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Oi Pessoal!
I had the pleasure of interviewing Gabriel Silva for my YouTube channel, and I’m thrilled to share this interview with you.
Gabriel is a Brazilian polyglot who studied over 30 languages and speaks 11 fluently.
Here are some takeaways from this interview:
1) What inspired Gabriel to learn languages?
He felt motivated to learn English as a child after a trip to Disney. He was frustrated when he couldn’t communicate while traveling, and this encouraged him to learn new languages. Gabriel believes that languages connect people.
“I always say: “languages connect people,” this is what motivated me and especially what still motivates me.”
2) What is his learning process?
One of the most important things in the learning process, according to Gabriel, is the rule of the 3 Ms:
- the method
- the material
- the motivation
“Without a good method, even with good materials, we will not sustain a good level of progress. Hence the motivation will drop. We must have a great method and material to make progress and sustain motivation.
3) How does Gabriel learn two languages at the same time?
To avoid confusion, Gabriel chooses two languages that are different. For example, German and French. To maintain motivation, he developed the method “80/20 alternate.”
“For example, at times, I was very excited to learn German, less excited to learn French. And in that period, then, I devoted myself more to German but a little to French. So, I devoted 80% of the time I had available for language learning to learning German and the rest of the time, 20%, to learning French, just to make a little progress and not lose what I had already learned.”
4- What tips Grabriel gives to the students in their language learning journey?
Gabriel believes that the best way to learn is to find motivation. He also believes that enjoying the process of learning instead of doing it just out of necessity is really important.
“When we fall in love with the culture, we start to consume content, whether it’s music, series, soap operas, or whatever. If we fall in love and start to dedicate ourselves a lot, this is going to make a big, big difference…”
If you’re interested in learning more about Gabriel, see the link to his channel below:
I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I did!
Até a próxima!
Speaking Brazilian School Team
