The Fluent Show

Latest Episodes:

"For the Love of Humanity": Using Languages for Good Oct 09, 2017

Show notes

In this episode, I'm presenting two interviews with women who are working to change people's lives through the power of language.

Madeline, Interpreter for Survivors of Torture and Trauma

Community Interpreter Madeline Vadkerty gives me an overview of what it is like to interpret for survivors of torture and trauma. This interview was an incredible chance to learn more about interpreting from her, and to hear why helping refugees and toture survivors get their stories heard matters so much.

The people Madeline works with were caught in situations that we take for granted in many other countries: running for political office, being a homosexual, or expressing different opinions to the mainstream.

She says got into her field "for the love of humanity", and shares what you need to know if interpreting intrigues you.

Marianne, Religious education teacher...turned teacher for refugees

When Germany accepted a large number of refugees back in 2015, many communities sprang into action. In this interview, I'm learning more from Marianne Manz, a school teacher who decided to put together a motivated group of volunteers to offer language classes in German.

Marianne works with a range of untrained language teachers - there are some pitfalls for sure and the group needed to find unusual techniques for teaching.

Special Guests: Madeline Vadkerty and Marianne Manz.

Why did Duolingo wait so long to release Korean?

K-Pop and Kimchi lovers, look out for Duolingo's latest offering.
We catch up on news with the world's (probably) biggest language learning app, looking at its course offers and money-earning developments. They have a Pro membership now, but we're not mad at them!

How early should you read?

Reading from day 1 is what it's all about, and we discuss why it can boost fluency and memory when you start by reading right away. Think connecting what you see with what you hear to avoid stumbling blocks like bad spelling, dodgy pronunciation, and all-round low confidence.

What about difficult scripts?

While I've "elegantly" avoided learning complex writing systems such as Hiragana or Arabic for my languages, Shannon was on hand to advise on what it's like to learn another script.

How to find input for your level

It's hard to get over these two problems:

Coursebooks are obvious, but they're so limited and dull.
Books for learners are great, but they take for actual ever to read.

In this show, we share a few tips for reading in your target language and in a way that is actually interesting! Shannon reads with her son and loves the Lingq app, and I am a big fan of magazines.

Revelation about the Lingq app

I have tried reading-focused app Lingq before, but didn't quite get it...while Shannon is their biggest fan! What gives? Shannon shares tips and insights from what it's actually like to use this app.

Why you shouldn't just read Harry Potter in another language

Translated literature opens up linguistic worlds to you, but you could be missing a trick. There is nothing like reading the words that came from a country, and I make the case that it is always worth it to spend the extra time and effort on finding texts that are originally written in another language.

The Language Reading Challenge

For more inspiration and a look at what Shannon and other polyglots are reading right now, head to Goodreads to join the Reading Challenge hosted by Shannon.

What do you think? What do you read in your target language? And have you tried Shannon's challenge?

Special Guest: Shannon Kennedy.

Could you become a multilingual parent?

We've all seen the feats of Bella Devyatkina, who speaks 8 languages at age 5. But how does that work? In my interview with conference organizer Tetsu Young, we touched on the everyday actions that he and his wife create a multilingual environment for their three (!) kids.

Applying your outside skills to language learning

You might not know this, but all of us have hidden skills that help us learn languages. I interviewed Benny Lewis and Tim Pelletier to find out what theirs are.

Impressions of Québécois

From how to make those dipthong sounds to religious swearing, be a fly on the wall during our French-language lesson on the Québec dialect.

A few words in Romanian

Listen to me try as hard as possible to get my Romanian pronunciation right with the kind help of presenter Mihai. Ooof!

Unconventional Motivational Techniques

Jana Fadness is a polyglot, translator, traveller, and introvert. She shares her insights on the most popular motivational techniques - and how she found her own unconventional ways of making things work. Jana's interview was amazing, her honesty stood out among the crowd.

Special Guests: Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy.

Links:

How to Speak Your Target Language Today, Not Tomorrow Aug 22, 2017

Show notes

Speaking your new language for the first time can be so nerve-wracking! Will they switch to English? Are you good enough? Will you even get the words out? In today's episode, join me to start beating those gremlin questions.

