Imagine mastering over 25 languages – not in a classroom, but through sheer curiosity; that’s exactly what Kato Lomb did. A Hungarian chemist turned world-class interpreter, she cracked the code of language learning without textbooks. Her book Polyglot: How I Learn Languages, describing the Kato Lomb method for language learning, remains a cult classic.
Do you want in on her secret?
Kato Lomb: Study Like a Rebel
Hungary in the 1930s and 40s was struggling economically and politically, and Kato Lomb decided her PhD in physics and chemistry was not bringing in enough money. First, she taught herself French and started tutoring. Then she secretly learned Russian from scratch in two years while hiding from the Nazis. As the war ended, in 1945 she became the translator to mayor-general and Commander of Budapest. Soon she was an accomplished translator working for the Hungarian government – and still kept learning.
One should connect language learning with either work or leisure. And not at the expense of them but to supplement them.
Kato Lomb was a professional translator in 16 languages: German, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Polish, Bulgarian, Danish, Latin, Romanian, Czech, and Ukrainian. All in all, she spoke 28 languages.
In order to learn all these languages, she did not attend a school or specialized course. Her tool was a book. Any book.
Kato Lomb’s Method For Learning Languages
Kato Lomb was persistent. Stubborn. Here is the gist of her method: extensive reading with minimal dictionary look-ups.
Kato Lomb’s core novel method:
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Use a novel as centerpiece of your studies. It must be interesting.
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Read the novel without stopping for every unknown word.
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When you see a word you can’t figure out, write a guess in the margin.
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Only look up words that keep appearing and seem crucial to understanding.
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After finishing a chapter, read it again. Preferably twice.
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Speak and write using phrases from the book. Take daily notes in your target language.
As intimidating as it sounds, this approach works wonders. It relies on the way human brain naturally picks up its first language: mainly through exposure and repetition in context. It makes learning engaging, memorable, and immersive.
The traditional way of learning a language (cramming 20–30 words a day and digesting the grammar supplied by a teacher or course book) may satisfy at most one’s sense of duty, but it can hardly serve as a source of joy. Nor will it likely be successful.
Kato Lomb on memorizing words:
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Create a glossary. The personal nature of a handwritten glossary is its great advantage.
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Always write down words in context.
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Untidy glossaries are the best. Doodle, go crazy, have fun.
Kato Lomb believed that language isn’t something you memorize; it’s something you live with until it sticks. Although she emphasized the importance of a good teacher to practice speaking with, she also believed anyone can learn a foreign language using her self-study strategy.
Grammar? Absorbed, not studied. Lomb argued that you don’t need to dissect every grammatical rule to start speaking. Instead, you should expose yourself to real sentences, again and again, until the patterns sink in.
And perhaps the most radical part of Kato Lomb’s method is enjoyment. Learning should feel like an adventure, not a chore. She encouraged people to stay motivated by treating language learning as a game.
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