I Don't Like Olly Richards - R - Languagelearning

5/29/24, 10:25 AM I don't like Olly Richards : r/languagelearning
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r/languagelearning • 2 yr. ago

PassengerNo3259
I don't like Olly Richards
I think he's very overrated. Overly exaggerated videos. Not actually engaging when it comes to learning
something. Spends 22 minutes to answer the simplest questions. Why is he in the bio of the subreddit?
He sucks.
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[deleted] • 2y ago
Honestly, I learned pretty recently not to idolize language YouTubers. MattvsJapan speaks amazing
Japanese, but he's such an arrogant con artist, for example. A lot of these guys are fake polyglots or
try to scam their followers into buying their lousy product.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/comments/vutum8/i_dont_like_olly_richards/ 1/6
Well I like him, his videos aren't that bad, a little peculiar format I must say. Have you seen his video
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on Latin? Pretty neat that one.
And of course you can't expect to buy fluency from anyone, I've never seen him claim that you'll
achieve fluency just by buying his books.
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KingOfTheHoard • 2y ago
I bought one of his books and it was terrible, and then later hopped on to an Olly Richards video
where he said he didn't speak that language, which soured me even more.
I agree, I'm not really taken with his content and I have a particular bugbear with Olly that is also
common with language youtubers but seems particularly bad with him. He basically has no
philosophy or advice for language learning that represents a coherent package. He sells
"StoryLearning" as a brand that sort of sounds like comprehensible input, but then a lot of his
videos aren't about that sort of approach at all, he'll do lengthy videos on philosophies of language
learning that, to me, seem incompatible, and a lot of his advice or services are just an evolving
expression of the brand "Olly Richards, language learner."
I know a lot of people on this board have very different ideas about language learning, full on
Krashenists (like me, pretty much), old school grammar drills and everything inbetween, but there
is at least a position there. I might disagree with someone who thinks the nose to the grindstone,
translate this 50 times approach is best, but they have a collection of practices they think are good
or bad packaged into an approach.
Language learning figures like Richards just think language learning is good, and anything you can
make a book of or make a video about after that is fine. What they're selling is not language
learning as a method, or a skill, but as a lifestyle. A vision of being devoted to the idea that wanting
to learn languages is great fun, but being too particular about how to actually do it is boring and
hard.
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CrossHeather • 2y ago • Edited 2y ago
To be fair to him, volume 1 and 2 of his Italian short stories - which I think are the same in all
languages anyway - got me off to a good start reading extensively.
The stories aren’t the best; one or two even had me slightly frustrated with the ending. If
anyone has read the one about the hike in the woods they’ll know what I mean 😂. But for me
they work as a first step into reading in a target language (at least for Italian).
Whether that step was absolutely essential before the next one I did (reading a chapter of a
translated Roald Dahl book, reading it again I’m English then one last time in Italian) I don’t
know. But I feel like the month or so of reading and listening to those short stories really helped
kickstart my progress in the language. I can’t imagine a world where I recommend them to
someone who is already reading, but for someone who has never read a book in their target
language? Sure.
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In you
Was it the Beginner Short Stories book? Because, yeah, the stories are bad, but what
really expect from a beginner story book? They reinforce a lot of "1k frequency" vocabulary, use
simple but accurate grammar, and the plots at least make sense even if they are a bit contrived.
I don't really know what else you want from a book aimed at infant-level learners. If you already
have 1,000+ words under your belt and/or you're already reading young adult content, of
course you should skip the book, but if you're brand new to a language it's a decent first read.
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Superman8932 • 2y ago
I like his short stories books. His YT thumbnails annoy the fuck out of me, though. I don’t have the
strong aversion to him that some do, but I definitely pass on many of his videos simply because I
don’t want to reward that shock-value thumbnail that is super obnoxious.
I bought his intermediate Italian course, even though I haven’t started Italian (but will at some
point) because it came with a free course (I got the beginner Italian course). We’ll see how I like it. I
do anticipate being underwhelmed, though, lol
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maeemserie • 2y ago
I’ve never seen a YouTuber who didn’t annoy the hell out of me so I can’t speak to the unique hell of
his channel, BUT I’m reading his beginner stories in Portuguese and they’re very helpful and the
stories are weirdly intriguing? Grading on a curve of course. But they’re more stimulating for me
than reading a children’s book; I’m less likely to roll my eyes and quit. So I appreciate what he does
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drzewka_mp • 2y ago
I’ve usually found his videos pleasant. Sometimes it’s interesting language-based videos,
sometimes it’s advice that I think is quite useful. At least, I know that I would’ve benefited from
hearing it when I first started learning, instead of much later.
I’m sure you can find YouTubers you prefer watching. No one’s for everyone, after all.
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kingman123 • 2y ago
I like his short stories. He’s also a pleasant person

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5/29/24, 10:25 AM I don't like Olly Richards : r/languagelearning

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r/languagelearning • 2 yr. ago

Sort by: Best Search Comments

CrossHeather • 2y ago • Edited 2y ago

I like his short stories. He’s also a pleasant person

Skip to main content Log In

Mehlman- do we love him or hate him?

When you achieve fluency do you think in that language?

Jive Turkey/Sub brief

How have you embarrassed yourself recently?

Are there languages that are better for deaf people?

What's the rarest language you can speak?

Do other languages say "pardon my [a different language]" to apologise for swearing?

Any other dads really hate Blippi?

What was your funniest experiencie related to a foreign language?

Do you have a different personality when you speak in other languages?

I think I reached my limit of languages

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