How To Build SPOKEN FLUENCY A Foreign Language | Episode 01 

Hi everyone! In addition to this series, I'm also starting a new conversation series of interviews in various languages over on Instagram where we'll hear stories from lots of other people about their personal journey bridging this gap to fluency 😄 The first interview will be later today in English and they'll be coming out several times per week so make sure to follow me at _robinmacpherson if you want to catch all of them! 😊✨

You are without doubt my favourite language RU-vidr. So honest, helpful and inspiring. Thank you for your content.

1:25 -1:44 describes how I feel about spoken conversation even in my native language 😓 I'll probably be able to write essays in hanzi before I can speak comfortably in mandarin!

Input based learning definitely works because I’m at basic fluency in Russian and I’ve only had around 15 conversation in my entire journey. I’ve always been sceptical of “speak from day one”, each to their own but I personally prefer to gather a huge vocabulary first before speaking. My teacher is often surprised when he throws some obscure word my way and I know what it means. Love the content btw, thinking of going down the Chinese language rabbit hole my self. As you know, a lot of Chinese people live in the U.K. so plenty of opportunities to speak.

Thank you for posting these videos, they really give me motivation to study more German, viel Glück beim Chinesischstudium 💫

man I’ve been in such a dark place lately. Due to my gaming addiction and other stuff I completely neglected my languages again.. Just now I’m trying to get back into it and .. your videos and energy motivates me for it. Let’s go!

I identified with everything you said about your journey with the Chinese language. And developing fluency is a different skill and it’s so important to figure out how we can develop it.

Exactly where I am right now but with my Italian. Have you been reading my mind Robin ? :-) Content is my problem. I am trying to find something in Italian , about the Medici or the Borgias that will hold my interest. Does anybody out there have any links ? Thanks

Thank you for your video. It is a real support to my learning journey. I am currently stuck in my German Learning Journey and feel myself regressing to the beginner level. Your video gives me encouragement to pick it up and move further. Being a Chinese, I have to say Chinese is not easy. You are amazing! Support from HK here.

Hi Robin. Though I've been watching your videos for quite a long time, this is my very first time commenting on your channel :) I really identify with what you said to be honest. You just sort of tapped into my greatest fear of learning languages, which is basically the feeling of stagnation when you have put in lots of time and effort to learn grammar, vocab, pronun, things like that but you just don't seem to make much progress as you used to in the beginning. I must admit that though I've been a learner of English for 7 years, I'm still struggling a lot to speak english fluently. I know loads of fancy phrases and words but I just can't really get them out of my head. Most of time I just end up mumbling or even stumbling when speaking with the native. I think there is a big gap in my language learning process, or to be more precise, the "mental block" as you mentioned earlier in your video. Maybe any language learner in pursuit of spoken fluency will all have to go through this sort of daunting phase 😅 Anyway thanks so much for sharing your experience. I'm holding out for your next episode 😃 Cheers

As a struggling language learner, I truly appreciate your honesty and all the hard work that you put in each and every one of your videos. Too many youtube language learners are always trying to sell viewers their “learning methods.”Thank you!

I genuinely don't know how you do it, but you already read my mind last time with your video about going back for review as a part of language progress,.. and now you did it again! I had an italki lesson today where I felt exactly the way you describe in the beginning of the video - this weird stumbling around in my head where I feel like I just can't get the words out correctly. I haven't finished watching the video yet because I was so happy to hear my struggles put into words this clearly, but I'm looking forward to hearing your opinion/ideas about how to overcome this. Thank you for always bringing up the important topics!!

An interesting upcoming series :D I've been learning French for around 7-8 months and I'm trying to develop my skills in all categories into the Intermediate levels so this is gonna be a nice example for me and everyone else as well

Another great output. After 3 years of learning Turkish, all of what you said is relevant to me. Look forward to next episode in this journey. Keep up the good work.

I am at this exact point in my Korean journey so I’m really looking forward to this series. I’ve been studying for a little over a year. I have so much Korean inside of me but can’t get it out to express myself in a coherent and meaningful manner. It’s so frustrating!! Looking forward to picking up tips that will help me speak in a more confident manner. Thanks, Robin. Keep up the good work.

This is perfect for me. I've had a few attempted conversations with a teacher where I ended up speaking about Chinese mostly in English. Doing slightly better with a language exchange partner. But I still completely identify with that sense of panic as the time for my next conversation approaches. Looking forward to this series.

Hi Robin, I am Yolanda from Taiwan, Chinese native speaker, teaching Spanish to Taiwanese and Chinese to people out of Taiwan. I have being following your channel for several weeks and I am very excited about your series with Taiwanese in Chinese.

I think you've been reading my mind , Spot- on Robin ! Exactly where I am with my italian studies !

I’m interested in « native fluency »…let’s hear about tips about tips about that , eventually

Merci beaucoup pour cette vidéo Robin! C’est encourageant ☺️

Hello! Just stumbled on your channel. :D I started learning Chinese back in March of this year and I related to this video so much, I can read and write a decent amount of characters but speaking is so difficult. Looking forward to binging the rest of your Chinese learning playlist! Thank you for such helpful content, it's really helped me regain my motivation.

