Secrets of polyglots: truth and fiction

If you study Russian, then of course, you have heard about polyglots, who managed to learn 5/10/30/50 languages. At the same time, many language learners often say as the following: “Surely they have some secrets because I have been learning Russian for years and still haven’t finished even this foreign language”. In this article we will present the most common myths about those who successfully study foreign languages. In addition, we will tell how polyglots really study Russian and other languages.

 

A polyglot is a person who can communicate in several languages.

Secrets of polyglots: truth and fictionIt should be said that all polyglots know 2-3 languages at a high level, and the rest they know at the level of “survival”, that is, they can communicate on simple topics while they use the language abroad.

Another interesting feature is that the first foreign language is always the hardest and one should study it for a long time, and the subsequent ones are mastered much faster. It is especially simple to learn the languages of one group, for example if you study Russian language together with Polish or Ukrainian.

Let us uncover the truth about the main three myths about polyglots who decided to learn more than 2 foreign languages and decided Russian to be one of them.

3 Common Myths About Polyglots

Myth # 1: Polyglots have Special Language Abilities

Some people believe that polyglots don’t need to strain at all: languages are learned without any effort and if they study Russian, they don’t need to attend any Russian language school to master their level. It is believed that those who know many languages have a different brain structure, they easily perceive and reproduce information, grammar is given to them without study, learning abroad for them is not required, etc.

The Truth:

A polyglot is an ordinary person who likes to learn several languages and who makes every effort to do this, for example they take Russian language immersion programs and after they master Russian, they go for another language course. There is no such person who could not become a polyglot, because this does not require any special knowledge or mentality. All you need is hard work and dedication.

Myth # 2: Polyglots have unique memory

Some people believe that all polyglots have a phenomenal memory, so they can easily use a foreign language abroad after a few minutes of studying. People believe that polyglots remember the meanings of all unfamiliar words and grammatical constructions; therefore, they subsequently easily speak the language they are learning. They travel and study abroad without any preparation.

The Truth:

A polyglot really has good memory, but many people confuse cause and effect: it is the study of languages that develops memory. So, after studying at Russian language school students can feel the improvement of other skills as well. Indeed, there are people who can boast of a unique memory, but this does not make them polyglot. The fact is that simply memorizing words or phrases for a complete study of the language is not enough. The achievement is for example when one can find cheap accommodation in St Petersburg Russia on the internet without using the translators.

Myth # 3: Polyglot start learning languages at a young age

Another popular myth sounds like this: “Polyglots are people whose parents have taken them to language courses since childhood. It is easier for children to study, so today these people easily speak several foreign languages, including the Russian language. ”

The Truth:

Most polyglots are people in love with foreign languages. When they start learning Russian, they forget about everything else and do not stop learning unless they speak it fluently. This love comes already at a conscious age. Those who learned foreign languages as a child have no advantages over an adult student. Most linguists and psychologists are convinced that languages are even easier for adults, because an adult, unlike a child, consciously takes this step, understands why he needs to read texts or translate sentences. That is why they study overseas while being adults.

 

So, do not believe any of the myths on the way to your dream! Learn as many languages as you want and start with learning Russian in Russia.

Irina Galimova
28.01.2020
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