Language & Travel Hacking

This week, Benny looks at the four pillars of language - reading, writing, speaking, and listening - and talks about his approach to each of them. He also shares his favourite online resources for working on each skill. For beginner learners who want to speak a new language, Benny's advice is to focus almost all your efforts on speaking and listening. If speaking is your goal, it should be your ma...

Liz from Talk the Streets chats with Benny Lewis about her passion for speaking Portuguese, living in Portugal, and helping others learn the language so that they can enrich their experiences in the country. Liz made it her mission to introduce more people to the Portuguese language and culture, after being shocked to find her university textbooks in the “Miscellaneous Languages” section of the li...

Language coach and French teacher, Carine Lemaire, shares about her experience growing up trilingual, being a language learner with ADHD, watching 300 hours of TV, and the pitfalls of language apps. Carine’s approach to teaching is very student-led, and she has a great understanding of how important it is to learn in a way that suits you and your personality. She talks about how her ADHD impacts h...

After several years living in the USA, Benny is finally returning to a life of full-time travel. This means he'll have a lot more opportunities to use his languages and build new language skills. In terms of language learning, the plan is to spend the first half of the year working hard to push his main languages to their best. As for the second half of the year... that's a story still to unfold....

Benny loves helping people start their language learning journey. Whether it's your first new language or your tenth, it's important to consider how you start, so you can build confidence quickly. In this episode Benny talks about how to get set up with spoken lessons and how to find course recommendations. And of course, having friends who support you is key - whether you join the Fluent in 3 Mon...

Benny looks towards the New Year and shares ways you can make your New Year's Resolutions more effective. More often than not, vague goals fizzle out over time, but you'll have much more success if you're SMART in setting your resolutions. To access our New Year deals visit languagehacking.com/deals. To ask Benny a question, please email ask@languagehacking.com Join Our Patreon Enjoy the podcast?...

This episode features Yawhann, who learned conversational Cantonese and Mandarin in just 90 days with the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge . We actually 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 Mentioned in this Epi...

Benny is getting stuck back into some language projects, which have recently included Irish, Spanish, Chinese, and Catalan. As he's doing this, he's taken the opportunity to reflect on how difficult life events and mental health challenges have impacted his language learning. It has been challenging, with some very hard times leading to Benny making his mental health recovery a priority. To ask Be...

Holistic language coach, Lina Vasquez, talks to Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy about growing up multilingual, holistic language learning, and how personal development impacts how you learn languages. Lina really understands herself as a learner, and knows how to play to her strengths. She uses her knowledge of psychotherapy and positive psychology to help people understand themselves better, so t...

This week Benny gives an update about his own language learning progress and shares his method for jump-starting a dormant language. In 2006 Benny spent the summer intensively learning Catalan, but hasn't maintained it since. After 15 years of letting this language lie dormant, it's time to get it back ahead of his upcoming trip to Mallorca. To ask Benny a question, please email ask@languagehackin...

Benny, Elizabeth, and team members from Fluent in 3 Months share their favourite gifts for language learners. Use this to get ideas for your festive shopping this year, or pass this wishlist on to your friends, family, and Santa Claus! Whether you’re thinking about what to buy or what you’d like to receive, this episode is packed with ideas that will help make this a perfect polyglot Christmas. We...

Polyglot and language coach, Gabriel Silva, talks with Benny Lewis and Elizabeth Bruckner about his method for learning two languages at the same time, and the joy of random interactions in your target language. Gabriel is very active on YouTube and Instagram, and his popular #1SentenceChallenge inspires learners around the world to share videos of their progress. Gabriel helps his students to man...

Benny shares how he manages lessons when he is particularly busy. We all have weeks that are busier than usual. Benny recommends that you resist the temptation to cancel your lessons! It's not ideal to skip the prep, but the lesson can still be really valuable if you follow Benny's advice. To ask Benny a question, please email ask@languagehacking.com Join Our Patreon Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe t...

19-year-old student, Ben Phillips, talks to Benny Lewis and Elizabeth Bruckner about his experience of doing a highschool German exchange programme, and how he stayed focussed and motivated enough to reach C1 level after just a year. Ben explains how, after unsuccessfully dabbling in Japanese, Greek and Mandarin, he was able to excel at German in such a short period of time, how and why reading is...

Polyglot and avid traveller, Doree Huneven, joins Benny Lewis and Elizabeth Bruckner to talk about her experience learning multiple languages, travelling the world, and how the violin has made her a better learner. Doree shares why she thinks discipline is the key to being a successful language learner and having fun, and why the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge is so appealing, even to an experienced...

Benny shares his advice about how to prepare for a 1-1 language lesson, and his method for note taking before, during, and after lessons. To ask Benny a question, please email ask@languagehacking.com Join Our Patreon Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to bonus content and monthly exclusives.

Linguist and professional researcher joins Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy to discuss comprehensible input, compelling input, and language acquisition. Stephen Krashen is a professor emeritus who is well-known for his work and research into comprehensible input. He has hundreds of publications to his name and has greatly contributed to the field of language acquisition. Featured Resources Stephen...

Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy chat with Juliana Russell of Language Mindset about supporting kids learning languages, resilience in language learning, and if kids really are better language learners than adults Featured Resources italki Mentioned in this Episode italki Gus on the Go Duolingo The Language Mindset Juliana’s Instagram Juliana’s Facebook Episode Overview Some of the topics brought u...

This week Benny talks about how to approach speaking sessions with a teacher differently, depending on your level. The "Speak from Day One" approach is an excellent starting point for beginners, but it's important to make sure you're improving and being challenged as you move into intermediate and beyond. Benny describes how and when he likes a teacher to correct mistakes, and how you can use home...

Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy chat with musician and translator Jeremy Bardo about his experience going viral with a Spanish language music video. We also discuss the myth of the language gene and finding joy in embarrassing moments. Featured Resources Speak from Day 1 Language Hacking Spanish Mentioned in this Episode Speak from Day 1 Language Hacking Spanish Memrise Stop Making Excuses Jeremy...

This episode features Brittany, who learned conversational Japanese in just 90 days with the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge . We actually 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 italki JapanesePod101 Mentioned in...

As a beginner, the idea of having a lesson where you only speak your target language can seem impossible. Benny shares some great ideas and resources that you can use to avoid your native language and start as you mean to go on. Speaking from day one is a daunting prospect, but with a bit of preparation and planning, it's absolutely achievable. To ask Benny a question, please email ask@languagehac...

In this episode of the Language Hacking Podcast, Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy talk to Manuel of “Herr Professor” about growing up multilingual, teaching German, and how engineers approach language learning. Featured Resources Herr Professor Mentioned in this Episode Tiny Habits Stephen Krashen’s Comprehensible Input Herr Professor Herr Professor Courses Herr Professor Podcast James Asher’s Tota...

Sara Maria Hasbun, founder of Meridian Linguistics, shares about psycholinguistics, working in the language industry, and “extreme” language learning. Featured Resources Meridian Languages Glossika Mentioned in this Episode Meridian Languages Glossika Tempo App on iOS Tempo App on Android Sara’s Website Sara on Instagram Sara on Twitter Episode Overview Some of the topics brought up during the int...

Reading in your new language can be a daunting task, but Benny has some great advice this week for taking it one step at a time. By starting small and building up gradually, you'll make steady progress. There are so many brilliant resources out there that you can use, and reading isn't just a solo activity, so make sure it's something you practise with your teacher or exchange partner. To ask Benn...