The Language Mastery Show

David Stirling is a Thailand-based English teacher from the UK and the founder of ⁠Go-Interview.com⁠, which helps English learners build the language skills they need to get their dream job.

In the interview, we discuss:

• How David fell in love with Thailand
• Why he got into English teaching
• The different types of teaching jobs available in Thailand
• How to break through the "intermediate plateau"
• The pros and cons of group classes and online one-on-one tutoring
• The importance of choosing a narrow niche in online teaching & business
• Why David chose business English and interviewing as his niche
• The power of having sufficiently high stakes in language learning
• David's best tips for learning Thai
• The importance of mastering sounds first
• Why you need to get corrected early and often

📝 For show notes, visit ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/blog/post/david-stirling. 

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Daniel Rusteen is an author, full-time traveler, digital nomad, short-term rental expert, and former Airbnb employee. He is best known for his books Optimize Your BnB and Profitable Properties, but he has also written a book on learning languages: Zilch to Conversational.

In our conversation, Danny shares why he failed to learn a foreign language his first two attempts, the methods he used to finally reach conversational fluency in Spanish, how to choose the right language teacher, why and how to use Anki spaced repetition flashcards, why you should learn the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), and why you should go from "sounds to sentences" in your target language.

📝 For show notes, visit ⁠LanguageMastery.com/blog/post/daniel-rusteen. 

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Ian Fritz is the author of What the Taliban Told Me, a nuanced look at what it was like to undertake intensive language training at The Defense Language Institute (DLI) in not one, but two languages (Dari and Pashto), serve as an "Airborne Cryptologic Linguist" (ACL) in the United States Air Force (USAF), and spy on the Taliban from low-flying gunships.

During his two tours in Afghanistan, he eavesdropped on the Taliban for hundreds of hours, shared intelligence with various Special Forces units on the ground, and—according to official records—totaled 123 "insurgents EKIA" ("enemies killed in action").

But the more conversations he heard below, the more conflicted he became about his job, the war, the killing, and even his desire to continue living. His increasing linguistic fluency and cultural familiarity had humanized the enemy. It created a "moral injury" that Ian feared would never heal...

In the interview, we talk about Ian's experience learning languages at DLI, his experience as an Airborne Cryptologic Linguist, what he would do differently if he started a new language from scratch, and his best tips for beginner and intermediate language learners.

📝 For show notes, visit LanguageMastery.com/blog/post/ian-fritz.

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To learn more about Steph and her Spanish coaching, check out her Spanish Speaking Academy.

For show notes and links to resources mentioned, visit LanguageMastery.com/blog/post/coach-steph.

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Gordon Smith and Cynthia Durán are the dynamic duo behind LightSpeed Spanish, where they teach people Spanish through courses, books, and online lessons.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• How Gordon fell in love with Spanish, how Cynthia fell in love with English, and how they fell in love with each
• How to choose which Spanish accent to learn and tips for mastering Spanish pronunciation
• The most common mistakes that English speakers make when learning the Spanish language
• How to overcome the fear of making mistakes and get more speaking practice anywhere in the world
• Their favorite Spanish language learning resources, including TV shows, Netflix series, etc.

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To learn more about Elena's coaching, books, Smart Teacher's Library community, and annual Online Teacher Summit, visit her website at ElenaMutonono.com.

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It turns out that this prediction was a bit of the mark. Today, Andrew speaks multiple languages and has built a successful business teaching languages at Real Fast Spanish.

In this deep dive into Andrew's language learning journey and philosophy, you will learn:

• How a multilingual climb up Mount Kilimanjaro inspired him to learn languages (and led to befriending a French actress).
• The importance of high-quality language input (high-yield listening and reading content).
• The power of learning with other people (teachers, tutors, and exchange partners) and why you need to avoid the input-only trap.
• Why motivation, consistency, and discipline are the essential 3 essential ingredients of successful language learning.
• Why Andrew decided to start learning Polish (his first non-Romance language) and the surprising origins of his family name.
• The ideal order of operations for learning a new language from scratch and why you should master sounds first.
• The 24-hour rule for new vocabulary and the simple $5 language-learning tool you should carry with you everywhere you go.
• The language-learning advice Andrew would give to his younger self to break through his earlier stories and self-limiting beliefs.
• Why learning a language is akin to learning to play the guitar (you have to learn by doing, not watching).
• Why your feelings about a language-learning method are more important than the method itself.
• Why pursuing pleasure in language learning is not always the answer and why Andrew studies flashcards in Anki even though he doesn't enjoy it.
• The most common mistakes that native English speakers make in Spanish (and how to sound less like a "gringo" by changing just one sound).
• Why correctly pronouncing vowels is more important in Spanish than getting consonants right.
• The critical difference between "accent" and "pronunciation" and why the latter matter much more.
• Andrew's 2 essential language-learning principles: 1) readiness to learn, and 2) high-quality practice.
• How to build early confidence by setting the bar low and having specific goals in each conversation.

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Cara Leopold is the founder of Leo Listening, where she helps "intrepid travellers and adventurous expats improve their English listening skills so they can better understand and better connect with fast-talking native speakers through their love of films." In the interview, we talk about how she learned French and the best way to learn languages through TV shows and movies.

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Steve Kaufmann is a hyperpolyglot who has learned more than 20 languages (!!!) and the co-founder of LingQ, an online language learning platform that helps you acquire languages using content you love. He was my second guest on the Language Mastery Show way back in 2009, and returns 13 years later to offer new insights and encouragement for independent language learners.

For show notes, visit LanguageMastery.com/blog/post/steve-kaufmann

🤿 Master Any Language, Anywhere!

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My detailed "Anywhere Immersion" guides will show you exactly how.

Check out my guides here 👉🏼 LanguageMastery.com/books

For more about Jim and May and tips for learning Spanish, visit SpanishAndGo.com.  

📝 See show notes here LanguageMastery.com/blog/post/spanish-and-go.

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Mikkel Thorup is a seasoned world traveler, entrepreneur, consultant, author, and the host of the Expat Money Show. Since he left Canada in his teens, he has circumnavigated the globe over 400 times, visited more than 100 countries, and lived in 9. In our conversation, he shares his best tips for traveling or moving abroad, learning languages, and making the best of the expat life. For more about Mikkel and tips for transitioning abroad, visit ExpatMoneyShow.com.

📝 Get show notes here LanguageMastery.com/blog/post/mikkel-thorup.

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Andrew Methven is the creator of Slow Chinese (每周漫闻), a weekly newsletter that helps Mandarin Chinese learners immerse themselves in authentic, colloquial language via interesting stories and news events handpicked from Chinese media, social media, and TV. Instead of learning the stilted and stuffy language of Chinese textbooks, Andrew's excellent newsletter trains you to understand the way people really speak and write the language today. In the interview, Andrew shares how he first fell in love with Chinese, differences between Mandarin between Mainland China and Taiwan, and his top tips for language learners.

📝 See show notes here LanguageMastery.com/blog/post/andrew-methven.

🇨🇳 Learn Chinese Anywhere!  

Want to learn Mandarin Chinese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? My detailed how-to manual and resource guide, ⁠Master Mandarin: How to Learn Mandarin Chinese Anywhere in the World⁠, will show you exactly how.

👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠ChineseMastery.com⁠.

The result? The creation of Hack Chinese, a powerful spaced repetition tool designed from the ground up just for Mandarin learners, unlike generic SRS apps that struggle to properly handle Chinese characters, tones, etc.  

In our conversation, Daniel shares the lessons he's learned, what he would do differently if he started from scratch, and how new language learners can get started.  

🇨🇳 Learn Chinese Anywhere!  

Want to learn Mandarin Chinese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? My detailed how-to manual and resource guide, Master Mandarin: How to Learn Mandarin Chinese Anywhere in the World, will show you exactly how.

👉🏼 Learn more at ChineseMastery.com.

Scott H. Young is a Canadian writer, programmer, entrepreneur, and metalearning expert. He is the author of the best-seller Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career, and has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The BBC, Popular Mechanics, Business Insider, and LifeHacker. 

He has applied and refined his principles in a number of accelerated learning challenges, from completing MIT’s 4-year undergraduate computer science curriculum in just 1 year, to spending a year abroad in 4 countries with no English allowed, to a one-month at-home challenge to learn Macedonian, his wife’s native language. 

For more about Scott, visit ScottHYoung.com. 

For show notes, visit LanguageMastery.com/blog/post/scott-young

🇨🇳 Learn Chinese Anywhere!

