Love, Joy, and Languages

In this Season 4 finale of Love, Joy, and Languages podcast, I share and celebrate language learning wins from listeners across the globe. Real life stories from real life language learners, inspiring us to see every bit of progress along our language journeys. In this episode, you'll hear stories from four language learners who recognize a variety of wins in their language lives. The achievements they've shared with me for this episode are inspiring for language learners of all types, ages, and levels. The languages they're celebrating include Spanish, Esperanto, Chinese, Catalan, and Occitan, plus my own wins regarding German and Italian. Some of these language lovers are still at the beginning of learning their languages, and others are futher along, but one common theme is that they see the value in celebrating the multitude of accomplishments along the way. This episode is made for you, my listeners. Every win we have matters. No achievement is too small. Every success is significant, and every win is worth celebrating. Join me in today's season finale episode by cheering on those who shared their stories with me and for everyone else out there working on your new language. Take a moment to reflect on your own wins, and celebrate them! Feel the pride. Give yourself a round of applause. Brag about it on social media. You're doing great, and you can be proud of yourself and your achievements. Instagram or X accounts for those who shared success stories in this episode: IG: @lafamillelyons, @vanessapatriciaoh X: @martinrue, @TimothyELDougl1, @kubacki__ Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog All podcast episodes can be found here: http://www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com/. Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages More language learning podcasts for you to check out: The Language Confidence Project, by Emily Richardson Speaking Tongues Podcast, by Elle Charisse How to Learn a Language, by Lindsay Williams The Future is Bilingual, by Heather Talking to Grandma, by Veronica Benavides Insecurities About Languages, by Alexandria Robinson Shhh, I'm Learning! by Martha Summerlin The Fluent Show, by Kerstin Cable Actual Fluency, by Kris Broholm My favorite Italian podcasts: Il paradiso é qui, by Gianluca Gotto Simple Italian Podcast, by Simone Pols Stivale Italiano, by Alessandro and Carolina Vaporetto Italiano Podcast, by Francesco Cositore The Teacher Stefano Show, by Stefano Psicologia per eroi, by Dott. Luca Proietti Curiosità della Storia, by Storica National Geographic Italiano in Podcast, by Paolo of I Speak Italiano My favorite German podcasts: Natural.Fluent.German & Deutsches Geplapper, by Flemming Boldbecher Deutsch Podcast, by Virpi Hach & Sandra Durán Muñoz Feminismus mit Vorsatz, by Laura Vorsatz Eine Stunde History, by Deutschlandfunk Nova Other language learning podcasts I've been on: Shhh, I'm Learning! with Martha Summerlin How to Learn A Language with Lindsay Williams Actual Fluency Podcast with Kris Broholm The Italian Escape Podcast with Angelique Lusuan & Gabriele Minucci The Future is Bilingual with Heather About Esperanto: Actual Fluency archive episodes about Esperanto can be found here. Esperanto website: Esperanto.net

Kerstin Cable, a prominent figure in the language learning community and co-host of The Fluent Show, joins the conversation to explore the joys of mastering languages. They celebrate personal achievements and discuss the emotional connections within the language learning community. Kerstin shares insights on the link between language and culture, teaches a bit of Welsh, and emphasizes the importance of enjoying the journey despite challenges. The chat is full of laughter and reflections, showcasing how language learning can be both rewarding and fun!

Explore the transformative power of affirmations in language learning. The host shares personal experiences of overcoming challenges and finding success, inviting listeners to share their own stories. Discover how positive self-talk can shift negativity into motivation, encouraging a deeper connection to identity and growth. Celebrate your journey as a language learner and recognize the immense potential within you, reminding yourself that setbacks do not define your true capabilities.

Dive into the transformative power of extensive reading for language learning! The host shares personal challenges and triumphs in mastering Italian, highlighting effective strategies that boosted fluency. From engaging reading practices to joyful integration of the language into daily life, discover how diverse materials made a difference. Plus, find motivation in the journey and celebrate small victories along the way. This episode is a delightful reminder that improvement is possible and fun!

Exploring the advice of 'input, input, input' in language learning, the host discusses the benefits and downsides of this method. The episode touches on ways tons of input can help but also how it can go wrong. Tips are given on how to make this method work for you. A focus on personalized language learning journey and molding advice to fit individual needs is highlighted.

The podcast explores the topic of handling unmet expectations in language learning, and the importance of moving forward positively. The host shares personal experiences and reflects on self-acceptance and growth. Listen for insights on navigating language reality versus expectations.

