Language & Travel Hacking

Latest Episodes:

Ask Benny: How Did the Korean Mission Go? May 15, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Benny goes over his Korean mission and lists some of the best decisions he’s taken and the setbacks he’s encountered.

He analyses the CEFR level he is at, outlines a plan to improve over the next weeks, and shares where he will travel to for the following months.

PS: Listen to this episode if you want to hear about Benny’s idea for a new hobbie… it involves K-pop!

To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@‌languagehacking) or Twitter (@‌fi3m), or you can email ask@languagehacking.com.

Check out Benny’s progress during his mission on his YouTube channel.

#138 Anika on How to Learn Telugu May 01, 2023

Show notes

How do you learn to speak another language when there are little to no resources available for learners?

Fluent in 3 Months student Anika took head-on as she learned Telugu with us. She shares how she taps into native resources with the help of native speakers and what to do when the spoken language you’re learning is different from its written language.

Anika shares her experience with finding content in another language and hiring native speakers to help her create her own learning resources. She also discusses what it’s like learning her partner’s native language, using the TPRS method to learn language, and how to take initiative with your language tutors.

Mentioned in this Episode

In this episode, we mention the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge which has been replaced by Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp. We guarantee that anyone who completes Bootcamp will have a 15-minute conversation in their new language after 90 days of learning. You can find out more here.

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Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Ask Benny: Can I Learn a Language With My Partner? Apr 24, 2023

Show notes

Benny gives his opinion on learning a language with the help of your partner and why it can cause difficulties both to the language learning and the relationship itself.

Instead, he suggests alternatives that would still allow your partner to help you practise the language indirectly!

To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@languagehacking) or Twitter (@fi3m), or you can email ask@languagehacking.com.

#137 Victoria Galmarini on Mundo Lingo and Language Exchange Events Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

What’s it like attending an in-person language exchange event?

Victoria Galmarini, Lead Manager for MundoLingo, an in-person language exchange organization, shares how to run a language exchange event, ways exchanges differ in different countries, and what a successful language exchange event looks like.

(PS: Learn a little about Benny’s experience at language exchange events by listening to this episode!)

Mentioned in this Episode

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Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Ask Benny: Why 3 Months? Apr 10, 2023

Show notes

Benny answers the big questions that a lot of skeptics asking him: Why 3 months?

Listen to this episode to hear the founder of world-famous Fluent in 3 Months language brand explain how setting himself a deadline of three months motivates him to actually learn a new language.

Benny reflects on his “learning drought” over the last 10 years, his new mission, and the work and sacrifices he has put in to lay the ground for his Korean mission this time.

Follow Benny’s progress on his Korean mission on our YouTube channel, and don’t forget to check out the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp.

To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@languagehacking) or Twitter (@fi3m), or you can email ask@languagehacking.com

#136 “Grammar Girl” Mignon Fogarty on How to Make Grammar Less Boring Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

How can you make grammar “less boring” to learn?

Mignon Fogarty, founder of the platform Quick and Dirty Tips and of the beloved Grammar Girl podcast, comes onto the Language Hacking podcast to help answer this question. She tells Benny how Grammar Girl was born from having to look up grammar rules often as part of her job, and how she grew her podcast into a successful business.

Mignon then explains how language evolution tends to emerge primarily from younger people, hence why using social media to stay on top of grammar evolution is completely valid! She and Benny discuss changes in the English language, including the emotional weight of punctuation online, and how social media can be the number one resource for fun language facts.

(PS: Listen to this episode if you wonder what kind of experience in life you need to become a polyglot. Benny explains how his background in engineering helps him face language learning in a more productive way.)

Mentioned in this Episode

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Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

#135 Azren on Going from Window Cleaner to Language Teacher Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

How can you find good resources to learn uncommon or less popular languages?

Azren grew up multilingual and made a career out of his passion for languages. He currently speaks English, French, Spanish, Gujarati, and Mandarin, but his online tutoring business covers 11 more… Some of which are not widely spoken worldwide.

In his interview with Benny, Azren explains how he went from working for a window-cleaning franchise during his university studies to developing his own language-tutoring team. He goes into details about how he carefully selected tutors over the course of several years, and how he maintains the same patient rhythm to constantly grow his business by organically recruiting team-members to cover new languages.

Then the conversation moves on to a pain point for minority language learners: finding resources, either digitally or physically, a struggle which Azren has learned.

From intensive learner to intensive learner, Azren and Benny discuss Azren’s methods to do full immersion, talk about how he stumbled upon the online polyglot community, how it helped him to grow as a language learner, and how it has impacted his teaching style.

(PS: If you’re struggling to get out of an intermediate plateau, Azren has some must-hear advice for you!)

Mentioned In This Episode

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Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Ask Benny: How Do You Start Speaking From Day 1? Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

Join Benny as he explains how he has started his Korean mission from absolute scratch—and how you can do the same! The steps are simple:

Avoiding English at all costs—so no English conversation, even with your tutor.

Cheating your way through your first conversation (with Benny’s very own cheating technique).

Throwing yourself into the project without fear or objections holding you back!

Follow Benny’s progress on our YouTube channel, and don’t forget to check out the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp.

To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@languagehacking) or Twitter (@fi3m), or you can email ask@languagehacking.com

#134 Pierre on Beating Fear & Shyness Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

Can introverts and shy learners also benefit from joining learner communities?

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge (now Bootcamp) participant and Norwegian learner, Pierre, tells Benny and Shannon how the joining the Fluent in 3 Months community helped him overcome his fear of speaking another language, and how he was able to learn more quickly than with any other methods.

Pierre also chats about learning a lesser studied language like Norwegian, how speaking German helped him along the way, and lists some ways to get feedback on your language skills.

(If you also want tips on learning a language to prepare for a trip, this is the episode for you!)

We guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp will have a 15-minute conversation in their new language after 90 days of learning. You can find out more here.

Featured Resources

Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp

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Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

#133 Zac on the Power of Music for Language Learners Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

Can music help you learn languages?

Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp participant and Spanish learner, Zac, discusses:

How his learning approach changed in the Bootcamp (formerly the Challenge)
The power of music when learning a new language
How to pick up your studies when you’ve gone off track

Zac also explains how he picks a language to focus on. He gives his favorite tips for choosing a language tutor, and discusses how self-talk can support language learning.

We guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp will have a 15-minute conversation in their new language after 90 days of learning. You can find out more here.

Mentioned in this Episode

Join Our Patreon

Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to bonus content and monthly exclusives.

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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