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."  


Dr. Gareth Popkins on How to Get Fluent in Any Foreign Language

The Language Mastery Show brings you conversations with the world's best language learners. Get an inside look at how polyglots, linguists, and everyday people master languages the smart way, and how YOU can, too. I'm your host, John Fotheringham, a linguist, teacher, and the author of Master Japanese and Master Mandarin. For more language learning tips, tools, and immersion resources, visit LanguageMastery.com.

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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  



David Stirling on the Life-Changing Rewards of Immersion & His Experience Teaching English in Thailand

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. 


Author & Digital Nomad Daniel Rusteen on How He Learned Spanish After Two Failed Attempts

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. 


Former Airborne Cryptologic Linguist Ian Fritz on What He Learned at the Defense Language Institute & Spying on the Taliban

Coach Stéphane Angeles is a language coach who helps expats speak better Spanish through expert habit formation strategies, accountability, and one-on-one guidance via Zoom and audio check-ins.
In the interview, we discuss:

 Why you should use a walkie talkie app to practice listening and speaking.
 Why you should practice writing daily (and how it can help you speak better).
  How to use the strategies of "Time," "Place," and "Target."
  The critical importance of mindset and psychology in language learning.
  Why TV shows are such an ideal language learning tool.
  Why children's books and TV shows are NOT ideal for adult learners.
  How to get repetition without boredom.
  The most common mistakes language learners make.
  Why you don't need to memorize grammar rules to speak a language well.
  Why you need to practice ALL 4 skills: listening, speaking, reading & writing.
  Why the language itself is not the hard part of learning a language.
  Why you should avoid the "comparison trap" with polyglots on YouTube.
  Why you shouldn't believe everything you think.
  Why there is no such thing as a "perfect" language resource or method.
  How to use the "Barbie Method" to practice multiple languages.

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.


Language Coach Stéphane Angeles on How to Use the "Barbie Method" & Improve All 4 Language Skills

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. 



Dr. Gareth Popkins on How to Get Fluent in Any Foreign Language

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