Language & Travel Hacking

World traveler, tour coordinator, and language learner, Scott Brills, joins Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy to chat about “faking” comprehension, deep-diving into cultural experiences, and cross-country adventures around the world.

Scott has an impressive travel résumé having taken part in the Mongol Rally, traversing India in a rickshaw, and building a business that provides travelers with rich cultural immersion experiences. If you’re interested in travel, living abroad, or multicultural entrepreneurship, this is the episode for you.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Scott’s Website
• Scott’s Facebook
• Scott’s Twitter
• Scott’s Instagram
• Mongol Rally
• Rickshaw Run
• Pamoja Safaris
• Benny’s Mt. Kilimanjaro Story

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:

• Dealing with the logistics of building work and making a living in other countries
• Scott’s ideal language learning routine
• Scott’s 3 Language Survival Resources
• How to fit in language learning as a busy entrepreneur
• What the hosts’ favorite languages are
• What languages the hosts struggled with most
• Memorable gaffs the hosts made in their languages

Learn more and access this bonus content on Patreon.

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• Living abroad at a young age in Japan
• Combatting loneliness and fear of living alone in another country
• How to get through the roadblocks along the path to fluency
• Why you sometimes just need to be thrown into the deep end
• Running culinary tours in Japan and safaris in Tanzania
• Taking part in the Mongol Rally, driving through 16 countries for charity and learning to rely on the support of strangers
• Traveling across India in a rickshaw on three different occasions
• Learning a language by “faking” comprehension
• Gaining the confidence to approach complete strangers in another language

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Our first ever Language Hacking Podcast guest, author, and course creator, Scott Young, revisits the show to catch up with Benny and Shannon and share what’s changed for him over the last two years with his language learning and projects.

Scott is an expert on learning and how to work better. He’s a best-selling author who took on the MIT Challenge, A Year Without English, and many more intensive learning projects. In this episode, he shares many of his thoughts on momentum, confidence, and balancing life with other pursuits.

Featured Resources

• Ultralearning
• Rapid Learner

Mentioned in this Episode

• Ultralearning
• Rapid Learner
• Scott’s Website
• Scott’s Twitter
• Scott’s Facebook
• Scott’s Instagram

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• How Scott’s life has changed over the past two years
• Building a multilingual family and learning Macedonian
• How to stay engaged in learning
• Dealing with the long-term maintenance work of learning languages
• How to get back into learning after losing momentum and confidence
• Time and energy management for intensive learning projects
• Setting concrete learning goals
• Top 5 things Scott learned since our last discussion with him
• How to prioritize personal projects

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Language Hacking Podcast co-hosts, Shannon Kennedy and Elizabeth Bruckner catch up and talk about how this last year has been a time of learning, and building self-compassion and resilience in both language learning and life.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Fluent in 3 Months Challenge
• Pimsleur
• Shannon’s Spotify
• French Sunnyside
• Language Conqueror: Mindfulness
• Power of Now
• When Good Things Happen to Bad People
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Al-Anon
• Overeaters Anonymous
• Narcotics Anonymous
• Debtors Anonymous

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• Moving your body and language learning to help with anxiety and other negative emotions
• Putting yourself out there with positive energy and being open to connection
• The power of being quiet and observation before jumping in
• The art of being interested in other people and being of service to others
• Touch and tactile learning
• Sneaking in language learning in unexpected situations
• Keeping an index card with a list of tools and an action plan for difficult moments
• Mindfulness practices and language learning
• Re-reading your favorite books in another language
• 12-step meetings and using them for language learning
• Art and music therapy

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Join Our Patreon

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

This new episode is all about language islands. Benny explains how creating these specific areas of language knowledge, based on your personal needs or interests, is a solid way to build confidence and get speaking when you start learning a language. And using these topics as a focus will help you reach fluency quicker, as you're able to talk about your islands in depth, and with confidence.

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

Join Our Patreon

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

Language Hacking Podcast co-hosts Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy catch up and share what their own recent language learning projects, takeaways, and milestones have been, as they approach the 100th episode of the podcast.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Fluent in 3 Months Challenge
• Benny’s Instagram
• Benny’s Facebook
• Benny’s Twitter
• Shannon’s Instagram
• Shannon’s Website

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• What Shannon and Benny have been working on in the last year
• Shannon’s thoughts on consolidation and consistency in language learning
• Why Benny needs projects and urgency to find success in language learning
• Personal challenges Benny and Shannon have faced and how they worked through them
• Shannon and Benny’s plans over the next year

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Join Our Patreon

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

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge participant and Italian learner, Louisa, speaks to Benny and Shannon about how she learned as much about herself, as she did about languages, while taking part in the Challenge.

