Benny Lewis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Benny Lewis
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Brendan Richard Lewis
1981/1982 (age 42–43) |
| Nationality | Irish |
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Brendan Richard "Benny" Lewis is an author and blogger from Ireland. He calls himself a "technomad language hacker." This means he travels a lot and finds clever ways to learn languages. He is famous for his website, Fluent in 3 Months. On his site, he shares his own experiences trying to learn new languages quickly, usually in about three months.
Benny Lewis wrote a book called Fluent in 3 Months in 2014. He also created a series of language courses called Language Hacking. These courses help people learn Spanish, French, German, and Italian.
Contents
Benny's Early Life
Benny grew up in Ireland. He has said that he wasn't very good at languages in school. For example, he got a "C" in German. He also just barely passed his Irish language tests. After school, he studied electronic engineering at University College Dublin. Later, he moved to Spain and tried to learn Spanish. It took him over a year to learn it well. This made him frustrated with old ways of learning languages. So, he decided to try a new approach, which he shares in his book and on his website.
What Does Benny Lewis Do?
Benny Lewis is the person who started and runs the website Fluent in 3 Months. He has given two talks at TEDx events, where people share interesting ideas. In 2013, National Geographic magazine named him a "Traveler of the Year."
He has written five books, including Fluent in 3 Months. He also worked with "Teach Yourself" to create four course books: Language Hacking Spanish, Language Hacking French, Language Hacking German, and Language Hacking Italian. Benny has also taught private language lessons over the phone and online.
Benny's Language Learning Ideas
Benny Lewis believes that anyone can learn a language well in just three months. He thinks "fluency" means you can talk easily with people in social situations. It's like how you would talk in your native language. His main idea is to start speaking a new language from the very first day. He says it's okay to make mistakes. You can even use very simple phrases like "me want go supermarket."
Benny explains why his business is called Fluent in 3 Months:
The name of the blog causes a lot of confusion for people when they first arrive on my site. I'm not promising any special time line for people studying a language; doing so would be ridiculous because the amount of work people put in is too varied. Most people take years to learn just the basics of a language because they do it so wrong, so of course a claim of “3 months” would sound arrogant to them.
It's called “Fluent in 3 Months” because I move to a new country, usually for about 3 months and I tend to aim to speak the local language fluently. The name of the blog is from my objectives in both travel and language learning. This blog documents my own language learning journeys and shares the ideas that make it all possible. The title of the blog is an objective[,] not a promise of a magic solution for all.
He says the name is about his personal goals when he travels. He tries to learn the local language well in about three months. He shares his own language journeys and tips on his blog. It's his goal, not a promise for everyone.
Benny's Language Challenges
Benny has tried to learn over 20 languages in short periods, usually three months. He shares his experiences on his website with blog posts and videos. He started recording his efforts in 2009 to show that it's possible to learn a language well in three months.
Some people have doubted his claims. Other language experts, like Steve Kaufmann, have said it's usually not possible to become fluent in such a short time. Research suggests that learning languages like English or French, without living in the country, takes at least eight months. This depends on many things.
Learning Czech (2009)
On June 1, 2009, Benny started his Fluent in 3 Months blog. He announced he would learn Czech well in three months. He hoped to have easy conversations with locals and understand a lot. After three months, he said he had studied Czech for "two months" part-time. He felt he reached a "pretty good level." However, he admitted he didn't reach his goal of full fluency. This was partly because Czech grammar has a difficult "case system."
Learning Brazilian Portuguese (2009)
In September 2009, Benny announced his next goal: three months in Brazil. He wanted Brazilians to believe he was a native speaker. Before this, he had already spent eight months in Brazil. At the end of his project in December 2009, he said it was a "partial success." Some Brazilians believed he was a native speaker for short times.
Learning German (2010)
In 2010, Benny planned to learn German to a "mastery" level in three months. He wanted to convince Germans he was from Berlin. He also aimed to pass a very high-level German exam. He had studied German for five years in school before, but he felt those years were "wasted" because he still couldn't speak it. After three months, he passed four out of five parts of the exam. He was very happy, but he failed the listening part.
Learning Chinese (2012)
Benny tried to learn both Japanese and Chinese. He found these languages the most difficult. He only partly reached his goals for them. In January 2012, he aimed to learn Mandarin Chinese to a high level (C1) in three months. After five months, a Chinese teacher said his speaking was "very impressive." However, his overall level was lower than he wanted (B1). His listening skills were "very good," but his reading and writing were not as strong. He didn't reach his C1 fluency goal. Benny later thought that not knowing Taiwanese social customs made learning Mandarin harder for him.
Learning Japanese (2013)
In 2013, Benny tried to learn Japanese to a high level (N2) in three months. Other language experts, like Steve Kaufmann, doubted this was possible. Benny first extended his deadline, then stopped the project. He didn't reach fluency but did learn a basic level of Japanese.
Awards and Recognition
Benny Lewis received a "Language Ambassador of the Year" award in 2012. He was also named "National Geographic Traveler of the Year" in 2013.
