That’s a good idea!

Gracias. Probablemente lo probaré algún día. 😊

OMG this is the first I’ve heard of it. 😱

Most of the “legit polyglots” also sell courses or coaching services. I’m not really interested in those courses etc., but some of their free stuff on YouTube can be useful.

Fair enough. I’ve mostly just watched some of his videos on language learning methods and a couple of interviews in different languages, so I can’t speak to any controversial views.

There’s a few of them that speak languages I know (besides English) that do seem really good. Richard Simcott, Luca Lampariello and Steve Kaufmann come to mind. But in general, I’ve got the same impression as you.

You’re welcome! Yes, it has so many languages.

My top app for commendations: Busuu and Babbel (for a textbook-ish approach - especially good for the big European languages) and Mango Languages (free premium if your local library has a deal) and Pimsleur for speaking. For Pimsleur the app subscription is the cheaper option.

*In your case MSA + Egyptian makes a lot of sense.

Also, I lived for 20 years in a neighborhood with a lot of Palestinians, so I already understand Levantine fairly well. 2/2

In your case MSA + Egyptian. I’d even say that should be the default, unless you have a connection to or friends from another country. In my case MSA/Classical for religious reasons and books/news and Moroccan because my wife is from Morocco. Levantine because I know a lot of Palestinians. 1/2

Having recently dabbled in Mandarin (I’m 48) the difficulty of the tones makes that relatable! 😊

Both. I took some courses and married a Moroccan 😅 - then I moved to a neighborhood with a lot of Arabs so there was a lot of immersion.

I doubt it’s impossible but there may be a need for other techniques once you get past a certain age. I started learning Arabic when I was 20 though, so I’m not sure.

I do think that technique is more important than being “born with it”. Also the more languages you learn, the more sounds/phonemes you’ve mastered already. For example in my case I learned Arabic before Spanish, the R/RR distinction wasn’t hard as both exist in Arabic.