Easy Languages (YouTube)

Easy Languages is a language learning network that produces subtitled street interviews to teach more than 40 languages using unscripted speech from local speakers.[1]

History

The project began in 2005 in Münster, Germany, when media educator Janusz Hamerski led a school video workshop and, with participant Cari Schmid, produced a video teaching German greetings, which was uploaded to YouTube soon after the platform's launch.[2] In 2014, YouTube selected Easy German for its creator program, and Hamerski and Schmid moved to Berlin to expand the project.[3] By 2021 the network included more than a dozen channels in different languages using the same interview format.[4]

Format

The project has expanded into more than 40 languages, with each channel presenting street interviews subtitled in both the local language and English.[2] A franchise system allows new contributors to launch channels while maintaining the network's format. Many franchises offer membership tiers granting access to exclusive content.[3]

Easy Languages partners with the German-language education company Seedlang, and several Easy Languages employees produce content for Seedlang's apps.[5]

German mainstream press has covered the project's accessibility.[2] In 2023, the German government's public diplomacy platform cited Easy German as an example of online German instruction.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Flemons, Kit (5 September 2022). "How Easy English Brings Real Language to Learners". ELTABB Connections. 4 (9).
  2. 1 2 3 Manthei, Lilian (16 March 2025). "Youtuberin im Interview: Alles begann mit einem "Hallo"". Westfälischen Nachrichten. Muenster, Germany: Westfälische Medien GmbH & Co. KG. p. 23. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  3. 1 2 Kluck, Nora (1 June 2022). "Deutsch lernen wie mit Freunden". Wissen, Leben. 2022 (Summer): 4.
  4. ↑ Montali, Stefano (23 December 2021). "Our audience is so diverse': What it's like to teach German from Berlin's streets". The Local. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  5. ↑ "Start Speaking a New Language".
  6. ↑ "Deutsch lernen mit YouTube". Deutschland.de. Federal Foreign Office of Germany. 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
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