Nowadays, influencers really do influence our lifestyle. But it doesn’t have to be a bad thing! If you’re a young language learner, following some language learning influencers on Instagram or TikTok can contribute to your language skills.
As a language lover myself, I have a separate Instagram account where I only follow language-learning influencers and polyglots. The reason I’m doing this is to see what famous polyglots do, how they study, and what resources and methods they use. I’ve learned A LOT from their educational content on social media platforms.
Popular Language Learning Influencers
I know there are a lot of language enthusiasts among the new generation, and that’s why I want to introduce my favorite language-learning influencers. They all create useful content that can motivate you to focus on your language studies or provide language exposure through social media.
If this has sparked your interest, let’s meet those great influencers, and make sure to give them a follow!
1. The Language Blondie
Teona, also known as The Language Blondie, is a polyglot who can speak 8 languages (English, Spanish, French, Turkish, Greek, Macedonian, Bulgarian, and Serbian). Nobody knows which one is her native language. Where she is from is also a big mystery that everybody wants to learn.
Teona creates fun content where she shows her polyglot skills and speaks in different languages. She also creates educational content for her audience, such as language learning tips.
Currently, Teona has 764K followers on Instagram and 386K on TikTok.
Follow The Language Blondie on Instagram and TikTok!
2. Elysse DaVega
Elysse is a polyglot and language-learning influencer who can speak 6 languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Turkish) plus American Sign Language. She is from the United States, but she often travels around the world.
Elysee creates educational content on Instagram and YouTube. She shares app reviews and useful tips and resources for those six languages. She also creates language-learning plans on Notion for people who want to learn multiple languages at the same time. I love watching her videos as she is a positive vibes-only kind of person!
Currently, Elysse has 110K followers on Instagram and 122K subscribers on YouTube.
Follow Elysse DaVega on Instagram and subscribe to her YouTube channel!
3. Michelle Languages
Michelle is another polyglot and language-learning influencer who can speak 8 languages (Italian, English, Spanish, Japanese, French, Korean, Portuguese, and Chinese). She is from Italy and describes herself as a lifelong learner. She shares regular posts and reels about language app reviews, language learning tips, and resources on Instagram. If you want to learn Japanese, for example, you should check the resources she recommends for learning it!
Michelle is the owner of The Polyglot Besties Club, where you can meet fellow polyglots and language learners, practice speaking with people, and study together while having fun.
Currently, Michelle has 60K followers on Instagram.
Follow Michelle Languages on Instagram!
4. Lindie Botes
Lindie Botes is a designer, polyglot, and YouTuber. She is originally from South Africa, but she traveled and lived in various countries as she grew up. She can speak 10 languages (English, Afrikaans, French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Malay, Tagalog, Hungarian, and Vietnamese). Furthermore, she is a famous polyglot who has appeared on various TV shows and magazines across the world.
Apart from social media, Lindie has a website where she publishes blog posts about all things related to language learning. She is also the co-founder of a vocabulary app, Kaards.
Currently, Lindie has 47K followers on Instagram and 330K subscribers on YouTube.
Follow Lindie Botes on Instagram and subscribe to her YouTube channel!
5. Steve Kaufmann
Steve Kaufmann is a 78-year-old polyglot and former Canadian diplomat who can speak — wait for it — almost 20 languages (English, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Swedish, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Polish and Turkish) — my hand got tired just from writing! He believes anyone can learn — sorry, acquire — a new language with the right method: immersion. He shares his language learning experiences and best methods on YouTube.
Steve Kaufmann is also the founder of a language learning app, LingQ, which is known for its immersive language learning method which uses authentic content.
Currently, Steve has 45K followers on Instagram and 988K subscribers on YouTube.
Follow Steve Kaufmann on Instagram and subscribe to his YouTube channel!
6. Iclal
Iclal is a young polyglot from Turkey, and she can speak 9 languages (Turkish, English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, Russian, and Swedish). She mostly shares about her personal life and travels on Instagram and all things related to language learning on YouTube. I especially like watching her interviews with other polyglots and her having conversations in multiple languages.
Currently, Iclal has 44K followers on Instagram and 211K subscribers on YouTube.
Follow Iclal on Instagram and subscribe to her YouTube channel!
7. Ikenna
Ikenna is a polyglot and YouTuber who can speak 7 languages (English, Japanese, Russian, French, Dutch, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish). He believes language learning will be easy as long as it’s fun. He shares fun and educational videos on YouTube where he talks about his language learning experiences, learning tips, and app reviews. Nowadays, he’s developing a language-learning app named Fluyo.
Currently, Ikenna has 30K followers on Instagram and 891K subscribers on YouTube.
Follow Ikenna on Instagram and subscribe to his YouTube channel!
8. Olly Richards
Olly Richards is a polyglot, teacher, linguist, and YouTuber who can speak 10 languages (English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Thai, Arabic, Cantonese, and Italian). He has appeared in news and magazines and published many books about language learning.
Olly shares educational videos related to language learning and becoming a polyglot on his YouTube channel. He’s also the creator of StoryLearning, which is a method — also a website — for learning any language faster. He has also published many short story books for different languages and levels.
Currently, Olly has 26K followers on Instagram and 411K subscribers on YouTube.
Follow Olly Richards on Instagram and subscribe to his YouTube channel!
Additional Resource
Similar to these language learning channels is the Ling Learn Languages channel on YouTube! The channel posts videos related to language learning tips, dos and don’ts in various cultures and so on. The channel posts learning tips for over 60 languages. Currently, it has a subscriber base of 3.14k which is increasing day by day.
Final Words
I hope this article gives you an idea of how to use social media for language learning. All these amazing people can influence you for the better. They can help you get motivated, be accountable for your learning, find good resources, and implement useful methods. All you have to do is to follow the right people on Instagram or YouTube!
Let me know your favorite language-learning influencers in the comments! I’m curious!
