What’s it like attending an in-person language exchange event?

Victoria Galmarini, Lead Manager for MundoLingo, an in-person language exchange organization, shares how to run a language exchange event, ways exchanges differ in different countries, and what a successful language exchange event looks like.

(PS: Learn a little about Benny’s experience at language exchange events by listening to this episode!)

Mentioned in this Episode

• Mundo Lingo
• Apply to be a Mundo Lingo Manager

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Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Benny answers the big questions that a lot of skeptics asking him: Why 3 months?

Listen to this episode to hear the founder of world-famous Fluent in 3 Months language brand explain how setting himself a deadline of three months motivates him to actually learn a new language.

Benny reflects on his “learning drought” over the last 10 years, his new mission, and the work and sacrifices he has put in to lay the ground for his Korean mission this time.

Follow Benny’s progress on his Korean mission on our YouTube channel, and don’t forget to check out the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp.

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

How can you make grammar “less boring” to learn?

Mignon Fogarty, founder of the platform Quick and Dirty Tips and of the beloved Grammar Girl podcast, comes onto the Language Hacking podcast to help answer this question. She tells Benny how Grammar Girl was born from having to look up grammar rules often as part of her job, and how she grew her podcast into a successful business.

Mignon then explains how language evolution tends to emerge primarily from younger people, hence why using social media to stay on top of grammar evolution is completely valid! She and Benny discuss changes in the English language, including the emotional weight of punctuation online, and how social media can be the number one resource for fun language facts.

(PS: Listen to this episode if you wonder what kind of experience in life you need to become a polyglot. Benny explains how his background in engineering helps him face language learning in a more productive way.)

Mentioned in this Episode

• Grammar Girl Podcast
• Quick and Dirty Tips
• Mignon’s twitter
• Mignon’s TikTok
• Benny’s main TikTok

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Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

How can you find good resources to learn uncommon or less popular languages?

Azren grew up multilingual and made a career out of his passion for languages. He currently speaks English, French, Spanish, Gujarati, and Mandarin, but his online tutoring business covers 11 more… Some of which are not widely spoken worldwide.

In his interview with Benny, Azren explains how he went from working for a window-cleaning franchise during his university studies to developing his own language-tutoring team. He goes into details about how he carefully selected tutors over the course of several years, and how he maintains the same patient rhythm to constantly grow his business by organically recruiting team-members to cover new languages.

Then the conversation moves on to a pain point for minority language learners: finding resources, either digitally or physically, a struggle which Azren has learned.

From intensive learner to intensive learner, Azren and Benny discuss Azren’s methods to do full immersion, talk about how he stumbled upon the online polyglot community, how it helped him to grow as a language learner, and how it has impacted his teaching style.

(PS: If you’re struggling to get out of an intermediate plateau, Azren has some must-hear advice for you!)

Mentioned In This Episode

• Calgary Language Nerds
• Azren’s Instagram
• CEFR Companion Guide
• italki

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Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Join Benny as he explains how he has started his Korean mission from absolute scratch—and how you can do the same! The steps are simple:

Avoiding English at all costs—so no English conversation, even with your tutor.

Cheating your way through your first conversation (with Benny’s very own cheating technique).

Throwing yourself into the project without fear or objections holding you back!

Follow Benny’s progress on our YouTube channel, and don’t forget to check out the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp.

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

Can introverts and shy learners also benefit from joining learner communities?

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge (now Bootcamp) participant and Norwegian learner, Pierre, tells Benny and Shannon how the joining the Fluent in 3 Months community helped him overcome his fear of speaking another language, and how he was able to learn more quickly than with any other methods.

Pierre also chats about learning a lesser studied language like Norwegian, how speaking German helped him along the way, and lists some ways to get feedback on your language skills.

(If you also want tips on learning a language to prepare for a trip, this is the episode for you!)

We guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp 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 Bootcamp

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

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Can music help you learn languages?

Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp participant and Spanish learner, Zac, discusses:

How his learning approach changed in the Bootcamp (formerly the Challenge)
The power of music when learning a new language
How to pick up your studies when you’ve gone off track

Zac also explains how he picks a language to focus on. He gives his favorite tips for choosing a language tutor, and discusses how self-talk can support language learning.

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

Mentioned in this Episode

• Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp
• italki
• Scott Young
• NET Concept

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Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Did you hear about Benny’s new project? He’s learning a new language, and to keep in style, he will treat his new mission as a full-time job! Having relocated to Bali for this, he has until May to get “fluent” in this new language.

So which one is he learning?

Drum roll… The reveal is in the episode!

PS: He also explains what he means by “fluent”. This one is for the skeptics!

Follow Benny’s progress on our YouTube channel, and don’t forget to check out the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp.

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

How can tutors help their students avoid anxiety and the feeling of “stage fright” when speaking a new language?

Emanuel Vasconcelos is one of the favorite Spanish teachers among the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp community, and Elizabeth’s primary Spanish tutor. In this interview, they discuss Emanuel’s journey to becoming a Spanish language teacher and the methods he uses to help his students improve their language learning effectively.

Emanuel explains how his focus is working with students using constructive techniques rather than the usual error-correction dynamic that many teachers follow.

A lot of the Language Hacking Podcast guests are students from the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp (formerly, the Challenge), so Emanuel’s perspective is an eye-opener!

PS: Plenty of personal anecdotes from Elizabeth’s and Benny’s learner experiences in this episode, so don’t miss out on them!

Mentioned in this Episode

• Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp
• Hispandom (Emanuel’s website)
• Spanish Uncovered Review
• Stephen Krashen on the Comprehensible Input Method

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Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

What does it feel like to learn the language you have always wanted to learn?

Fluent in 3 Months student and Italian learner, Deanna, talks about the power of accountability, finding the right resources, and what it feels like to finally learn the language you always wanted to learn.

In this interview, Deanna, Benny, and Shannon discuss how to figure out whether a tool isn’t working for you or if you’re just not ready for the tool and to choose which language learning tools you’re going to use. The episode also covers topics such as avoiding FOMO when it comes to language resources and pushing through when your efforts aren’t giving you results.

If you’ve been wondering how to surround yourself with your target language, Deanna’s advice will help you get started the right way.

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

Mentioned in this Episode

• Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp
• italki
• ItalianPod101
• Olly’s Storylearning
• Duolingo
• Tangerine App
• Forest App

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Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to support what we do.

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy