Video summary
The speaker begins by introducing a reaction to a video by Mikel Hyperpolyglot, whom he describes as a figure of action and many words despite his short video length. The host expresses frustration over being blocked by Mikel for over a year and notes that Mikel has failed to complete his promised three-month Japanese language challenge in two and a half years, having only completed 25 days before abandoning the project. While Mikel continues to claim fluency in twelve languages, the speaker questions why he hasn't expanded to twenty given his own methodology's supposed speed. The primary focus of the video is Mikel's intense criticism of "cross talk," a technique he claims is the worst language learning method ever seen, which serves as a form of rage bait against the Dreaming Spanish community that Mikel frequently targets in his content.
The core issue discussed is the definition and application of cross talk, where learners speak their native language while being addressed in the target language by native speakers. The speaker explains that this term originates from Automatic Language Growth (ALG) methodology, specifically designed to help learners remain within their silent period without forcing premature speaking. However, Mikel condemns any instance of this behavior as detrimental, arguing that it trains learners to speak their own language instead of the target language when they have ample opportunity to practice. The speaker clarifies that while cross talk is a valid component of ALG, using it outside of that specific framework is indeed counterproductive because it wastes chances to practice speaking and hinders progress toward fluency.
Despite Mikel's harsh stance, the speaker agrees with his fundamental point that learners should strive to speak the target language as much as possible during face-to-face interactions rather than retreating into their native tongue. The host acknowledges that while there are many paths to fluency and different methods suit different people, the specific advice against cross talk aligns with the principle of deliberate practice and active speaking. He notes that Mikel's exaggerated claims about learning speed and his hyperbolic language are not entirely accurate or universally applicable, but the underlying methodological advice holds some merit. Ultimately, the speaker concludes that engaging in cross talk without a structured plan like ALG is a massive waste of time that actively hurts language acquisition efforts.
In conclusion, the video serves as a critique of Mikel's approach to language learning criticism, which the speaker views as largely pointless and driven by clicks rather than deep understanding. The host emphasizes that while he disagrees with Mikel's specific attacks on Dreaming Spanish and his unrealistic timelines, the advice to avoid speaking one's native language when immersed in a target language environment is sound for most learners outside of ALG. The speaker finds it ironic that Mikel, who lacks knowledge of the methodologies he mocks, has created a video full of inaccuracies about cross talk simply to generate engagement. He ends by jokingly declaring a ban on cross talk and promising to hunt down anyone secretly practicing it, reinforcing his strong stance against the technique in general contexts.
Read the full video transcript
What's up, grinders? Welcome back to the
channel. Today, we're going to be
watching a video from Muel the Hyper
Polyglot. Look at him right now. Look at
him in that picture there. He's got his
hand on his heart. He's a man of action.
A man of many words actually in this
video. How long is this video? He's a
man of few words. 4 minutes 50. I have
not reacted to a video from Muel in over
a year because, well, he he's basically
blocked me in every single way possible.
And uh Muel, I'm still waiting for the
Japanese update. You remember that one?
It's been 2 and 1/2 years out of your
3month challenge of which you only did
25 days for those who don't know. Okay,
Muel 2 and 1/2 years ago started a
challenge. That challenge was to prove
that his method learn any language in
three months. Okay, because if you go
open up his [ __ ] his YouTube right
here, you open this [ __ ] up and you go
straight up to the thumbnails.
I have a I have a playlist editor put
the playlist over here if you want to go
check it out where he big [ __ ] jumped
out on the scene. He was like, "Bro, I'm
going to learn Japanese in three months.
People act like this is hard. I'm going
to [ __ ] smash. You know what? I'm not
even going to do this full time. Just
going to put a couple hours in each day.
Should be great." After like 20 days, he
listened to some Japanese and he was
like, "I need to learn the numbers." And
then he never spoke about Japanese
again. Like the challenge just went
dead. And whenever anyone asked him
about it, let's just say it went very
very quiet in the comment SECTION
BECAUSE WELL, BAM, YOU WERE BANNED.
