Language & Travel Hacking

Native Italian speaker and teacher Elfin Waters shares with Benny and Shannon about falling in love with languages as an escape, using Instagram as a language learning resource, and building Italian language content for language learners.

Featured Resources

• Women in Language
• All About Italian

Mentioned in this Episode

• Women in Language
• All About Italian
• All About Italian Retreats
• All About Italian Instagram
• Con Parole Noste - Italian Conversations

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• Growing up in a family that prioritizes language learning
• Shifting from language learner to language teacher
• Getting in touch with the country with the language
• Using Instagram as a learning tool
• The power of compounding lots of small tasks
• Slow learning and having fun with creativity
• Finding joy in language learning
• What language retreats are and finding the right one
• Learning specific Italian dialects
• Using food for language learning

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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Benny and Elizabeth chat with Jim and May of Spanish and Go about meeting to exchange Spanish and English, falling in love, and creating a language business together. Jim and May are the founders of Spanish and Go, language podcasters, content creators, and language teachers.

Featured Resources

• italki
• Spanish and Go

Mentioned in this Episode

• italki
• Spanish and Go
• Spanish and Go Podcast
• How to Order Food in Spanish (Ordering a Meal at a Restaurant)
• Day of Dead Children’s Book
• Day of Dead video
• Spanish and Go Youtube
• Spanish and Go Instagram
• Spanish and Go Facebook

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• Combining love, travel, languages, and content creation
• Developing content for language learners based on their greatest needs
• Creating projects when you travel
• Switching from English to Spanish in a relationship
• Adjusting to Puerto Rican Spanish from Mexican Spanish
• Cultural immersion
• Day of the Dead
• Immersion retreats in Mexico

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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Benny and Shannon have a discussion with Anja Winter about creating an online business and developing interesting, compelling lesson content to help students with language learning motivation.

Featured Resources

• italki
• LingQ
• Language Hacking books

Mentioned in this Episode

• italki
• LingQ
• Anja’s Academy
• Language Hacking books
• Anja’s Instagram
• Anja’s Youtube
• Learn German with Anja
• Learn German with Anja on Instagram

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• Being a German language YouTuber and a digital nomad
• Incorporating body movement into language learning
• The importance of asking for help
• Finding inspiration for lesson material as a language teacher
• Advice for language teachers for creating an online business
• Limiting the amount of resources you use
• Making grammar fun with dialogues and phrases
• Helping students overcome their biggest challenges
• Studying abroad and immersion in languages
• Using dialogues to learn languages
• Maintaining motivation
• Using Netflix and movies to learn
• Student-teacher relationships and building connections

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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This week Benny gives a brief update about his current language projects, and how he's easing himself back into good routines. After a significant period away from language learning, it's important to take the time to figure out your methods and rebuild your study habits. The goal is to return to a place of consistent progress.

To ask Benny a question, please email [email protected]

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Benny and Elizabeth chat with Mark Pentleton about how he started the Coffee Break language podcasts and how his role shifted from language teacher to language learner.

Featured Resources

• Coffee Break

Mentioned in this Episode

• Coffee Break

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• Starting and developing Coffee Break language podcasts
• Moving from teacher to learner on the podcast
• Helping his children learn languages at home
• How students can overcome the intermediate plateau
• Having patience and avoiding comparison with others
• The opportunities that come from speaking languages
• How to view mistakes and be resilient
• How Mark found and built the Coffee Break team

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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Benny and Shannon chat with Dustin Luke and Ruben Adery about how to develop an authentic Spanish accent by using rhythm, musicality, body language, and other local insider information.

Featured Resources

• English Speaking Hacks
• Spanish Speaking Hacks

Mentioned in this Episode

• Cosas Que Dicen Los Argentinos Hecho Por Un Yanqui
• English Speaking Hacks
• Spanish Speaking Hacks
• Spanish Speaking Hacks Instagram
• English Speaking Hacks Instagram

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• What happens when a language scientist and a casual learner team up
• Tips for rolling your r’s
• Having an authentic accent beyond pronunciation
• Rhythm and musicality of pronunciation
• Learning colloquial phrases and chunking phrases
• Mindset and “getting into character” in a language
• Body language and other local insider tips for learning languages
• Getting local, native speakers to open up and use the language with you
• Learning a specific dialect without moving to the country with the Five I’s
• The sounds with the most variance in Spanish
• Finding viral videos in your target language
• How learning another language is like living another life
• Teaching your nonnative language

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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Have you ever been trying to learn one language, but found yourself tempted by a new one and distracted from your original goal? Benny is here to help! He shares ideas for staying engaged and interested in the language you're learning, which will help stop your eye from wandering.

To ask Benny a question, please email [email protected]

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Benny and Shannon chat with Dayna Brockbank about learning languages on a budget with Duolingo, italki and Anki by building systems for motivation.

Featured Resources

• italki
• Atomic Habits
• Anki

Mentioned in this Episode

• italki
• Atomic Habits
• Anki
• Fluent in 3 Months blog
• Duolingo
• Happily Ever Travels
• VIP Kid
• Universe of Memory

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• Learning Spanish while living in Chile in complete immersion
• What makes language immersion work
• How language learners waste time to try to be more effective
• Tips for budget traveling
• Building a career you can take traveling
• Finding motivation with systems
• How to choose which languages you learn
• Building conversation skills in a new language
• Learning for the sake of learning
• Common struggles amongst English language learners
• Something is better than nothing in language learning

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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Benny and Shannon discuss dual identities, language learning, and strategies for reviving a language with Alex Rawlings, who was once named Britain’s most multilingual student.

Featured Resources

• How to Speak Any Language Fluently
• Assimil
• Teach Yourself
• Routledge

Mentioned in this Episode

• Third Year Abroad, now Global Graduates
• How to Speak Any Language Fluently
• Assimil
• Teach Yourself
• Routledge
• Alex Rawlings
• Alex’s Twitter
• Alex’s Instagram
• More Than Words Podcast

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

• How Alex became Britain’s most Multilingual Student
• How a polyglot keeps their languages active and prioritizes what to work on
• Dealing with dual identities as someone who’s bicultural
• Taking language learning from hobby to career
• Living in South Africa and learning Afrikaans
• Extensive reading as a language learning strategy
• Strategies for reviving a language you’ve studied in the past
• Using courses at the beginner stage of learning
• Why you should adopt the philosophy of a “non-perfectionist”
• Learning strategies for advanced language learners
• Finding your voice in another language
• Discovering stories in other languages

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

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When it comes to learning vocabulary, is it best to learn individual words, or phrases with the words in context? Benny gives his opinion, talks about his insights and explains how he likes to use flashcards and other techniques to learn vocabulary both as standalone words and in context.

To ask Benny a question, please email [email protected]

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