StoryLearning Podcast

I love the Spanish language and the many cultures who speak it, but my journey to learn the language was anything but easy. There was pain, struggle, and even a near-death experience! In this episode of the podcast (originally published on my YouTube channel ), I share the whole story of how I learned Spanish (my second foreign language after French ), including all the bumps and mistakes along th...

Learning French completely changed my life. It set the stage for learning 7 more foreign languages, writing dozens of language learning books, and starting a language learning company that employs dozens of people and reaches millions of people around the world. In this episode of the podcast (originally published on my YouTube channel ), I share the story of how I learned French and how it all st...

In this live episode of the podcast, I answer YouTube user Kay Koopmans' excellent question: "I have a month before I go to Germany for a 10-month foreign exchange program, but I don’t know any German. With a month's time to prepare, what do you suggest I do? Just learn like anyone else? Just memorize vocab? What’s the most effective thing to focus on when you only have a very short amount of time...

If you've listened to this podcast or watched some of my videos, you may be thinking to yourself: "Wait a minute... Olly's method seems to be ALL ABOUT READING! What about listening and speaking? Does this guy think you can get fluent by reading alone?!" In this episode of the podcast (originally published on my YouTube channel ), I answer this exact question. Note: I refer to a simple graph in th...

Imagine that you got a letter in the post announcing that you will be put on a plane to Korea in just 9 weeks, where you will stand on a street corner and talk to strangers about your faith IN KOREAN. Add to this the fact that you don't yet speak a single word in the language! That is precisely what Derek Driggs experienced when he trained to be a Mormon (LDS) missionary at the Missionary Training...

In this LIVE recording of the I Will Teach You A Language Podcast on YouTube, I answer YouTuber user @Bash Fakosh's question: "Do you think learning 2 languages together works? Or is it a recipe for disaster?" Free Download: StoryLearning Kit Click below to get free access to my  StoryLearning Kit  and  discover how to learn a new language quickly and naturally through stories...

In this LIVE recording of the I Will Teach You A Language Podcast on YouTube, I answer the question: "I'm a complete beginner. How can I possibly start reading?" Many assume that my StoryLearning method only works for more experienced learners, but the truth is that there is a way for even complete beginners to start reading books and learning through stories. You just have to get 3 things right f...

In this live recording of the I Will Teach You A Language podcast on YouTube , I answer a question from @rightinfrontofmysalad! about whether you should read a book straight through or stop to look up words you don't know. This is a really good question, and one that I get a lot. And my answer to this is a really important part of making StoryLearning work... Resources & Links Mentioned The 10...

In this live recording of the I Will Teach You A Language podcast on YouTube , I answer the question: "When is the right time to start speaking a foreign language?" I also answer: Why is this question asked in the first place? What are the most popular theories and methods? What are people's actual experience in real life with these methods? What is my personal perspective on the best approach to...

Ethan Wanger is an English teacher, world traveler, and the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of RealLife English, a popular site , YouTube channel , podcast , course , and app which helps people learn English through popular TV series. He has lived in Germany, Poland, Brazil, Thailand, and Chile, and is currently based in Barcelona. In his words, Ethan's mission in life is to "diminish cultu...

Our newest 30-Day StoryLearning Challenges begin on Thursday 1st July!  Here are the topics: SPANISH - Real Good Reflexives FRENCH - 101 Essential French Verbs ITALIAN - Spoken Italian Made Simple GERMAN - Spoken German Made Simple JAPANESE - Spoken Japanese Made Simple To enrol, visit: http://storylearningchallenge.com/

Have you been learning a language for a while but still can't speak it? Do you believe that there is a secret, hack, or ultimate method waiting to be discovered that will finally launch you to true spoken fluency? If so, then this episode (previously shared on my YouTube channel ) is a must for you! Resources Mentioned Here are some of the tools, videos, and links I mentioned in the episode: My Yo...

Lukas van Vyve is the founder of Effortless Conversations and the co-founder of Spring Spanish , a new site and YouTube channel that uses the power of "Conversation Based Chunking" to help you get fluent faster. In our conversation, we talk about: What it's like to grow up in a country where 3 languages are spoken (Hint: it's not what you think!). Why Lukas can get in the car, drive 45 minutes in...

Like me, Aletta Mazlin is a  big  believer in learning languages through stories. Her passion for story-telling has led to the creation of a number of fantastic language learning resources, including The French Experiment , The Italian Experiment , The Spanish Experiment , and The German Project .  Her latest project is called The Fable Cottage , a delightful site which shares bilin...

Today I'm joined by Mikkel Thorup, host of the Expat Money Show podcast.  ExpatMoneyShow.com Have you ever dreamt of living abroad? Well today, you're going to find out everything you need to know about the nuts and bolts of becoming an expat, including: The best places to become an expat The difference between: Tourist visas, Permanent residency, and Citizenship The easiest countries for get...

In this episode, I speak with Mari Salvestrini, a polyglot based in the Netherlands who has had language learning adventures all over the world, including time in Spain, Belgium, and Italy. She speaks Spanish, English, Dutch, Italian, and Portuguese, and is currently learning German and Japanese. In our conversation, you'll hear how she has learned so many languages, her tips for both absolute beg...

In this episode, I speak with Michael Schmitz, the man behind the site Smarter German and the author of How to Learn German Faster . He holds a master's degree in German as a Foreign Language, and has been teaching the language all the way back to 1999. After teaching in traditional language schools for many years, Michael grew increasingly frustrated with the mainstream approach to teaching langu...

Carmela asks: "My professor likes to choose a random book and copy it out by hand. Is this a good method?" Do You Have A Question? This show exists to answer your language learning questions! Send me your questions by visiting: https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/ask ...and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show!  Leave a Review If you'd like to support the show, the best way to do that...

In this episode, I speak with Elisa Polese, a professional language teacher, coach, and author well-known for teaching multiple languages at once in the same classroom! To date, she has studied a staggering 25 languages, and teaches 13 of them, including Italian, German, English, Spanish, Russian, French, Dutch, Catalan, Portuguese, Greek, Hindi, Arabic, and Esperanto! In our conversation, we disc...

In this episode, I speak with Casie Tennin, a blogger and avid world traveler from New York City. Her international adventures began with a one-way ticket to rural Spain in 2014, where she went from broken high school Spanish to fluent español in less than a year! Since then, she has visited 27 countries in total, which you can hear all about on her blog, A Wandering Casiedilla . In our conversati...

In this episode, Olly chats with the dynamic duo behind Spanish and Go , Jim Fricker II, a self-proclaimed 'gringo from Minnesota', and May Larios García, a teacher from Colima, Mexico. On their site, podcast, and popular YouTube channel, they share tips and tools for learning the real Spanish you need to speak the language with confidence, travel more easily in Spanish-speaking countries, and hav...

In this episode, I speak with Ruben Adery, a linguist, polyglot, dialect coach, and Fulbright Scholar, and Dustin Luke, a content creator, travel show host, and a YouTuber with over half a million subscribers. In 2020, they combined forces to create Spanish Speaking Hacks, where they help learners sound more like native speakers and less like gringos. In our conversation, we will dive into some pr...

In this episode, Olly speaks with Wesley Swanson about becoming a successful online language teacher.  Wes decided he wanted to move to China, and was looking for ways to earn an income while he was there, which led him to Olly's Online Teaching Accelerator programme. He had no teaching background, but loved languages and was attracted by the idea of earning a living online doing something me...

In this episode, I speak with Tamara Marie, the founder of Spanish con Salsa , where Spanish learners can get fluent faster through the fun of Latin music. In the conversation, she shares the many advantages of learning languages through music, why narratives and rhythm are such powerful memory-enhancers, and how she herself got fluent in the language. You all know that I'm a big advocate for lear...

Mohamed asks: "You advise read, read, read... but why not listen, listen, listen?" Do You Have A Question? This show exists to answer your language learning questions! Send me your questions by visiting: https://www.iwillteachyoualanguage.com/ask ...and I’ll do my best to feature it on the show!  Leave a Review If you'd like to support the show, the best way to do that is to: Leave an honest...