Richard Simcott, a British hyperpolyglot based in North Macedonia, is known for studying over 50 languages and using around 30 fluently. As co-founder and head of the Polyglot Conference, he’s become a central figure in the international language community.
He started learning French at five and grew up bilingual in English and Welsh. His passion led to self-driven studies in Thai, German, Spanish, Italian, and more—often through immersion like au pair work or cycling through Europe.
Richard believes true fluency arises from immersion. Whether living abroad or simulating immersion with targeted media and tutors, he places authentic context above textbooks .
A former diplomat, he routinely engaged with local speakers during postings in Yemen, Bosnia, and Moldova. He also embraced self-directed learning—taking courses in Prague for Czech or using apps such as LingQ and Euronews for languages like Indonesian and Slovenian.
He emphasizes content you enjoy and can understand—stories, news articles, podcasts. He avoids rote memorization in favor of context-rich material.
From his own words:
“Comprehensible input happens fastest when material is coherent and compelling”.
To minimize interference and capitalize on cognates and structures, Richard groups his language learning by families (e.g., Romance vs Slavic).
He sees plateau phases as natural: not failures, but signals to deepen vocabulary and broaden context. He also accepts that maintaining 30 languages means focusing on those in active use and letting others rest.
Richard uses platforms like italki for tutoring, Euronews for media input, LingQ for guided reading, and even AI (e.g., ChatGPT) for practice and grammar help—but always verifies the output.
Polyglot communities mean more than self-study. His Polyglot Conferences connect learners worldwide. He recounts how languages “chose him” through serendipitous invitations—like joining a Cornish class and subsequently contributing to its terminology panel.
Reddit users recognize his authenticity and skill:
“Richard Simcott… just such a gentle soul… His gusto for languages is magnetic.”
“Richard Simcott is the most impressive polyglot I’ve seen… his Swedish is practically perfect.”
Richard Simcott’s approach is about living with languages, not just studying them. His success is rooted in curiosity, context, consistency, and connection—not shortcuts.
