Gareth Popkins - Fluent in three decades? The joys of life-long language learning [EN] - PG 2017

We live in a world which seems ever more rushed. The pressure is on to achieve more, faster. As language learners we are often on the look out for ways to get quick results. Of course we should try to optimise the path to a good “working knowledge”, but then what?

For those of us in wealthy societies and blessed with good health, life is – on average – long. How should we approach our journey with this in mind? If you’re young (or not so young but new to language learning), what language choices can you make now that will bring many benefits years down the line? How can you overcome the challenges that come when “life” gets in the way, as it will? If you’re an older hand, like me, how have you built languages into your life? Have you found your approach changing with the passage of time? What are the special (perhaps unexpected) pleasures of a lifetime’s engagement? Let’s take a step back, share our different perspectives and enjoy the long view together.

This video was recorded at the Polyglot Gathering in Bratislava 2017 (www.polyglotbratislava.com).