Language Mastery

David Stirling is a Thailand-based English teacher from the UK and the founder of ⁠Go-Interview.com⁠, which helps English learners build the language skills they need to get their dream job. In the interview, we discuss: How David fell in love with Thailand Why he got into English teaching The different types of teaching jobs available in Thailand How to break through the "intermediate plateau" The pros and cons of group classes and online one-on-one tutoring The importance of choosing a narrow niche in online teaching & business Why David chose business English and interviewing as his niche The power of having sufficiently high stakes in language learning David's best tips for learning Thai The importance of mastering sounds first Why you need to get corrected early and often

Daniel Rusteen is an author, full-time traveler, digital nomad, short-term rental expert, and former Airbnb employee. He is best known for his books Optimize Your BnB and Profitable Properties, but he has also written a book on learning languages: Zilch to Conversational. In our conversation, Danny shares why he failed to learn a foreign language his first two attempts, the methods he used to finally reach conversational fluency in Spanish, how to choose the right language teacher, why and how to use Anki spaced repetition flashcards, why you should learn the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), and why you should go from "sounds to sentences" in your target language.

Ian Fritz is the author of What the Taliban Told Me, a nuanced look at what it was like to undertake intensive language training at The Defense Language Institute (DLI) in not one, but two languages (Dari and Pashto), serve as an "Airborne Cryptologic Linguist" (ACL) in the United States Air Force (USAF), and spy on the Taliban from low-flying gunships. During his two tours in Afghanistan, he eavesdropped on the Taliban for hundreds of hours, shared intelligence with various Special Forces units on the ground, and—according to official records—totaled 123 "insurgents EKIA" ("enemies killed in action"). But the more conversations he heard below, the more conflicted he became about his job, the war, the killing, and even his desire to continue living. His increasing linguistic fluency and cultural familiarity had humanized the enemy. It created a "moral injury" that Ian feared would never heal... In the interview, we talk about Ian's experience learning languages a

Coach Stéphane Angeles is a language coach who helps expats speak better Spanish through expert habit formation strategies, accountability, and one-on-one guidance via Zoom and audio check-ins. In the interview, we discuss: Why you should use a walkie talkie app to practice listening and speaking. Why you should practice writing daily (and how it can help you speak better). How to use the strategies of "Time," "Place," and "Target." The critical importance of mindset and psychology in language learning. Why TV shows are such an ideal language learning tool. Why children's books and TV shows are NOT ideal for adult learners. How to get repetition without boredom. The most common mistakes language learners make. Why you don't need to memorize grammar rules to speak a language well. Why you need to practice ALL 4 skills: listening, speaking, reading & writing. Why the language itself is not the hard part of learning a language. Why you should avoid

Gordon Smith and Cynthia Durán are the dynamic duo behind LightSpeed Spanish, where they teach people Spanish through courses, books, and online lessons. In this conversation, we discuss: How Gordon fell in love with Spanish, how Cynthia fell in love with English, and how they fell in love with each How to choose which Spanish accent to learn and tips for mastering Spanish pronunciation The most common mistakes that English speakers make when learning the Spanish language How to overcome the fear of making mistakes and get more speaking practice anywhere in the world Their favorite Spanish language learning resources, including TV shows, Netflix series, etc.

Elena Mutonono is a business coach, author, and former English teacher who helps overwhelmed online language teachers work less but make more while better serving students along the way. In her words: "I help overwhelmed and exhausted online language teachers change their teaching format so they can work less and make more. As a former ESL teacher myself, I know your struggles, fears and anxieties." In this conversation, we discuss: How Elena first fell in love with languages growing up in Ukraine. Why she stopped doing 1-on-1 classes. The most common mistakes language teachers make. How to create a profitable, sustainable, and rewarding teaching business. To learn more about Elena's coaching, books, Smart Teacher's Library community, and annual Online Teacher Summit, visit her website at ElenaMutonono.com.

Despite doing well in other school subjects, Andrew Barr failed French in secondary school. Upon hearing this news, his supportive father assured him: "The Barrs don't do languages. We do maths and sciences. You will never have to speak of a word of French again!" It turns out that this prediction was a bit of the mark. Today, Andrew speaks multiple languages and has built a successful business teaching languages at Real Fast Spanish. In this deep dive into Andrew's language learning journey and philosophy, you will learn: How a multilingual climb up Mount Kilimanjaro inspired him to learn languages (and led to befriending a French actress). The importance of high-quality language input (high-yield listening and reading content). The power of learning with other people (teachers, tutors, and exchange partners) and why you need to avoid the input-only trap. Why motivation, consistency, and discipline are the essential 3 essential ingredients of successful language learning. Why Andre

Cara Leopold is the founder of Leo Listening, where she helps "intrepid travellers and adventurous expats improve their English listening skills so they can better understand and better connect with fast-talking native speakers through their love of films." In the interview, we talk about how she learned French and the best way to learn languages through TV shows and movies. For show notes, visit LanguageMastery.com/show

Steve Kaufmann is a hyperpolyglot who has learned more than 20 languages (!!!) and the founder of LingQ, an online language learning platform that helps you acquire languages using content you love. He was my second guest on the Language Mastery Show way back in 2009, and returns 13 years later to offer new insights and encouragement for independent language learners. For show notes, visit LanguageMastery.com/show

Jim and May describe themselves as a "gringo/Mexican international couple" on a mission to connect English speakers to the Spanish-speaking world. Their excellent podcast, YouTube channel, blog, and Spanish immersion retreats in Mexico help learners bridge the gap between learning and actually living in Spanish.   In the interview, they share what they have each learned in their own language learning journeys, their best tips for learning Spanish, and favorite resources for immersing yourself in Spanish right at home.   For show notes, visit LanguageMastery.com/show   For more about Jim and May and tips for learning Spanish, visit SpanishAndGo.com.  

