Can you *really* learn a language in a LAZY way without studying?

okay be honest how many times have you wished  you could just wake up one day fluent in a new  

language without ever opening a textbook like  wouldn't it be amazing if learning English or  

Spanish could happen while binge watching your  favorite Netflix series or scrolling on Tik Tok  

if that sounds like a dream come true stick around  because today we're diving into whether you can  

actually learn a new language in this super easy  no steady required way so what exactly do I mean  

by lazy learning it's honestly all about those  methods that don't feel like studying at all for  

some people it might be watching a specific TV  show for others it might be listening to a very  

catchy very trendy song and for even more people  it might be using a fun app like dual lingo I know  

what a lot of you guys are probably thinking  it's not possible to learn a new language in  

a lazy way you do have to put in the work yes but  at the same time lazy language learning is rooted  

in science and there is the term incidental  learning that a lot of people use when they  

say oh I learned English because I watched a  lot of American YouTube my case here incidental  

learning happens when we pick up new information  actively without trying to do so it's like when  

you're listening to a song in a foreign  language let's say in English and you can  

pick up a new vocabulary you can pick up on some  interesting phrases and then a few minutes later  

you're singing along long and it can even work  with languages that we can barely understand  

if you're familiar with this Tik Tok Trend that  is is going around right now it goes something

like Star like really the only word I know is  star star star cuz it sounds like star in English  

but that's exactly how incidental learning works  I'm not learning Japanese or Korean or whatever  

language this video is in but I can still pick up  on some interesting words here and I know a lot  

of people have even made videos on t to explaining  what all of these words mean just because so many  

people walk around singing the song even without  knowing all of this vocabulary me included and  

this approach really works because our brain  is amazing at picking up patterns and making  

connections even when we don't want to put in a  lot of effort and plus when we're doing something  

that's enjoyable and a lot of people love using  Tik Tok you know it actually helps them learn  

better they hear it trendy song they want to see  what all of these words actually mean and they  

memorize them faster this way and so yes if you  make all of these little changes to your daily  

routine to include a foreign language effortlessly  okay let's call it effortlessly like switching  

your phone to English or watching Tik toks only  in your foreign language or maybe only listening  

to music in your target language you are creating  this incidental learning and that's why a lot of  

people use this example to show that yes for them  it was possible to learn a language in a lazy way  

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it you won't want to travel with anything else  now let's talk about the role of immersion and how  

important it is when we talk about lazy language  learning you have probably already heard the idea  

that if you want to learn a language you should  just immerse yourself in it you know immersion  

immersion immersion so many people talk about  it online especially on YouTube but what does it  

really mean and most importantly how does it work  so immersion is pretty much surrounding yourself  

with a language in your everyday life and it can  really help your language acquisition it can be  

through watching TV or listening to music or even  just hearing conversations in your target language  

and it works because when you're immersed in the  language you're constantly exposing your brain  

to new vocabulary new grammar some interesting  phrases even if you're not actively studying  

them but here is where it gets super interesting  and where a lot of people make mistakes there is a  

theory called the comprehensible input hypothesis  and it suggests that we learn languages best when  

we're exposed to material that is slightly above  our current level and the mistake that a lot  

of people make especially beginners and immor  Learners is they choose something that is way  

too difficult for them and then they wonder why  the learning is not happening because the level  

of understanding is just way too high it is not  comprehensible enough for them for their current  

level obviously in the process of learning a new  language you will be increasing your level and So  

eventually you will be able to understand more  and more and choose more difficult things like  

more difficult movies or more difficult podcasts  and that's why the approach I personally always  

take at the beginning is I only use resources for  language Learners at the very beginning when I'm a  

beginner maybe when I'm like an early intermediate  student only only for language Learners because I  

know that my level is just not high enough  to understand everything that was created  

for native speakers so if you start watching a  movie in English and you realize that it's just  

way too hard for you click off it does mean that  it is way too hard for you choose something else  

maybe it's going to be a cartoon I remember when  I was in college and I was studying Chinese the  

cartoon that I was watching a lot was Peppa Pig  just because it was the only thing that I could  

understand and the only thing that I could use  to learn all the useful vocabulary I have a lot  

of friends who are trying to learn Spanish and  they always tell me Veronica I tried to watch  

this T Nolla and it was just way too hard for  me and I'm like yeah it is going to be way too  

hard for you because it was created for native  speakers if you're Upper Intermediate if you're  

