enjoy it a lot more than I did before. So thank you for that. Also, I love that schools here in Germany make you learn different languages. We have to learn English and if you plan to do your A-Levels you'll have to learn a third language for a few years as well, which is very unfortunate for those who don't enjoy learning languages. I'd just love to see more language options in schools. Not everyone is interested in the same 3 or 4 languages.

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your story

@kendale1707 2 жыл бұрын

Very nice and interesting video; always good to know the background and experiences of presentors on this modern media - this from a 76 year old who learned to speak Spanish from AM radio in the 1950's.

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

i’m very pleased that so many people have appreciated the video, so thank you for your comment!

@luizamorim1626 2 жыл бұрын

Congratulations on your success. This video is really interesting for I was beginning to be curious about your life-story. I was flabbergasted to know you started as a musician. I started learning English late (l migrated to New Jersey when I was 22 years old). I'm a slow learner... My English would never "advance" properly...until l started reading frequently (when l was 34 y.o.). I never knew I would get out of that trap through reading. It took some years but I finally saw the results. I once heard that musical people had a better chance to master a foreign language than otherwise. Your case just proves it's true.

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

I also know many fantastic language learners who don’t have a musical bone in their body, so I’m not convinced that music plays a major role… But I do like to think that it does! :-)

@jhonvictordeporto9544 2 жыл бұрын

Hey !!! Olly my name is Jhon I'm Brazilian, I am so glad because I made a lot mistakes in learning English, But when I watch your KZfaq channel I feels good and motivated in this journey to learn languages . muito obrigado amigo!!

@carolwhittam3377 2 жыл бұрын

Retired English teacher here Olly! Love your natural unassuming tone explaining your background…I suspect that your long and complex experience in and understanding of music was the key! Surprised that you were a late starter. I discovered that I am a creative learner and started initially by discovering that I could read in Spanish (having ‘o’ level French and a bit of Latin / picking up some Duo lingo and Fluencia games before I went to Spain…and thereafter starting reading Spanish from a charity shop novel) Anyway, although I don’t speak, I thoroughly enjoy reading Spanish novels and later I had ideas for writing poetry in Spanish, learning along the way. In conclusion, after having written 42 poems in Spanish and reading about 15 novels, I would like to express my agreement with your idea of extensive learning and how shocked I was to find that language teachers I know don’t read in their chosen language. The stories are very important and keep the reader engaged so that learning just happens. My knowledge isn’t embedded but I am great with recognition. I really ought to start speaking but my Lancashire accent is one thing that inhibits me…plus I need to travel to use it. I am going to use your 101 conversations, having just read it yesterday afternoon, like a PLAYSCRIPT with a neighbour who learns intensively. I am going to suggest it ! Thanks again. I think you are right. More people need to try it….so I think playscripts would be a great idea. I read ‘La Casa de Bernarda Alba ‘ if I remember the title correctly…although that was quite difficult. I will look at more of your online stuff ¡ Gracias! Carol

@BrandynMakes Жыл бұрын

Olly your Spanish beginner books have seriously improved my speaking and listening. I imagine I feel how you felt in Argentina. Thank you so much and I will be reading anything you write for Spanish and hopefully when I reach a point of decent fluency, another language and books to accompany them will come 😊

@francoking3641 2 жыл бұрын

I definitely subscribe to the idea of there being a linkage between having a 'musical ear', and having a 'linguistic ear'. To my mind, indulging these respective 'ears' delivers enormous satisfaction to those that happen to own those same ears.

@LucyBurnsScotland Жыл бұрын

When you said the CELTA was one of the best experiences of your life I felt very seen! I totally agree. I have had a similar story to you thus far, Olly. I am 22, I recently graduated from my MA in Spanish and Portuguese and I certainly have the "language bug", as you called it. I have lived in Brazil, Spain and Portugal and now I am craving going somewhere completely new. I just did my CELTA in October and now I am looking for a job as an ESL teacher. I totally agree with you that ESL teachers could benefit incredibly from learning a second language themselves. Despite not having experience of teaching professionally yet, I do feel that my experience learning languages is a great advantage moving into the ESL area. I currently feel a bit lost in life but your story very much inspires me and gives me hope for my own future.

