How Different Generations Learn Languages FAST (Young vs. Old)
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Boomers, Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X. They all learn languages, right? But which one learns better? I took a close look at each generation and found out some pretty interesting stuff. Want to steal their secrets? I’ve got them all here—and you can use them no matter how old you are!
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⏱ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Learning a language is tough for all ages
0:29 Boomers (1946–1964)
3:56 Gen X (1965–1980)
8:26 Millennials (1981–1996)
13:39 Gen Z (1997–2012)
18:28 Who’s the better language learner?
20:12 Gen Alpha (2010–2024)
🎬 Video Clips:
Fascinating.
No matter your age, you can learn these 7 languages FAST! 👉🏼 https://youtu.be/e55f2N7NbsE
Hi Olly, do you have any plans to make Polish versions of your books?
Seconding the request for polish
Dlaczekgo po polsku ?
@@joannasliwa8147maybe they’re learning it
@@joannasliwa8147bo cheba mówię po polsku, nie?
Hi ! I ‘m originally from Poland . My first foreign language was Italian at high school in the 90’s and we were learning it ” by heart ” way ( grammar + pronunciation ) . Then I moved to France ( I have been living here for 21 years ) . Now I speak French that automatically improved and
” solidified ” my Italian. And there is another factor in my case : once I detached myself from my mother tongue , I can quickly assimilate another foreign language ( I’m easily learning Swedish , already advanced level ) . Love your vlogs , greetings from Paris
1996 isn’t Millennial. It’s very early Gen Z.
Also, “passive listening” is ineffective.
I’m a Millennial and learn primarily via textbook or purchasable course and a lot of practice with natives online.
96 is the last millennial year, 97 is the first gen Z year.
“”passive listening” is ineffective.”, How so? You didnt really explain how or why, i wanna hear it
It is the last year of being a millennial. You sound like an elitist jerk
I was born in 1961, so I’m a late baby boomer. I’ve been trying to learn Spanish from the book first in 2008, but I later was learning Spanish from Duolingo and Rosetta Stone later. I’m still not fluent in Spanish after all these years.
you gotta watch a lotta stuff in spanish, not just practice and books, practice is good, very good but its only a supplement, you wont gain muscles if you eat protein powder and dont exercise
16 years and not fluent? How much time do you put in? You should sign up for a class
@@thehapagirl92 I’ve been doing it an hour a day. I only know more words.
@@williameddy9919You’re doing something wrong if you have been doing it for an hour a day for 16 years and aren’t fluent. You need to go to classes
@williameddy9919 check out pimsleur. Do the 7 days for free . Learn to construct sentences. I have the problem of not enough words
Can you explain how and why you chose the stories (vocab, grammar, etc) in your beginner short story books? Also, for example, why is it the same story with Daniel and Julia starting off in London in the English version, same in the Italian, the Dutch, etc. ? Thank you
Yeah, I wish there were different stories for each language. It’s OK if you only ever want to learn one language, but a lot of us want to learn many languages and reading the same stories in all of them is not as effective, I feel.
I love it when you cater to your American friends, lol. 😊
It’s so good for old people to learn a new language. It keeps their brain sharp! I’m 32, a millenial, and I have a lot of hobbies. My boomer parents are retired and have no hobbies. I mean I sew and embroider, old people hobbies. My mom doesn’t want to learn. She also doesn’t want to learn French like I am. She prefers stupid Instagram and Real Housewives 🙄. I would rather not watch spoiled boomers on Real Housewives
I learn by reading French textbooks, listening to French music and watching French YouTube videos everyday. Everyday. Everyday. For 3 hours. I’ve been studying French for only 3 months and I’m doing well
gen alphas just like “skibidi toilet”
There is probably no difference between gen X and Boomers regarding language learning. Computers were just glorified typewriters when I was growing up. And I can’t figure out why British kids were playing Oregon Trail on computers??
In countries like India, Gen Alpha is the internet generation
I think Baby Boomers are the best of the generations.
Millennial pointing out a small error at 14:33 Olly – the Indian flag for Farsi! I’d love to know which language each gen learns. Why do I believe we prefer European ones? Is it because K-Pop didn’t impact us as much?
I listen to Spanish and Portuguese rock and reggae while reading lyrics
How is Language Simp not featured in this video?? I kept waiting for him to pop up! Please check out his live streams and see how he learns languages!
I’m gen X and I feel like this is the golden age for learning languages. When I was young, we didn’t really get to hear the languages we were trying to learn. You might have a book and a couple of records or tapes, but beyond that, you never really got to hear it, especially more natural speech. I remember standing on my bed with my portable shortwave held up in one hand and stretching my other hand out, moving around, trying to get a good enough signal to maybe catch a little bit of news or something in other languages. Now, we have YouTube and can watch hours of videos in almost any language we want. It’s fantastic! I love it!
I am a millenial and also learn mostly by listening to podcast while doing other stuff 🙂
I’m from Germany & Gen X. Sure, I learned some basic English in school, but way more in my early 20’s through reading. With the technology we have now, I guess, I would speak a few more languages. Community college classes didn’t work for me. Now I learn Russian using apps, podcast, etc and dabble with Dutch. And there are a few languages I would like to achieve “tourist fluency”. But even for Russian I don’t aim for C1/C2, but it might happen one day. I never was afraid of making mistakes, actually I learned a lot from mistakes.
My mom, born 1942, spoke English & French, she started learning Spanish in her late 40’s. My granny, born 1917, spoke English & French, and when she retired she started learning Italian. So, I guess it’s in my genes.
Boomer here (b. 1956) Studied French in high school and now I am learning Thai (living in Thailand)
I studied French from 1971-1974 the old fashioned way. The ONLY motivation I had was that we were under the impression that you had to know a foreign language to get into college . . . which turned out not to be true in 1974. There were obviously no resources or opportunities to speak French in Connecticut in the 1970’s so I quickly forgot it. One thing that has been seared into my brain is that French words are gendered and I was completely unable to remember the proper gender for just about any noun. That convinced me to never try to learn another language . . . except for my summer of intensive German a year later . . . which I have also forgotten.
Forty years later, at age 60, I moved to Thailand. I have taken group Thai lessons at an excellent school. I have paid for private one-on-one lessons. I have Thai language books. I was part of an online Zoom group during Covid. I follow several Thai language YouTube channels. I have a Thai wife. I LIVE IN THAILAND! (immersion anyone?). Seven years later I have a functional but not conversational grasp of Thai. I can get by on my own . . . mostly. Note that having a Thai wife, that speaks passable English, is not much help. Teaching is a skill which she doesn’t have. She will answer a specific question but she is not a teacher.
One comment about grammar. I studied physics and engineering and had a 30 year career in a national scientific laboratory. My brain has been wired for science thinking. Science is more like grammar than vocabulary. If I know a finite number of equations (the grammar) then I can work myself toward the answer (a fact or the vocabulary). In French, German, and Thai I struggled memorizing words but I became really excited when I studied grammar in Thai language school. I actually took the class 2x with different teachers. Maybe it is me, trapped into being a Boomer, but I love grammar as a way to make the language come alive and to be able to put the words together.
My goal is to be understood, not fluent. Reading is good but we don’t speak the way we write so reading has some limitations (Yes, I can read the Thai script . . . now). I don’t listen to music much and I don’t find Thai TV to be that interesting (they love their ghost stories and slapstick comedy). The problem for me with regard to listening to contemporary sources is that I very definitely don’t want to learn slang. As an older person in an Asian society that is a recipe for misunderstanding.
I am still plugging away at it and I have some ideas to move forward with my Thai.