The Language Learning Show

I have to give credit to Andrew Bustamante for the inspiration behind this video. I heard him discuss Conversation Maps and I realized that I have unconsciously used this concept regularly in my life. Hearing Andrew talk about Conversation Maps in explicit terms has allowed me to use them more effectively myself and break down how you can use them yourself. After you finish this episode, you will have a tool in your language learning tool belt that will:

If you have any questions or comments, visit https://azrenthelanguagenerd.com/contact. Enjoy!

Understanding the concept of "The Gold Medal Ideal" has made me much more productive and reduced internal conflict. I'm excited to talk to you about it today. My hope is that it:

Language learners frequently doubt if they're taking the right steps to actually reach their desired level of proficiency. It's normal - you've likely never learned a language before and so it's natural to question if you're on the right path. In today's episode, I share a simple process to have 100% certainty about the effectiveness of your language learning approach. It revolves around logging your active study hours and then strategically using level assessments.

A current Calgary Language Nerds student submitted the question that inspire this video. She was wondering if she should be looking up unfamiliar words when doing reading practice in another language. My suggestion to her was to have Chat GPT open while she reads and to ask it questions whenever she didn't understand something from her reading material. In this podcast, I give further details about how to use Chat GPT to not only improve reading comprehension in another language, but also to enhance your overall language learning experience. Here is the website for Chat GPT in case you want to try it out yourself: https://chat.openai.com/

As I've spoken with private tutors over the years, I've noticed that they frequently feel frustrated with students who aren't committed to their studies. In today's podcast, I share my perspective on why this happens and what to do about it.If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me @polyglotazren on social media or email me at https://azrenthelanguagenerd.com/contact.

I was teaching one of my upper-intermediate level Spanish students today and she told me an interesting travel anecdote. Let's call this student Anna.

A few years ago, Anna was in a taxi while traveling around Colombia. The taxi driver was initially quite aloof and rude with her. However, as soon as Anna spoke to the driver in Spanish, his entire demeanour changed. He treated my student and her husband with more warmth and even gave them a city tour.

Being a traveller myself, Anna's story did not surprise me. In my experience, there are four benefits to knowing the local language (even just the basics) when travelling:

1. Locals treat you with more warmth, kindness, enthusiasm, and patience

2. You are less susceptible to getting tricked by scams

3. You have the chance to participate in experiences that are off the beaten path

4. The travel experience is less overwhelming overall

I wanted to make this podcast today because summer is right around the corner and I’ve seen too many people over the years make the mistake of pausing their language studies during this time. In general, I advise against this because:

Therefore, I don’t believe it to be a good idea to drop everything for the sake of having an “enjoyable summer.” Instead, you can do one of the following:

I hope you enjoy this podcast episode. If you would like to see more content like this, don't forget to check out the other content I've recorded or check out my blog: https://azren.substack.com.

Contact me: https://azrenthelanguagenerd.com/contact

Many language learners I come across feel that speaking is one of the hardest parts of learning another language. They feel self-conscious and get frustrated at their inability to communicate with native speakers fluently, leading them to make mistakes such as:

1. Switching to their first language in the middle of a conversation. For example, I was once speaking with a friend in Gujarati and was feeling self-conscious. As a result, I started speaking with my friend in English. Her English level was higher than my Gujarati level, making it much easier to communicate in English.

2. “Running away” from a conversation. Once while in Brazil I was trying to buy a drink from a fast food restaurant. I tried to tell the cashier that I didn’t want ice in the drink, but she didn’t understand me. She gave me the drink and, unsurprisingly, it had ice in it. I felt discouraged and self-conscious about my low level of Portuguese, so instead of trying to explain myself once more, I swiftly walked out of the fast food restaurant in an attempt to avoid embarrassing myself further. In reality I probably didn’t have much to be embarrassed about despite feeling that way in the moment.

3. Avoiding conversations altogether. When I was in Beijing as a beginner Mandarin learner, I always struggled to get my point across and understand what others said. This was incredibly overwhelming and draining. Because of this, I would often sit in my room for hours at at time instead of going outside to take in the sights.

How to Have Smoother Conversations

The number one rule is to stay in the conversation as long as possible. Here are a few simple ways to do this. I elaborate further upon each one and give additional tips in this podcast episode.

• Ask lots of questions. It’s easier to ask questions than share long anecdotes yourself.

• Use online dictionaries and translators in the middle of conversations when you encounter words or phrases you don’t know.

• Use phrases like “let me think” and “let me look something up” to buy yourself more time to think about what to say next.

• Don’t be afraid to ask native speakers to repeat themselves or to slow down if you aren’t understanding what they say.• Don’t try to understand each word the native speaker says. Aim to understand the gist.

Feel free to contact me @polyglotazren or email me at https://azrenthelanguagenerd.com/contact if you have any comments or questions.

Have any questions? Don't hesitate to reach out @polyglotazren on Instagram or email me at https://azrenthelanguagenerd.com/contact.

In today's podcast, I interviewed Logan, a German, Danish, and English instructor at the Calgary Language Nerds. We discussed a variety of topics, but by far the highlight for me was our discussion around taking university classes to learn a language.

Let me explain.

Logan used to be an aircraft mechanic, but decided to change careers. He is now in the latter half of a degree in French and Spanish with the goal of becoming a teacher. While Logan feels that his university classes have helped him to improve his level in both French and Spanish, he believes that university classes are one of the least cost effective and least effective ways to learn a new language. He finds that they’re expensive and that the teaching methods used are ineffective. As you'll see in this episode, for the most part I agree with Logan's opinion. However, I brought up the following advantages of learning in a university setting:

This was not all we discussed of course, so make sure you watch/listen to this episode!

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Want to learn a language at the Calgary Language Nerds? Visit https://azrenthelanguagenerd.com for more information or contact @polyglotazren on Instagram!