Language Chats

Moving to a new country is never easy (did someone say culture shock?), but it can be especially challenging if you need to learn how to live your life in a different language when you get there. How will you buy groceries or make a doctor’s appointment? How do you get a job and then, once you have one, navigate the workplace?

Our guest for this episode of Language Chats, Dory Wang, understands this all too well from her own first-hand experience of moving to Australia. However this also makes her particularly well-suited for her role as a Senior Digital Content Producer for SBS Learn English, a free service to help Australian migrants improve their English and live well in Australia.

Dory shares with us her personal story of moving to Australia as an adult, learning English and how she has gotten to where she is now in her life and career. She also tells us about SBS Learn English, the type of content that SBS Learn English provides for the newest members of our community and what makes it different to other resources available for English-language learners in Australia.

Have any questions for Dory or for us? Get in touch or join our Facebook group, Language Lovers AU Community, to connect with us and other like-minded language lovers in Australia and abroad.

Language Chats Ep #093 - Informing and entertaining Australians in over 60 languages: A chat with David Hua from SBS Australia

Australian Government - Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP)

IELTS

Monash University - Master of Communications & Media Studies

SBS Chinese

SBS Learn English - Podcasts | Videos | Articles

Language Chats Ep #103 - Researching language to make society better: A chat with Dr Howie Manns

SBS Learn English - Pronunciation with Janice Petersen

Facebook - SBS Learn English

Find Dory on LinkedIn

In this episode, we’re chatting with Dr Howard (Howie) Manns, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics at Monash University.

We were so excited to have the chance to speak with Howie, because we are fascinated by his language story and his academic work - from growing up in a monolingual environment and then (unexpectedly) becoming a linguist through joining the US Navy, to working as a researcher who now studies Australian English, Indonesian, tactile (deafblind) Auslan and intercultural communication.

We hope you enjoy this great Language Chat - we could have spoken with Howie for hours (but have made sure that we didn’t take up more than an hour of his precious time)!

Have any questions for Howie or for us? Get in touch or join our Facebook group, Language Lovers AU Community, to connect with us and other like-minded language lovers in Australia and abroad.

Howie has kindly provided us with an excellent set of notes and additional links for those interested in finding out more! We have included these below in addition to any relevant links/work referenced in the episode.

US Defense Language Institute, Monterey, Ca

Howie’s plane in the US Navy (ES-3A Shadow)

Howie discusses language and idioms and how they impact our view of the world on Episode 1 of the SBS Audio podcast The Idiom, hosted by Rune Pedersen

Our interview with Rune Pedersen: Language Chats Ep #098 - Hit the nail on the head: A chat with Rune Pedersen, host of The Idiom podcast

An open-access book Howie co-wrote about language in post-Suharto Indonesia: Style and Intersubjectivity in Youth Interaction by Dwi Noverini Djenar , Michael C. Ewing and Howard Manns

Some downloadable papers Howie has written on language in Indonesia: https://monash.academia.edu/HowieManns

Howie and colleagues reviews the decline of Indonesian, what Australia gets wrong about language and what we can do about it: https://theconversation.com/the-number-of-australian-students-learning-indonesian-keeps-dropping-how-do-we-fix-this-worrying-decline-216348

Howie and colleagues report on discussions with Victorian Indonesian educators and argues for more collaboration in the second language space. He also points to successful second language efforts in other parts of the world and how these might hold some answers for Australia: https://www.melbourneasiareview.edu.au/invigorating-indonesian-studies-in-australia-through-collaborative-online-education-practices/

Howie promotes multilingualism and community language-learning on ABC Radio National with Hoang Tran Nguyen, project manager, community advocate, co-founder, ViệtSpeak: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/languages-of-our-community/103163890

ViệtSpeak - a community-based, non-profit advocacy organisation situated in Melbourne's west

An Auslan-interpreted introduction to Howie’s Deafblind communication project (led by Louisa Willoughby): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIu7ltZ51R4

Here’s a written introduction to Australian Deafblind communication (behind a paywall but get in touch with Howie for a pre-print version): https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-6430-7_15

This is a 30-minute lifestyle documentary about the amazing Heather Lawson, who Howie mentions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjFOtIqjmxg

These are a pair Auslan signs Howie referenced, which sometimes cause confusion for Heather:

“pub” https://auslan.org.au/dictionary/words/pub-1.html

“know” https://auslan.org.au/dictionary/words/know-1.html

Howie presenting on the hidden power of language and misconceptions about English “errors”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjC39sfgbrY&t=376s

Howie reviews the history of Standard English and how the collective grammar of World Englishes may be challenging the standard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUry0z_BVU4

Howie, Kate Burridge and Simon Musgrave present on “Truth, truthiness and public science discourse”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktsFxREFZU8

