The Problem With Language Learning Advice on YouTube

today I want to dive into a topic that's been  in my mind for a while recently the problem with  

language learning advice on YouTube or rather how  some people perceive this language learning advice  

so maybe this title is a little bit clickbaity a  few weeks ago I got these two comments under one  

of my video on this channel this is against the  comprehensible input theory that says you should  

put up speaking for a long time the earlyer set  speaking the worse your accent will be in the long  

run welcome to the internet where it's my theory  versus your theory and the truth lies somewhere  

in the middle let me give you a little bit more  context in that video I was saying that if I could  

start learning Spanish again like I started  the whole process over I would have started  

practicing speaking sooner and I think I opened  the floodgates I get it everyone has their own  

opinion but I don't agree that on my channel it's  your theory versus my theory and here is what I  

responded I don't think it's my theory versus your  theory I think it's more like here is what we know  

here is what worked for me and here is what you  can try and it might not work for you so now that  

you understand the context let's move on the main  portion of this video These two comments highlight  

two important aspects of online advice the  diversity of opinions and the quickness to judge  

let's talk about the diversity of opinions first  I truly believe that language learning is deeply  

personal what work for one person might not work  for another or maybe what work for me is going  

going to work for you or maybe not we don't know  that's why you have to try there are countless  

theories and methods out there like comprehensible  input immersion grammar focused learning and so on  

and I feel like most YouTubers including myself  just share what worked for them we share our  

Journeys what worked for us and what we think you  could try also I almost never share my theories  

I try to share theories of famous researchers  polyglots linguists and authors of books and yes I  

add how I fit into this whole narrative like here  we have this theory of comprehensible input did it  

work for me how was my journey with it what worked  what didn't as a viewer you have the autonomy to  

decide which advice to take and which advice works  for you our attention is such a precious resource  

nowadays and I'm honestly all for controlling it  as much as possible if you're watching a video  

and if you feel like what this person is saying  the video just does not resonate with you stop  

watching this video move on to something else your  attention is precious let's say you watch my video  

and you know that this specific advice just won't  work for you let's say using chpt because you  

don't like chpt you can just skip that part move  on forget about it only take what you need YouTube  

is an amazing resource for that my channel is  all about sharing my journey exploring different  

methods because over the years I started learning  so many different languages you know English  

Spanish Chinese ASL French when I was in Middle  School and so I'm just sharing all of the things  

that work for me like why I stop learning certain  languages why I'm continuing to learn others  

it's a journey and it's okay to try different  approaches to find what suits you best speaking  

of fighting what works for you I want to introduce  you to something I've been working on for a very  

long time recently it's my link switch Mastery  Program this course is designed to help you your  

fluency faster and more effectively it's divided  into four modules with 20 lessons packed with  

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and stay on track I'm so proud of this course  because it tackles common challenges like time  

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veronic mark.com or you can also scan this C code  right here if it's easier for you because I know  

a lot of you guys are watching YouTube on your TVs  just like me so now let's talk about the quickness  

of Judge that is so widespread right now on the  internet when I started my social media Journey  

with this YouTube channel almost 4 years ago I was  shocked at how quick people are to judge online  

what you're saying is against the comprehensible  method Theory that's why your acting in Spanish  

is not that great it's so easy to hide behind  a screen behind a nickname and criticize others  

without fully understanding their perspective I'm  not hiding I'm here and I'm sharing my journey but  

of course there's only so much that I can share in  a 10-minute YouTube video especially when I give  

you guys as much value as possible and pack it  with useful tips this of course isn't limited to  

language learning it's a widespread phenomenon  on the internet in general but why are people  

like this well there's some psychology behind  it so let's now talk about the psychology of  

online Behavior psychologists have studied  online Behavior extensively and one concept that  

explains this quickness to judge is the online  disinhibition effect this Theory suggests that  

people feel less restrained and more inclined to  express themselves bluntly or aggressively online  

than they would face to face please don't give  me wrong I'm not scared of arguing with people  

I actually think that it's impossible to agree  with everyone on everything all the time and  

when it comes to language learning learning it's  exactly the same thing believe me I'm vegan and  

I have had my fair share of arguments with meat  eaters and I always welcome those conversations  

because it's interesting and I'm always happy to  share my perspective my journey what I don't like  

though is when people behave oh so confidently  online but offline they draw a blank or they  

say yeah it's okay you know I agree with you but  online their comments were completely different  

another factor is confirmation bias this is  when people seek out information that confirms  

their existing beliefs and ignore anything that  contradicts them so when someone sees advice that  

goes against what they believe in their Instinct  might be to reject and criticize it rather than  

consider it happens to people who think that  comprehensible theory is the only method out there  

and if you think otherwise you're wrong again I  do support the comprehensible input Theory because  

there's real science behind it and it helped me  too but I also know other language Learners who  

benefited from other language learning methods and  it doesn't mean that what they used is completely  

wrong I'm not going to get offended when someone  tells me that Veronica you know you recommended  

the input hypothesis I tried it and it didn't  work for me it's great I'm happy for you you  

tried it you sve for yourself it didn't work  for you you moved on at the end of the day I  

didn't make this video because I got hate and I  needed to respond to that I don't even think that  

those comments were hateful for me they were  interesting they highlighted something that is  

so widespread and so common on the internet and I  just wanted to talk about it today I think people  

can absolutely disagree with me and I respect that  but I want to know why people think the way they  

do what motivated them to write those comments and  that's why I decided to make this video the goal  

of my channel is to help you learn and grow in  your language learning Journey the internet is a  

powerful tool for sharing resources and experience  and I don't want you to be afraid to try different  

methods and see what works for you thank you  so much for watching this video if you find it  

helpful don't forget to like subscribe and comment  let's keep the conversation going in the comments  

below how do you navigate the Sea of advice  on YouTube I'd love to hear your thoughts if  

you want to join my language Mastery Program and  learn the theory of effective language learning  

make sure to click the link in the description  or the pin comment if you're thinking about what  

to watch next I recommend checking out this video  where I'll help you create your language learning  

plan to master English I'm sure you love  it so click right here and keep on watching

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