Ace Talks Language

In this episode I share a recording of an oral examination I completed with a friend for my “Chinese 7” subject at Melbourne University. I completed this oral in May 2022 at the end of my 5th semester of Chinese study at university (so after 2 and ½ years). I think it’s valuable to document and share our progress. We create content about the languages we’re learning but we don’t necessarily share the direct language learning process as much as we should.

This episode is almost entirely in Chinese.

In this episode I interview the Lingoholics, Markus, Ian and Cody. The Lingoholics are a group of language enthusiasts with their own language learning podcast. They are based out of Canada and united by their passion for learning languages. Today we get to know the history behind the Lingoholics: how they met each other and how they created their group and podcast. Naturally we discuss their fun language learning projects and challenges they do together. We also covered a range of topics from reflections on the best way to study vocabulary, the breadth vs depth approach to learning languages (the advantages of dabbling in many languages and of intensive study of one or two languages respectively). Right at the end of the episode we do a rapid fire activity of switching between speaking French, Spanish and Chinese which was a lot of fun!

In this episode you can find:

• [00:01:30] Introduction to the Lingoholics (Markus, Cody and Ian)
• [00:08:45] How did the Lingholics meet and their podcast get created?
• [00:17:20] How to make and the benefits of language learning friends
• [00:22:15] The Lingholics bootcamp (living together with one language per day for 3 weeks)
• [00:24:10] Play in language learning and having fun (ft. Esperanto)
• [00:27:20] The Lingholics Power Hour (socializing while swapping between languages)
• [00:31:55] Challenges speaking only your target language with natives
• [00:36:45] Should you study vocabulary from word lists? How should you learn new words?
• [00:54:30] Is using Anki to learn vocabulary useful?
• [01:00:40] Are polyglots “fake beginners” with a headstart when they learn a new language?
• [01:06:30] Breadth vs depth in language learning and the advantages of each approach
• [01:20:55] Cody’s language learning routine in Korea
• [01:30:40] Markus’ “World’s laziest Polyglot” routine
• [01:39:10] 3 minutes per language: rapid language swapping (French, Spanish, Chinese)
• [01:52:10] The joy which comes from swapping between languages

Links to resources and things mentioned in the episode:

This episode is a conversation with my friend Danai about her experience moving from London to Hong Kong. It’s the first episode of what we plan to be a 3-part series documenting her experience moving to, living in and working in a new city with a new language and culture!

Episode contents:

• 00:00:00 Episode introduction
• 00:02:15 Conversation starts (Danai quarantining in Hong Kong)
• 00:04:00 Danai’s introduction and her Chinese studygram
• 00:07:00 How Danai developed the idea to work in Hong Kong and searched for jobs
• 00:14:00 Teaching English vs Danai’s digital media job & Chinese work culture
• 00:22:15 Learning traditional characters and Cantonese after studying Mandarin
• 00:29:35 What did Danai have to do to prepare for the move? (Visa, coronavirus delays, and more!)
• 00:38:00 Tips for preparing to move abroad
• 00:47:35 Saying goodbye to friends, family and London
• 00:54:30 Surviving quarantine limbo & advice for quarantine
• 01:12:25 What is Danai excited to do and see in Hong Kong?

Links to resources and things mentioned in the episode:

In this episode I chat with Mark from Language Come Up, originally from the United States but now based in Mexico where he has been living for several years. We talk about his experiences learning Spanish and Russian, living in Mexico and his philosophy and wisdom about language learning.

In this episode you can find:

• Mark’s self introduction [2:50]
• Ace’s language study and maintaining French through Toastmasters [8:00]
• Attending university classes in Mexico to maintain Spanish [11:20]
• Mark’s future creative plans for using his languages [16:50]
• Mark’s experience arriving to live in Mexico [17:45]
• How did Mark start language learning and learning Spanish? [23:10]
• Swapping the default language of conversation with friends [27:15]
• Impact of language learning on Mark’s life [31:00]
• Life lessons learned from running and their applications to language learning [42:15]
• What Mark is doing now for language study [50:35]
• Avoiding burnout in language learning [53:05]
• 40 hour, 7 day language challenge #40h7dlc [57:25]
• What does Mark’s study actually look like at a micro-level? [1:06:45]
• Mark’s long-term language plan & gaining access to new world through languages [1:18:45]
• Conversación en español (español mexicano, cómo Ace practica su español, aprendemos idiomas para hablarlos, acentos) [1:28:12]

Links to resources and things mentioned in the episode:

In this episode I chat with Sylvia, another friend I've made in the online language learning community from the United States who studies Bengali, Arabic, German and other languages and is currently living in Morocco on a gap year! 

In this episode you can find: 

• Sylvia's introduction [2:25]
• Morocco on a gap year and what Sylvia is doing there [7:50]
• Morocco's linguistic landscape (Moroccan Arabic, French, Tamazight, Spanish) [14:30]
• Advantages and disadvantages of being an English native speaker & multilingualism as a product of environment [20:25]
• Multicultural perspective in Morocco and how this resonates with Sylvia [30:10]
• Sylvia's experience travelling in India and Jordan and gaining perspective [34:55]
• Weather in Morocco [39:10] Sylvia hosting a Bengali "exchange sister" for a year [40:50]
• Bengali language classes, language skill imbalances, underdeveloped Bengali tuition [46:10]
• Benefits of non-native teachers [49:05]
• Sylvia's Bengali learning resources project [49:55]
• Advantages of studying more commonly studied languages like Mandarin [55:45]
• Disparity between written textbook language and spoken colloquial language [57:40]
• Sylvia's advice for people studying less commonly studied languages [1:01:25]
• How to find resources [1:06:25]
• Sylvia's Bengali "exchange sister" and improving spoken language skills [1:13:15]
• Sylvia's advice for people learning Bengali and Arabic dialects [1:15:15]
• What it's like learning new scripts [1:18:30]
• How Sylvia studies languages [1:25:40]
• Reading in your target language [1:26:55]

Links to resources and things mentioned in the episode: