5 techniques to speak any language | Sid Efromovich | TEDxUpperEastSide (2)

Or if you can travel, that would be perfect.

There's a problem with that, and I realize it,

because it's difficult to find someone who fits that profile exactly.

But I've got good news.

And I've found that out when I was work,

and one of my colleagues, he's a linguist, too,

he speaks a ton of languages,

and our best language in common was definitely English.

Our second best language in common: definitely French.

But we always spoke in German to each other in the office.

Why was that?

It was because there were people in the office who spoke English;

there were people in the office who spoke French.

But we could talk about Friday and Saturday night in German,

and nobody had any idea what we were talking about.

So it can also be your best secret language in common.

(Laughter)

And it becomes such a convenient tool.

You can have it with your friends

and you get the sense of privacy in public.

No matter where you are, you can have a private conversation.

So, let's recap.

With the first technique

we allow ourselves to break through the barrier of language

and to explore the uncharted territory

of sounds and structures outside our database.

Then with the second one,

we learn how to take notes

and how to make sure that we can take notes

in a way that we can replicate those sounds and structures later.

Then we can check the mistakes by finding a stickler.

Fourth: Practice.

Have shower conversations, wherever you want to be.

And then, follow the Buddy Formula,

and you can find somebody to practice your language with.

And after that,

(Italian) we get to a truly beautiful place,

(German) where learning languages

is no longer something stressful, difficult and boring,

(Spanish) but rather a world of possibilities.

A world, where each of us has the opportunity to explore

(French) new cultures and all the different ways of living.

(Br. Portuguese) The greatest reward from this,

is that we end up learning more about ourselves.

(Greek) As of now, it may all sound Greek for you.

But that doesn't mean that you can't learn it.

(Mandarin Chinese) "A journey of a thousand miles

begins with the first step."

(English) And this is not a problem, because now you know how to walk.

Thank you.

(Applause)