This YouTube series accelerated my language learning from day 1
YouTube Language Learning Series
I am going to show you a great resource for all of you language learners out there - and it's absolutely free!
Towards the end of the article, I’ll demonstrate to beginners how they can make use of this and also how intermediate/advanced learners can really accelerate their learning to another level, there’s really nothing else quite like it out there.
Speaking a foreign language like a native, expressions and all, is often seen as the real marker of fluency.
Unfortunately, most language courses tend to be too formal and don't reflect the modern use of the language.
FSI courses are certainly no exception to this.
So this is why I love the Easy Languages YouTube channel. Judging from their 880,000+ subscribers, I’m not the only one! I'll supply a link to their YouTube channel at the end of this post.
What is ‘Easy Languages’?
Easy Languages is a street interview format for language learning, that provides authentic dialogue. Their tag line is "Learn (German/French/Russian/whatever) from the streets”. They are a non-profit project, producing street interviews for language learners from 2013 onwards.
This is an absolutely fantastic free resource. They cover many languages too:
- French
- German
- Spanish
- Italian
- Brazilian Portuguese
- Russian
- Arabic
- Chinese
- Japanese
- Croatian
- Romanian
- And a ton more
The majority of their videos are in German, however, there are plenty of videos in other languages too. French, Spanish, and Italian in particular have a lot of content.
Easy Languages - Video Formats
The videos center around the following themes with street interviews being the main format
- Street interviews
- Vocabulary training
- Verb lessons
- Grammar explanations
Street Interviews
The core of Easy Languages are the street interviews, and these provide (in my opinion) the most value.
They approach people on the street and talk about a chosen topic for that episode, be it the more mundane grocery shopping or going to the park topics, or the more controversial “what do you think of Americans” (warning - this Easy German episode is particularly brutal and funny at the same time)
All videos have subtitles written in both the foreign language and English. Arabic and Asian languages also have a 3rd phonetic translation. This makes following what they are saying so much easier.
Vocabulary training / Verb lessons / Grammar explanations
The vocab training, verb lessons and grammar explanation video formats are much like anything else you can find on YouTube. Often just conjugating the common verbs or providing base vocabulary. Obvious grammar points that are great for a beginner, but not so much for the intermediate and advanced learners out there.
This Easy Turkish video demonstrates this format when they talk about the days of the week. Simple yet effective.
Why use Easy Language videos?
There are 3 main reasons why you should consider supplementing your learning with the Easy Languages YouTube video series.
Authentic conversations/expressions
The videos have natural and authentic interactions between native speakers. You're able to see how natives speak their language with their peers in the real world.
You're not going to find this kind of authenticity in the media. TV shows are scripted. News channels are too formal (as well as often being monologues). Simulated conversations in language courses often feel stilted and sterile, quite unnatural.
Amount of content
There are in total hundreds of videos and most languages have at least 30, with a new episode produced every week.
Some languages even have their own Easy Languages channel dedicated to that language. I'll provide links to these channels at the bottom.
Cultural insight
Another really useful aspect of these videos is the cultural insights you can glean from them.
A language course in Italian will most likely tell you the basic commands of ordering a coffee. But there is really a lot more to it than just that, especially if you plan on traveling to Italy.
Does ordering a coffee in Italy have the same etiquette as in the US? Is it table service only, or do you go to the counter? Does the server take the money as well as make the coffee? Do I tip the waiter? Is cash widely accepted or do people use cards only? These are only obvious things once you have done it for the first time.
So how do you order a coffee in Italy? Here's how, with Easy Italian - How to order a coffee in Italy?
The Easy Language videos expose you to a range of intriguing cultural topics like:
- What do Austrians think about Germans?
- What are Italian men like?
- Taboos in Poland.
Good luck trying to find that in Rosetta Stone.
How to use the Easy Languages YouTube channel
As often recommended when learning a language, never rely on just one source of material. You should mix things up.
So something like Easy Languages is great to supplement your studies, but it won't provide you with a structured path to follow as the FSI courses do.
Beginners
If you're a beginner, these videos may feel overwhelming to you. The amount of new vocabulary, slang, and the speed that they talk is hard to follow.
Thankfully Easy Languages recognize the struggle beginners have and so provide a Super Easy format to their videos as well. Here is an episode in Spanish with the old age classic subject matter - Biblioteca (library). 
The Super Easy format means that the speakers talk in a monologue at an unnaturally slow pace so that it’s easier for beginners to follow. Like the Easy Language series, they cover all subject matters but without the rattling off words at 100mph.
So if you’re a beginner, you should definitely use the Super Easy format initially before progressing onto the Easy Languages street videos. Take an episode and repeat it over and over until you feel you’re understanding it better.
Personally, I write down all the words I encounter and that seems to help me. I later found out that the act of physically writing with a pen and paper has shown benefits to memory (source).
Studying these videos will help train your brain to the natural cadence of the language. Over time you'll start to recognize the same greetings and expressions. If you're feeling extra brave and want to study the street talk videos, you could always slow it down on Youtube like so:
Intermediate/Advanced
These videos have loads of great nuggets of information. For the intermediate student, you will definitely encounter a lot of nuances in the language, as well as a range of new vocabulary and expressions.
Advanced learners, there’s always room to learn more. Undoubtedly you’ll encounter strange expressions that you’ve never heard before and take an interest in the cultural elements of the videos.
You’ll train your ear really well when studying these videos alongside the FSI drills. However, if your goal is fluency, then you will also need to practice speaking. Speaking a language well is a social skill first and foremost. Skills are acquired by practicing, rather than studying.
So if you want to practice speaking, you have to either befriend a native of that language, attend a meetup or use something that I’ve used to great success and have an italki.com (affiliate link) conversational partner or professional tutor.
How I used these videos
I used this video series when I first started learning German. I didn’t have any German language experience prior to watching the videos. It was hard, I didn’t understand anything.
But I just kept replaying the first video over and over, slowing down the playback speed. At intervals I paused it and looked up what the words meant.
I felt progress immediately after that first session (and a headache) and I continued with the videos every day for months thereafter. This worked really well for me and I believe it will for you too.
Have you used YouTube for learning a language before? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Easy Languages Resources
You can access the Easy Languages YouTube channel here: