Language Chats

If you need a recommendation for a new TV series or film to watch, look no further - our annual ‘What We’ve Been Watching’ episode is back for 2022! We have always loved chatting about what we’ve been watching in other languages and, this time, we have a special guest to join us! We invited Lamont from Days of French ‘n’ Swedish back to join us for a second time on Language Chats in 2022 to hear a...

Does learning a new skill (e.g. a new language!) make you feel energised and excited, or frustrated and anxious? Or perhaps you’ve felt a combination of both? In this episode of Language Chats, Penny & Bec are chatting about the earliest stages in language learning and all the feelings that come with it - good and bad! - after Penny saw this article in The Guardian which talks about how to embrace...

In this episode, we’re chatting with NSW-based Japanese & English teacher Kelly Harrison, the founder & director of Languages Roadshow . Languages Roadshow offers face to face events, online courses, creative resources and individualised support for teachers and schools, to empower educators to implement innovative teaching methods. Kelly tells us all about her journey and experience of learning J...

So… You’re not a beginner anymore in the language that you’re learning, but you’re still a long way from considering yourself fluent. How do we deal with this hazy - and sometimes, seemingly endless - period of being kind of intermediate? In this episode, Penny & Bec speak about their experiences of this tricky but also empowering learning stage that comes after beginner, whether you like to descr...

In this episode of Language Chats, we speak with Jenna Lo Bianco, a Melbourne-based educator, author, PhD candidate and mum of two, who lives and breathes all things Italian. Jenna is one of the most enthusiastic and passionate language educators we know (we challenge you to not feel motivated to support language education in Australia after listening to this episode!) and we were thrilled to have...

When you think of self-study or independent language learning, do you picture yourself studying alone, at a desk, perhaps with a few books and a laptop? Maybe some headphones too? There’s nothing wrong with this image at all, of course! But learning a language in a way that is entirely self-directed, in a way that suits your needs, motivations and available time, doesn’t necessarily mean learning...

If you think that speech pathologists only work with stutters and lisps, then listen in - the world of speech pathology is much wider than you might realise! In this episode of Language Chats, we speak with Melbourne-based speech pathologist (or ‘speechie’) Erin Tibbitts who has long had an interest in languages and linguistics. Born in New Zealand and having lived in a range of places around the...

How do you like to practise your listening skills in another language? Does listening form a greater (or smaller) part of your language learning routine than reading, speaking or writing? In this episode, Penny & Bec chat about different ways they like to work on their listening in other languages and some of their experiences with this developing this skill in different languages over the years....

YouTube can be a real treasure trove of information and inspiration for language learners, especially when it comes to hearing about other people’s experiences and how it might be able to help you in your own language learning journey. If you’re like us, we love hearing tips and recommendations from others! In this episode of Language Chats, we speak with NSW-based Lamont, the creator behind the D...

Our guest in this episode of Language Chats is Sydney-based writer, editor, producer and scholar Sheila Ngọc Phạm who has worked across radio, print, online and film. Languages are a big part of Sheila’s life, as a bilingual English/Vietnamese Australian whose interest in language led her to study linguistics and learn a number of other languages through her travels and experiences in life so far....

Do incentives or rewards play a part in how you stay motivated in your language learning? In this episode of Language Chats, we speak about how we incentivise or reward ourselves for our language learning efforts (if at all!) and the range of things and feelings that can serve us in this way as learners. Rewards don’t always come in physical, tangible forms - they can be something very internal, l...

Have you ever wondered what the most challenging and rewarding things about being a high school language teacher in Australia would be, when English is everywhere? It’s a task that teachers like Kat take on everyday and honestly - we’re in awe! In this Language Chat, we speak with Kat Forrester, a Melbourne-based French language teacher, language enthusiast and self-confessed syntax geek who lives...

In this episode of Language Chats, we’re chatting with one of our Language Lovers AU Community members, Julie Eggleton. Julie is originally from the Gold Coast but now lives with her family in Switzerland (and we are very jealous of the beautiful view of the mountains which she has from her desk at home!). We speak about her experiences of learning French and German over the years, living overseas...

Have you lost the fun from your learning? What comes to mind when you think of fun + language learning?    In this episode of Language Chats, together with some members of Language Lovers AU, we discuss the best tips to get the fun back into your languages.   From journaling to tracking your motivations, making real-life connections, gamifying your learning, and going to a cafe, we talk about what...

In this episode of Language Chats, we’re chatting with one of our Language Lovers AU Community members, Kathy Ismail. Malaysian-born and now based in Melbourne, Kathy is an enthusiastic language lover who grew up in a very multilingual environment in Kuala Lumpur and an interest in language has stayed with her ever since! Kathy is an architect by trade but also hosts a Malay language program on Me...

Need a recommendation for something new to read? In this episode, we chat about our favourite books about language, travel or both (and a few books that we’re planning to read soon)! From novels that whisk you away to another place where you find yourself surrounded by new sounds and experiences, to non-fiction reads about how language is changing and where it has come from, let us tell you a bit...

What place does a passion for languages have in your life? How can we better experience a language and a culture more fully as learners, especially if we don’t live in a place where the language is spoken? In this episode, we speak with Elfin Waters from All About Italian , who is an Italian language coach based in Cremona, Italy. Elfin helps people who are passionate about Italy to nurture their...

We love hearing about the experiences of Australians who are living abroad and have the opportunity to use other languages day to day! In this episode, we chat with Jess (you might know her as @aussieinasia on Instagram or Mindful Lang on YouTube ) who is currently teaching English in South Korea. She tells us about her experiences of learning Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Arabic, her path to livin...

t’s a pretty great feeling when you discover and meet other people who share the same interests as you, right? Women in Language is the virtual place where we first got in touch with each other and realised that, yes - there are other people just like us, who love languages too! Now coming up to its fifth edition, Women in Language is an online event created to champion, celebrate and amplify fema...

Happy New Year, language lovers! We’re back for 2022 and looking forward to another great year of Language Chats! To get things started on an exciting note, in this episode we’re announcing something fun for our community - a low-pressure, low-commitment language challenge which was suggested by one of our members (and past Language Chats guest), Evan, which will be focused on having a dabble in a...

How do you feel about your language learning in 2021? Did you reach the goals that you set out to achieve, or did this crazy year throw you just as many curveballs as 2020? In this episode of Language Chats, we’re reflecting on our language learning this year and how this might impact our plans for 2022. We chat about how we feel about the year as a whole, what worked for us and what didn’t, as we...

It’s getting to that time of year… It’s almost Christmas! Are you thinking about what language-related goodies you’d like to find (or put) under the Christmas tree, or which ones you can gift to a language lover who lives further away? In this episode of Language Chats, we’re talking about what we’d like Santa to bring us (*hint hint* friends/family/significant others) as well as gift ideas for la...

Need something new to watch? Despite those childhood warnings about getting square eyes, we still both watch an almighty amount of TV and we particularly love watching series in other languages (so it’s educational, right?). In what has become an annual tradition for Language Chats, we’re chatting about what we’ve been watching this year - from light-hearted Scandinavian series to French reality T...

How does the word ‘structure’ make you feel in the context of learning a language? The idea of structured learning might conjure images in your mind of textbooks or classrooms, but structure can come in many forms - some more or less effective for different people in a different stages of their learning. In this episode of Language Chats, we’re chatting about our experiences of learning languages...

Bilingual education is being embraced by more schools, educators and communities in Australia, as its benefits become more established and accepted. Although still a niche part of the Australian educational landscape, there are a number of bilingual schools around the country, which allow students to learn through another language in addition to English. In this episode of Language Chats, we speak...