@RonaldBradycptgmpy 2 жыл бұрын

Hey there, Olly! I’ve been watching your videos for a pretty long time and I’ve watched you refine your language learning philosophy and methodology. It’s been amazing to see how are you and what you do have grown into something unique and valuable. I’ve always wondered what your language learning background was, so thanks a bunch for making this video! I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person who wishes there was a graded reader for every conceivable language made by Olly Richards. I recently bought your Spanish short stories book to tuneup language I haven’t used in quite a while, and I also grabbed one for Italian down the road. And I have to say, they really are great! Now if only I could find one for Hawaiian… The struggle of being a heritage learner I suppose. Haha! Keep up the great work!

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Ronald, I really appreciate your comment and your support over the years!

@danielearaujo6985 2 жыл бұрын

Hello Olly! I'm glad the KZfaq algorithm showed me your channel. You have an interesting point of view in learning languages and your videos are very pleasing to watch. It's nice to know a little bit more about your background. I can't wait to see more of your work. Who knows, maybe someday you show some of that Latin music knowledge you mentioned :D Love from Brazil

@PuffPuff279 2 жыл бұрын

He has a cover of a Bossa Nova song on KZfaq. Here it is m.kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qbiVh6ajkr20qJc.html

@sadhbh4652 2 жыл бұрын

This was super interesting, Olly. I just finished the Arabic short stories a few weeks ago. It was a proud moment.

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Great job!

@charlespowell7138 2 жыл бұрын

I love all your language learning videos and materials. I may not comment all the time, but I'm definitely always watching and/or reading your stuff. Don't spend any time learning a language! Just keeping making language learning videos and material for others, ha,ha,ha!

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Haha thanks Charles!

@abelcolunga4961 2 жыл бұрын

I've been learning English for one year and I can understand everything you say without subtitles. Thanks for share your experience with languages. Cheers from Mexico.

@JK-vc7ie 2 жыл бұрын

I’m learning Spanish.

@standdbyme 2 жыл бұрын

Holy cow - I am really into Jazz as well. Considering my interests in Jazz and languages I guess we do share a lot in common!

@Fassislau 2 жыл бұрын

That's so interesting that you are also a musician! For me, I choose to focus my life on learning and studying music and becoming a professional musician and I left the language learning thing as a hobby/passion for me. Actually, for me it was also a necessity, the more languages I know, the more job opportunities I got and those are not easy to find as a musician! I enjoy also having (music) students of different countries, that allows me to practice languages with them while I´m working. I would love to see a video where you play some music! :D

@SaeSaeyoungyoung 2 жыл бұрын

This year i wanted to learn a new language, because last year i got to undertand what type of learning was better for me while i was learning french, and i got really good just by keeping myself in my style. But this year i've been in an awful time where i can't even get myself up for school, i kept speaking french as my principal language when i'm alone, but mostly just to express myself when i'm angry, sad or under pressure. And some days ago your video about the mormons got in my recommendation, and then i started binge watching your videos. They inspired me, you are inspiring me to get even better in english, french and now trying to learn italian. So thank you Olly, thank you for doing this videos

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for telling me your story! Keep it up!

@SaeSaeyoungyoung 2 жыл бұрын

@@storylearning thank you

@israelmaldonado8933 2 жыл бұрын

En serio eres una grande bro! Felicitaciones por tu canal y por todo el camino que has recorrido, me siento un identificado porque amo el lenguaje y aprender varios idiomas

@juanaltredo2974 2 жыл бұрын

can I respectfully made a couple of corrections? in parenthesis the mistakes, both parts should be removed, a genre mistake and an article that doesnt belong there: En serio eres un(a) grande bro! Felicitaciones por tu canal y por todo el camino que has recorrido, me siento (un) identificado porque amo el lenguaje y aprender varios idiomas

@israelmaldonado8933 2 жыл бұрын

@@juanaltredo2974 thank you very much the (una) word was a typo the other one is an honest mistake. Gracias por las observaciones.

@agrundy3392 2 жыл бұрын

awesome! thank you!!

@enriquesneffels3053 2 жыл бұрын

Olly, Thanks for the video. It was amazing.

@michaelrobinson2069 2 жыл бұрын

Olly, I’ve been following your sage advice since March 2015. I think you were in Egypt at the time. I’ve loved everything you have done to help us language learners. What I could never understand was when your subscribers totalled 31,000 to 33,000 for so long. I’m delighted that your list has now grown to nearly 86,000!! Huge congratulations to you, Dave Pinto and all your team. You all richly deserve your success.

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, and you know I appreciate you too! Regarding my KZfaq subscriber count, it’s purely self-inflicted. I resisted making the typical “polyglot speaks…” videos that generally get people subscribers. Now, I feel like I’ve finally found content that I want to make and that also gets views… so 1m here we come!!

@monicaconsigliereLavieenfleur 2 жыл бұрын

I just came across your channel yesterday, what an interesting life and personality you have. Well done, it is so rare to find this day. Kind of strange, I share the same interests: I like playing music and singing, learning languages , writing and I have been teaching italian to adults for 9 years, really without any academic experience, just with my learning background of English and French. I speak a bit of Spanish, too and just last year I was considering learning Getman, but I feel a bit intimidated by it. I do not know , I will see. I have concentrated my efforts on music a lot in the last 10 years and that is my main goal, to be able to play piano decently before I die, so maybe German will remain only an idea. Anyway well done again , I am a bit envious about your music skills to be honest 🤗❤

@tupisamba211 2 жыл бұрын

You're essentially me, if I had taken my personal, nomadic, polyglot journey, blog and writing career to the next level. Now that I know more of your story, I can live vicariously through you. Cheers

@readmycomment3157 2 жыл бұрын

Don't live as a dreamer, start doing

@pippigreenheart 2 жыл бұрын

Olly is the best teacher! I recommend him to everyone in FB groups trying to learn Spanish. Thanks Olly

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

#humbled

@barbara3977 2 жыл бұрын

You are a very interesting person keep up the good work

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

I appreciate that

@andrewgibler 2 жыл бұрын

Great you made this one Olly. Glad to see your horse Bertie and more countryside. Too bad on the rain!

@nagichampa9866 2 жыл бұрын

Really cool story. I can definitely draw parallels with my own life...even though it seems you stayed in Japan longer than I...lucky!

@lmelior 2 жыл бұрын

I definitely thought similar things! In fact the first several videos of yours I happened upon, I didn't even know you spoke other languages. I honestly thought you were just fascinated with the various methods of learning languages and the people who developed them. Kinda like the Tim Ferriss of languages.

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

I’ll take that comparison!

@yasindbulat 2 жыл бұрын

I study English language teaching in University and I completely agree with the fact that many times we have teachers who are very experienced in the field or teachers who are really knowledgeable about the literature. We rarely have a crossover and on top of that what is even rarer is havingvteachers who speak more than two or three languages. My goal was to it's become a part of that rarest circle of teachers who speaks more than two languages that knows the literature and that has experience. Now, whenever I start teaching a new group I start to learn a new language and my goal is never to become fluent in that language, it's just to understand the struggle of the new group

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

…and that will make you an extremely effective teacher! Good luck!

@StephenBeale 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Olly. Really interesting stuff. I remember you from the Internet Business Mastery course a few years back. Great to see you've cracked the KZfaq algorithm of late. Well deserved views and subs. Looking forward to seeing more 👍

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Hey! Wow, that was 2014! How are things with you?

@StephenBeale 2 жыл бұрын

@@storylearning All good, thanks, but still trying to nail down the online business stuff (focus lacking!). I was actually a bit late to the party with IBM - joined in 2017 and (little did I know) it was already pretty dated by that point - but I remember them having your profile as a success story. Great to see you going strong. Inspiring stuff!

@TheAngelofThrash 2 жыл бұрын

Wow, I'm finishing a degree in Jazz guitar while learning Chinese on the side. Thanks for the video

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Rock on!

@HeliosDoll 2 жыл бұрын

Me encanta tu historia y amo tu globo terráqueo 🥰

@sheeliekittie9298 Жыл бұрын

so happy to find your channel, Olly! If you don't mind, can you share more about yourself - and your help with a language learning routine? I'm having a hard time figuring out how to know what to learn, first of all are there too many languages, and should one decide on a finite list? and another question is, can you share your ideas on a language learning routine? How to establish that? Thank you so much!

@Ewan_Smith 2 жыл бұрын

Listening to your story I feel like I'm following you ... I have learnt different languages from you but have a similar story overall - I used to be a jazz musician in Melbourne, and I'm currently teaching English in Korea. I agree completely that language teachers should understand language learning to be better teachers.

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing, and keep it up!

@ofgodzeus 2 жыл бұрын

heyyy Austen is fun, leave her alone XD hahaha I really enjoyed your italian short stories btw! Thank you! It was also nice getting to know you a bit more, i mean a musician? as if you weren't cool enough with a dozen languages lol

@Mrsveroship 2 жыл бұрын

Very interesting!

@kickinfamily 2 жыл бұрын

Quite fascinating! Where did you get that shirt? Love it!

@yuvigemini 2 жыл бұрын

Inspirational and Truely Thought Evocative....... Augmenting Lifestyle by Amplifying Skills

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Combining skills is often more powerful than developing one skill to a high level

@LanguagesandCreativity 2 жыл бұрын

I might your books. Peut être, j'acheterai votre livres 📚 !

@user-ln8vy6wt6s 2 жыл бұрын

Hi！Olly, I'm really enjoying your channel and enjoyed reading your book too. When I read English books, first I read them out loud. In that way, I can find out the words that I can't pronounce.

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Wonderful!

@sidclark1953 Жыл бұрын

Ordered you German stories book from Abebooks. Thanks.

@libriniserenagobbo9717 2 жыл бұрын

Finalmente ci hai parlato di te!!

@foreverlearningfrench 2 жыл бұрын

Excellente vidéo Olly. Quand tu commenceras ta chaîne française, j'aimerais voir une vidéo sur Bertie.

@cecilygreval5291 2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely agree re being a learner of languages if you are a teacher of language. Great job Olly

@CulturedCarlo 2 жыл бұрын

Wow very inspiring! I'm also a huge jazz lover and always wanted to learn the piano, learning languages is definitely a huge goal of mine and as a chicano (Mexican American) who doesn't speak Spanish it's embarrassing that I can't speak it, it's also hard for me to confidently practice when I feel like it's expected from me to know it, any advice?

@RenataSantos-qw4pz 2 жыл бұрын

Recentemente eu tenho consumido bastante conteúdo no youtube relacionado ao aprendizado de idiomas, principalmente de canais de poliglotas e a minha motivação com o inglês só tem aumentado desde então. Aprender com pessoas com quem nos identificamos é bem melhor.

@thiagoevangelista2754 2 жыл бұрын

When do you make a Slovenian book? 😁🇸🇮 Those Slavic language are a tricky, and I find it hard to find good content from the US. -Sarah

@Overlycomplicatedswede 7 ай бұрын

So I can relate to music leading into my love for languages. For context I’m a bass trombonist have been for 10 or so years and I recently got to go to Germany because of music, when I was in Germany for about a month I found interest in German and decided to learn it, I went to Germany with no experience in German, I left with B1 level of German. Helps that my native language is Swedish. Which made German pretty easy. Really interesting video Love from Sweden

@PuffPuff279 2 жыл бұрын

Suzanna Zaraysky of El idioma es musica would love this video, as you mention your unconscious musical approach to language learning. 😊

@SarahSmith-nr2wj 2 жыл бұрын

Love this, just stumbled apon your material. Can 💯 relate to how u articulate teaching skills and learning. I did A level French years ago and it was so intimidating and and not how I learn best. Also I did a fine art degree and became a teacher, so many teachers do not really know how to teach, and the formulas for teaching are so small and generic and do not enable full mastery, but can often curtail it. I always had a weird sense that I already knew how to speak French, like as a kind of body memory, but the lists systems just destroyed my confidence and took me away from that. Occasionally I have dreams in French where I'm speaking, but don't understand what I'm saying, and listening to rapid French and understand everything. How we learn and our mind and its unseen capacities are endlessly fascinating. I taught SEN in a super alternative setting where I had 💯 freedom to set up learning structures and ethos which I then built in my own parculiar way. The results were outstanding and one OFSTED inspector said 'I can hardly believe the level you are taking them to' . Most of that was just built apon visual learning (as a universally understood language regardless of academic ability) and also emotional intelligence, and the important fact that we pick things up better when happy and positive... other things too of course .... Anyhow, I never did get fluent in French and did v badly in the A level, it's a total bucket list thing to tidy that up, your material is helping me plot my way to get there. Many thanks 💗☺️🤗 super fascinating to me also that your background is music, totally makes sense can totally relate, I think u have just figured out how to appropriately optomise the engaging of the right and left brain to accelerate and optimise higher level and speed of learning, so spot on👍👍👍

@Restless318 2 жыл бұрын

was waiting for this you are are insprations and you ahave great style and handsome

@firdauskhalid4466 2 жыл бұрын

Classic storybooks will be available forever even in endtime.

@yourlinguisticlatebloomer9893 2 жыл бұрын

Please talk about how you learned Cantonese, Olly. Thank you for all your work.

