Acquaintance with Polyglot and Effective Tips for Mastering Foreign Languages

Halodoc, Jakarta – Have you ever heard of the term polyglot? This term is often equated with multilingual, which is a condition when a person understands more than one language. In fact, polyglot and multilingual are different things. A polyglot can speak five or more languages.

They can speak, write, and read in a variety of languages. Many people think that polyglot is a special talent. In fact, this ability can be learned by anyone.

What is a Polyglot?

If a person is able to speak, write and read in five or more languages, then he is a polyglot. In fact, this ability can be acquired by anyone.

This is because the majority of polyglots dedicate their time to studying foreign languages. So, anyone can actually become a polyglot as long as they have the will to learn different languages.

Another unique fact, a polyglot turns out to have a more unique brain structure. This study began when researchers had the opportunity to dissect the brain of Emil Kerbs, a famous polyglot figure, in 2004.

Kerbs is a German diplomat who can speak 65 languages. When researching it, the part of the brain called broca seems different from normal people. This part of the brain is specifically responsible for processing language.

Even so, researchers cannot confirm whether this unique structure was actually there from birth or became unique due to Kerbs’ habit of routinely learning a new language.

However, the researchers confirmed that the neural activity of the polyglot brain is different from that of the average person. The reason is, someone who often learns new things such as language, has more honed cognitive abilities.

This was also proven from an experiment in 2014. Research has proven that someone who only speaks one language needs to work hard to focus on a word. Meanwhile, a polyglot has a more efficient brain ability to sort out only important information.

Other research also says people who master more than one language have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s. You can read the following article for complete information: How to Maintain Brain Health with Bilingual Ability.

Want to know more about this? You can discuss it with a trusted doctor at Halodoc. Use the app now to get the best advice or answers from the experts!

Effective Tips for Mastering Many Foreign Languages

If you are interested in becoming a polyglot, here are some tips you can try:

1. Learn one language at a time

You can start by learning one language at a time. This means that it will be more difficult if you learn multiple languages ​​at one time.

Because, later you actually have trouble storing all the information and instead lose little by little from each language. Start by learning an easier language and work your way up slowly.

2. Take a language class

If you find it difficult to learn a language on your own, attending a language class can be the solution. By taking classes, you can interact more and at the same time test your knowledge of the language you are learning.

3. Download a language learning app

Now, many applications provide language learning. This application can be a dictionary, flash cardslanguage games, to special platforms that connect language learners with each other so you can practice together.

4. Read the same book in different languages

If you like reading books, try reading them in different languages. Not only remembering the storyline, this method can also hone your language skills by comparing them to other languages ​​that you learn.

5. Practice all languages ​​as often as possible

To become a polyglot, it is important to practice your language skills as much as possible. The more it repeats knowledge, the better.

6. Find a language pair

Another tip you can try is finding a language partner. Believe it or not, but this can be a fast way to learn a language. If you can find someone with the same or a similar ambition for learning languages, all the better.

7. Use laddering techniques

ladderring is a technique of placing the languages ​​you know in a mental order or hierarchy. For example, the basic language is Indonesian, the second is English, and the third is Mandarin.

If you want to translate a word into Chinese, instead of directly translating it, you can translate it to English and then to Chinese. This can reinforce each language and help prevent confusion between languages.

8. Listen to music, watch movies or any media

Engaging in all forms of media in the language you are learning is a great way to learn phrases and slang. You can see the similarities and differences between the various languages ​​you are learning and compare them to your mother tongue.

9. Use immersion when learning a new language

Writing, speaking, listening, and doing weird things like changing your phone’s language to another is a unique way to practice different languages.

10. Try the language shadowing technique to practice pronunciation

You can listen to as much audio as you want in the target language and repeat what you hear. This method will help you get used to conversations in a foreign language.

Those are some tips that you can try if you want to become a polyglot. It’s normal to be confused at first when learning a new language. In fact, you might feel like giving up halfway.

However, you can’t give up if you want to become a polyglot. Don’t just stick with one learning method. Look for other, more effective methods when you’re having trouble.

Reference:

Medical Daily. Retrieved 2023. The Brains Of Hyperpolyglots, People Who Speak 6 Or More Languages, Function Differently Than Ours.

PsychologyToday. Retrieved 2023. The Dark Side of the Recent Polyglot Hype.

Bilingua. Retrieved 2023. How to become a polyglot: 21 Quick and Versatile Tips.