Howie’s articles on Australian language and society for The Conversation (many co-written with Kate Burridge):

https://theconversation.com/profiles/howard-manns-111255/articles

Howie and colleagues introduce their project on Australian slang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPhb-_52XGc

Howie and colleagues write about their project on Australian slang: https://auslanguage.net/slanguage/

Howie appears on the ABC Kids podcast “Imagine This” to answer the question, “Where do words come from?”: https://www.abc.net.au/kidslisten/programs/imagine-this/how-people-make-words/13929010

A few Indonesian language articles from Howie:

Howie menulis tentang menurun Bahasa Indonesia di Australia dan bagaimana bisa diatasinya: https://theconversation.com/jumlah-pelajar-australia-yang-belajar-bahasa-indonesia-terus-menurun-bagaimana-mengatasinya-217444

Howie menjelaskan mengapa orang-orang di negara lain berbicara dalam bahasa yang beda: https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-mengapa-orang-orang-di-negara-lain-berbicara-bahasa-yang-berbeda-133940

Find Howie at Monash University | The Conversation

In this episode, we’re chatting with Canadian-Australian Andrea Plawutsky - currently based in NSW - who has brought her interest in tourism, China and Asia together across her career. From teaching English in north-eastern China, living and working in Thailand and then working in the travel & tourism industry in Australia, we loved hearing about Andrea’s experiences with learning and enjoying language around the world, in both professional and personal contexts.

Have any questions for Andrea or for us? Get in touch or join our Facebook group, Language Lovers AU Community, to connect with us and other like-minded language lovers in Australia and abroad.

Haymarket HQ

Find Andrea on LinkedIn | [email protected]

Penny is a long-time travel lover and in this episode, she tells us about her most recent international trip which was actually a bit of a reconnaissance mission… As she will soon be helping others to discover new cultures, languages and adventures through her new venture, Pip & Co Travel.

We chat about Penny’s history of embracing language and culture through travel, how we can all enrich our travel experiences with even the most basic openness and interest in the language and culture of your destination, the challenge of getting locals to engage with you as a traveller, the beauty of people-to-people connections, as well as the upcoming trips in Asia and the Pacific that Penny has planned for small groups later in 2024 and in early 2025.

Do you love mixing language, culture and travel? Have a question for Penny? Get in touch or join our Facebook group, Language Lovers AU Community, to connect with other like-minded language lovers in Australia and abroad.

Language Chats Ep #016 - Language Travel - What is it and how to get the most from it

Pip & Co Travel

Pip & Co Travel - Việt Nam - FAMILY Southern Vietnam Explorer Trip

100 EPISODES of Language Chats have now made it out into the world! To celebrate this exciting occasion (and the start of a new year, hello 2024), we’re going back through our archive to reminisce about some of our favourite episodes. We’ve had so many great chats over the last five years, it wasn’t easy narrowing down our top eps! But it has given us an opportunity to think about some of the great discussions we’ve had between the two of us and with many others across the last 99 episodes.

If you’re a long-time listener of this podcast, then this may prompt you to go back and re-listen to some of these great chats! Alternatively, if you’ve joined us recently, then consider this a hitlist of episodes to scroll down to and enjoy :)

What’s been your favourite episode of Language Chats so far? What would you like to hear more of on this podcast? Get in touch or join our Facebook group, Language Lovers AU Community, to connect with us and other like-minded language lovers in Australia and abroad.

(PS: Bec apologises for her somewhat grainy audio quality in this episode… Sadly, at-home podcast recording setups are not always foolproof. Coming back to you with cleaner audio in Ep #101!)

Language Chats Ep #047 - The power of podcasts for language learning: A chat with Pete from Aussie English

Language Chats Ep #006 - From Third Culture Kid in France, to teaching French in Australia: Interview with Devy Baseley

Language Chats Ep #003 - Foreign Language TV Series - What We’re Watching

Language Chats Ep #077 - A fresh approach to PD for languages teachers: A chat with Kelly Harrison from Languages Roadshow

Language Chats Ep #024 - The Language Learning Landscape in Australia: Our observations

Language Chats Ep #025 - The Language Learning Landscape in Australia: how it’s changed for adults and independent learners

Language Chats Ep #085 - Creating Australia’s first comprehensive language policy: A chat with Prof Joseph Lo Bianco

Language Chats Ep #039 - Enthusiastic about linguistics: A chat with Gretchen & Lauren from Lingthusiasm

Language Chats Ep #020 - Bite-sized language podcasts for busy people: A chat with Mark from Coffee Break Languages

Language Chats Ep #050 - It’s language trivia time! Celebrating our 50th episode

Language Chats Ep #055 - Leading a bilingual school: A chat with Stanley Wang, Principal of Abbotsford Primary School

Language Chats Ep #093 - Informing and entertaining Australians in over 60 languages: A chat with David Hua from SBS Australia

Language Chats Ep #060 - Low pressure, low commitment: Let’s dabble together in March (2022)!

