The Polyglot Project: How to Learn Multiple Languages

by Claude Cartaginese (Editor)

Is it really possible to effectively learn more than one foreign language on your own, through self-study? What is the best way to learn foreign languages? What are the best resources to use? How many languages is it really possible to learn? These questions, and many others, are answered within the pages of this book. The authors contained herein are all language lovers found in the YouTube language-learning community. In this book, they will describe the methods they used to learn multiple languages, and will also show you how you can do it too.

Genres: Nonfiction, Language, Linguistics

534 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Kerem · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for language enthusiasts. It's a collection of short stories authored by various members of the YouTube polyglot community. That being the fact, the narratives you'll find in this book are reflections of real life experiences (free from fabricated bullsh*t methods one might encounter during common language education). By reading this book, one can learn the Dos and Don'ts (particularly the Don'ts) of the language learning process. I think this is crucial as it has the potential to help learners avoid entering into vicous cycles; ultimately, preventing them from abandoning their language education altogether.

It was a unique experience to read this book. It gave me much insight and motivation. I definitely recommend it.

[Amira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this can hardly be described as a book, it's a group of essays from people passionate about learning languages to communicate with others.

I liked the idea of the project, it's always nice to witness the recent technologies connecting people and making learning easier.

You will find many stories and useful pieces of advice, among them "Don't start with Grammar" , "Speak as soon as you can", "It's Ok to make mistakes" , "Get a lot of input through reading and listening" and so on.

The disadvantage about the book is that it's very long and not organized, you will find a lot of repetitions. If it can be edited in a professional way , the number of pages will be extremely reduced and the reader will get more benefit.

[Annick · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're fustrated with your language learning, feel like you're stuck or just need extra motivation and ideas, then this book is great. I think I've read about 10-15 of the stories/interviews but I won't be reading the rest, at least not right now. I want to improve my language skills now that I've got all these new ideas :-).

[Mr Ogologo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and the accounts of different foreign language learners, some of them polyglots continued to reinforce the assertions I have always made with regards to language learning.

For instance:
1) Language is a participatory 'sport'. This urges those learning a foreign language to always put the maximal effort towards trying to speak the language with those who speak it instead of hollowing oneself away in a corner to focus on grammar and other things which are although important, do not translate to practical use when it comes to the utilisation of the language.

2) Any language program that meets once a week is ineffective. Frequency is essential to learning a foreign language. Infrequent exposure is a waste of time (I'd dare anyone to disprove my assertion here).

3) Language acquisition is natural for humans and therefore theoretically easier to learn that other skills. This calls to the social nature of language and dispels when people say that they're not good at languages due to not being smart enough. Speaking a language has nothing to do with intelligence, you can see many people who never went to school and/or are just unintelligent people as a whole who speak a language excellently. The thing is, due to not being intelligent, the ideas they communicate will often be nonsensical and poorly thought out but that won't hinge on understanding a language. On the flipside, I've conversed with people who struggle with a language with regards to 'sounding like a native speaker' but convey excellent ideas.
It also speaks to something with regards to travel that I've always liked but didn't have the linguistic skills to fully appreciate (but I'm experiencing it more now that I'm fluent in another language that I learnt as an adult). What it speaks to is that when you learn another language or realise that it's possible as an adult, travelling puts you inside the experience of what is to be like the people of the nation you've travelled to. You become a little bit of them. Some people fear this experience as they worry it will cause them to lose who they are. I always pooh-pooh this idea, it has no basis in reality.
So to conclude, a fear of making mistakes is something that shipwrecks many a budding linguist.

[Katya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't finish. Random stories of people who learn languages.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of ideosyncratic reports from people on how they learned one or more additional languages.

[mary london · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book can be described as pure inspiration. It affected me so much that I started learning a new language and gained some useful ideas how to improve my second language(English).

[Soufiane Elbaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

a big and a great work from Cartaginese.