Language & Travel Hacking

Latest Episodes:

#29 Judith Meyer on Opening Up Opportunity with Languages Dec 21, 2020

Show notes

Judith Meyer is the writer behind Teach Yourself’s Script Hacking series, creator of LearnYu, and several other language learning resources and tools.

In this episode, Judith Meyer, renowned polyglot and language educator shares how she uses unique, specialized language goals to make progress in her languages quickly. She also discusses her involvement in the creation and development of several language courses and resources.

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Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

How Judith learned Esperanto online
How she uses specific language goals to motivate herself
How she prepared to give a speech in Indonesian
How to get comfortable learning a language outside of the European language family
How she manages to maintain multiple languages
Motivation in language learning and her struggles learning Arabic
How learning languages has opened up so many opportunities
Picking resources based on your needs as a learner
Her work developing language learning books and courses

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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#28 Lindsay Williams the Language Dabbler Dec 14, 2020

Show notes

Lindsay Williams of Lindsay Does Languages is a co-founder of Women in Language, the creator of Language Stories, and is passionate about language learning.

In this episode, Lindsay Williams joins us to discuss traveling around the world while learning languages, recording her docuseries and podcast Language Stories, and what it’s like being a “language dabbler”.

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Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

Moving to Costa Rica for three months at 18 years old
Her experience traveling around the world with her husband Ashley creating Language Stories
Advice for learning indigenous languages (Guarani)
Keeping up language learning while backpacking around Latin America
Maximizing immersion experiences
Plan of action for learning a language before a big trip
Being a “language dabbler”
Habit stacking, habit chaining, and time management
Language learning systems, goals, and routines
How to teach and be taught languages

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#27 Jessica Tefenkgi Ruelle on Mindfulness in Language Learning Dec 07, 2020

Show notes

Jessica Tefenkgi Ruelle of French Sunnyside teaches mindfulness to language learners. She helps learners discover their authentic selves through self-awareness, journaling, and other coaching techniques.

In this episode, Jessica shares how to be more mindful in language learning and improve your self-awareness, how to create a new identity in another language, and tips for journaling in another language.

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Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

Blending mindfulness, self-awareness, and languages
Discovering yourself through the language
Creating a new identity in a different language
Overcoming fear using mindfulness
Importance of knowing your why and how it’s particular helpful when you hit the intermediate plateau
Journaling in a foreign language
Going on retreats in a foreign language
How to help language learners work through personal stories and open themselves up

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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#26 Jonathan Huggins on the “One Method” Strategy Nov 30, 2020

Show notes

Jonathan Huggins first discovered his love for learning languages when he started diving into his father’s language learning library. That passion brought him to France to study music and continues to be a part of his life as he teaches English online while living abroad and raising his kids to speak multiple languages.

In this episode, we chat with Jonathan about why classroom learning worked for him, how to learn languages in the age of distraction, and how to create sustainable language routines.

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Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

How he excelled at classroom learning
Learning in the age of distraction
Sticking to one method and system
Raising multilingual children
Studying music abroad and in another language
Creating sustainable language routines
Recommendations for the first few months of language learning
Common misconceptions and stereotypes about language learning
Parallels between learning languages and learning music
Using Instagram and social media to learn languages

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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#25 Learn a Language in 5-Minute Bursts with Drops Nov 23, 2020

Show notes

Benny Lewis chats with Shannon Kennedy and Caitlin Sacasas about how they use the language app Drops. Drops is a visual, vocabulary language learning game that helps you build your foundation in a new language in 5-minute sessions.

Shannon and Caitlin share why they love Drops, how they use the app, and how Drops teaches vocab without translation.

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Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

The history of Drops and its multinational background
Why Drops focuses on helping learners with just one thing
How Drops pays special attention to teaching a language through games
Learning a language without translation
Keeping up your language learning motivation and how Drops’ 2-Day Rule
How 5 minutes a day adds up to a language learning habit and lots of learned words
Why learning vocabulary is so important
The difference between the free version of Drops and Drops Premium
How Drops decides on what new content gets added
Learning travel essentials with Drops’ “Travel Talk” feature
Drops partnership with K-pop star and artist Amber Liu
Language laddering with Drops

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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#24 Elizabeth Bruckner - from 10x Failure to Language Coach Nov 16, 2020

Show notes

Elizabeth Bruckner failed ten times to learn French. It wasn’t until she began exploring the online language community that she finally learned French… in her 40s. She’s since gone on to successfully learn German and Spanish and is now one of the coaches of the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge.