ALSO, I'm a little bit curious. Does he
still claim to only speak 12 languages?
Yeah, it's still only 12 languages, bro.
What are you doing? You can learn a
language every 3 months. You've been
claiming this for the last 2 and 1/2
years. Why are you not up to like
[ __ ] 20 languages at this point?
Anyway, that's not what we're here for.
We're here to learn about the worst
language learning method I've ever seen.
This is going to be big. What could be
worse than Dreaming Spanish? That's not
me taking a shot at Dreaming Spanish.
Mikuel has a a online hard on for the
Dreaming Spanish community. Okay, he
[ __ ] loves Dreaming Spanish. He loves
it so much he's pumped out shorts before
where he's constantly [ __ ] on it,
rage baiting basically, and it worked
quite nicely for him.
>> I've seen many terrible language
learning methods. gamified apps,
studying grammar rules and hoping you
end up speaking fluently by doing that,
binge watching Netflix series and
YouTube videos in the language and
calling it comprehensible inputs or
immersion or whatever they calling it
now. I've seen it all. There was a whole
heap of stuff listed there. All of that
stuff is valid if used correctly. So,
this is starting great. Okay, we've just
jumped through a list of things and he's
just handwaving it away like that's
absolute [ __ ] A lot of people are
wasting their time doing things that
don't work. But somebody recently asked
me about a technique that I hadn't heard
of. And it may be the wow. Something he
hasn't heard of. Okay. What is this
>> worst language learning technique I've
ever seen? When they explained to me
what the technique was, I couldn't
believe it. I couldn't believe people
are actually doing this and calling it
language learning. This is something
that people are already doing in the
real world on their own as a coping
mechanism because a lot of people who
are living in an immersion environment,
a real immersion environment, not what
people call immersion online, but
actually living surrounded by people who
speak the language all the time,
including to you. A lot of people who
are living in that kind of environment,
and very often who have been living in
that kind of environment for years, use
this technique as a coping mechanism. I
know because I see it here all the time.
I grew up in a small village in the bus
country which is part of Spain for now.
For now. Are we going to get a uh a new
YouTube channel? Instead of Mikuel Hyper
Polyglot, it'll be Mikuel Hyperolitical.
You know, he's going to go down the
political route. This is this is pretty
common for uh people in the language
space. They eventually launch political
channels. Not saying I'm going to do
that, guys.
But we do have a pretty big election
coming up in Australia pretty soon. No,
I'm just I'm joking with you. I don't
think I could deal with [ __ ] the
stupid ass comments around politics.
>> Speak Basque, an ancient and mysterious
language that's not only the oldest
language in Europe, but also a
non-indo-uropean.
>> What does that even mean? What the
oldest language in Europe? Like, how do
you even I have seen this comment about
Basque a lot. I've also seen a similar
comment especially when I've gone to the
Sydney language festival from Tamil
speakers saying there's the oldest
language in the world. What does that
even mean? Like every language is in a
constant state of evolution. Okay, it's
constantly changing. Well, we know what
Basque looked like 4,000 years ago. Do
we linguist down in the comment section,
let me know. Has it not changed in like
the last 4,000 years? Is that what the
claim is based around? Like why do
people like I've seen this claim several
different times but to me just logically
every language is equally old in some
way unless it's literally a constructed
language like Espirano because they are
in a constant state of evolution. So how
can we make this claim?
>> That means that it's completely
different from any other language in
Europe. We also speak Spanish of course
because Spanish
>> Okay, I understand the claim around it
being different to every other language
in Europe, but that does not
automatically make it the oldest
language in Europe unless it means like
the oldest
native language to Europe and we don't
count the others because they, you know,
kind of worm their way into Europe like
immigrants, all those dirty romance
immigrant language. No, that's not how
it works.