Louisa found as many opportunities to personally develop in the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge as she did as learned Italian.

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
• Innovative Languages

Mentioned in this Episode

• Fluent in 3 Months Challenge
• Innovative Languages
• Language Transfer
• Notion

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• Language learning goals
• Learning about yourself while learning languages
• Starting over with language learning as an adult
• Using role play to learn languages
• Traveling to Italy and getting to use the language
• The struggles and rewards of using a speaking-based approach to learning languages
• The importance of breaks
• Why language learning apps become “busy work”
• Language learning routines during intensive study periods and around everyday life
• How to get through moments of self-doubt
• Building language islands

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Join Our Patreon

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

Benny shares how he uses the "Pomodoro Technique" in his language missions,, and explains how you can use it to work or study for longer periods of time. The Pomodoro Technique is a very accessible system of working that requires nothing more than a timer and a little bit of self discipline (but not that much!). Benny has found it really helps him to manage his ADHD, maintain focus, and not give into distractions.

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

Join Our Patreon

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

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge winner, Fiona, joins Benny and Elizabeth to talk about her progress learning Italian, the myth of “natural talent”, and how excited she is to speak to family, friends and Italian locals without the need of a translator.

This episode features Fiona, who made significant progress with Italian in just 90 days with the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge.

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

Mentioned in this Episode

• Benny’s Mt. Kilimanjaro Story
• Benny’s Instagram
• Benny’s Twitter

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• Busting the myth of “natural talent”
• Getting help with you’re a technophobe
• The two-way street of the Challenge community
• Overcoming reluctance to create videos
• Differences between learning in school and learning with the Challenge
• How Fiona learns Italian from her daughter and practises with her husband
• Tips for new language learners and first time Challengers
• Finding every opportunity you can to talk in your target language
• Combining language practise with exercise and building routines
• Perseverance as the key to success and parallels with climbing a mountain
• Benny’s approach to learning and maintaining multiple languages
• How to mindfully approach strangers in their native language
• Memorising ice-breaker phrases for striking up conversation, or just barging in!

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Join Our Patreon

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

Business coach and self-proclaimed “VietNomad”, Jeremy Ginsbury, talks with Benny Lewis about his experiences living in Israel, Ghana and Vietnam, and being on reality TV in another language.

Ready to get back into more serious language learning, Jeremy reflects on the bits and pieces of different languages he has picked up throughout his life, and how the positive feedback he has received by locals has been a great source of motivation.

Featured Resources

• Speak in a Week

Mentioned in this Episode

• Jeremy’s website
• Jeremy’s Facebook
• Jeremy’s Instagram
• Speak in a Week course
  Jeremy’s Fluent in 3 Months articles
• Wim Hof and ice baths

Episode Overview

Some of the topics discussed in the interview are:

• The impact of using the foreign version of your name when travelling
• Studying abroad in Israel and Ghana
• Facing depression when living and working abroad
• Ways personalities change in different languages and countries
• “Beginner’s mind” and the power of naivety
• Failing fast and failing often
• Knowing yourself being very important for learning
• Jeremy’s experience on a Vietnamese reality TV show
• Integrating your interests into your language learning - yoga, music, ice bathing
• Using communities you’re part of through hobbies, as a way to practise language

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Join Our Patreon

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

In this episode, Benny talks about why, after many years of using it, Anki is still his favourite app for language learning. Anki is a free flashcard app that utilises spaced repetition theory to help you learn vocabulary that you input yourself. While some people may find Anki a bit bland, Benny explains how the simplicity of the software not only makes learning more efficient and focussed, but also has a lot of specific benefits for someone with ADHD.

Benny guides you through the key features of Anki and the process of importing your own vocabulary lists, so you can make sure you're learning words that are relevant to you.

You can find a more detailed guide to using Anki here: https://www.fluentin3months.com/anki-cards/

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

Join Our Patreon

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