Links:

List of all Glossika courses
SaySomethingIn... — available in Spanish, Welsh, Manx. Dutch, Cornish, Latin
Moodnotes | Thought Journal | Mood Diary | CBT App
Say Goodbye to Shy — Great book by Shannon Kennedy from Eurolinguiste, in collaboration with Benny Lewis
LangFest – Festival de Langues de Montréal | Montreal Language Festival

Why is it so Hard to Find Pop Music in Other Languages? Aug 04, 2017

Show notes

Why does pop music matter for language learning?

What influence does the industry have for which music gets made and which doesn't?
Why is English such a convenient language for pop music?
How should you incorporate pop music into your language learning routine...or should you?
Where can language learners find music in their own target language?
Who are our favourite artists in other languages?

Links from this Podcast Episode

How to Use Spotify for Language Learning
Quora: Why do non-English speaking countries listen primarily to English-sung songs instead of producing modern/pop songs in their own languages?
Guardian: Behind the music: What it costs European acts to sing in their own languages> In dance music it's generally more important how lyrics sound than what they actually mean. Artists with English as a second language can be less judgmental about what's deemed a cliche.
10 Great Songs That Topped US Charts But Weren’t Performed In English
Foreign language songs that got to Number 1 in the UK
The Hottest German Lesson in Town: Deutschland 83 and Major Tom (PLUS Free Lyric & Vocab Sheet
How I Built This, an NPR Podcast
Honest Reggaeton (not 100% SFW)

The Biggest Pop Genres That Succeed in Other Languages

Latino pop

Notable collaborations include Despacito with Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, Justin Bieber, and Bailando with Enrique Iglesias, Sean Paul et al.

Alt.Latino Podcast
Residente by Residente, an album exploring the artist's international heritage

K-Pop

European Music and Eurovision

Check out Stromae, KRO, Prince Pi, Indochine, Robyn (in English).

The Best Language Learning Tools for Summer 2017 Jul 20, 2017

Show notes

Welcome to Creative Language Learning Podcast episode 56, with our popular roundup of this season's hottest language learning resources and tools.

Pop Culture Moment

Lindsay has been watching Terrace House, a Japanese reality tv show.

I found Bore Da, a Welsh breakfast show that displays key vocab right on the screen. Its app even gives you individual items with associated vocab lists.

Anyone remember pop-up video? How could would it be to have pop-up vocab video?!

And now for the top tools

Grab your sunglasses, get out into the sunshine, and try these brand new language learning resources. This season, we're not all about online learning anymore as you'll hear how Lindsay and I are applying our best tips outside too.

1) Prettier Notes

How to: Bullet Journal for Effective Language Learning

2) Clozemaster

Play the game at www.clozemaster.com

3) Charity Shops and Library Sales

Find a charity shop in the UK in this directory

And here's what's awesome too.

Live Lingua Project

Dubbed YouTube Videos

Need inspiration? Start your search with disney classic "Let It Go"
Type your favourite show + your target language into the YouTube search bar

Subasub and Subscene

Advanced geeks can even create their own Anki cards using the subtitles on offer (we saw a talk about this at the Polyglot Gathering, but it kinda went over my head -- if you want to go for it, start here.

Search for a word or watch a movie while following the script to get the most out of this for learning languages
Check out this example of scripts mentioning Twin Peaks in English and Spanish

What Motivates Me to Learn Russian (with Kris Broholm) Jun 30, 2017

Show notes

In episode 55, friend of the show Kris Broholm from Actual Fluency joined me to discuss mindset and accountability in language learning that come from a place of reality and gentle confidence.

Tune in to hear us chat and share:

Great advice for English speakers who want to have early success in a new language
Language learning is such a complicated jigsaw puzzle, so how can we really track what we have actually learnt?
Is it presumptuous, are you lacking humility if you set yourself a big, impressive goal?
How the reason you are learning a language is DIRECTLY connnected to the success that you are going to have a week, 3 months, and perhaps 12 months down the line
The one thing you MUST have in order to get language learning motivated - a sense of "this is who I am"

Four Tendencies in Language Learning

We revisit perspectives on the 4 tendencies framework Lindsay and I discussed in episode 32. Kris is on record as an Obliger, saying:

"It would be Embarrassing to tell people that I gave up."

