Love, Joy, and Languages

In this Season 2 Finale, language learners from around the world share their inspiring wins in learning Portuguese, Norwegian, Russian, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Welsh, and Darija. The podcast emphasizes the significance of celebrating every achievement, no matter how small. The host also shares their own wins in German and highlights the importance of recognizing progress and motivating oneself. The episode concludes by expressing gratitude to the language learning community and announcing plans for season 3.

I invited a very special language learning friend to co-host this episode with me and chat all about the joys of language learning. By now you're probably familiar with my Italian teacher, Kenny from Something Polyglot, and it was an absolute pleasure to speak with him about loving languages and finding joy in learning them. Learning a language is a long road, and there are so many challenges along the way, but something that keeps us in the language learning world is all the joy we find in the process. I hope you enjoy listening into my discussion with Kenny, and I hope it reminds you of all the exciting things you find in your own language life. If you want to hear more from Kenny, the following are language learning interviews he's done: Speaking Tongues Podcast, episode 116. Speaking Finnish My Fluent Podcast, epiosode 108 - Something Polyglot - Kenny from Belgium Language Come Up Livestream: Episode 2 with Something Polyglot Polyglot Insights, Two Polyglots Speaking a Bunch of Languages in Madrid, Spain Polyglot Insights, Fellow Polyglot in Madrid shares his Learning Method and Strategies Kenny can also be found at: Something Polyglot website Instagram: @something.polyglot Twitter: @Kenny_DB1983 Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages X (Twitter): @LoveJoy_Lang All episodes of the show can be found at www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com. Other Links Language TV Club, mentioned in our chat

In today's episode, I talk about language victories we have along our journeys that have nothing to do with reaching the next level. Moving up a language level is often our overarching objective, but sometimes reaching a new level is so far away that it's difficult to recognize our progress. And progress, by the way, doesn't only show up in results. Sometimes it's easy to see these victories when they have to do with our language ability, but victories can also show up in the activity we do (or don't do) and also in the mentality we have about our language journeys. I can see my improvements in ability, for example, when I speak almost exclusively in my target language during a 30-minutes conversation lesson, but in this same example there are also victories related to activity and mentality. The act of scheduling the lesson is a non-level victory for me that proves I've made progress over the years because I used to feel so nervous about conversation lessons that I would put off scheduling them regularly. Not beating myself up when an English word does sneak into that conversation is a mental victory, as well, because it indicates a huge shift between negative self-talk and self-disbelief to belief and focusing on the positive things. It's so important to recognize all the victories along our langauge journeys, not just the biggest or most obvious ones. They're proof that we're improving. They’re proof that the non-linear line of progression is trending upward. We have victories in our languages every single day in the activities we face, our language abilities, and how we mentally confront ourselves and our languages. Take some time this week to think about all the great victories you have in your language life, and I hope you share some of those with me, especially for the season finale episode in two weeks. Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog All podcast episodes can be found here. Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages Twitter: @LoveJoy_Lang

In today's episode, I share a bit of the more personal parts of my life. Last week I celebrated three years of sobriety, and while it may not be obvious how this ties into language learning, I can say that the link between these two things is very strong for me. I can say for sure that my early experiences learning Italian while living in Italy had a strong impact on my self-doubt, which had a strong impact on how much and how often I drank in order to escape the stress and pressure I put on myself, the raw feelings of vulnerability and failure, and so much negative self-talk. And I can say for sure that how much and how often I drank had a strong negative impact on my language learning because, while I was trying to escape my negative thoughts, I also escaped the positive ones, and I masked the joy of progress I was making and the pride of what I was accomplishing in my language. So this soberversary was a perfect time for me to reflect on the things that contributed to my downward spiral, with both alcohol and languages, and what I've done to start creating a life from which I don't want to escape. It's not a far stretch for me to see similarities between my journey to and through sobriety and my language learning journey, and some of the tools I used to get and stay sober have also worked for helping me improve my mentality about languages. Thank you for listening to this vulnerable yet uplifting episode. I hope you get something out of it and are more inspired to create a joyful life for yourself with languages and beyond. Here are some links to resources for anyone who is newly sober, questioning their relationship with alcohol, curious about sobriety, or just interested to know how an alcohol-free life might change their health, wellness, clarity, or anything at all: Recovery Groups/Programs: Tempest: Online Alcohol Recovery and Support to Quit Drinking Sober Mom Squad Sober Black Girls Club Soberistas Gay & Sober Smart Recovery Life Ring Secular Recovery Sexy Sobriety This Naked Mind Sobriety & Recovery Podcasts: Home by Holly Whitaker & Laura McKowen The Only One in the Room by Laura Cathcart Robbins Sober Black Girls Club by Khadi A. Oluwatoyin and J. Nicole This Naked Mind by Annie Grace The Seltzer Squad byJes Valentine and Kate Zander A Sober Girls Guide by Jessica Jeboult Sober as a Mother by Alyson Premo Recovery Rocks by Lisa Smith & Tawny Lara Reading Material: The Temper by Tempest My Goodreads Sober Book List SobrieTeaParty Blog Simon Chapple Blog Laura McKowen Blog Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog All podcast episodes can be found here. Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages Twitter: @LoveJoy_Lang

A listener reached out on Instagram and asked if I would do an episode on textbook learning vs. real life. Having lived in Italy for 4 years and Germany for a 1 1/2 years to-date, I have experience learning both Italian and German while living in those countries, and I’ve also used language textbooks, as well as taken textbook-based classes in each language. I decided to present this topic in a way that highlights things I like about both learning methods. I know there's often a bias or perceived advantage to learning in-country, and even though there so many benefits to learning a language in a country where it's spoken, there are also so many frustrations. Of course, the same can be said for textbook learning. What's really important is to remember that whichever way we learn, given our time, desires, or life situation is valid and useful, one of the best things we can do is find value in and extract everything we can from the resources to which we have access. I'd love to hear from you, too! Do you have experience learning a language by living in the country? What did you like about it? What was most frustrating? Are you a textbook learner? What benefits can you find in this method? What do you feel is still missing? Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog All podcast episodes can be found here. Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages Twitter: @LoveJoy_Lang

Do you set New Year's resolutions for your languages? Better yet, do you set long-term language goals no matter the time of year? For years, I tried every goal-setting method I could find, yet over and over I found myself avoiding anything I had formally set as a goal, especially in language learning. In today's episode I recount this (failed) goal-setting history of mine. This time of year, we're bombarded with all sorts of advice for setting and reaching goals with the underlying message that goals are the only way to make real progress. We went from December's tips and tricks for reaching our 2022 goals with what little time was left in the year (even if we hadn't habitually worked on them all year) to January's tips and tricks for setting specific goals for 2023 with rigid plans and pressure to hold ourselves accountable because otherwise we're doomed to fail from lack of motivation. Yet, goals have never really motivated me. In fact, they more often cause me to freeze. Something inside of me is so afraid of failure and afraid of what it might say about me if I don't reach a goal that I have a difficult time taking the steps necessary to work toward the goal. Perfectionism paralysis, some call it. So over the years I tried setting SMART goals, incremental goals, tiered goals -- anything to become a goal setter (or, more specifically, a goal achiever), but it just never worked. I avoided my goals every single time. Finally, I gave up. I just stopped setting language goals because I kept avoiding them. I simply wasn't motivated by the idea of reaching an deadline where I would feel obligated to claim victory or failure according to some pre-determined standards. Throughout this entire journey, however, I was definitely making progress in my languages. It's just that the progress wasn't associated with a specific goal. I was doing the work of learning my languages and making progress just because I wanted to. I wanted to study and practice my languages, so I was studying and practicing my languages, and goals had nothing to do with it. At the end of 2022 I intentionally decided to give up on trying to set language goals, or any life goals, really. Instead, I just want to focus on the actions I can take to improve my languages and my life. I want to speak more Italian, so I'm speaking more Italian. I want to study more German grammar, so I'm studying more German grammar. And Korean? I want to learn more words and phrases, so I'm learning more words and phrases. I don't need a goal of speaking a certain number of minutes, completing a certain number of chapters in a grammar book, or learning a certain number of words in a specific amount of time. I'm just doing it. All of this doing in my languages has been so much fun. I love accessing my languages every day. I love speaking and studying and learning. I love not feeling tied to a goal or rigid plan. And mostly, I love every bit of the progress I notice in all my languages every week. Setting goals can be incredibly motivating for some people, but I think many of us have received the message that it's the only way to stay motivated or make progress. But I'm proof that this isn't the case. If you're a goal setter, and you joyfully progress in your languages with your goals, then that's fantastic. Keep doing exactly what you're doing. But if you tend to give up on your goals, ignore them, or feel pressured by them, then it's worth considering that goals may not be for you. Maybe you're more motivated by just taking action or by only focusing on progress. Progress can be the only goal, and it doesn't have to have a finish line. Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog All podcast episodes can be found here. Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages Twitter: @LoveJoy_Lang

In today's episode, I explore all the details of what my life could look like if I had more self-belief, especially as a language learner. This content is prompted by Emily Richardson of The Language Confidence Project, a daily podcast that gives language learners a boost of courage, no matter our life situations. In Episode 35 of her show, Emily talks about self-belief, and she points out that self-belief is often discussed from the point of view of someone who has already overcome their challenge, completed their quest, and proven to themselves that they can do it. However, we rarely (or perhaps never) talk about self-belief as we're in the process of working through these challenges or quests. It's easy to say we believe in ourselves from the other side, where we've already reached our goals and worked through the messy middle. But what does self-belief look like in the middle part? Using the very pointed and thought-provoking questions Emily asks in Episode 35 of The Language Confidence Project, I talk today about what that could look like for me. I'm definitely in the messy middle of my language journey. I'm actually in the messy middle of many aspects of my life -- parenting, healing from perfectionism, the beginning of a second career, living abroad and deciding where to go from here. So when I hear the term "self-belief," what do I think of? Do I feel like I have it? What does having self-belief look like for me? If I had more self-belief, how would I respond when I make mistakes, receive criticism, or face something completely new to me? What feelings might come up when facing something very difficult, if I had self-belief? And most importantly, how can I bring more self-belief into my life? I share a lot of very personal thoughts in today's episode because taking time to envision a world where self-belief exists for me was very revealing and healing. Taking the time to write out my responses to the questions Emily poses in her episode allowed me to really think about how I respond to and feel about very specific aspects of my language journey and beyond. It gave me space to consider alternative ways of thinking that don't include beating myself up or living in a mental space of constant doubt and negativity. I encourage you to go back and listen to Episode 35 of The Language Confidence Project BEFORE listening my episode today because I don't want my responses to influence yours. Self-belief looks different for everyone, and I truly believe in the value of defining that for yourself and painting a picture of possibilities for moving forward with a bit more self-belief in your own life.

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Elle Charisse, the host of Speaking Tongues Podcast. Elle is a change maker in the language learning community as someone who notices issues like gaps in representation, conversations being ignored, communities being overlooked, and she does something about it, letting her curiosity of the world and of humanity guide her to creating a space for all languages, all cultures, all histories, and all voices to be heard. In our interview, Elle shares a bit about how she grew an interest in languages growing up in New York City, living close to but separated from other cultural communities in NYC, and starting to notice some variation in languages spoken around her and wanting to just have conversations with speakers of those languages, which led to the creation of her podcast. Elle discusses how she connects with such a wide variety of multilinguals on her show and her vision for her platform and how it’s evolved because of the stories other people share with her about their languages and cultures. Her mission to add to language discussions and hold space for the speakers of indigenous, African, west and south Asian, Polynesian languages, and so many other language families – languages that many of us have never even heard of – to hold space for speakers of those languages to share their stories, cultures, and languages – is one of the most powerful pursuits in the language community. Elle and I touch on a range of deep, thought-provoking topics seldom discussed in the largest of language learning spaces, from representative language in course material to the issue of homogenous speaker panels at language conferences to the need for inclusion of all multilinguals from all walks of life. And, of course, we chat a bit about food because, well, you can’t talk about language and culture without talking about food. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did, but more importantly, I hope it broadens your view of language learning and what that can mean for so many people around the world, and I hope this conversation leaves you with an insatiable curiosity to know more. Connect with Elle: Speaking Tongues Podcast: https://speakingtonguespodcast.com/ STP on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFOPq3j7wGteY-PjcZaMxg Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod Follow on Twitter: @stpodcasthost Like her Facebook Page: @speakingtonguespod Buy her 'zine, Taste Buds! https://www.lulu.com/shop/elle-charisse/taste-buds-vol-1/paperback/product-wn2n46.html?page=1&pageSize=4 Other Interviews w/Elle: Speaking Tongues Podcast, Episode 100: https://anchor.fm/speaking-tongues/episodes/100--Speaking-with-Elle-Charisse-e1i8ada/a-a7svc1j The Fluent Show, Episode 221: https://share.fireside.fm/episode/aHx_iT3N+DtdPT4vR More Women Bridging the Gaps in Representation in Language Learning Community: Errol of Morenita Mommy: https://morenitamommy.com/ Conversation w/Errol on STP, Episode 54: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwhDkcw7M_k Sisters Only Language Summit: connect on Instagram @sistersonlylanguagesummit Black Girls Learn Languages http://www.blackgirlslearnlanguages.co/ Women in Language Conference https://womeninlanguage.com Modern Immigrant by Vero https://modernimmigrant.buzzsprout.com/ or YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@modernimmigrant Dr. Kami J. Anderson https://www.kamijandersonphd.com/ Jamii https://www.jamii.co/about