>> Is the official language here. So, a lot
of us grew up bilingual, but many others
grew up speaking Spanish only. And they
learned Basque by going to classes and
doing lots and lots of extremely
complicated grammar exercises. And if
you haven't looked at Basque grammar,
it's really really complicated. So a lot
of kids here had lots and lots of Basque
classes with grammar exercises, but
often also had maths and history and
everything else in Basque, even though
they couldn't really speak it. The
teacher would speak to them in Basque
and they'd respond in Spanish. So they
could understand relatively well, but
they couldn't speak. They simply
couldn't make themselves speak even
after years of classes. and thousands of
hours of so-called immersion. Now,
here's the thing.
>> I'd be curious to know within this
instance because I know for example with
immigrants who come to Australia, their
parents will speak to them in the
language. They will understand the
language like the children. Okay. But
they never have the desire to speak it.
Maybe because it makes them feel like
outcasts when they speak it. Maybe
because they just don't see the use in
it because, you know, everyone speaks
English around them. So, is this a
similar instance within Basque country
in Spain? because they're just like,
well, everyone speaks Spanish, so why
should I learn this like language? Do I
really have to speak it? Like, is this
just that an instance where the kids
just growing up there who have to take
it in school are just like, uh, waste of
time. I don't want to do this, and this
is their way of rebelling. Someone from
that region, let me know.
>> A lot of these people will never get
past this stage. They'll continue to
understand Basque, but will never really
speak it. They will always answer to you
in Spanish.
This sounds like a common outcome of
anyone who mildly gets successful in a
language. Okay? Because obviously the
vast majority of people when they start
a language, they quit pretty soon.
That's most people, okay? And then those
who make some progress, a lot of them
make more progress with listening or
reading because, you know, those are the
easier skill sets to kind of build up in
some ways, but they never get good at
speaking. So it's like each group is a
very small minority of the next group.
So those who get good at speaking,
reading, and listening, you know, all of
these skills, they're going to be the
smallest group always, no matter what
methodology.
>> Some of them by consistently making an
effort and trying to speak Basque
instead of answering in Spanish, will
end up speaking Basque more or less
fluently. But many of them won't.
They'll stay stuck at this level for the
rest of their lives. They'll be able to
understand, but they won't be able to
speak it. Now, what does this have to do
with the worst language learning
technique ever? Well, apparently people
are called
>> Wait, he said the worst language
learning technique, not method.
Okay,
>> calling this cross talk now.
>> Are you kidding me? This whole video is
about cross talk. Are you kidding? Okay,
this blows my mind. So, for those who
don't know, Mikuel has been [ __ ] on
Dreaming Spanish for years. This just to
me shows that he never actually really
looked into what he was [ __ ] on
because if he did, he would know that
dreaming Spanish is underpinned by a
methodology called ALG, automatic
language growth. And a big part of that
methodology, there is a a technique that
they use, as he said, called cross talk.
It is not a standalone method. It is
part of the whole ALG thing. Anyone
who's not an ALG is not going to call
what he was just talking about cross
talk. Cross talk being okay. So
basically you know I'll let him talk
maybe he will explain it.
>> They are being talked in the language
that they are learning and they speak
back in their language. So two people.
>> So yes, that is what cross talk is. But
cross talk is done with intention
as part of that methodology. ALG. Now if
you're just like if some random kid
talks to his parents in English and his
parents talk to him in Chinese, I'm not
going to say that they're conducting
cross talk unless I'm talking with
someone who's, you know, interested in
ALG or knows about ALG because they
won't have a clue what [ __ ] cross
talk is. That terminology literally
comes from ALG. So unless there's been a
sudden change within the language space
as of recently and this terminology from
AG has now suddenly spread through the
rest of the language space and now is
being applied outside of its original
scope. You can't really say that any
instance of that is cross talk
>> having a conversation in two different
languages both of them speaking their
own language. I don't know who the
genius is who invented this nons.
Well, maybe maybe if you looked into the
methods you've been [ __ ] on in the
past, Mikuel, you would know who the
geniuses who invented this method for
[ __ ] sake. You know, this is what
annoys me about him. Like, I go through
and do actual testing of methods and go
down deep. Like, I dive into this [ __ ]
[ __ ] deep. I watch [ __ ] grainy ass
presentation footage from the [ __ ]
creators of these different methods,
okay? to understand them at their core.