You can take a test to determine your own tendency here.

Links From This Episode

Leave us an iTunes Review

Your feedback is extremely important to the show. It gives us inspiration, topics, ideas, and it makes us happy. Find us on Twitter and Instagram using hashtag #cllp

You can help our show by going on itunes and leaving us a review yourself - we are invisible without your help!

Special Guest: Kris Broholm.

Live from the Polyglot Gathering 2017 Jun 13, 2017

Show notes

It's one of my favourite episodes of the year - the live clips are in, so you can experience the Polyglot Gathering in 2017 with the Creative Language Learning Podcast as we bring you interviews, impressions and fun from the conference floor.

Here's just a hint of what's inside:

Wonderful best wishes to you awesome listeners in German, Indonesian, Esperanto, Portuguese, Slovak, Korean, and more!
Slovakia Travel Tips and insights into their unlikely national sport
Fiel's call to arms -- how to bring more love into language learning
The special vocabulary and handy rule 15 of Esperanto grammar
What Gareth Popkins taught us about polyglotism...and what it has to do with your love life

Come to an International Polyglot Event

If our episode inspired you to come and participate in a Polyglot event, check out the 2 big international conferences on the calendar:

Langfest in Montréal, Canada -- get 25% discount when you enter promo code KERSTIN
Polyglot Conerence in Reykjavík, Iceland

"Polyglot" is nothing to be scared of - not anymore!

If this conference has shown me anything, it's that this community called "polyglots" is ever evolving and slowly becoming an ever more supportive, familial group. It's great to see what people of all ages and backgrounds contribute...and of course it feels so fun when you're back home and suddenly realize your phone keyboard now has a Swedish dictionary installed.

To learn more about smaller events near you, check out 8 Life-Changing Language Learning Events Around the Globe here on the blog.

"We're Quite a Polite Show Really" Jun 01, 2017

Show notes

We love having you back with the show. WELCOME if you are a new subscriber. HIGH FIVE if you've always been with us.

A lot has happened over the last 8 months and in this show you will hear stories about...

The new languages Lindsay has been studying - and why she often changes them
How we watch TV in other languages
The joys of learning minority languages
Our favourite podcasts and blog articles of 2016/17
Where we are travelling this year
...and why we're a polite show

You can catch me and Lindsay at the Polyglot Gathering in Bratislava. Listen to hear more about the talks we'll seek out.

Links From This Episode

The Fault In Our Stars Bench, Amsterdam
Polyglot Bratislava Program 2017
Langfest in Montréal, August 2017 <- 25% discount with this link
FFasiwn Mecanic, a Welsh talent search show
The Language Habit Toolkit
Guaraní Language
What Gets Easier When You Study More Languages?
The Ultimate Guide to Language Learning Podcasts
Talk the Talk Podcast
SBS News Feeds available in 50+ languages

Your feedback is extremely important to the show. It gives us inspiration, topics, ideas, and it makes us happy. Find us on Twitter and Instagram using hashtag #cllp

You can help our show by going on itunes and leaving us a review yourself - we do read them all.

The Best Language Learning Tools for Autumn/Winter 2016 Oct 31, 2016

Show notes

This episode of the Creative Language Learning Podcast is as fun as ever, covering the ultimate Good, Bad and Struggling and our Top 5 Language Learning Tools of 2016/17.

Our Favourite Language Learning Tools for Autumn/Winter 2016

Listen to the show to get the detailed recommendations, and here is a quick index.

1) Lyricstraining.com

This website is awesome!! It pulls in music videos from YouTube and VEVO, adds the lyrics and converts the whole thing into a game. Teachers might call it a "cloze exercise", I call it "fill in the gap", and anyone would call this one a whole lot of fun.

