by John Fotheringham
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.
by John Fotheringham
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!
by John Fotheringham
Dr. Gareth Popkins is a lawyer, historian, and former English and Welsh teacher who is fluent in German, Russian, and Welsh, advanced in French, conversational in Hungarian, Finnish, Italian, Portuguese, and Basque, and now hard at work on Japanese. We first met in June 2019 at the Polyglot Gathering in Bratislava and I knew right away that I wanted to have him on the podcast to share his language learning story and tips. As he puts it: “I’ve got fluent because I really wanted to and I kept going, despite myself. It’s sometimes said that an expert is someone who’s made all the mistakes in the book. If so, I’m that expert. I’m still experimenting. I’m still learning…. and still making those mistakes, of course.”
by John Fotheringham
After six months slaving over a hot keyboard, I have finally finished a massive update of my comprehensive Japanese how-to manual and resource guide, Master Japanese: How to Learn Japanese through Anywhere Immersion. I began the update with the simple intent of fixing a few typos and adding a few of the latest and greatest online resources that weren’t available when I published the last edition. But as I got underway, I decided to make this a major overhaul of the guide (which will celebrate its tenth anniversary in December 2019!). The new and improved version includes a host of improvements and additions, including: 1) New resource recommendations for apps, anime, books, manga, podcasts, videos, and more. 2) Completely new chapters on increasing motivation, building discipline, and conquering fear (3 of the most common challenges I hear from language learners). 3) A new look and layout that makes the guide easier to read and navigate. And hey, more ninjas!
by John Fotheringham
You may be surprised to hear that flashcards can be a rather controversial topic in the language learning world. Some swear BY them. Some swear AT them. So where do I fall in the flashcard continuum? Am I for or against them? Read on to hear my point of view and my tips for getting the most out of flashcards if you decide to use them in language learning.
by John Fotheringham
Shannon Kennedy is a language lover, traveler, musician, and writer. She has written extensively for Fluent in 3 Months and Drops, and is also the Language Encourager and Community Manager for the Add1Challenge. In 2018, she co-hosted the inaugural Women in Language event, an online conference to champion, celebrate, and amplify the voices of women in languages. In the interview, we discuss ① why majoring in music led Shannon to start learning German, Italian, and Spanish, ② how her self-study methods differ from how she had learned languages in school, ③ why learning is short, frequent chunks of time is more effective than longer study sessions, ④ her daily habits and how she fits in language learning around work and motherhood, ⑤ why kids don’t learn languages better than adults, and ⑥ why discipline is more important than motivation when learning any skill.