Want to learn Mandarin Chinese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? Master Mandarin, my detailed how-to manual and resource guide, will show you exactly how. Learn more at ChineseMastery.com.

👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

If you already subscribe to my Language Mastery Monday newsletter, you will already be familiar with this framework. If not, what are you waiting for? Head over to LanguageMastery.com/newsletter to get expert tips and tools in your inbox each week.

So what are the three foundations and why do they matter?

1. Foundation 1 is Mastering Your Mind, which means conquering fears and self-limiting beliefs that are blocking your path to fluency.
2. Foundation 2 is Mastering Your Day, which involves building better habits and learning more efficiently.
3. Foundation 3 is Mastering Your Environment, which means creating your own immersion wherever you happen to live.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned over the last 20 plus years of learning and teaching foreign languages is that you can't master a language unless you also master your mind, your day, and your environment.

Harnessing your psychology, wrangling your schedule, and designing your learning environment can each be extremely difficult, especially in our modern world of distraction and instant gratification.

But master these three foundations you must if you want to have any chance of getting fluent in a foreign tongue.

These factors are what really make learning languages difficult. The languages themselves are learned more or less automatically if you show up and give your brain the input it needs. (And yes, get tons of active practice, too, of course.)

But YOU have to constantly decide to show up and put in the time instead of choosing easier activities that provide a more immediate hit of dopamine and serotonin (Netflix + Cherry Garcia, anyone?).

Language learning can provide these “feel-good” hormones, too, but the rewards live on the other side of much more time and effort.

So to help you win this mental battle, I will be sharing powerful principles and short, actionable tips each week that will help you develop the mindset, habits, and environment you need to learn any language, anywhere.

Ready? Let's get started! Listen to today's episode to hear this week's tips for mastering your mind, day, and environment.

Note: This interview was originally recorded in 2010 as part of a collection of expert interviews included with my Japanese learning guide Master Japanese. This version includes excerpts from the complete interview, which is available as part of the Master Japanese Digital Package available JapaneseMastery.com. 

Khatzumoto is the man behind the popular Japanese learner blog All Japanese All the Time (or AJATT for short). While attending university in the United States, he figured out a way to immerse himself in Japanese language and culture nearly 24 hours a day. In an extremely short amount of time, he managed to reach an impressive level of fluency despite not living where the language was spoken and even without many of the learning tools and resources now readily available (he began his journey in 2004). 

🇯🇵 Learn Japanese Anywhere! 

Want to learn Japanese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? Master Japanese: How to Learn Japanese Anywhere in the World, my detailed how-to manual and resource guide, will show you exactly how.

👉🏼 Learn more at JapaneseMastery.com⁠.

Lindie Botes is a polyglot, YouTuber, blogger, and UI/UX designer on a mission to master 12+ languages, including Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and more. She is originally from South Africa, but has lived all over the world and now calls Singapore home. Though she loves foreign languages, she sees them not as an end but as a means to break down the barriers that otherwise divide us.

🇯🇵 🇨🇳 Learn Japanese or Mandarin Chinese Anywhere! 

Want to learn Japanese or Mandarin Chinese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? My detailed how-to manuals and resource guides will show you exactly how. Learn more at LanguageMastery.com/books.

Matt is the creator of the popular Matt vs. Japan YouTube channel and the co-founder of Refold: The Roadmap to True Fluency, where he shares the methods he used to reach near native-like fluency in Japanese in just 5 years. I am a big fan of his immersion-based approach to language learning, his mission to create a more streamlined path to fluency, and his commitment to giving Japanese language learners the tips and tools they need to succeed. 

📝 See show notes here LanguageMastery.com/blog/post/matt-vs-japan.

🇯🇵 Learn Japanese Anywhere! 

Want to learn Japanese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? ⁠Master Japanese: How to Learn Japanese Anywhere in the World⁠, my detailed how-to manual and resource guide, will show you exactly how. 

👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠JapaneseMastery.com⁠⁠.

Want to learn Mandarin Chinese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? Master Mandarin, my detailed how-to manual and resource guide, will show you exactly how. Learn more at ChineseMastery.com.

Jake Gill (高健) is a Chinese educator, former "Teaching Chinese as a Second Language" graduate student, and the CEO of Skritter, an innovative language learning app that helps Japanese and Chinese learners master characters through active production (i.e. writing on the screen) instead of passive recognition. 

In the interview, we talk about how and why he learned Mandarin Chinese, why traditional language classes won't get you fluent in a language, what he would do differently if he were to start learning Mandarin over again, the limitations of app-based learning and following "the golden path," the importance of following your passion and curiosity in languages, how to learn to learn Chinese characters the "write" way, Jake's current language learning routines and favorite resources, and the importance of daily habits and focusing on process over outcome.

If you'd like to try Skritter, use the code LANGUAGEMASTERY at checkout to get 10% off.

📝 For show notes, visit LanguageMastery.com/blog/post/jake-gill.

🇨🇳 Learn Mandarin Chinese Anywhere!  

Want to learn Mandarin Chinese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? Master Mandarin, my detailed how-to manual and resource guide, will show you exactly how. Learn more at ChineseMastery.com.

Want to learn Japanese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? ⁠Master Japanese: How to Learn Japanese Anywhere in the World⁠, my detailed how-to manual and resource guide, will show you exactly how.

👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠JapaneseMastery.com⁠⁠.

If you have a burning desire to learn Mandarin Chinese but feel overwhelmed at the very thought, then today’s podcast is a must-listen episode for you. Yes, to the uninitiated, Chinese characters look like a random pile of squiggly lines. True, the wrong tones could lead to you inadvertently calling someone's mother a horse! But don't let this scare you away, because today’s guests, Phil Crimmins and Luke Neale, have created an innovative language course called the Mandarin Blueprint designed to take these worries away. 

🇨🇳 Learn Chinese Anywhere!  

Want to learn Mandarin Chinese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? My detailed how-to manual and resource guide, ⁠Master Mandarin: How to Learn Mandarin Chinese Anywhere in the World⁠, will show you exactly how.

👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠ChineseMastery.com⁠.

Stuart Jay Raj is an Australian polyglot, applied linguist, author, musician, and cross-cultural business consultant based in Thailand. He has presented at two TEDx events (once in English and once in Mandarin), and is the author of Cracking Thai Fundamentals: A Thai Operating System for the Mind.  

In addition to teaching and writing extensively on effective language acquisition, he has also applied his impressive language skills as a multilingual facilitator in various specialized industries (including aerospace, oil and gas, hospitality, and cyber security) and as the co-host of a Thai travel show called Neua Chan Phan Plaek (เหนือชั้น 1000 แปลก) that explosured fascinating people, places, and things around the world via local languages. Stuart holds a degree in Cognitive and Applied Linguistics from Griffith University, and speaks over 15 languages, including Thai, Lao, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Indonesian / Malay, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Hindi, Vietnamese, Burmese, and various other Asian languages and dialects.  

📧 Get expert language immersion tips in your inbox each week!

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👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

Nick Godwin is a British polyglot, English language coach, and course creator living in Tokyo, Japan. He specializes in helping advanced English learners break through plateaus and helping beginning Japanese learners to communicate through by focusing on practical skills that matter. In addition to running the English language learning site ByLingua, he also helped develop the popular story-based course Japanese Uncovered, and recently launched a blog that blends his love of language, learning, and intentional living called Minimalinguist. 

🇯🇵 Learn Japanese Anywhere! 

Want to learn Japanese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? ⁠Master Japanese: How to Learn Japanese Anywhere in the World⁠, my detailed how-to manual and resource guide, will show you exactly how.

👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠JapaneseMastery.com⁠⁠.

For show notes, visit LanguageMastery.com/blog/post/richard-simcott-returns.

📧 Get expert language immersion tips in your inbox each week!

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👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

Anthony Metivier is the founder of the Magnetic Memory Method, the host of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, and the creator of the Magnetic Memory Masterclass. 

He has refined his memory techniques learning a number of languages, including Biblical Hebrew, German, Mandarin Chinese, and Sanskrit, and has gone on to teach thousands of learners how to maximize their memories and create unforgettable associations. I like that his approach combines proven ancient principles with modern brain research, while focusing on practical application (e.g. remembering foreign language vocabulary) instead of impressive but ultimately useless memory feats (e.g. memorizing decks of cards or long strings of numbers).  

Anthony is a truly fascinating man with a wide range of interests and insights, and I think you will get a lot out of our conversation. 

📧 Get expert language immersion tips in your inbox each week!