Advanced amazing great you should use this  material but please be very careful if you're  

a beginner and you already want to read Harry  Potter in the original format believe me it's  

going to be very hard for you to do so okay okay  now let's talk about consistency over intensity  

because I know a lot of people when it comes to  language learning they realize that they haven't  

been really consistent and then they decide to  do a 3our Power study session and then they take  

a break for another month or two let's be real  when it comes to learning anything new consistency  

beats intensity every time it's like going to the  gym and working out it's a lot better to do it  

regularly right than and you know deciding to buy  new workout clothes and then go to the gym once  

in a blue moon the same goes for language learning  a technique that is connected to consistency over  

intensity and that helps me a lot here is spaced  repetition our brains are wired to forget things  

all the time especially the things that we don't  need or don't use and that's why when you guys  

tell me in the comments I forget the words that I  learn what can I do how can I memorize vocabulary  

in a better way unfortunately it's natural that we  forget certain words over time but if you review  

information at spaced intervals just before you're  about to forget it you're more likely to retain  

all of this vocabulary in the long run and that's  how I personally memorize all of my vocabulary and  

all of the grammar structures to use this lazy  way of learning instead of sitting with you know  

an open textbook and trying to cram all of this  information in my brain and literally suffering  

as I do so I use the up Onkey and honestly every  single time I visit the world it really helps it  

stick in my memory better and because again  consistency beats intensity I review anky  

every single day and before you tell me oh I don't  have enough time to do it every single time you do  

because it literally takes me 5 minutes there is  a timer in the app and shows you how much time it  

takes you to do the full review and it never takes  me over 10 minutes to review my ankey cards every  

single day and even if if you're so extremely  busy for this lazy language learning method what  

you can do is have it stack let's say you are at  the office and you have a lunch break and you're  

waiting for your coffee to be made so while you're  waiting you can review your ankey cards because  

sometimes it takes 5 minutes for them to prepare  your coffee so 5 minutes later you will have all  

of your ankey cards done and you will have your  coffee so there are no excuses just action I  

think a very important thing I absolutely have  to mention in this video are the limits of this  

lazy language learning unfortunately when people  hear lazy learning they start thinking about you  

know laying on the couch and bench watching their  favorite TV show without really paying a lot of  

attention because they're also Doom scrolling  on Tik Tok at the same time and obviously it  

doesn't really work this way you're not going  to magically become fluent if you're not paying  

attention to the language you're learning and as  I said before one common mistake that I see time  

and time again is choosing material that is  way above your comprehension level starting  

with a show that your friend recommended but your  friend's English is Advanced and your English is  

at the beginner stage I mean you're not going  to get a lot of value from watching the show  

and most likely what's going to happen is you're  going to start feeling demotivated because there  

going to be so many words you don't know so many  grammatical structures that are not your level at  

all and it's going to make you feel like you're  not improving fast enough and that you just want  

to become advanced in 2 days just like that  remember for learning to happen the material  

should just be a little bit challenging a little  bit a little bit challenging think about it plus  

one right this Theory suggests that the material  that we choose should be your current level plus  

one only one level up not five levels up and  not 10 levels up so just a bit challenging but  

mostly understandable another misconception is  thinking that lazy means that you can go days  

weeks months without practicing the language  and still somehow become Advanced guys believe  

me I did not become advanced in English because  I wasn't doing anything I did not become fluent  

in English because one day I decided to lay on the  couch and watch the office for 10 hours I wish it  

worked this way consistency is absolutely key and  I know a lot of you might not like the traditional  

methods of studying but you do have to engage with  the language actively to learn it well and then  

there is another issue of not really doing all of  those little things that make a huge difference  

once you start reading a new book you see all of  the vocabulary that you really like and you would  

like to learn and then you read another book and  the same thing happens you forget to transfer all  

of these words to Ani so you didn't memorize them  so you didn't use them in your next conversation  

with a native speaker and so the whole process  starts again I get it it can be tedious sometimes  

to create all of those ankey cards and then revise  all of them but it makes such a huge difference  

you're choosing the pictures that make it easier  for you to learn this word you're picking example  

sentences that work for your level and for your  situation a big part of how I memorize a lot of  

words in English and in Spanish is the way I  create my ankey cards they're all extremely  

personalized nothing is boring everything is  tailor it to me to my needs and my goals so here's  

the bottom line while lazy learning can be a  great supplement to your language learning Journey  

it shouldn't be the main part of it I'm a True  Believer of intentional effort and taking action  

because those two things have always worked for me  thank you guys so much for clicking on this video  

and watching it up until the very end if you liked  it please don't forget to give it a thumbs up and  

subscribe to my YouTube channel if you want to  learn more about the strategy of of lazy language  

learning I highly recommend checking out this  video right here there I talk about additional  

strategies that you will find extremely beneficial  so just click right here and keep on watching