How Becoming a Musician Can Improve Your Languages: Shannon Kennedy from Eurolinguiste on the Podcast

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In Episode 25, I enjoyed a conversation with Shannon Kennedy. Shannon writes the travel, language and life blog Eurolinguiste. She's a musician. And knows seven languages.

During the course of this interview I took the neatest notes I have ever written. My guest Shannon Kennedy just has that effect on you. She's calm, considered and very experienced in language learning.

You'll hear about:

  • Why Shannon's blog a language learning blog with travel tips and recipes
  • How to take responsibility for your books and apps
  • What it takes from you when you study with a teacher
  • What it's like to study a language as an introvert
  • How becoming a musician can make you a fantastic language learner
  • The Benefits of Language Switching
  • The lovely lovely word indulge

Tips of the Week

Shannon's choice of the week was tip 3, because transliteration can help you no matter if you are learning another writing system or an unusual grammar structure.

1) Join a Choir, learn a language

2) Use Mind Maps for learning a new language (here's an article about this in German)

3) Use transliteration to master foreign writing systems

Tips and Links from this Podcast

Don't forget to take our Listener Survey today.

Episode 23: Teach (Yourself) a Language with Tammy Bjelland from Language in Bloom

It's episode 23 and I'm back with another lovely and inspiring interview. Tammy Bjelland sparkles with all the energy she brings to language learning and teaching. She teaches, trains, offers curriculum design and runs her own podcast, the Business of Language Podcast. Let her enthusiasm pull you along in this interview!

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You'll hear about:

  • What you're going to do with that language later
  • The many secret benefits of languages in your career
  • The 7 superhero skills of language learners: Empathy, Independence, Curiosity, Versatility, Creativity, Autonomy and Self-Discipline
  • How group learning can be a HUGE advantage for you
  • How to develop your custom curriculum
  • Tammy's truly impressive looking course Language Learning Formula

"You have to learn to teach yourself a language. It's a skill in itself"

Tips of the Week

Tammy was by far the most decisive guest I've ever had on this podcast. She went straight for tip number one as your Tip of the Week!

1) Practice your pronunciation with Soundcloud

2) Practice your pronunciation and get instant feedback by talking to Siri in a foreign language

3) Make a food log in a foreign language (thanks for the tip to Ron Gullekson

Tips and Links from this Podcast

New Podcast - Episode 22: Travel and Tutor Hunting Tips

This episode features two core themes of discussion: travel and tutor tips.

"I buy everyone a little lollipop in my lessons"

(Lindsay's Teaching Secret)

Creative Language Learning Podcast

Firstly, we talked about all the ways language learning works when you travel. We also deviated to talk about historic language learning books!±

  • Should you study pronunciation first or just go all in with vocabulary? (hint: whatever you like)
  • When is it too late to learn? (hint: never)
  • What do you need to buy before you set off? (hint: nothing)

In the article discussion of this episode, we took apart the step-by-step process of finding a language tutor.

  • What do you have to look for?
  • Why are some of them expensive?
  • What kind of tutor should you try to work with?

Articles of the Week

Tips on working with a tutor from Judith Meyer

How much do you pay your language tutor? here on Fluent

Tips of the Week

This time, Lindsay chose her favourite tip and in line with her own productivity skills she chose Tip 3. Get organized, folks!

1) Download Quiz Up! and play the language sections

2) Read LOCAL lit, not just "Harry Potter in my target language"

3) Get organized with Evernote

Links and Resources from this Podcast

Great sites for you to find a tutor:

New Podcast: Chris Broholm on Challenges, Information Overload and Book Club (and the Owl!)

In Episode 12 of the Creative Language Learning Podcast, I interviewed a fellow podcaster! Chris Broholm is a language learner with a big mission: 10 Languages in 10 Years!

Listen to our interview to find out more about

  • Who everybody's favourite owl is!

  • How Chris built up his own support community of inspiring language learners through the Actual Fluency Podcast

  • Whether there is a best way to approach language learning methods

  • What to think about when you set yourself an ambitious goal like Chris Broholm's 10 Languages in 10 Years

  • The importance of bewaring information overload

  • The language learning method that you absolutely must try out

  • And why trying it out is all that we can tell you to do!

“As long as you’re doing something, you’re doing it right.”
— Chris on Language Learning Methods
www.languagebookclub.com

And most importantly...