Join my FREE weekly newsletter to get the tips and tools you need to get fluent anywhere in the world.

👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

🇨🇳 Learn Chinese Anywhere!  

Want to learn Mandarin Chinese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? My detailed how-to manual and resource guide, ⁠Master Mandarin: How to Learn Mandarin Chinese Anywhere in the World⁠, will show you exactly how.

👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠ChineseMastery.com⁠

Nick Velasquez is the author of the new book Learn, Improve, Master: How to Develop Any Skill and Excel at It. In the interview, we discuss the core principles, strategies, and tools you can use to master any anything, may it be reaching conversational fluency in Japanese or remembering more of what you read.  

🇯🇵 Learn Japanese Anywhere! 

Want to learn Japanese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? ⁠Master Japanese: How to Learn Japanese Anywhere in the World⁠, my detailed how-to manual and resource guide, will show you exactly how.

👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠JapaneseMastery.com⁠⁠

Chris Vasselli is a programmer, passionate Japanese learner, and the creator of the Nihongo iOS app, my go-to Japanese dictionary and reading tool for authentic Japanese content. In the interview, we discuss, 1) his language learning journey, 2) how to acquire Japanese the fun, natural, immersive way, and 3) why you shouldn't fear the Japanese writing system. 

🇯🇵 Learn Japanese Anywhere! 

Want to learn Japanese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? ⁠Master Japanese: How to Learn Japanese Anywhere in the World⁠, my detailed how-to manual and resource guide, will show you exactly how.

👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠JapaneseMastery.com⁠⁠.

👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

Last week, I shared part one of my most recent chat with the inimitable Olly Richards, who first appeared on The Language Mastery Show back in in April 2014. Since that time, he's gone on to build I Will Teach You a Language (now called StoryLearning) into one of the top language blogs, launch a slew of excellent language courses, and publish a series of great short story books through Teach Yourself. 

In part two of our wide-ranging conversation, we get into his language learning routines and habits, how he tackles reading (especially in Japanese), the importance of getting a wide range of high-quality exposure to your target language, the power of following your interest and curiosity, and Olly's top tips for launching a successful online language learning empire or just a profitable side hustle to help pay the bills. 

📧 Get expert language immersion tips in your inbox each week!

Join my FREE weekly newsletter to get the tips and tools you need to get fluent anywhere in the world.

👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

Author, polyglot, and "langpreneur" Olly Richards from I Will Teach You a Language (now called StoryLearning) returns to the podcast six years after our first chat to share what new lessons he's learned and how a high-altitude near death experience led him to the power of stories in language learning. Olly has been quite the busy bee since we last spoke, going on to build one of the most popular language blogs on the planet, launching a series of in-depth language courses, and publishing 16 short story books with Teach Yourself (with more coming soon, including a Japanese edition)! 

📧 Get expert language immersion tips in your inbox each week!

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👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

Jan van der Aa is a Brussels-based polyglot and entrepreneur from the Netherlands, the co-founder of the language learning site LanguageBoost, and the co-founder of Langpreneur (now called Creator Smarts), an event series and podcast dedicated to helping language lovers, teachers, influencers, podcasters, YouTubers, etc. turn their passion for languages into profitable, scalable online businesses. Note: This interview contains some adult language. 

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👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

Arieh Smith, a.k.a. Xiaomanyc (Xiǎomǎ, 小马), is a popular YouTuber who loves practicing Mandarin Chinese on the streets of New York and surprising unsuspecting native speakers. From 24-hour crash courses in new languages like Korean, to learning additional Chinese dialects like Cantonese and Fuzhounese (which are really mutually unintelligible languages), his viral linguistic exploits have entertained and inspired millions of learners around the world. In our conversation, he shares why and how he learned Mandarin Chinese, tips for mastering Chinese characters and tones, and strategies for going from zero to basic conversations in a matter of days no matter where in the world you live. 

🇨🇳 Learn Chinese Anywhere!  

Want to learn Mandarin Chinese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? My detailed how-to manual and resource guide, ⁠Master Mandarin: How to Learn Mandarin Chinese Anywhere in the World⁠, will show you exactly how.

👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠ChineseMastery.com⁠.

👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

In 2015, the Danish podcaster Kris Broholm joined me on the Language Mastery Show to talk about how discovering the polyglot community helped pull him out of depression and give his life direction. His podcast, Actual Fluency, is now one of the most popular language podcasts on the planet, with 166 guests to date! Though Kris speaks multiple languages, he sees himself not as a language expert himself, but as a "language learning journalist" who highlights the expertise of the world's best language learners. 

In this special two-part two-way interview (which is also being shared on his podcast), we each talk about lessons we've learned in the last four years, patterns we've observed after talking to so many polyglots, and how our respective blogs, podcasts, and language businesses have evolved. 

📧 Get expert language immersion tips in your inbox each week!

Join my FREE weekly newsletter to get the tips and tools you need to get fluent anywhere in the world.

👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

His podcast, Actual Fluency, is now one of the most popular language podcasts on the planet, with 166 guests to date! Though Kris speaks multiple languages, he sees himself not as a language expert himself, but as a "language learning journalist" who highlights the expertise of the world's best language learners. 

In this special two-part two-way interview (which is also being shared on his podcast), we each talk about lessons we've learned in the last four years, patterns we've observed after talking to so many polyglots, and how our respective blogs, podcasts, and language businesses have evolved.

📧 Get expert language immersion tips in your inbox each week!

Join my FREE weekly newsletter to get the tips and tools you need to get fluent anywhere in the world.

👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

I am pleased to welcome back my first repeat guest on the podcast: the author, teacher, and grammar guru Ellen Jovin. A lot has happened since our first chat over five years ago, including travels all over the United States discussing the inner workings of English grammar with passing strangers at her "Grammar Table," and a new book for English learners called English At Work: Find and Fix Your Mistakes in Business English as a Foreign Language. 

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👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

Katie Harris is the founder of Joy of Languages, a site dedicated to helping make language learning a joy instead of a chore. She was bored to tears with languages in school, but eventually figured out a more fun, effective approach to language learning that is focused on communicating with people and enjoying authentic listening and reading content. With a Masters in Linguistics from Cambridge University and an MRes in Speech, Language and Cognition from University College London, Katie does a great job peppering in just enough linguistics, psychology, and neuroscience to help language learners, but always keeping the focus on fun and efficacy. We first met at the 2019 Polyglot Gathering in Bratislava where I attended her talk How to Learn a Language by Watching TV and Film. Her philosophy was right in line with my "Anywhere Immersion" approach and I was eager to get her on the podcast. 

📧 Get expert language immersion tips in your inbox each week!

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👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

Gabriel Gelman is the founder of Sprachheld, a popular language learning website for Germans learning foreign languages (and―as an added bonus―non-Germans learning German as a foreign language). On the site, Gabriel shares useful language learning tips and tools, inspirational interviews with polyglots and linguists, and a dialogue-based Spanish course (with other languages slated for production in the future). I've followed his work for some time and was delighted to finally meet him in person at the 2019 Polyglot Gathering in Bratislava.  

📧 Get expert language immersion tips in your inbox each week!

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Elisa Polese is an Italian polyglot known for teaching multiple languages at once (up to ten languages at a time!), including Arabic, Catalan, Dutch, Italian, English, Esperanto, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. In addition to her focus on multilingual learning, Elisa is also a big proponent of speaking from day one and getting over the fear of making mistakes. I had the privilege of witnessing her impressive multilingual teaching skills firsthand at the 2019 Polyglot Gathering in Bratislava, and it was exhilarating to see so many languages flying around in the room at once! 

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Gretchen McCulloch is an internet linguist, the "Resident Linguist" at WIRED Magazine (Best. Title. Ever!), the co-host of the Lingthusiasm podcast, and the author of the new book Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, a smart, loving, pun-filled look at the evolution of language in the internet age.  

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Benny Lewis is a fun-loving blogger, YouTuber, author, language hacker, and technomad from Ireland (hence his nickname "Irish Polyglot"). He is the creator of the most popular language learning site in the world as of writing, Fluentin3Months.com, and has authored five books. He has demonstrated again and again that it's possible to reach conversational fluency in a matter of months, not years as most believe. Benny's philosophy on language learning is right in line with my Anywhere Immersion approach, as exemplified in the following quote from his book Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World: 

“...where you are isn’t what decides whether or not you’ll be successful. Attitude beats latitude (and longitude) every time. It’s more about creating an immersion environment, exposing yourself to native speakers, and doing everything you can in that language.”  

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