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
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
I have struggled with depression off and on for much of my adult life. If you’ve ever been severely depressed, you know just how hopeless and meaningless life can feel and how difficult it can be to accomplish even the simplest of tasks. Until recently, I thought that my depression was a product of genetics, my environment, and dietary factors. I now know that the primary cause of my depression has been something internal all along: my thoughts. It turns out that cognitive distortions were the real culprit, and that by identifying and talking back to the twisted thoughts, one is able to recover from depression and anxiety, beat perfectionism and procrastination, and stop self-sabotaging your language learning goals. Read on to see the ten distortions and how to overcome them.
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.
by John Fotheringham
Training in martial arts has been one of the most rewarding, meaningful pursuits of my life, and I highly encourage you to give one a try if you’ve yet to don a dougi (道着, “training uniform”) or hit the tatami (畳, “straw mats”). Martial arts training has numerous benefits: ① Increased focus, discipline, and self-control. ② Improved strength, flexibility, agility, and bodily awareness. ③ A better chance of defending oneself from bullies, criminals, rapists, etc. But learning a martial arts offers another potential advantage that few people talk about: highly contextual Japanese immersion! Read on to see three reasons why martial arts is an ideal context for learning Japanese, and a few of the most popular bujutsu (武術, “martial arts”) to choose from.
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