[@JD79-t9r writes in:]
Eisel, it's amazing how these guys always want to dismiss the 'talking about politics or science in your target language'. They say things like 'You don't need to talk about those 'advanced' topics bla bla bla.
What a funny cope!
First off, they call these topics 'advanced' based on their own lack of true fluency in their target language.
These are just normal parts of life.
Notice you never see any of these polyglots or their super-heroes like Krashen mention SCHOOL EDUCATION when talking about how native speakers develop their ability in their own language.
Because this would put an end to the whole Language Learning (fluency) grift completely. Because for someone to truelly be native-level fluent in a language they learn as an adult, they will basically have to relive a whole life in that language. Do all the school work in that language, from Kindergaten all the way to High School (at the very least) and University for some.
They will have to learn the Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Geography, Literature etc that native speakers learn in their own language. From the first day of school till the end of high school.
They will have to sit for all the regular tests. Get all the correction/feedback from teachers. Do the revision while prepairing for tests like native speakers do.
Memorise thousands of passages, sentences, formulas etc because you HAVE TO.
They will have to watch enough media to equal that which a native speaker has consumed. And this includes all sectors, from movies to comedy to songs to News on TV and reading Newspapers to cartoons.
They will have to also consume enough of the dialects of that language from different regions etc similar to a native speaker. Learn and use all the slang as it develops through their lifetime. So this way they know which slang is outdated and which one is new, and use them at the appropriate time like a native-speaker would.
For those who are religi0us, they will have to relearn their book and texts in their new language.
When you say these words to a Christian whose first language is English: "For God so loved the world...." They will automatically just say the remainder of the words and most likely tell you the verse it came from and so many other things associated with that verse.
Which Polyglot (assuming christian) can do this in any of their learned languages?
Can Luca Lampariello correctly describe (In English, German, Chinese or any of the 12+ languages he claims to speak) the industrial production of ammonia including the correct equations at each stage?
This is something done by a first or second year high schooler in most English speaking 3rd countries.
Can he define photosynthesis? osmosis? These are things done by 12 year olds in these countries.
Can he read a poem and be able to point out that there is alliteration used or consonance or assonance or sibilance... and be able to define what each of these words mean?
What is Charles' Law? What about Ohm's Law?
Can he explain each and include the necessary equations for 10 marks each?
Can he give synonyms and antonyms of words without having to think much?
How about talking about the periodic table in Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Cantonese etc?
Again, these are things taught to teenagers.
These are not 'useless advanced topics' as they like to cope.
Can he comfortably understand a CANIBUS song or a WU TANG CLAN song including the cultural references? Busta Rhymes? Eminem? Nas?
If given the chance to show his speaking skills, can he commentate on a whole game of his favorite Sport similar to how a native-speaker fan of the Sport would? Say, a World Cup soccer game, or professional boxing match or whichever sport he enjoys.
The list is ENDLESS.
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[And I reply:]
Photosynthesis is a telling example: I raised this issue with Wolvengrey at FNU, asking him how languages like Cree and Ojibwe could survive if we didn't produce fundamental science textbooks, such as "intro to biology", in those languages. Cree can't exist just for repeating certain sentiments passed on from your grandmother: in reality, everyone in that institution had accepted that the language was already dead. They were curating a museum exhibit rather than teaching a living language. Similar questions can be asked about "small" modern languages like Lao and Cambodian, if they rely on students to speak English (or some other foreign language) to deal with "serious" issues. [Added in editing: I interviewed a professor in Thailand who admitted that her ecology program relied on all of the students being able to read articles in English, and that most of her classes consisted of extempore diglossia, coaching the students to better understand the English text in Thai. I assume the students were writing exams and essays in a garbled mix of English and Thai.] Among the Sinhalese, it was common to meet people who could neither discuss Buddhist philosophy nor modern politics in their native language, only in English (although Buddhist philosophy and modern politics are uniquely connected to the history of the place, Sri Lanka). You raise several other issues that are worth talking about, but you might be surprised at the extent to which I can (and do) sympathize with these other YouTubers: they're trapped in a cycle of successfully catering to the audience, and they feel that they have to keep coming up with new videos every few days, instead of dealing with the humbling (if not humiliating) and child-like labor of actually learning a language (or actually learning about history, politics or photosynthesis or anything else). You know, I could produce a new video on Plato today, putting together a fresh analysis of what I already know in an entertaining way, but I could also read Plato (JUST IN ENGLISH) for the next five years, before making another video on the topic. Which of these two kind of learning would be rewarded on YouTube?