That's a very specific note Robin ! A mumbling , bumbling situation. It's one that we all go through. But once that first hurdle is over the confidence can soar to great heights. Impatience with oneself to be " a great speaker " is the killer. The road to grasping your target language is so long. I think that people just don't consider this before setting off. If you were to set off walking around the world you would make plans where to begin wouldn't you ? otherwise you would lose your way very soon. Maybe 99% of natives will be quite polite and be willing to help you. They WILL know that you are foreign as soon as you open your mouth ! So if you can accept that you will be half way over that first hurdle. I have said before, it's a very long road, you can't see the end ( there is no end ) so enjoy the flowers that grow along the side of the road and celebrate getting over those small hurdles !

I don't want to cause alarm, but the second leaf down on the left hand side of your plant looks particularly fragile. Do not stick your hand through the hole.

Always interesting to see your progress Robin Well done for the hard work there, Chinese is one of the most challenging ones!

I love your honesty, the anxiety is real and it's nice to know it happens to everyone and there is a light at the end of the tunnel :)

So excited for this series and so glad the the youtube algorithm brought me to your channel as well as all the clickbaity "How to learn a language in 7 days" ones

Good morning Robin! Love the content and everything you do! Learning German to speak to family and friends better and Because it’s a beautiful language. Keep up the good work!!!

I feel truly excited about this new series, thank you for all, Rob!

I guess this is going to be a wonderful series, I've been seeing you for a while and I'll be attending to theses videos, full support from here Robin :3

This was really helpful. I'm preparing to do a year in Denmark so have been studying Danish. The hard part is the pronunciation and not having someone to speak with.

I am really looking forward to this series. This is something that has been a bit of a barrier for me thus far. Your introduction describes me very well! Appreciate your videos. Always full of interesting and motivating content.

Hi Robin! Thanks for posting this video, it’s what I’m currently struggling with while learning Romanian and I got very motivated from watching! :) I know you’ve learnt Swedish before, if you ever want to have a chat in Swedish I’d be happy to help ✨

Oh how do I relate!!!

Robin, you have been making the difference in the world to many people, I've gotten to a place where I'm into a huge rut with my studies, I've decided to change, and for sure this change is gonna come from your videos

Robin 씨, this is exactly where I am in Korean! 감사합니다! 가자요!

Go for it Robin, you can do it!! Ironically, we've been studying about the same amount of time and with the same amount of gaps. I recently started Glossika, and it's super slow, but it has really helped me iron out my tones and make automatic pathways in my brain for the language. I'm about 25% through A1, but I can feel it, and my (Taiwanese) GF can understand me now! A separate, unrelated, language thing: I've only ever studied Korean and Mandarin before, until two weeks ago Wednesday. I started studying Spanish, and I did Lingq, Language Transfer, and Glossika together, and the language poured in like a flood. I probably have an advantage having lived my life in Texas, surrounded by Spanish, as well (and some almost entirely forgotten Spanish in high school) but... I literally am already watching documentaries without subtitles and getting about 30% of the gist, oftentimes a lot more. How's that possible? I'm used to struggle, to having to beat a word into my brain with a stick, and then forget it again anyway. Spanish feels completely insanely easy to me. Did you have a similar experience? Obviously, there are many words that aren't cognates, and I barely know the grammar at all (or talk and be understood). I can't even watch this kind of video in Korean, and that's my best language (B1-B2). I truthfully had no idea there what the difference between Level 1 and Level 5 really meant! Sorry to ramble, but I'm literally still reeling in shock. How can I just read complex thoughts in Spanish and understand after a handful of days? How can I already be watching videos? Korean's been a long, hard slog up a steep crag in the snow with no food or water, but Spanish feels like I'm windsurfing across a lake. No one really describes the extreme difference between learning these different kinds of languages clearly. Is it just me that's felt this? If not, It seems like there's a video idea in there, perhaps.

Looking forward to this series. One question - when you say that you haven't spoken Mandarin since that first call, you just mean that you haven't spoken to another person, right? You have actually been practicing Mandarin speech?

sorry I have to say can you be more precise with the title..? with this title I was actually expecting sth more like practical tipps rather than an introductory to a journey or indescribable transitions

Have a wonderful day Robin! It is good to know that you are improving your chinese.... Necesito ser más disciplinada 😁

I think it's perfect. I am also learning chinese and I love your channel. 谢谢您!

Hello. Thanks for all your videos always so motivating . I'm French and I'm looking for being more fluent in English and be able to have real conversation . Sometimes I can't do everything each day as you explained (I teach theater, write fantastic stories... ). Then I listen to you and hop it starts again. Thank you very much.

Thank you for your enthusiastic viedos full of passion … You have a talent for selling the water on the bank of the river, I mean it in a positive sense ... :) Although everyone knows everything you say, your words have the power to motivate, convince, confirm and for that I am grateful to you. Best Reagards Michel

I'm very excited for this. I've been going through the same thing with Chinese as well. Even if I talk to myself, I can definitely hear myself and it's been driving me crazy. I will be looking forward to seeing your progress and hopefully I will gain more motivation and confidence as well.

appreciate the commentary and ideas - I am in similar spot w Russian language. Good luck w the Mandarin.

Damn this is where I am with my L2. I am really really looking forward to this series

Right alongside you! I can't wait to get to that level in italian but it feels like a glass only my fingertips can reach at this point.

Siento que esta es la etapa en la que estoy con español. Estoy lista para hablar!

I'm exactly at the same point as you but in spanish

Thank U Robin.

Hello Robin

2:15am??? Ok.

Heyyy

🙏🏻