Want to speak another language? Learn from Europeans

About this episode

Steve Kaufmann discusses how access to English through various media has influenced language learning among Europeans.

Every time I watch interviews from places like Budapest, I'm struck by how well young Europeans speak English. It isn't because their schools suddenly got better — I don't think classroom instruction has changed much at all. What changed is access. The internet, social media, YouTube, and streaming platforms mean people are surrounded by English all day, and that lowers the friction while raising the motivation. I think the same forces are starting to spread to other languages, and speaking three languages could soon be completely normal. Where did most of your language exposure actually come from — school, or something else?

People in this episode

Host: Steve Kaufmann

Topics covered

• language learning
• European languages
• English proficiency
• internet impact
• motivation to learn

Keywords

• language exposure
• English
• social media
• YouTube
• streaming platforms
• motivation
• multilingualism

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Budapest

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