Full transcript
0:00Can you become fluent in a language even
0:02if you're not good at learning
0:04languages? I want to talk to you about
0:07this in today's video because this is
0:09something that a lot of students worry
0:12about. A lot of people learning a second
0:14language, whether that's English or any
0:16other language for that matter, worry
0:18that they're never going to become
0:20fluent because they're not good at
0:22learning languages. They don't have a
0:23natural talent. Now, this is going to be
0:26a completely unscripted video. I think
0:28this is such an important topic. So, I
0:30want to take a few minutes here to share
0:32my thoughts and my experience having
0:35taught thousands of students around the
0:37world. Let's be 100% honest with
0:40ourselves and we need to accept the fact
0:43that yes, some people are naturally more
0:47talented than others at learning
0:50languages. That's an undeniable fact.
0:54Maybe it hurts to admit that to some
0:57degree, but it's a truth. It's a totally
1:00undeniable fact that some people are
1:03naturally more talented at learning
1:06languages just as some people are better
1:08at math, some people are better at
1:10music, some people are better at sports
1:13than other people. Now, if you've
1:15accepted this and you have to accept
1:17this and you've accepted the possibility
1:20that hey, you might not be naturally
1:23talented at language, you basically have
1:26two options here. The first option is to
1:29give up. To accept that you will never
1:33become fluent in English, that you're
1:36bad at languages, that there's no point
1:39in even trying or putting the work in.
1:41That's the first option. The second
1:43option is to accept the reality of the
1:48situation, to accept that you know,
1:50maybe some people are better or more
1:52talented at learning language and to do
1:55it anyways. To not let that fact that
1:58honestly you can't control, to not let
2:00it get to you, to not let it affect your
2:04studies or your motivation. Now, to this
2:07second point, I want to say something
2:09else. This is a philosophy that I
2:11personally subscribe to. It's called
2:13stoicism and maybe you've heard of
2:16stoicism. I think it's quite
2:18misunderstood, but fundamentally
2:21stoicism is the idea that you can't
2:24control what happens to you, but you can
2:27control your response or your reaction
2:29to it. And I think this applies
2:31perfectly in this situation. If you are
2:33somebody who is maybe not naturally
2:36talented at learning a language, you
2:39can't control that. You can't change the
2:41cards you were dealt. You can control
2:45your reaction to that. You can control
2:48your response. And I think this is so
2:50important. Keep in mind that there are
2:52people who are naturally gifted and
2:54talented who have wasted their talent
2:57because they assumed that their talent
2:59would take them places without them
3:01having to do anything. They took it for
3:03granted. And on the flip side, there are
3:05people who haven't been as blessed by
3:08nature, but who have achieved more in
3:11life because they didn't let that get
3:13them down and they didn't let that
3:15affect their work ethic. Somebody who
3:18has talent will always achieve more if
3:23they have a good work ethic, but
3:24somebody who has talent without a good
3:27work ethic will never achieve the same
3:31level of success as somebody who has a
3:33good work ethic, but not as much talent.
3:37So yes, if you have both, you're set.
3:40But if you have talent and you don't
3:43actually put it to use, you don't put in
3:45the work, somebody who is less talented,
3:48but harder working than you will be more
3:50successful. This is the classic nature
3:53versus nurture debate. Are smart people
3:56or geniuses born with it or do they
4:00learn it? Do they acquire it in their
4:03childhood, their adolescence and
4:06adulthood with hard work and proper
4:09instruction? I don't know the answer to
4:11that question, but I can tell you in my
4:13opinion and in my experience, I think
4:14it's a bit of both. Talent helps you,
4:16but it's not the only thing in the
4:18equation. And again, you can't control
4:20it. This is out of your control. So,
4:23honestly, there's no point in even
4:24worrying about it too much. Get it out
4:26of your mind and don't let it affect you
4:28because your actions would be the same
4:32regardless of whether you were talented
4:34or not. You'd still need to sit down and
4:36study grammar. You'd still need to
4:38practice conversation. You'd still need
4:40to listen to podcast and write
4:42vocabulary down, no matter
4:45how talented or
4:47untalented you are. I'll say one other
4:50thing. Think about our place in the
4:52world as human beings. What makes us
4:55different from all the other species,
4:57all the other animals, all the other
5:00organisms on this planet? I can think of
5:02a few things, but one of the things that
5:04sets us apart is our capacity and
5:07ability to communicate complex thoughts
5:11and complex ideas through language. You
5:14can make the argument that maybe
5:16dolphins are also capable of doing that.
5:20We're probably not 100% sure at this
5:22point, but the reality is human beings
5:25are unique in that sense. We can
5:28communicate complex ideas through
5:30language. We are built to communicate.
5:33We are built to speak. We are built to
5:36acquire language and to learn language.
5:39So, don't forget that. Just as we are
5:41built to breathe, to eat, to sleep, we
5:45are also built to learn language and to
5:49speak. So yes, if you are a human being,
5:52it's in your DNA. It's hardwired into
5:55your biology. Don't ever forget that. If
5:58you ever feel like you're bad at
5:59learning languages or you feel like you
6:01can't do this, remember that you can
6:04because you are human and you are
6:05designed to acquire language. I hope you
6:08found this video helpful. I wanted to
6:10speak to you honestly today because I
6:12received a few questions about this
6:14recently and I think this is a topic
6:16that's very, very important and it's one
6:18that many people worry about because
6:21they think that they'll never become
6:23fluent simply because they're not
6:25talented. And as I've demonstrated,
6:28that's not true. Make sure you subscribe
6:30to English at the Ready here on YouTube
6:31if you found this video useful. If you
6:33want more English lessons on different
6:34topics, leave a like, subscribe, and let
6:38me know in the comments. Do you think
6:39you have a gift or a talent for learning
6:42English? I'll see you in the next video.