by John Fotheringham | Nov 4, 2019
Michael and Ellen Robinson first met in 2004 while they were studying Spanish in Mexico. Though Ellen had intended not to spend time with any other native English speakers while abroad, Michael’s charm and sufficient command of the Spanish language were enough to overcome her initial objections. They are now married, have two children, have visited 23 countries, and have lived abroad nine times. In the interview, they share key lessons they’ve learned while acquiring Spanish, living abroad, and raising children bilingually.
by John Fotheringham | Oct 28, 2019
After many years of requests from Language Mastery readers, I am very excited to announce that today, the print version of Master Japanese is now available on Amazon for just $29! (Cue music and celebratory ninja dancing!) Master Japanese teaches you how to learn Japanese in a way that is both fun and effective, from the comfort of your own home, using my proven method called Anywhere Immersion. It’s not a textbook or course, but a complete guide that teaches you HOW to learn Japanese. Whether you have a business trip to Japan coming up, you want to be able to read manga in the original Japanese, or you want to wow your Japanese partner’s family with your Nihongo skills, I’m committed to helping you reach your goals, whatever they may be.
by John Fotheringham | Oct 28, 2019
This is part two of my special two-way interview with Danish podcaster Kris Broholm, host of the Actual Fluency Podcast. We talk about how learning languages and connecting with the polyglot community gave his life purpose, launched a new career, and has allowed him to meet and learn from hundreds of the world’s best language learners. Kris also shares expert tips on how to launch and scale a language business. I really enjoyed our wide-ranging conversation, which Kris jokes was, “…a bit like Inside the Actor’s Studio, except about languages instead of acting. And of lacking James Lipton…”
by John Fotheringham | Oct 14, 2019
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, 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.
by John Fotheringham | Oct 9, 2019
I recently started reading Scott H. Young’s excellent new book “Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career.” Though the book is about metalearning in general, it’s loaded with principles that are extremely relevant for language learning. One particularly important concept Scott highlights is directness: “Learn by doing the thing you want to become good at. Don’t trade it off for other tasks just because those are more convenient and comfortable.”