This is the second of a two-part series in which I talk about impostor syndrome as a language learner. I know many of us in the language learning community have experienced or do experience impostor syndrome – that feeling that we're faking it, we're frauds, we aren't deserving of the praise we receive for our achievements, and one day someone is going to discover that we really have no idea what we're doing. There's a lot of content out there about impostor syndrome, both in general and with respect to language learning, but during a recent private conversation I had with Elle at Speaking Tongues Podcast (you can find her podcast here and YouTube here), I had to give this topic a lot of thought to consider what I do in my own life to try and manage impostor syndrome. In Episode 31, I explored some connections between impostor syndrome and certain thoughts and ideals that are common in language learning. I talked about how vague, undefinable goals (such as fluency) sets us up to feel like frauds throughout our entire journey. I discussed how labels or titles (such as polyglot or multilingual), and especially the underlying characteristics or expectations we have of someone with such titles, can leave us feeling like impostors in our own journeys. And finally, I dug into how putting our language learning idols up on a high-status pedestal and comparing ourselves to their accomplishments will always cause us to feel unworthy, fake, or deceiving in our own language achievements. Today I work through what I do to combat these things and manage the feeling that I'm not really learning my languages – the feeling that someone is going to call me out and tell me I don't really speak them. For me, these things include mindfully working against negative confirmation bias; claiming my own labels or titles without additional qualifiers; and deeply knowing myself as I am in order to leverage my identity, history, personality, and preferences to live authentically and genuinely as myself. Impostor syndrome isn't easy to manage, and changing how we view and feel about ourselves within certain spaces doesn't happen quickly. But every step we take toward knowing ourselves and living unapologetically as ourselves is a step toward believing that we are legitimate, we are valid, we do belong, and we do deserve praise and acknowledgment for the real work and progress we’ve made. Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog All podcast episodes can be found here. Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages Twitter: @LoveJoy_Lang

This is the first of a two-part series in which I talk about impostor syndrome as a language learner. I know many of us in the language learning community have experienced or do experience impostor syndrome – that feeling that we're faking it, we're frauds, we aren't deserving of the praise we receive for our achievements, and one day someone is going to discover that we really have no idea what we're doing. There's a lot of content out there about impostor syndrome, both in general and with respect to language learning, but after a recent private conversation I had with Elle at Speaking Tongues Podcast (you can find her podcast here and YouTube here), I started noticing conversations, thoughts, and ideals within the language learning community that, in my opinion, sort of breed impostor syndrome – things that, I think, can easily lead to this phenomenon in a person’s language journey, even if they’ve never before experienced it in other areas of their life. Today I explore some of these connections. I talk about how vague, undefinable goals (such as fluency) sets us up to feel like frauds throughout our entire journey. I discuss the link between labels or titles (such as polyglot or multilingual), and especially the underlying characteristics or expectations we have of someone with such titles, can leave us feeling like impostors in our own journeys. Finally, I dig into how putting our language learning idols up on a high-status pedestal and comparing ourselves to their accomplishments will always cause us to feel unworthy, fake, or deceiving in our own language achievements. Discussions about wanting to become fluent, being an aspiring polyglot, or wanting to be like the most well-known language learners out there are very prevalent in language learning spaces, and I think it's important to deconstruct these ideals and dig into the underlying thoughts, expectations, and beliefs we associate with them. For me, I see a clear link between each of these things and impostor syndrome, something I've experienced for decades, and I bring them out today because I'm interested to know if others can see the same connections I do. Other Language Content on Impostor Syndrome: Articles: How to Overcome Impostor Syndrome for Language Learners by Lindsay Williams of Lindsay Does Languages Impostor Syndrome When Learning English by Ramsay Lewis on Leondardo English How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome When Learning Spanish by Luis F. Dominguez on Spanish Academy blog Am I a heritage language learner, speaker, or impostor? by Sumanthra Govender on Belonging, Identity, Language Diversity (BILD) Research Group blog Dealing with Imposter Syndrome as a Non-Native Language Tutor by Heather of The Lunar Treehouse blog Impostor Syndrome? Prescribe Yourself Some Polyglot Community! by Richard West-Soley of Polyglossic How to Stop Feeling Like an Impostor by Scott H. Young (Note: In the episode I state that I found no other resources making the same connections I do, but I found this article after recording, and Mr. Young does, indeed, claim one of the same links!) Podcasts: How to Stop Feeling Like and Impostor by Scott H. Young (podcast version of article linked above) Why do I feel like a fraud every time I speak English? The Impostor Syndrome by InFluency Podcast Videos: Feeling like an Impostor in English? It's not you. It's the Impostor Syndrome by Accent's Way English with Hadar (video version of InFluency Podcast linked above) Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog All podcast episodes can be found here. Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages Twitter: @LoveJoy_Lang