Get yourself to Lyricstraining.com and give it a go

2) Gus on The Go

A language learning collection created by parents for children. It's fun, it's beautiful, it's available as an app for your smartphone and tablet. In a sea of language learning apps, Gus on the Go stands out for its design and layout. There are apps available in 28 languages. Highly recommended for getting any young person started in a new language!

Get the link for your chosen language here

3) TuneIn Radio

A language learner's classic for natural input. This app and website lets you listen to radio stations from all around the world. It's perfect if you're at that stage where you're looking for a way to "level up" in your language. There are also podcasts, or you could search by favourite music style. The diverse voices of radio DJs and exciting foreign language music will give you a great new challenge.

Download the app or listen live at TuneIn.com.

4) Tiny Cards

This is a new app from the team behind Duolingo. It's all about adorable flashcards helping you review and check your knowledge on anything, from language vocab to colour theory. This promises to take the Duolingo design excellence to a new level. Great if you're looking for a new flashcard app.

Right now this is out on iOS only, but you can register Android interest here

5) Eggbun

Yes, it's another super cute app! This innovative little app works like a text chat, where you're chatting with your new friend "Eggbun", who is teaching you the Korean alphabet and language. If you're addicted to texting on your phone, here's an AI teacher who will reply anytime.

The app is out for Korean (iOS/Android), Japanese (iOS coming soon, but already out on Android), and soon coming out soon in Chinese. Get your preferred version from the lovely Eggbun website.

Honorary Mention

The All 4 App now has a wonderful "Walter Presents" range, bringing in comedies, dramas and crime shows in a really wide range of languages. If you're in the UK, you go and have a look.

Learn more about how to use TV to learn a language in podcast episode 31.

So The Podcast is Taking a Break..

But that does not mean you're going to miss us too much. Lindsay and I have gone through the archives together, selecting our own favourite episodes for you to try.

Here are our essential Creative Language Learning Podcast episodes you should not miss:

Episode 5 with André Klein, which was a truly inspiring interview about so much more than "German storytelling". André and I discussed why creativity is so important for language learner, and how you can use it to get out of the failures of school learning.
Episode 21 - Why Your Language Learning Goal Sucks and What to Do About It, in which I originally got on the mic only to tell you about my new course...but then I had a big rant about goals and why they suck.
Episode 30 - How to Achieve a New Year's Goal of Learning a New Language, which is full of small and actionable tips and you're guaranteed to find good advice for your language learning problem.
Episode 37 - The Secret Languages of Great Britain, an episode with the incredible Simon Ager of Omniglot in which we discovered that Great Britain actually has more than 10 languages - not just English!
Episode 40 - Live from the Polyglot Gathering in Berlin, a fun and lively audio-postcard from Berlin
Episode 45 - How to Learn a Language Using Snapchat, which turned out to be such a great guide show and covered one small topic from lots of fab angles
Episode 51 - Top 5 Fictional Languages is the podcast episode for listeners who love to spend a lot of time in the land of books, films and video games

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

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Madeline, Interpreter for Survivors of Torture and Trauma

Marianne, Religious education teacher...turned teacher for refugees

Why did Duolingo wait so long to release Korean?

How early should you read?

What about difficult scripts?

How to find input for your level

Revelation about the Lingq app

Why you shouldn't just read Harry Potter in another language

The Language Reading Challenge

Could you become a multilingual parent?

Applying your outside skills to language learning

Impressions of Québécois

A few words in Romanian

Unconventional Motivational Techniques

Links from this Podcast Episode

The Biggest Pop Genres That Succeed in Other Languages

Latino pop

K-Pop

European Music and Eurovision

Pop Culture Moment

And now for the top tools

1) Prettier Notes

2) Clozemaster

3) Charity Shops and Library Sales

Live Lingua Project

Dubbed YouTube Videos

Subasub and Subscene

Four Tendencies in Language Learning

Links From This Episode

Leave us an iTunes Review

Come to an International Polyglot Event

Links From This Episode

Our Favourite Language Learning Tools for Autumn/Winter 2016

Honorary Mention

So The Podcast is Taking a Break..

Other Link From This Episode

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