Language & Travel Hacking

Are dead languages worth learning?

Latin learner, polyglot, and professional translator Brian Powell answers this question by explaining his experience with learning Latin and the way it changed his perspective on learning languages.

Among other topics discussed in this conversation with Benny, Brian explains the “Living Latin” movement, using Latin in a spoken way, and whether or not Latin is a useful stepping stone to learn modern romance languages.

Brian also shares about his love for grammar, insights on the other languages he has learned, including Arabic, Farsi, and French, as well as stories and tips from his career as a translator.

PS: Definitely listen to this episode if you want to hear Benny’s special pronunciation of Latin words :)

Mentioned in this Episode

• Brian’s blog post on Fluent in 3 Months: How to Speak Latin: A Beginner’s Guide to Living Latin
• Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata
• ScorpioMartianus YouTube channel
• MagisterCraft
• Latinitium
• Assimil
• italki
• IndustryArabic

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Benny starts off this episode with a personal case study related to language immersion at home: studying Egyptian Arabic while still living in Brasil back in 2012. He then gives his favorite tips for home immersion.

To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@languagehacking) or Twitter (@fi3m), or you can email [email protected]

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge participant and Greek learner, Nina, shares her experience taking part in the Challenge and connecting with her husband, in-laws, and daughter through Greek with hosts Benny and Shannon.

We guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge will have a 15-minute conversation in their new language after 90 days of learning. You can find out more here.

Featured Resources

• Fluent in 3 Months Challenge

Join Our Patreon

Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to bonus content and monthly exclusives.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Fluent in 3 Months Challenge
• italki
• LingQ
• Glossika

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• Figuring out how much you want your language teachers to correct you
• How to get through the intermediate plateau
• Learning multiple languages simultaneously
• Reading to learn languages
• Coming back to languages after a break
• Becoming more direct with your language tutors in order to get the most out of your lessons
• Balancing your energy and being more aware of your energy levels
• Learning languages with the unpredictable schedule of having a new baby
• Learning your partner’s native language
• How Nina supports her daughter’s language learning and multilingualism

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge participant and French learner, Melanie, discusses taking part in the Challenge and connecting with her kids through French with hosts Benny and Shannon

We guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge will have a 15-minute conversation in their new language after 90 days of learning. You can find out more here.

Featured Resources

• Fluent in 3 Months Challenge

Join Our Patreon

Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to bonus content and monthly exclusives.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Fluent in 3 Months Challenge

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• Learning French in the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge
• How language helped Melanie find new ways to connect with her kids
• Learning a language alongside her kids and how supporting one another goes both ways
• Creating a language learning environment with 7 kids
• Learning a heritage language
• Ways to support your kids’ language learning
• How being a part of her kids’ language learning journeys has helped Melanie improve her own learning

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

The life of a polyglot globe-trotter only knows one constant: change! In this new update, Benny explains why his decision to postpone his trip to Thailand is the best for his goals in Thai. In fact, he will be focusing on including five languages in his daily life in the next few months.

To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@languagehacking) or Twitter (@fi3m), or you can email [email protected]

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge participant and French learner, Joaquin, explains how deciding to study in France helped him become serious about his goal to learn French, and how he kept his progress up by working hard to keep himself accountable.

We guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge will have a 15-minute conversation in their new language after 90 days of learning. You can find out more here.

Featured Resources

• Fluent in 3 Months Challenge

Join Our Patreon

Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to bonus content and monthly exclusives.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Fluent in 3 Months Challenge
• italki
• Language Hacking French

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• How to stay accountable when learning a new language
• Why being bilingual doesn’t mean it’s always easy learning new languages
• Joaquin, Elizabeth, and Benny’s ways to includes some fun language days to their learning schedule
• Mini-missions and how they make learning languages seem more approachable
• Joaquin’s experience with Language Hacking French

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Since Benny started travelling again, he has had to adapt his learning to his new schedule and route. In this episode, he shares his tips on how to make the most of a little-known WordReference feature, using flashcards in the best way, and keeping working on the languages you know even while traveling abroad.

To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@languagehacking) or Twitter (@fi3m), or you can email [email protected]

Featured Resources

• Rebel with a Clause

Patreon Extended Episode

Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to extended episodes and loads more content. Here’s what you’ll hear in the long-form episode:

• Motivation around learning and how to make progress when you feel like you’re bad at something
• Dr. Oakley’s 3 language survival tools
• Advice Dr. Oakley would have given herself when she was starting out with language learning
• How to get back into a language you stopped learning
• How Dr. Oakley would start learning a new language today
• Dr. Oakley asks Benny what to do when a teacher assigns you things that just don’t make sense for you personally

Learn more and access this bonus content on Patreon.

Featured in This Episode

• Learning How to Learn MOOC
• A Mind for Numbers
• Mindshift
• Benny’s Speak from Day 1 Method

Mentioned in this Episode

• Learning How to Learn MOOC
• A Mind for Numbers
• Mindshift
• Dr. Oakley’s website
• Evil Genes
• Benny’s Speak from Day 1 Method
• Kumon
• Smartick

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• How Dr. Oakley got into learning how to learn
• Joining the military to learn a new language at the Defense Language Institute
• Using the Speak from Day 1 Approach
• How Dr. Oakley’s philosophies around language learning influenced her learning in other fields
• Working as a Russian translator on Soviet trawlers, teaching in China, being an Army Captain in Germany, working as a radio operator at the South Pole Station and how these things shaped Dr Oakley’s perspectives
• How teaching makes you a better learner through retrieval practice
• The story behind the MOOC “Learning How to Learn”
• Tricks for encouraging your kids to love learning

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge participant and Spanish learner, Hez, chats with Benny and Shannon about fighting perfectionism and practicing patience in language learning.

We guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge will have a 15-minute conversation in their new language after 90 days of learning. You can find out more here.

Featured Resources

• Fluent in 3 Months Challenge

Join Our Patreon

Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to bonus content and monthly exclusives.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Fluent in 3 Months Challenge
• Pimsleur
• Duolingo
• Benny’s Fluent in 3 Months book

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• What to do when you’re impatient and you want to learn everything all at once
• Fighting perfectionism and being kind to yourself in the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge
• The Buddhist idea of a Beginner’s Mind
• Keeping up your language learning during stressful periods in your life
• Ways to have fun with your language learning

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

In this Ask Benny episode, Benny discusses his next language project. Benny will rediscover a language he already studied back in 2010 by flying from Brazil to a new surprise destination. He discusses his new approach to learning the language and his plans for preparing himself ahead of landing. Discover Benny’s next language project in this episode!

To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@languagehacking) or Twitter (@fi3m), or you can email [email protected].