The Amateur

How to learn a language

Georges Awaad is a linguistics student in Montreal, Canada, who has taught himself 19 different languages. Check out Georges YouTube channel The Pokeglot

The episode begins with Georges telling us about the work he does preserving and revitalizing endangered languages. He then shares how he became interested in languages from a young age.

We talk about how he chooses languages, which ones were most difficult and which were easiest. Then Georges shares his definition of “fluency”.

Georges estimates how long it took him to learn different languages, and then describes the steps in his language learning process.

We discuss finding practice partners, making language learning fun, overcoming frustration, and other practical advice.

Georges concludes with a heartfelt and beautiful response to the question, “how has language learning impacted your life”?

Finally, Georges shares his favourite language learning resources. including the apps Duolingo, Memorize, and UTalk.