This week we welcome Olly Richards to the podcast. Olly can speak 7 languages and knows a lot about the process of acquiring foreign languages. In this mindset podcast, Olly shares some of his best tips for developing a successful language learning process.
Olly runs the popular blog I Will Teach You A Language. His website offers practical tips and advice for learning foreign languages and he regularly publishes helpful articles and videos.
It was great speaking with Olly this week. He was extremely generous with his time and I am very grateful to have him on the show.
The interview went for over an hour, so I have broken the interview into two separate episodes. Part 2 will be realised next monday.
In the interview we cover:
- Olly’s experiences with languages at school and how his poor start with languages didn’t affect his long term success.
- How a break up with an ex-girlfriend pushed him into language learning. And how, at the time, language learning was an escape from loneliness.
- How Olly finally got his proper start in languages with French on the streets of Paris.
- Olly’s experiences with French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic.
- Olly talks about how he was first very overwhelmed when trying to pick up a foreign language. He managed to get a job in Paris despite generally not understanding what his boss was saying.
- He talked about what he did to overcome the feeling of overwhelm.
- He talks about how for 3 years living in Japan he wasn’t able to converse but realised what it actually took to get his Japanese to improve quickly and reach a conversational level.
- He talks about how the key to language learning is creating the ideal conditions to learn a language.
- He also suggests that creating the ideal conditions doesn’t necessarily mean living in a country that speaks your target language. He, in fact, dispels the myth that you have to live in the country if you want to learn quickly and suggests that there are actually real advantages to learning at home.
Resources Mentioned in the episode:
What is your main take away from the interview with Olly Richards for this mindset episode?
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Hey, Andrew, I’m loving these interviews!
Olly, I’m glad to be able to listen about your story with languages. I can relate to your difficulties when learning Japanese; it takes time to make friends in Japan and be able to talk in a relaxed atmosphere. But three years is still fast.
My main take away from the interview? It’s best to do what motivates you to learn a certain language as soon as possible: if your goal is to have fluent conversations, go and speak to people from day one; if you’d love to read novels in your target language, start reading one, even if you don’t understand a word…
Hey Jorge, it all starts with definition. Remember the 3 D’s of language learning: what are your defined goals and do you have enough desire to start doing what you need to do to get you there. Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks Jorge, glad you enjoyed it! I did too – Andrew’s a great host!
Practice the foreign language you are learning in a comfortable or supportive environment- that is so important. In my own experience, most people are supportive and want to understand and help you, and if you encounter somebody who does not, oh well- chances are that that person has never learned a foreign language and has no idea how hard it is. That’s how I look at it! Thanks Andrew for a great interview!!!
It was great to hear about Olly’s language learning journey!
Thanks Meritxell, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I hope it is inspiring you to keep going with your language learning goals.