Mikkel Thorup is a seasoned world traveler, entrepreneur, consultant, author, and the host of the Expat Money Show. Since he left Canada in his teens, he has circumnavigated the globe over 400 times, visited more than 100 countries, and lived in 9. In our conversation, he shares his best tips for traveling or moving abroad, learning languages, and making the best of the expat life. For show notes, visit LanguageMastery.com/show For more about Mikkel and tips for transitioning abroad, visit ExpatMoneyShow.com.

Andrew Methven is the creator of Slow Chinese 每周漫闻, a weekly newsletter that helps Mandarin Chinese learners immerse themselves in authentic, colloquial language via interesting stories and news events handpicked from Chinese media, social media, and TV. Instead of learning the stilted and stuffy language of Chinese textbooks, Andrew's excellent newsletter trains you to understand the way people really speak and write the language today. In the interview, Andrew shares how he first fell in love with Chinese, differences between Mandarin between Mainland China and Taiwan, and his top tips for language learners. For show notes, visit LanguageMastery.com/blog/Andrew-Methven

From full-time Mandarin immersion at Peking University and Shanghai's Fudan University to years of independent study online, Daniel Nalesnik has spent the last 13+ years on a mission to figure out the most fun and effective way to learn Mandarin Chinese.   The result? The creation of Hack Chinese, a powerful spaced repetition tool designed from the ground up just for Mandarin learners, unlike generic SRS apps that struggle to properly handle Chinese characters, tones, etc.   In our conversation, Daniel shares the lessons he's learned, what he would do differently if he started from scratch, and how new language learners can get started.   For show notes, visit LanguageMastery.com/blog/Daniel-Nalesnik  

Scott H. Young is a Canadian writer, programmer, entrepreneur, and metalearning expert. He is the author of the best-seller Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career, and has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The BBC, Popular Mechanics, Business Insider, and LifeHacker.  He has applied and refined his principles in a number of accelerated learning challenges, from completing MIT’s 4-year undergraduate computer science curriculum in just 1 year, to spending a year abroad in 4 countries with no English allowed, to a one-month at-home challenge to learn Macedonian, his wife’s native language.  For more about Scott, visit ScottHYoung.com.  For show notes, visit LanguageMastery.com/blog/scott-young

In today's episode, I share three more tips for building the three foundations of mastery: 

Happy New Year! I hope your 2022 is off to a great start. In this first episode of the year, I would like to experiment with a new format. I have some exciting interviews lined up in the coming weeks, but I’d like to kick things off with a new segment called The 3 Foundations of Mastery.  If you already subscribe to my Language Mastery Monday newsletter, you will already be familiar with this framework. If not, what are you waiting for? Head over to LanguageMastery.com/newsletter to get expert tips and tools in your inbox each week. So what are the three foundations and why do they matter? Foundation 1 is Mastering Your Mind, which means conquering fears and self-limiting beliefs that are blocking your path to fluency. Foundation 2 is Mastering Your Day, which involves building better habits and learning more efficiently. Foundation 3 is Mastering Your Environment, which means creating your own immersion wherever you happen to live. One of the biggest lessons I have learned over the last 20 plus ye

Note: This interview was originally recorded in 2010 as part of a collection of expert interviews included with my Japanese learning guide Master Japanese. This version includes excerpts from the complete interview, which is available as part of the Master Japanese Digital Package available JapaneseMastery.com.  Khatzumoto is the man behind the popular Japanese learner blog All Japanese All the Time (or AJATT for short). While attending university in the United States, he figured out a way to immerse himself in Japanese language and culture nearly 24 hours a day. In an extremely short amount of time, he managed to reach an impressive level of fluency despite not living where the language was spoken and even without many of the learning tools and resources now readily available (he began his journey in 2004). 

Lindie Botes is a polyglot, YouTuber, blogger, and UI/UX designer on a mission to master 12+ languages, including Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and more. She is originally from South Africa, but has lived all over the world and now calls Singapore home. Though she loves foreign languages, she sees them not as an end but as a means to break down the barriers that otherwise divide us. 

Matt is the creator of the popular Matt vs. Japan YouTube channel and the co-founder of Refold: The Roadmap to True Fluency, where he shares the methods he used to reach near native-like fluency in Japanese in just 5 years. I am a big fan of his immersion-based approach to language learning (which aligns well with the approach I share in Master Japanese), his mission to create a more streamlined path to fluency, and his commitment to giving Japanese language learners the tips and tools they need to succeed. 

Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett (a.k.a. “Miss Panda”) is an intercultural language consultant and trainer, the author of Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese with Miss Panda! and First Mandarin Sounds: an Awesome Chinese Word Book, and the host of the Playful Chinese podcast. I love her approach to language learning, especially her emphasis on play and having fun. As she puts it eloquently, "Playing is learning. Learning is playing."