In this episode, we chat with Elizabeth about her experiences learning a language in her 40s, the brain and language learning, how to overcome our inner gremlins and Elizabeth gives you a taste of what it’s like to get coached in the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge.

We actually guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge 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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Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

Learning languages later in life
Finding the desire to learn languages
Using neuroscience to help with learning
How to stop making emotional excuses and finally learn a language
The biggest language learning gremlins to overcome
The importance of community in language learning
Creating systems and paths to push you towards your language learning
An inside look at coaching in the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge
Advice for the most common stumbling blocks for language learners
Finding language giants
Why there’s no one path to learning a language

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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#23 Michele Frolla on Living and Working in Rome to Learn Italian Nov 09, 2020

Show notes

Michele Frolla grew up hearing Italian, but didn’t learn to speak it until she was a bit older. After picking up her heritage language, she went on to live and work in Italy, fully immersing herself in the language. She then went on to create the Intrepid Guide where she shares her experience and tips for learning languages and living abroad.

In this episode, we chat with Michele about her experiences learning, living and working in another language and how this lead to her creating her own language business.

Featured Resources

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Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

Michele’s experience with her heritage language and its impact on finally learning Italian
Moving to Rome and living the Italian life
The power of modal verbs
Learning with pen and paper
Her challenges with learning Norwegian
The origins of her blog, the Intrepid Guide
Leaning into the fear of language learning
Making friends with her languages
Tips on finding jobs in foreign countries
Learning a language to live in a country that speaks it

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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#22 Steve Kaufmann - How to Learn a New Language from Any Online Article Nov 02, 2020

Show notes

Famous polyglot Steve Kaufmann joins us in this inspiring episode of the language hacking podcast. In our chat with Steve, we discuss comprehensible input and compelling input, what LingQ is and why Steve created it, and the early disagreements between Benny and Steve.

Featured Resources

LingQ

Mentioned in this Episode

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

Steve’s background with his many languages and his “allergy” to his heritage languages
The story behind creating LingQ, one of the most popular language learning apps
Steve’s job experience with languages and why he believes languages can be tied into any job
Consuming massive amounts of input as a method to learn languages
Benny and Steve’s early disagreements on language learning
The importance of keeping a positive attitude when learning
Learning languages after age 60 and why you learn better the older you get
Comprehensible input versus compelling input
What language hacking is to Steve Kaufmann

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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#21 Avital Spivak on Forgetting French then Falling Back in Love with Languages Oct 26, 2020

Show notes

This episode features Avi, who learned conversational Chinese in just 90 days with the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge.

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

In our chat with Avi, a Fluent in 3 Months Challenge participant and coach, she shares how rediscovered her love of languages and came to the realization that she is a polyglot while learning Chinese in the Challenge.

Featured Resources

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge

Mentioned in this Episode

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

“Forgetting” French as a child
What it was like learning English as a foreign language in Israel
Figuring out how to learn a language through self-study
What it’s like being Shannon’s language exchange partner
Using poetry, recipes, and martial arts to learn languages
Avi’s amazing progress with Mandarin in the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge
Coming to the self-realization she is a polyglot and falling back in love with languages
Learning how to maintain multiple languages

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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#20 Johan Tekfak on “Kaizen Power” in Language Learning Oct 19, 2020

Show notes

Johan Tekfak, creator of Français Authentique, shares how he uses Kaizen and other productivity systems to build his language business and improve his language skills each and every day.

Mentioned in this Episode

Français Authentique
Getting Things Done by David Allen

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

How Johan learned German for his job as an engineer
Creating systems to learn languages
Making use of “dead time” in language learning
Focusing on interesting and compelling content in your target language - not just material that’s available
The 7 rules of Français Authentique
What is “Kaizen” and how does it apply to language learning?
How Johann built his own language company a little bit at a time
Simplifying and de-stressing the language learning process
Common roadblocks faced by language learners
How to attach rewards to language learning to boost motivation

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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