Episode Summary

The US Foreign Service Institute ranks languages by difficulty for English speakers, but what really makes a language hard to learn? I’m Lindsay, a language learning expert, and in this video, I explore why some languages take longer to master. We’ll look beyond the FSI categories and break down language difficulty into three key factors: how a language looks, sounds, and feels. From opaque writing systems and tricky pronunciations to cultural nuances and resource availability, I share insights to help you understand and overcome these challenges. Remember though, no matter how difficult we may perceive a language to be to learn, no language is impossible to learn!

Timestamps

0:00 — What makes a language “difficult”?
0:18 — Free training mention
0:55 — FSI categories explained
1:58 — Category 4 languages
2:27 — Three factors of difficulty
2:46 — How a language looks
4:41 — How a language sounds
6:19 — How a language feels
8:10 — Bringing it all together
8:47 — Free training + outro

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Mentioned in This Episode

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