Lucas Berger-Yoni is an incredibly talented visual artist, student of geography, pro bike commuter with legs of actual steel, and a real-life chef if I’ve ever seen one (Gordon Ramsay could never, I promise you).
I met Lucas on the first day of 8th grade in Mr. Wargowsky’s 1st-period earth sciences class. I sat at the black lab table directly in front of his and through a series of very silly conversations, we established a friendship that has now lasted over 11 and a half years.
My dear bestie is many things, a Virgo and retired oboist to name a few. But for our purposes today, it’s important to note that my former Belvedere Park neighbor is a lifelong polyglot.
Lucas speaks and/or has seriously studied five languages.
Learning a language, especially in adulthood, is not easy. Learning multiple? Moving to another country and having to study, socialize, and live an entire life in your target language? A feat of determination and massive brain cells, if I’d say so myself.
But is that all it takes? Are we all just a push of will and some more brain cells away from becoming polyglots? Maybe. While we all can’t be Lucas, and his approach to success may not work the same way for us, I gave my bestie a (FaceTime) call to hear what advice he has to offer to us aspiring language learners.
Thalia Butts: Hey bestie! Tell us more about your background and your journey to studying languages.
Lucas Berger-Yoni: When I was about 8 or 9, I started teaching myself Russian from [the] Berlitz book, and I taught myself the alphabet.
And I taught myself extremely basic stuff, but, you know, when I was 8 or 9 I didn't really have the discipline to read a book and learn a language in that way. [But], later when I was 11 in 7th grade, I started learning Japanese because at that time I convinced myself that I wanted to study in Japan.
But in the end, I decided that I wanted to go to school in Finland. And then, in high school, I started learning Spanish in 9th grade with Señora Perdomo.
Then the same year, in 2013, I started learning Finnish independently using CDs and with connections to the Atlanta Finnish Society.
I speak Finnish fluently now. I live in Helsinki. I've been living here for six and a half years already.
I have like B2 level in Swedish, which is like Advanced Intermediate, and when I was on exchange in Ecuador, I also took a class in Kichwa, which is the indigenous language there, related to Quechua, but different. When I was in university here in Finland, during my first degree in linguistics, I also did a minor in Russian. I went all the way from like beginner's Russian to an intermediate Russian in about two years, and yeah. That's my background.
TB: What are the most impactful factors you’ve noticed when it comes to learning a language?
LBY: You have to know what kind of learner you are. Or if you're someone who can motivate yourself independently or do you need the support of other people. [That’s] the difference between learning with a book or using some kind of program versus attending a course and having a teacher.
It depends on whether other languages were spoken where you grew up and how exposed you’ve been to other languages.
But I think it comes down to really having a reason that you want to learn a language. I don't really believe in learning languages just for the sake of it. I mean if that's something that motivates you enough then yeah, but if someone is currently monolingual, then I think they should maybe try and find some kind of connection, maybe to another culture, to another country, and really learn about the culture of the country.
I studied Japanese because I wanted to go to school in Japan. I had even chosen a university that I wanted to go to. I don't know where I got that from. I mean, I got it from some university rankings online.
But personally, I'm like someone who works well with goals and like having a motivation.
And it's the same thing like when I was learning Russian, I had the goal to learn Russian because I knew I had a little bit of Russian heritage, and that was kind of my motivation at the time. But then over time, I didn't really have a reason to be learning Russian anymore. And the pure, like, excitement of learning a new language had kind of worn off for me personally, and then it kind of fizzled.
So, depending on your approach, you need observation skills, discipline, and a motivation. And I think it really helps to have like a direct connection. You have to form a relationship with the language and know why you want to learn the language.
TB: What has been the biggest challenge for you in your language learning journey? What’s a big pitfall that we should avoid?
LBY: The fear of being wrong or making mistakes. It's a bit hypocritical of me to say because I'm extremely hard on myself, especially when it comes to learning languages and speaking, but I think with time I've become more comfortable and realized that making mistakes in the language just shows all the effort I've put into to learning this, and mistakes that I may make are reflective of my background and who I am.
Also, my hot take is that Duolingo isn't super good as a sole language tool for learning. It's maybe good for vocabulary and introducing yourself to grammar things. But, in the long run, I don't think that you will learn a language just by using Duolingo.
TB: Any last words of advice to share with the folks hoping to make that monolingual to bilingual jump? Is there any specific tool or resource you used in your language learning journey that you think may be helpful to others? I remember hearing you talking about a penpal once, do you have any recommendations for that?
LBY: You have to find what works for you. I don't know currently in the year 2024 what the best penpal sites are because when I last looked for a penpal, it was 2014, so 10 years ago. And the site that I used then looked like it was from 2004, so I'm sure that there's something [new] out there.
It's so personal. I feel like there's not one way to do it. And there are so many languages to learn and you can't use the same technique for all of them.
You just have to make the jump. The most important thing is the motivation to learn the language and that language specifically. Because what are you going to do with learning Icelandic if you're never, ever going to go to Iceland? What's the point? It can be through an interest, though. If you’re into Norse mythology, then it makes sense to learn Icelandic, because then you have so much more access.
That's the thing about learning languages. A lot of people in a lot of places speak really good English, so [being monolingual] isn’t going to stop you from traveling. But, you get to connect with people in a much more profound way if you speak the same language. It's like a key to a culture in a whole different way.
“[Language] is like a key to a culture in a whole different way.”
Lucas ain’t never told a lie.
What have we learned from our dearest Lucas? Here are my key takeaways:
May this conversation and the insights my bestie has so generously shared with the W2D audience encourage you to take the next step in your language learning journey!
Thalia is actually so inspired, she's starting German lessons in April. Viel Erfolg!
