Learning languages can be a massive or chore – but Gen Z and Millennials are trying to make things more fun by turning to unorthodox learning methods on their phones
A quick scroll on TikTok shows that Gen Z and Millennials are turning to increasingly unconventional ways to learn their favourite language – from brainrot memes to streaming K-pop. What’s weirder, a language expert agrees that they just might work.
Let’s be honest: Brits aren’t famously known for their multilingualism. However, Google is starting to paint a different picture, with searches for language learning tips are up over 900% compared to last year. The explanation? It may well lie in the nation’s collective travel bug. Nearly half of Gen Z and Millennials are planning to getaway in 2025, according to a recent report.
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By all accounts, “una cerveza, por favor” is no longer going to cut it. Whether it’s to understand your favourite artist’s music, to be able to order correctly from a menu, or even to eavesdrop on locals, more of us are curious about expanding our linguistic skillset.
But as with anything the tech-savvy generation puts their mind to, they want to do it fast . On TikTok, Gen Z and Millennials alike have been proudly showcasing how they’ve managed to pick up a new language through doom-scrolling and music streaming.
Particularly with the popularity of K-pop and reggaetón, more young people are tuning into their favourite singer’s songs to pick up the skill. On TikTok, there are multiple videos of K-pop fans sharing how they’ve been aiding their Korean-learning process by listening to idol’s songs.
Claudio Gausti, a language learning expert from City Lit, explains: “These genres of music also tend to include modern turns of phrase and local slang, so you can learn how natives really speak to each other. Rap also helps with rhythm and intonation as it’s fast paced, and the lyrics often rhyme – making them easier to remember even years later.”
So, pop and rap can be great ways to speak more colloquially. But young people are also using the nonsensical memes they come across to influence their language learning, proving that the ‘brainrot’ content that pollutes social media timelines may be fast-becoming Gen Z’s favourite language-learning tool (sorry DuoLingo).
One of the greatest aspects of social media it’s ability to connect us with people from all over the world. And while apps like TikTok generally try to show users videos in their language, many users can attest to accidentally stumbling into another country’s bizarre meme culture.
A TikTok polyglot recently spoke out about her ‘brainrot’ to language fluency pipeline. User @language.baddie, she said: “If you’re learning a language and aren’t consuming brainrot and memes, what are you doing? Memes literally help so much.”
She went on to explain that since they’re short, usually contain pictures and often follow easy-to-understand patterns, memes can actually act as a great introduction into learning a language. Plus, they’re usually funny – which helps you learn about a country’s sense of humour. Many of the most-upvoted comments were chiming in with how they’ve been watching French, Spanish and German brainrot to help them learn.
It might sound like a lazy excuse to doom-scroll and pretend you’re learning, but many TikTok users have been attesting to its benefits. Plus, Claudio is also in agreement that social media videos can be a useful tool for language learning. Although, he does advocate for watching slightly longer form content.
“To practice listening skills and expand your vocabulary further, watch videos on YouTube from native speakers of the language you are learning to help get used to natural speech,” he says. He also adds that after a couple of minutes you should pause the video and summarise the words in your own head.