The Language Mastery Show

Jake Gill (高健) is a Chinese educator, former "Teaching Chinese as a Second Language" graduate student, and the CEO of Skritter, an innovative language learning app that helps Japanese and Chinese learners master characters through active production (i.e. writing on the screen) instead of passive recognition.  In the interview, we talk about how and why he learned Mandarin Chinese, why traditional language classes won't get you fluent in a language, what he would do differently if he were to start learning Mandarin over again, the limitations of app-based learning and following "the golden path," the importance of following your passion and curiosity in languages, how to learn to learn Chinese characters the "write" way, Jake's current language learning routines and favorite resources, and the importance of daily habits and focusing on process over outcome. If you'd like to try Skritter, use the code LANGUAGEMASTERY at checkout to get 10% off. 📝 For show notes, visit LanguageMastery.com/blog/post/jake-gill. 🇨🇳 Learn Mandarin Chinese Anywhere!   Want to learn Mandarin Chinese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? Master Mandarin, my detailed how-to manual and resource guide, will show you exactly how. Learn more at ChineseMastery.com.

Do you live and breath languages? Do you want to make a good living using and refining your language skills every day? Then professional translation might be just the ticket. In today's episode, I chat with my friend Sam, who is a professional Japanese translator and one of the best non-native Japanese speakers I know. We talk about how he learned Japanese, how he broke into the translation industry, and his tips for doing the same.   🇯🇵 Learn Japanese Anywhere!  Want to learn Japanese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? ⁠Master Japanese: How to Learn Japanese Anywhere in the World⁠, my detailed how-to manual and resource guide, will show you exactly how. 👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠JapaneseMastery.com⁠⁠.

If you have a burning desire to learn Mandarin Chinese but feel overwhelmed at the very thought, then today’s podcast is a must-listen episode for you. Yes, to the uninitiated, Chinese characters look like a random pile of squiggly lines. True, the wrong tones could lead to you inadvertently calling someone's mother a horse! But don't let this scare you away, because today’s guests, Phil Crimmins and Luke Neale, have created an innovative language course called the Mandarin Blueprint designed to take these worries away.  🇨🇳 Learn Chinese Anywhere!   Want to learn Mandarin Chinese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? My detailed how-to manual and resource guide, ⁠Master Mandarin: How to Learn Mandarin Chinese Anywhere in the World⁠, will show you exactly how. 👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠ChineseMastery.com⁠.

Stuart Jay Raj is an Australian polyglot, applied linguist, author, musician, and cross-cultural business consultant based in Thailand. He has presented at two TEDx events (once in English and once in Mandarin), and is the author of Cracking Thai Fundamentals: A Thai Operating System for the Mind.   In addition to teaching and writing extensively on effective language acquisition, he has also applied his impressive language skills as a multilingual facilitator in various specialized industries (including aerospace, oil and gas, hospitality, and cyber security) and as the co-host of a Thai travel show called Neua Chan Phan Plaek (เหนือชั้น 1000 แปลก) that explosured fascinating people, places, and things around the world via local languages. Stuart holds a degree in Cognitive and Applied Linguistics from Griffith University, and speaks over 15 languages, including Thai, Lao, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Indonesian / Malay, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Hindi, Vietnamese, Burmese, and various other Asian languages and dialects.   📧 Get expert language immersion tips in your inbox each week! Join my FREE weekly newsletter to get the tips and tools you need to get fluent anywhere in the world. 👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

Nick Godwin is a British polyglot, English language coach, and course creator living in Tokyo, Japan. He specializes in helping advanced English learners break through plateaus and helping beginning Japanese learners to communicate through by focusing on practical skills that matter. In addition to running the English language learning site ByLingua, he also helped develop the popular story-based course Japanese Uncovered, and recently launched a blog that blends his love of language, learning, and intentional living called Minimalinguist.  🇯🇵 Learn Japanese Anywhere!  Want to learn Japanese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? ⁠Master Japanese: How to Learn Japanese Anywhere in the World⁠, my detailed how-to manual and resource guide, will show you exactly how. 👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠JapaneseMastery.com⁠⁠.