And then you got Muel out here who's
dropping shorts, [ __ ] on Dreaming
Spanish or whatnot, doesn't have a clue
what it actually entails. Like, it's
obviously just [ __ ] all rage bait to
get like clicks within the [ __ ]
hourgo. Br. That is so sad. That is so
sad that he like
this is
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But this language
learning technique is not only useless,
it's even detrimental to your language
learning progress.
>> You know, the crazy thing is, okay, I'm
not the greatest fan of ALG, automatic
language growth. I've spoken about that.
I've done testing on this channel and
I've given you guys my conclusions on
that. But of that entire methodology,
cross talk is probably one of the
redeeming factors. like it's probably
one of the things that actually does
help if you're doing that methodology.
But if you're doing anything else, like
if you're not following the ALG
methodology, then yeah, you probably
it's probably not the best of ideas to
do cross talk or just to speak in your
native language when you have ample
opportunity to practice speaking. Cross
talk is done in order to ensure that you
remain within the silent period. That is
the whole point of it. Okay? So it's
like unless you're following ALG, you're
not actually doing cross talk. Even if
you're doing those actions, you're just
for whatever reason not speaking.
>> If you're able to understand the
language you're trying to learn and
you're putting yourself in a situation
where you're being talked at by native
speakers, why on earth would you speak
your own language? You're wasting
chances to speak.
>> Yeah. So, you know, the funny thing is I
agree with him fundamentally that you
should be trying to speak the language
as much as you can, as often as you can,
with whoever you can. Okay. Like I 100%
agree with him here. I just find it
[ __ ] hilarious that he's like, "Well,
who the [ __ ] invented this cross talk
shit?" Well, he's got a backlog of
videos [ __ ] on the methodology that
invented cross talk. You're conditioning
yourself to speak your own language
instead of trying to speak the target
language, which is what you should be
doing. You should be speaking your
target language as much as possible. And
if you're not able to speak your target
language yet, you need to practice more
on your own. Do listening and repeating
at home. Do active recall. Learn your
language islands and you'll be able to
speak. And then when you're face to face
with native speakers, actually speak the
language. Do not
>> I agree with all of that. That is
perfectly fine.
No issues with that at all.
>> Not speak your own language when they
talk to you in the target language.
That's
>> You know, I'm actually a little bit
pissed right now because we're 4 minutes
into a 450 uh video. I was expecting the
worst language learning method in the
world, not just a random attack against
cross talk.
>> It's a massive waste of time and you're
hurting your language progress. You're
training yourself not to speak the
language when you hear it. This is a
terrible idea. Don't do this. And
whoever's telling you to do this
nonsense, stop listening to them
immediately. If you want to become
fluent in a foreign language, you need
to start practicing actively. You need
deliberate practice with feedback.
>> Yeah, I'm not completely black and white
like Muel in this regard. There are many
roads to fluency and the road you take
should be the road that you enjoy the
most and works for you because at the
end of the day, the goal is actual
fluency. Like Muel's method works fine,
I guess, for him and probably the people
that follow it, okay? But it it's not
going to work for everyone. And I'm more
inclined to follow his method as opposed
to like AG or anything like that. uh
just because there's a lot more like
parts that I agree with overall. I don't
agree with his [ __ ]
hyperolic
language around how quickly you're going
to learn a language. Totally don't
agree. But the methods themselves are
fine as long as you keep them within the
scope of reality. This was the most
pointless video I have watched in ages.
I'm so glad I came back to Mckela after
a year and a half, 2.5 years of waiting
for a Japanese update to get a video of
him [ __ ] on [ __ ] cross talk.
That's pretty much it. I hope you've
enjoyed this video. Don't [ __ ] do
cross talk, you [ __ ] losers. I'll see
you all in the next video. And if you're
not there, I assume you're doing cross
talk secretly in the shadows. That
shit's been prohibited. This is
prohibition, [ __ ] I will find you.