Language & Travel Hacking

How much does living in different countries shape your personality and influence your personal development? In an episode packed with cultural exploration anecdotes, writer, translator, and educator Kelsey Lechner shares her experience with learning six vastly different languages, keeping her career tightly related to languages in unexpected ways, and adapting to new cultures while living in count...

Are dead languages worth learning? Latin learner, polyglot, and professional translator Brian Powell answers this question by explaining his experience with learning Latin and the way it changed his perspective on learning languages. Among other topics discussed in this conversation with Benny, Brian explains the “Living Latin” movement, using Latin in a spoken way, and whether or not Latin is a u...

Benny starts off this episode with a personal case study related to language immersion at home: studying Egyptian Arabic while still living in Brasil back in 2012. He then gives his favorite tips for home immersion. To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@languagehacking) or Twitter (@fi3m), or you can email ask@languagehacking.com

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge participant and Greek learner, Nina, shares her experience taking part in the Challenge and connecting with her husband, in-laws, and daughter through Greek with hosts Benny and Shannon. We guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge will have a 15-minute conversation in their new language after 90 days of learning. You can find out more here ....

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge participant and French learner, Melanie, discusses taking part in the Challenge and connecting with her kids through French with hosts Benny and Shannon We guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge 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 Mo...

The life of a polyglot globe-trotter only knows one constant: change! In this new update, Benny explains why his decision to postpone his trip to Thailand is the best for his goals in Thai. In fact, he will be focusing on including five languages in his daily life in the next few months. To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@languagehacking) or Twitter (@fi3m), or you can email a...

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge participant and French learner, Joaquin, explains how deciding to study in France helped him become serious about his goal to learn French, and how he kept his progress up by working hard to keep himself accountable. We guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge will have a 15-minute conversation in their new language after 90 days of learning...

Since Benny started travelling again, he has had to adapt his learning to his new schedule and route. In this episode, he shares his tips on how to make the most of a little-known WordReference feature, using flashcards in the best way, and keeping working on the languages you know even while traveling abroad. To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@languagehacking) or Twitter (@fi...

Featured Resources Rebel with a Clause Patreon Extended Episode Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to extended episodes and loads more content. Here’s what you’ll hear in the long-form episode: Motivation around learning and how to make progress when you feel like you’re bad at something Dr. Oakley’s 3 language survival tools Advice Dr. Oakley would have given herself when s...

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge participant and Spanish learner, Hez, chats with Benny and Shannon about fighting perfectionism and practicing patience in language learning. We guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge 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 Challe...

In this Ask Benny episode, Benny discusses his next language project. Benny will rediscover a language he already studied back in 2010 by flying from Brazil to a new surprise destination. He discusses his new approach to learning the language and his plans for preparing himself ahead of landing. Discover Benny’s next language project in this episode! To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Ins...

Gabby Wallace, creator of Go Natural English, joins Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy to talk about teaching English online, how renovating houses is like learning languages, and what it was like to live in a favela in Brazil. Featured Resources italki Patreon Extended Episode Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to extended episodes and loads more content. Here’s what you’ll he...

In this Ask Benny episode, Benny gives an update on his current language mission in Jericoacoara, Brazil, and the new hacks and strategies he has worked on and used. If you're looking into vocabulary-learning tips specifically, this episode is for you. To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@languagehacking) or Twitter (@fi3m), or you can email ask@languagehacking.com.

Luca Sadurny, co-founder of Mosalingua, talks about how learning French helped him discover that everyone can learn a language when using the right method. A discovery that later led to the foundation of the popular language learning resource Mosalingua. Featured Resources Mosalingua Join Our Patreon Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to bonus content and monthly exclusives....

Elena Mutonono, former ESL teacher and now coach for language teachers, joins Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy to talk about language teaching, the ethics of the online language teaching space, and sustainable language teaching. Featured Resources Online Bound Podcast Patreon Extended Episode Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to extended episodes and loads more content. Here...

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge participant and Bosnian learner, Damian, chats with Benny and Shannon about finding connection with friends and family through languages. We guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge 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 Challenge...

This Ask Benny episode is about flashcards, and how you can use your lessons or conversations with a tutor to create your vocabulary list. Benny explains how his tutor helps him make lists of words and phrases during lessons, and then what he does to turn this into flashcards using Anki.  To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Instagram (@languagehacking) or Twitter (@fi3m), or you can email...

Steve Kaufmann, renowned polyglot and founder of LingQ rejoins Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy to talk about the LingQ language learning app, how intensive your language learning really needs to be and more. Featured Resources LingQ Patreon Extended Episode Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to extended episodes and loads more content. Here’s what you’ll hear in the long-for...

Language Hacking Podcast co-hosts, Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy, bring on Kittichai, known as “The Duke” to talk about his role at Fluent in 3 Months, learning English and Japanese, and becoming a travel vlogger. Mentioned in this Episode Fluent in 3 Months Challenge Kittichai’s Youtube Channel Episode Overview Some of the topics brought up during the interview are: Learning Japanese using the...

Benny is a big fan of using social media to practise his languages, and in this Ask Benny episode, he shares tips and tricks for getting the most out of each social media platform. From making multiple profiles and choosing who to follow, to training the algorithm, Benny has figured out how to make Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok work for him. To ask Benny a question, leave a comment on Ins...

Creator and proprietor of The Grammar Table, Ellen Jovin, joins Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy to talk about traveling the country to discuss grammar, learning the languages of New York, and finding joy in learning grammar. Featured Resources Rebel with a Clause Patreon Extended Episode Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to extended episodes and loads more content. Here’s w...

In this Ask Benny episode, Benny explains how he goes about making a personalised phrasebook. He shares examples of useful sentences that he knows he needs to use when introducing himself, as well as phrases for talking about his interests and work. Benny then explains how he compiles a vocab database, how he makes flashcards, and what other resources he uses during the process. To ask Benny a que...

Creator of the immensely popular YouTube channel LangFocus, Paul Jorgenson, joins Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy to talk about building a Youtube channel around a passion for languages, living abroad, and language dabbling. Paul also shares his secrets for effective time management as he balances family life with his life as a creator and language learner by using non-negotiable routines. Feature...

Fluent in 3 Months Challenge participant and Spanish learner, Zsuzsanna, chats with Benny and Shannon about finally finding success in language learning, the importance of friendship and connections in language, and being a gregarious introvert. We guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge will have a 15-minute conversation in their new language after 90 days of learning...

Benny explains how to apply the Pareto Principle (aka the 80/20 rule) to language learning. Benny shares how to go about focusing on 20% of a language to get you 80% of the results. He explains his ideas for what you can save until later, and what you should prioritise, so that you can keep your learning as efficient as possible, and make as much progress as you can without wasting time and effort...