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

I’ve got quite Lot of videos about that from 2013-14

@jonathanwalls6760 2 жыл бұрын

Ok well you opened yourself up to another video, I want to know what you feel about any possible connections between language and music? A lot of talented language learners that I know are also talented musicians and I'm curious as to what you think about how those two things may or may not interact

@AlanJonesu Жыл бұрын

Damn. After hearing this, I realized that I wasted my education on interpretation/translation studies and became a court interpreter for nothing. I could've studied literally anything else with foreign language on the side and would've done more. Oh, well. It was insightful to hear your story!

@mattfield3371 Жыл бұрын

I started in high school learning Spanish, picked up a decent amount of vocab but never fully learned it and came back to it years later on Duolingo where I've probably immersed myself more to an intermediate level of Spanish but grew sort of bored with it, I learned a good amount of French on Duolingo as well then went to Japanese and got bored with that and now doing Italian, I've also studied some Russian, Norwegian and some others as well...I really feel like I'd like to learn Italian, French and Japanese and perhaps Spanish to the degree of some fluency but not sure, I obviously love dabbling in different languages.

@BasementRuthie 2 жыл бұрын

Funnily enough, as a native English speaker, I didn't really grasp the concept of verbs and nouns, and other grammar, until I began learning French in high school. I like to joke that French taught me English. 😂 I do have the curiosity bug though, I began learning Japanese because I saw that in anime, names turned up in different places when spoken than when I read the English subtitles. Then I discovered BTS and watching their content got me curious about Korean, and I LOVE their writing system. It's come in super handy when playing an mmorpg game because we have a multilingual alliance and I can help bridge the gap between the auto-translate function and what people are trying to say.

@lobos320 7 ай бұрын

On our native language we don't think about grammar and tenses. It's like learning to walk. ( who can explain the muscles, balance, coordination, brain input and so forth) Most people could explain how they are Now to walk

@Tehui1974 2 жыл бұрын

I totally agree with your point that language teachers should understand the experience of what it's like to learn another language. In my target language, I find the best people I learn from are second language learners in my language. I find the advice that I receive from native speakers, who have never learned another language, to be somewhat hollow.

@Restless318 2 жыл бұрын

thank you for Oily I am oprea singer had study many launguages but it was hard was born with Cerebral pasly so it was hard so learn on my own hope you do Vedio on greek singer Nana mouskouri thanks for work

@sahinoudiengo816 2 жыл бұрын

Ohh yeeeah. I am 19 y.o. too and I decided to learn languages this year. Now I am learning English, which was in my school (my 1st language is Russian), and also I am learning Latin (my love) I wanna learn Italian, Spanish, German, Ukrainian and Turkish after these 2 languages. I hope I won't forget this comment and will write comments about my progress here sometimes. Good luck, polyglots and aspiring to be a polyglot!

@frigginjerk 2 жыл бұрын

Wow, that's a great goal. Good luck. Turkish is on my list, for some time in the future, I hope. I'm a native English speaker, with pretty good Spanish, some German, a little Swahili, some basic French, a little Russian, and a tiny bit of Mandarin Chinese. Picking which language to focus on can be one of the most difficult parts.

@storylearning 2 жыл бұрын

Good luck Sahin!

@peri8513 2 жыл бұрын

You are like me ! I'm learning and trying to understand English more cause I'm born and raised in Turkey , but even though I'm still trying to improve my Turkish , my mother language. Because I know while I was beginning to learn English it was so good and felt amazing but I was forgetting Turkish little by little , because of that I started writing essays in Turkish and this reaaally helped my languge. Korean is like dream language to me , I'm just fascinating by Korea's history , foods , life style, culture like EVERYTHING ! I love reading old Korea history but I've never started Korean because of my stupidity , I was afraid of alpabeth, but now , I know that this is just a mindset that I created to myself , I need to change this mindset to language learning journey/ journeys. After Korean I would love to talk and read in Albenian and Italian , Finnish ,Mongolian. These language sound like they are from a fairytale or something. I hope we will both learn our dream languages !

@sahinoudiengo816 2 жыл бұрын

@@frigginjerk thanks. Good luck for you too

@sahinoudiengo816 2 жыл бұрын

@@peri8513 thank you. I also hope we will have learned our dream languages I think you can learn Korean easily. But, i cannot understand 1 moment, why did you forget your mother language? Where are you living now?