We talk about Language Book Club and how much we're looking forward to it!

Article of the Week

Duolingo is Getting More Serious by Kay Alexander on Fair Languages

Tips of the Week

Chris chose Tip 1 as his favourite, because goal setting is still WAY undervalued in learning a new language.

  • Tip 1: set your chosen Fluency level (travel fluent, job fluent?)

  • Tip 2: Be a historical linguist

    • Word origins and vocab divergence can help with remembering words

    • Look up "etymology"

  • Tip 3: Sprint with the Language Challenge

Tips and Links from this Podcast

Support the Creative Language Learning Podcast through Patreon - from just $1!

Actual Fluency Indiegogo Campaign

The italki New Year Challenge: Study 20 Lessons and Win

Actual Fluency Episode 32 with me talking about how to be an independent online teacher

Handbook of Russian Affixes

Russian in 10 Minutes a Day by Kristine Kershul

Thanks for reading this article on Fluent, the Language Learning Blog. If you are feeling stuck right now, why not subscribe to Fluent and check out our language book shop.

Kerstin's 3 Steps for Learning Topical Vocabulary

Topical vocabulary means the words and expressions that all relate to one topic, for example cookery, education or firefighting. Today's article introduces a foolproof 3-Step Method, plus get involved by posting your next vocab topic in the comments, and we'll feature you in a blog article next year.

Why is this useful?

If you make it your goal to learn all the words in a language, you'll never know when you're done. Setting a goal like "500 words" is also though, because who counts all the new words they're learning?! So bring on the topical approach. You can get into a topic you're interested in and feel like you're really getting somewhere.

Learning topical vocabulary is not difficult - here are 3 steps to success:

3 steps to learning topical vocab.jpg

1. How much do you know about this in English or your native language?

The key here is to set your goal posts right, so that you'll know the detail of what your topic is all about. Plus, remember that language is never isolated from what it talks about. In other words, the success in remembering vocab is based on knowing what you're talking about. If you want to write like an expert about history, better know the facts before the words.

For example, I once worked at the fabulous Panaz, who make all kinds of flameproof fabrics. I was their Export Sales Administrator, on the phone all day taking and confirming orders in French. I could have learnt all the words for fabric and upholstery I wanted, but these customers wanted someone who first knew her stuff, and then knew all the words for it.

So here is Step 1: Be sure you know what you're talking about, and then you'll know which words and expressions you need.

2. Note it down, then relax-repeat-remember

Forget talent - repetition is the heart of success. Many people recommend "SRS", which means a spaced repetition system. In other words, you will have to go over words again even if you remembered them today. The repetition of running through those lists is what makes it go in, so it's got to be a routine for a week or two. Remember Fluency MC? It's relax - repeat - remember.

For more ideas on getting that vocabulary to stick, check out 6 Techniques for Learning Vocabulary.

Step 2: Follow the 3 R's: Relax, repeat, remember.

learning a language attitude.jpg

3. Test yourself twice

It's easy to check how many words you know, so make your first test an article in the paper and a TV show about your topic. With libraries, the internet, YouTube and Facebook at your service, I challenge you to find something you couldn't read a lot about in almost any language. How about searching for the #tag on Twitter (see below)?

Now for the second test, maybe a little bit more daunting but this is going to be more fun too: Have a conversation, chat about the topic, go listen to someone and say what you think! Of course it should be possible to bring most conversations around to your chosen topic (and an amusing challenge, too!) eventually, and then throw in the new words, ask questions and feel the power. You've just become an expert!

Step 3: Test yourself once by consuming, and twice by producing language.

Twitter search result for "Flameproof" in German - there really is media for anything

Twitter search result for "Flameproof" in German - there really is media for anything

Favourite topics?

As always, I want you guys to get involved and think about how this article will serve you best, so you are invited to write a comment below and tell me what your vocabulary topics are. How about Christmas, cookery or knitting? Or look at the cool Sally Holmwood, who's currently studying personal banking words for her part-time job in an international bank.

Don't miss out on the launch of the Fluent Guide to Vocabulary Learning for Self-Directed Language Learners.

Thanks for reading this article on Fluent - The Language Learning Blog. Don't forget - if you sign up to our newsletter, you will receive a free Guide to the Best Language Learning Resources!