Today's episode is not to be missed! I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Emily Harris, the language loving woman behind Language Travel Adoptee, a YouTube channel aimed at helping others gain confidence in their language learning through self awareness and personal growth. Emily shares a lot of her own personal experiences learning languages as a high achieving perfectionist, a transracial adoptee learning the language of her birth country, and all the very intricate intersections of her life. Today we focus a lot on authenticity in language learning, but particularly from the aspect of content creation in a world like YouTube where content is often tailored toward clicks and likes and less about the authentic reality of oneself. It was so good to finally get to sit down with Emily and talk about some of the harder things many of us face in our language lives. She and I share many similarities in the history of our personalities and mindset, as well as similarities in our growth stories through navigating language learning in a holistic way. Don't miss the links below, where you can find and connect with Emily. Connect with Emily: Emily's Newsletter: Language Travel Adoptee Emily's YouTube: Language Travel Adoptee Emily's Podcast: Language Wellness and Identity Podcast Instagram: @languagetraveladoptee X (Twitter): @LangTravAdoptee Other content mentioned in this episode: How to Learn a Language, Lindsay Williams of Lindsay Does Languages The Language Confidence Project, by Emily Richardson Shhh, I'm Learning!, by Martha Summerlin Burt Goldman and Quantum Jumping More interviews with Emily: Self-Compassion & Identity in Language Learning, How to Learn a Language, by Lindsay Williams Use Spiritual Practices to Quantum Leap to Fluency, Laid-Back Languages Episode 143. Speaking Mandarin, Speaking Tongues Podcast, by Elle Charisse AFP 189 - Emily Harris: Language Learning, Culture, and PErfectionism as a Transracial Adoptee, The Actual Fluency Podcast by Kris Broholm Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog All podcast episodes can be found at http://www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com/. Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages

Today's episode is just a little reminder to meet your language learning energy where it is, not where you want it to be. It's too easy to push ourselves too hard or to be hard on ourselves when we aren't pushing, especially when we start to compare the intensity of or time spent with our languages to what it was a few days or months ago. What's important is to give yourself grace and realize that any tiny thing can change our energy. We move forward in a healthier way, and we maintain a better relationship with our languages and our entire language journey when we accept our energy as it is, meet it there, and do only what we really can. Go easy on yourselves, language learners. If you're feeling low on energy, don't push yourself beyond what you can do. And definitely don't make yourself feel bad for it. Know that just as your energy went down, it will go back up. You're doing amazing! Related Episodes From The Language Confidence Project: S4E20: Take that break S4E23: Teach the person you arrived as this morning S4E43: Start with the times you're in S5E45: Showing up vs taking a break S6E20: How will you tell your brain it’s time to rest? S6E35: You can be dedicated to something and still need a break Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog All podcast episodes can be found at http://www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com/. Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages

In today's episode I'm talking more about what I think of language projects, the benefits of framing language activities and goals as projects, and what types of projects you could jump into in order to boost your skills, confidence, and motivation in your languages. Anything can be turned into or framed as a project, and for some it may just seem like semantics calling some of these things projects. I can't explain it, but for some reason, framing regular ol' language exercises, activities, and goals as "projects" actually makes a difference in how I approach the thing and the likelihood of me finishing it while gaining the language along the way. I hope you get something out of today's episode, and I would love to hear from you! Please reach out to me or leave a response below if you're listening on Spotify, and let me know what language projects you've taken on, what ones you want to do, or just what you think about this way of framing language tasks. I look forward to learning from you! Links from this episode: Related episodes of Love, Joy, and Languages: Episode 22: Am I Even Making Progress?; (on Spotify here) Episode 70: A Polyglot's Journey of Discovery, Struggle, and Finding His Way; (on Spotify here) Episode 67: Let's Talk About Flashcards; (on Spotify here) Episode 5: Facing Language Tasks We Tend To Avoid; (on Spotify here) Lingua.com* for learning languages through reading short texts. Speakly App* *Not affiliated Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog All podcast episodes can be found here, at www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com. Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages

After a break to finish preparing for and actually taking my Italian CILS B2 exam, I'm back with a few reflections on this project I took on to take my Italian to the next level. As I studied and prepared for this exam, I noticed a lot of differences between how I was approaching it versus how I used to study and prepare for tests. It was a much less stressful experience, and no matter what my results are, I know I've got a lot to be proud of! Links from this episode: Ultralearning by Scott H. Young Sara Hasbun's website, Miss Linguistic Episode 10: Solidifying My Language Level, Love, Joy, and Languages Podcast Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog All podcast episodes can be found here. Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages