How To Learn a New Language With Stories

I've been learning German and Japanese for a little while though I feel like learning Japanese is gonna be more important for what kinda jobs I want to do, plus it's easier to get myself immersed since I like watching Vtubers, playing video games and J-Rock and metal music like Dir En Grey, Survive Said the Prophet, Versailles, Fate Gear, Babymetal, etc. (technically all examples have some English speaking but regardless) and I used to like watching anime. I don't really know any German media that actually speaks German on a regular basis anyway aside from like one deathcore band (We Butter the Bread With Butter) and the industrial metal and black metal bands there.

I was delighted to hear you speak Italian so fluidly. Spanish is my 2nd language, French my 2nd. I expected to use Spanish in Italy. No one in my travels spoke Spanish and so I had to rely on French. I've attempted to learn Italian and am frustrated when I hear that it is easier than French because I still don't get it!
I love your idea of using stories. My favorite Spanish instructor used stories from day one, and many years later, I still remember stories from his classes. I will look at your resources and continue working on my French, and then perhaps bravely venture into Italian.

I learned Tagalog as a second language at the age of 19. I had never even heard of the language before that time. I went on a church mission and had the benefit of the MTC (you did an episode on that before). So I'm curious, when you say you learned Italian in 3 months, how many hours a day were you studying? When learning Tagalog, I was fully immersed, and it still took about 4 months to gain a level of fluency (that was with the rigorous MTC training then full immersion in the country). Speaking in 2 months, sure. But more comfortably having conversation, more like 4 or even 5 months. Granted, coming from English, Tagalog was a bit harder of a language to learn. Still, I'm curious how many hours a day you were studying.

but… what about reading rules? for example, I would like to learn Spanish in your way. but if I do not know how to read those stories, I will read and remember many words incorrect

Isn't music and songs also great as stories?

If you had done that approach together with working with a colloquial Italian book or Italian with ease book, you'd have had half of this avoidable struggle.

You don’t know ANY words or grammar when you start. A story, even a simple one is complete gibberish.

What do you mean “look up a word or grammar?” You don’t know anything?

How do all these language YT’ers overlook this basic fact.

The biggest thing I learned was to use the words from the story with the tutor. Cpacebo! Dziekuje! Gracias!

hello , who's the italian professor ?

This is how I taught French in the classroom. It is called TPRS which stands for Teaching Proficiencythrough Reading and Storytelling. I’m glad to see this method available outside the classroom.

Hi Olly Richards, I read your book 30 days mastery master French conversational connectors on kindle unlimited and I found it very useful. Being an online French teacher, I found the book to be really helpful and it worked wonders for my students

I think that you give me the magical solution of learning languages!
It's just a logical method!
I'm learning Spanish and i can say that I'm starting to fall in with this beautiful language❤
I'm still a beginner. Gracias❤

This is amazing. I did that w/ my cousin's Russian children's school books. & I practiced the writing of words in basic stories.

I'm just a little bit confused about how to begin reading--even the most basic of stories--when you don't know literally any vocabulary at all. It seems like it'd be necessary to know at least a few of the most commonly used words.

Is there some way you could filter out the intrusive "r" sound that occurs with all of your "s" sounds?? 😢

I switched to watching Korean dramas about 2 years ago, loved the language, started learning but couldn’t find a way that motivated me. I found I was learning more Korean watching the dramas, to a point that I can now anticipate what some of the dialogue would be so I was able to say it before the character did! I think story learning is something I missed when I was trying to learn French, Spanish, Zulu, Sesotho, and Korean. I’m seeing a game changer here.

I bought Olly's books for French and German. It was kinda okay for German, but there's one problem: Olly is not a great writer. I mean, maybe the method is good, but the story itself... meeeeeh, well... it's not Martin, or Rowling or Tolkien or Tolstoy or Sholokhov. The reading process just feels like learning, not reading for pleasure. The right course of action is not to create stories from scractch but to adapt the great stories of the great authors. As always, the main problem here is capitalism: I guess you can't sell them properly. I hope that some solutions will come, like pirate resources where people are working and getting money from Patreon, or ChatGPT will get really good at re-telling the stories.

I love your video on how to learn a language because this is exactly how I learnt my second language, German.

Just purely out of an obsession for it, I only listened to German music every single day of my life when I was 17 and 18. I, once I had those questions, began looking up translations of the lyrics and learning.
My understanding was limited because I only used songs and not stories. That would have catapulted my understanding, I'm sure.
Then I began to go to adult language classes for German. I lived in Germany for a year.

My best moment was when I was out with a fellow English speaker, in Leipzig. A lady had heard me conversing with a German person and then translating what they said to my English speaking friend. She came up to me to compliment my good English speaking skills. When I told her I was actually a native English speaker, she was very surprised and impressed with my German.

This natural way of learning languages is fun and so effective and I'm so glad you are promoting it.

Do you have, or are you planning to have a course in Hebrew?

the biggest question I have is "but what if I want to learn many languages? what happens then? does the language I just learned atrophy when I learn the new one?" I want to learn spanish, japanese, chinese (mandarin), scots gaelic and probably Korean, maybe tagalog, possibly a few others. I don't want to lose a language because I start learning another but I don't have people locally to speak with to practice so I dont want to lose what I learn when I swap languages

I’m struggling to understand what is meant by reading something if you don’t know the language, grammar, vocabulary etc., and you aren’t speaking it. You look at every word? What does it mean to read if you are not pronouncing it or comprehending the meaning?

That is such a good idea... I'm intrigued. I think I will try this

pos si se escucha bonito esto pero no tengo seis cientos dolares

I’m just curious, where can I find tutors/teachers to study with online (specifically for Spanish) ? Which website does Olly use and what are some other websites/apps that are also viable to use

Love the idea, thank you

I have a big question : how does it work when you know nothing about the langage : how you compehend stories when it's "barbarbar" in your hear ? How the begining works?
And : do you listen or do you read?

When I learn a new language by myself, I always start by learning numbers.
Not so many words to start with, for so many combinations, and useful everyday at everytime and everywhere.

I have a question.
What kind of resources do you recommend to people that are learning the English language?

@storylearning How did you work out the difficulty of sound-letter modifications from story( ex: p+h= ff) reading? Audiobooking? I'm learning Korean and much of my studying involves reading articles (high level ones mostly) instead of simpler fare, though I want to do this too.

I enjoyed your presentation. I read Spanish and German articles and books as well as watch videos without subtitles. Have fir years, however since I don't have many opportunities to speak my abilities are limited. It us true, that component is critical.

My biggest question is WHY no TPR at the beginning of the language learning?

Sounds like the best way to learn a second language is to use the same methonds you used to learn your first language.

I have a question. You said "you´ll need to look up words here and there", but also later you said "reading with no translations". So, when I read the stories, should I look up words I don't understand or not? Or do you means that I shouldn't have a translation of the whole story?

I know this video is old, but I wanted to add source/resource. Children's books. Whenever I (re-)start learning German, I get Children's books from my local library. My local library even has some audio books and magazines in a handful of languages. I know not every library will have that option, but have a look; you never know.

Stories are good, as are popular songs and humour. You are having fun and learning at the same time.

Hey Olly, I have a question. While immersing yourself in your target language and listening to it, do you use subtitles or not?

But how can you read without knowing a word in a language? I get immersing by listening 'cause you get to know the sounds but reading?

Hi Olly, when you say we won't understand most of what we read at first, don't you mean ALL of it.

If I picked up a super simple Italian book right now, I'd be lucky to understand even a single word of it.

Is this fine?

Hi @Olly Richards
Do you have courses to learn polish?

But you also forgot to mention the part where spanish and italian are very similar languages. When my grandpa was stationed in Europe in the 60s he told me that it was easy for him to make his way around Italy because he was Mexican, and grew up speaking spanish. That Italian and Spanish are children of Latin after the collapse of the Roman empire.

Question for you! What's your opinion on practicing 3 Romance languages at the same time? Would you do it, or would you recommend doing a Romance and possibly a Slavic or Germanic language at the same time?  

Thank you in advance! :)

3 minutes into the video and I notice the pile of books of short stories on the table. I then realise that I have one for Spanish, I go to check the author name of my book and I realise that it's the same guy I'm watching now. wowee

This was great to hear, because I hate shadowing. Now I don't feel like a quitter for seeking out more enjoyable methods.

Think about how a person learns their native language as a very young child. They don't look at books or grammar. All they do is listen and later repeat, and become fluent. Adding reading to your learning should bring fluency faster. You need to get a lot of input before you can give output.

I need to use translation less. Makes so much sense. Merci.

How many languages do you speak? I like to learn hebrew. To be able read old testament in hebrew. And i love arabic. I know both languages are very hatd to learn. I am native in Turkish and i used to speak some german. I habe vergessen alles.

How can you read a story if you don't know the vocabulary?

Seems like this could be a method for people who are already very literate in their own language, have a very wide vocabulary, and know the etymology of a lot of the Latin/Greek/German/etc words in English. For someone who is only minimally proficient in their own language, pointless.