In this episode, we're welcoming linguist Karla Zuluaga back to Language Chats to hear more about the interesting work she is involved in as a Community Linguist on Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory.

Born in the Philippines and having grown up in NSW, a couple of years ago Karla made the big move to the Northern Territory to work with the Groote Eylandt Language Centre. She tells us more about her role as a Community Linguist, the work the centre does to promote, maintain and preserve the language of the island  - Amamalya Ayakwa (Anindilyakwa) - and her experience of the beautiful language, culture and environment of this island in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Have a question for Karla or for us? Get in touch or join our Facebook group, Language Lovers AU Community, to connect with other like-minded language lovers in Australia and abroad.

Language Chats Ep #042 - Introduction to Australian indigenous languages: A chat with Karla Zuluaga (Part 1)

Language Chats Ep #043 - Introduction to Australian indigenous languages: A chat with Karla Zuluaga (Part 2)

Anindilyakwa Land Council & Groote Eylandt Language Centre

Groote Eylandt Language Centre - YouTube | Facebook

NT Mob Sharing Stories in Language

Groote Eylandt - Northern Territory Travel

Feeling a bit ‘under the weather’ because it’s been ‘raining cats and dogs’? Maybe you’ve found yourself ‘in a pickle’! But if a Danish person said to you that ‘there’s no cow on the ice’ (det er ingen ko på isen), would you know what they mean?

Idiomatic expressions are a really interesting part of language and in this episode, we’re chatting with Rune Pedersen, host of The Idiom, a podcast co-produced Think HQ CultureVerse and SBS Audio which explores culture through weird and wonderful idioms from Australia and around the world.

Danish native Rune speaks with us about his background and interest in language, his own experiences living, studying and working with different languages across multiple countries, how The Idiom came to be and what inspired the creation of this podcast, and what captures his curiosity at the moment.

Have a question for Rune or for us? Get in touch or join our Facebook group, Language Lovers AU Community, to connect with other like-minded language lovers in Australia and abroad.

The Idiom podcast, co-produced Think HQ CultureVerse and SBS Audio

Monolingual vs multilingual: The key to communications that will resonate with Australians today - Mumbrella

Find Rune on LinkedIn | Think HQ

In this episode, we’re chatting with our intrepid traveller Penny, who is on the trip of a lifetime around Australia with her family!

After setting off in August 2023 for a 5-month road trip around the country, Penny and her family are discovering parts of Australia that they’ve never been to before, encountering different languages and cultures, and experiencing all the fun, challenges and practical considerations of travelling with a camper trailer in tow.

Have a question for Penny about her trip? Get in touch or join our Facebook group, Language Lovers AU Community, to connect with other like-minded language lovers in Australia and abroad.

About Kungarakan country - Kungarakan Culture and Education Association (NT)

Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park - National Parks and Wildlife Service (SA)

Wilpena Pound (SA)

Coober Pedy (SA)

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park - Parks Australia (NT)

Language | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (NT) - palya means ‘hello’ (and can also be used for ‘goodbye’, ‘thank you’ and ‘finish’) in Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara

Watarrka National Park (NT)

Bush Food of Australia aka Bush Tucker - Welcome to Country

10 ways Aboriginal Australians made English their own - The Conversation

What is the Indigenous voice to parliament, how would it work, and what happens next? - The Guardian

Kakadu National Park (NT)

Royal Flying Doctor Service

Country kids return to online classrooms as School of the Air starts new year - ABC News

Follow Penny’s trip on Instagram: @lingo_mama | @wandering_wilstones

In this episode, we’re again chatting with two members of the Language Lovers AU Community based in Australia - Han-Yu Ong and Ingrid Botha - who both kindly took the time to tell us (and you!) about their respective experiences of learning other languages, the part that language plays in their lives, and what has motivated and inspired them.

Have a question for Han-Yu, Ingrid or us? Get in touch or join our Facebook group, Language Lovers AU Community, to connect with other like-minded language lovers in Australia and abroad.

My Bilingual Family Podcast - SBS Audio

Language Lovers AU Community on Facebook

In this episode, we’re chatting with two Melbourne-based members of the Language Lovers AU Community - Lily Cerôn-Fernández and Deb McLeod - who both kindly took the time to tell us (and you!) about their respective experiences of learning other languages, what has motivated and inspired them, and where languages have taken them in their lives.

Have a question for Lily, Deb or us? Get in touch or join our Facebook group, Language Lovers AU Community, to connect with other like-minded language lovers in Australia and abroad.

Victorian Curriculum - Languages - VCAA

Alliance Française de Melbourne

Lily’s website - Spanish Gym Language Training | Instagram: @spanishgymlanguagetraining

Coffee Break Languages

Language Lovers AU Community on Facebook