Richard Simcott is a "hyperpolyglot" (named one of Britain's most multilingual people by HarperCollins) and the co-founder of the Polyglot Conference, an annual event that brings together language lovers from all over the world. He returns to the Language Mastery Show six years after our first conversation to talk about how he juggles so many languages, the "minimum effective dose" required to move a language project forward, and how he chooses which languages to pursue. Richard is a fountain of language learning wisdom and I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did! For show notes, visit LanguageMastery.com/blog/post/richard-simcott-returns. 📧 Get expert language immersion tips in your inbox each week! Join my FREE weekly newsletter to get the tips and tools you need to get fluent anywhere in the world. 👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠

Anthony Metivier is the founder of the Magnetic Memory Method, the host of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, and the creator of the Magnetic Memory Masterclass.  He has refined his memory techniques learning a number of languages, including Biblical Hebrew, German, Mandarin Chinese, and Sanskrit, and has gone on to teach thousands of learners how to maximize their memories and create unforgettable associations. I like that his approach combines proven ancient principles with modern brain research, while focusing on practical application (e.g. remembering foreign language vocabulary) instead of impressive but ultimately useless memory feats (e.g. memorizing decks of cards or long strings of numbers).   Anthony is a truly fascinating man with a wide range of interests and insights, and I think you will get a lot out of our conversation.  📧 Get expert language immersion tips in your inbox each week! Join my FREE weekly newsletter to get the tips and tools you need to get fluent anywhere in the world. 👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠ 🇨🇳 Learn Chinese Anywhere!   Want to learn Mandarin Chinese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? My detailed how-to manual and resource guide, ⁠Master Mandarin: How to Learn Mandarin Chinese Anywhere in the World⁠, will show you exactly how. 👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠ChineseMastery.com⁠

Nick Velasquez is the author of the new book Learn, Improve, Master: How to Develop Any Skill and Excel at It. In the interview, we discuss the core principles, strategies, and tools you can use to master any anything, may it be reaching conversational fluency in Japanese or remembering more of what you read.   🇯🇵 Learn Japanese Anywhere!  Want to learn Japanese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? ⁠Master Japanese: How to Learn Japanese Anywhere in the World⁠, my detailed how-to manual and resource guide, will show you exactly how. 👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠JapaneseMastery.com⁠⁠

Chris Vasselli is a programmer, passionate Japanese learner, and the creator of the Nihongo iOS app, my go-to Japanese dictionary and reading tool for authentic Japanese content. In the interview, we discuss, 1) his language learning journey, 2) how to acquire Japanese the fun, natural, immersive way, and 3) why you shouldn't fear the Japanese writing system.  🇯🇵 Learn Japanese Anywhere!  Want to learn Japanese through at-home immersion instead of boring textbooks or expensive classes? ⁠Master Japanese: How to Learn Japanese Anywhere in the World⁠, my detailed how-to manual and resource guide, will show you exactly how. 👉🏼 Learn more at ⁠JapaneseMastery.com⁠⁠.

I first started The Language Mastery Show in 2009 as a short-term experiment. My initial goals were:  ① To test drive the new medium of podcasting.  ② To serve and empower independent language learners.  ③ To have a good excuse to meet some of my linguistic heroes.  Now eleven years later, I am happy to say that the podcast has exceeded all initial expectations. I've reached hundreds of thousands of people, interviewed 50 of the world's best language learners, and befriended many in real life.  Before kicking off Season 3 of The Language Mastery Show next week, I wanted to go back and highlight some of my favorite lessons from the amazing guests that have shared their time and wisdom with us over the years, including polyglots, hyperpolyglots, linguistics, professors, teachers, and passionate enthusiasts. I've learned countless lessons on how to make my own language learning more fun and effective along the way, and I hope you have gleaned some useful strategies, methods, and resources, too.  📧 Get expert language immersion tips in your inbox each week! Join my FREE weekly newsletter to get the tips and tools you need to get fluent anywhere in the world. 👉🏼 ⁠⁠LanguageMastery.com/newsletter⁠