Are you bad at remembering people’s names? It might actually have helped you develop better strategies for learning English.

In this episode, I share my own difficulties with remembering names and the techniques I use as a teacher to learn them. We’ll look at why repetition, personal connections and retrieval practice work—and how you can apply the same principles to remembering new English vocabulary.

You’ll learn three practical strategies to make useful new words stick.

Do you sometimes feel like you're just not good at learning languages? In this episode, I challenge that belief and explain why successful language learning is much more about strategy than talent.

Using stories from my own life, a football analogy, and practical examples from my teaching, I introduce my Cognitive Engagement Strategies for Effective Language Learning. You'll discover why some common learning methods are less effective than you might think, and learn practical techniques that can help you make faster progress in English.

If you enjoy the episode, I'd love to hear your thoughts. You can reach me at [email protected].

Thanks for listening!

In this episode, I reflect on my conversation with my friend Miles, who reached C1 German after more than 12 years of living in Germany.

His journey wasn't easy, but it highlights some important lessons for anyone learning a language. We look at why talent isn't enough on its own, the value of graded readers, why pronunciation matters from the beginning, and why language courses need to be combined with plenty of reading and listening outside the classroom.

I also share a personal update after a minor operation and some thoughts from teaching English to German professionals.

If you're learning English and aiming for greater confidence at work or in everyday life, I hope you'll find something useful in this episode.

In this episode, I speak with my friend Miles, who moved from England to Germany and eventually reached C1 German after years of frustration, false starts, and self-doubt.

We first met in a German class in Sydney more than 15 years ago. Back then, neither of us knew where our language-learning journeys would lead. Today, Miles works in Germany, holds a C1 certificate, and can comfortably participate in meetings, dinner parties, and everyday life in German.

We discuss:

If you've ever felt stuck, frustrated, or convinced that you're simply "not good at languages", this episode is for you.

Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/englishbreakthroughforgermans

Have you ever spoken English and felt that your grammar was correct, but something still sounded a little strange?

In this episode, I talk about one of the most important aspects of language learning that many learners overlook: collocations.

Collocations are words that naturally go together. Native speakers don't usually build sentences word by word. Instead, they rely on thousands of ready-made combinations, phrases and language chunks that make communication faster, clearer and more natural.

Using examples from my German lessons, we'll look at why sentences such as "Ich kämpfe mit Podcasts" or "In Deutschland gibt es keinen echten Kuchen" sound unusual to native speakers, even though the grammar is perfectly correct.

You'll learn:

• What collocations are and why they matter

If you'd like to sound more natural and communicate with greater confidence, this episode is for you.

As always, the transcript is available free of charge on Patreon.

-> https://www.patreon.com/cw/englishbreakthroughforgermans

Enjoy the episode!

Last week I spent a week teaching an intensive English course at a Berlin Volkshochschule. After five days in the classroom, I was reminded of some of the biggest challenges facing English learners in Germany.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why reading is easier than speaking

As someone who reached C2 in German as an adult and has spent 15 years teaching languages, I'll share practical insights that can help you take control of your English learning and become a more independent learner.

Many learners spend years studying grammar but still struggle to understand native speakers. In this episode, I explain why vocabulary may be the missing piece and share practical advice from one of the world's leading experts on language learning, Paul Nation. You'll learn: • Why vocabulary matters more than most learners realise • The role of repetition, frequency and context • Why graded readers can accelerate your progress • How I accidentally ended up in a B2 German course far too early • Why good grammar alone isn't enough for effective communication

Link to my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/cw/englishbreakthroughforgermans

How do you actually learn vocabulary in a foreign language? In this episode, Mike shares funny and memorable stories from his own German-learning journey to explain why simply translating words from your first language isn’t enough to become fluent. You’ll learn about register, natural language use, and why reading plays such an important role in developing real intuition for English. Mike also talks about a recent trip to Bavaria, mountain hiking, hammocks, and what he’s currently learning from one of the biggest names in English language teaching.

Here is the link to this week's Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/posts/159303782?pr=true

Click here for my Patreon page — https://www.patreon.com/c/englishbreakthroughforgermans

In Part 2 of this episode, I talk about what happened after I moved to Berlin in 2011 and how my German really started to improve. I explain how reading books, listening to audiobooks, watching films with subtitles, and reading aloud helped me become more fluent.

I also share why Harry Potter became such an important part of my language learning journey and why I believe that sound and listening are more important than grammar explanations alone.

At the end of the episode, I explain why I think these strategies work so well and how you can apply them to your own language learning.

How do people actually become fluent in another language? In Part 1 of How to learn a foreign language, I explain how my own German-learning journey began — from school classes in Australia to discovering Berlin and immersing myself in authentic German content. I talk about why subtitles, repetition, and natural interaction are so important for language learning, and I recommend several children’s shows that helped me improve my listening skills naturally.