@ColinJohnstone: You got me wrong. I was referring to all hyperpolyglots , not just Benny. I mean just observe how only a few of us can learn so many languages . There must be a scientific reason for their feat considering the fact that there may be out there people how have more money , time and also have a higher IQ than the hyperpolyglots we know yet they can’t equal their results .
I don’t think that we know that other people cant equal their results. I certainly think that some people are more talented learners than others, but the main thing that distinguishes the hyper polyglots from us mere mortals is the amount of time that they put into their learning. I think they would all agree with me here.
I agree Colin, that this is a very important factor. Successful polyglots also have an efficient attitude towards language learning. They are capable of transposing themselves into the position of a person of a different culture. They have developed techniques that work for them and therefore don’t waste their time. They also have developed an ability to notice what happens in the language.
There is an element of talent. I am simply blown away by Luca’s ability to pronounce languages as different as Chinese, Swedish, Russian and eventually, no doubt, Japanese. He is in a class by himself, with Richard Simcott a close second.
I don’t know how many hours Benny’s planning on putting in, but let’s say 50 per week. 12 weeks = 600 hours. You can do quite a lot with that kind of schedule. I’m curious to see his results. I imagine he’ll end up somewhere in the upper-beginner lower-intermediate range, a solid A2 and maybe approaching B1, which is pretty good for 3 months studying on your own outside of Japan.
As for the value of the message, I think I agree with Steve. While it’s great to motivate people, it’s also important to have some realistic assessment of what you’re getting into. Learning Japanese is a big endeavor. And while I wouldn’t want to scare people off, I also wouldn’t want them to start and then quit because they haven’t gotten very far in 3 months. Benny’s been traveling and learning languages for 10 years, and he’s got his personal system and way of doing things. Someone who’s just starting isn’t going to be in the same situation.
I watched his video and I noticed that he doesn’t guarantee that he will reach that level in 3 months and that he just likes to aim high. He also admited the fact he didn’t succed in his recent projects so I guess we shouldn’t criticize him to much . I mean it’s only natural when you engage in doing something and wanting success you will set a short amount of time in order to maximize your potential .
New video about two months since the last post on this thread:
He’s improving. Still shy of A2 though, I think. I guess it’s sort of like what people said when he was learning Chinese. He’s more or less at the level you’d expect given the amount of hours he’s studied. He’s making slow, steady, but not mindblowing, progress. Which, as I understand it, is the point he’s trying to prove.