Love, Joy, and Languages

A podcast to boost your LOVE of languages and bring out the JOY in learning them

About the show

Love, Joy, and Languages is a podcast where you can learn about language learning; supporting your children in their language journeys; and overcoming the many challenges faced by adult language learners, parents raising multilingual children, and expat language learners. I sit at the intersection of these three worlds, and I want to share my own journey navigating this crossroads while inviting you to discover your own, unique language learning journey.

  • Music used as intro & outro in this Podcast is "Home" by artist Nick Gallant, licensed from TuneCore

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Episodes

  • Episode 76: Good Advice Gone Wrong: Input, Input, Input

    22 July 2024  |  Season 4  |  26 mins 14 secs

    This is the fourth episode of "Good Advice Gone Wrong," a segment in which I highlight some good language learning advice that can also go wrong. There are countless methods for learning a language, and I believe all of them are good, but they aren't all good for everyone. Instead of just giving language learning advice, this recurring segment focuses on reasons specific pieces of language advice may not work for everyone. I also brainstorm some ideas for how we can mold the advice and shape it into something that does work for us, hoping to inspire you to discover your own creative, personalized language journey.

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    Episode 75: When Reality Doesn't Meet Expectations

    15 July 2024  |  Season 4  |  21 mins 7 secs

    It's inevitable in our language learning that the reality of where we are on our journeys or what we're able to do doesn't match up with what we expected to happen. I know for me, this usually leads to be feeling frustrated, getting mad at myself, wishing I'd made different choices, and many the guilt and shame are overwhelming. What can we do to bounce back from this? What can we do when reality doesn't meet expectations in our language lives in order to move forward in a positive and helpful way? That's what we're talking about today.

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    Episode 74: Authenticity as a Language Content Creator w/Emily Harris

    8 July 2024  |  Season 4  |  50 mins 32 secs

    A wonderful chat with Emily Harris of Language Travel Adoptee about authenticity in language learning and what that means as a content creator in the language community.

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    Episode 73: Meet Your Energy Where It's At

    1 July 2024  |  Season 4  |  5 mins 2 secs

    Short episode about realistic language learning expectations with fluctuating energy. It's far too easy to be hard on ourselves when we aren't pushing as hard as we did some past time, whether it's days or months ago. But it's important to keep our energy in mind and meet it where it is, not where we want it to be.

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    Episode 72: All About Language Projects

    24 June 2024  |  Season 4  |  18 mins 22 secs

    Talking 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 in to in order to boost your skills, confidence, and motivation in your languages.

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    Episode 71: B2 Exam Complete! Here Are A Few Personal Reflections

    17 June 2024  |  Season 4  |  17 mins 40 secs

    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!

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    Episode 70: A Polyglot's Journey of Discovery, Struggle, and Finding His Way - Interview with Polyglot Kuba

    20 May 2024  |  Season 4  |  1 hr 6 mins

    Interview with my friend, Kuba, a polyglot who learned several languages in school before setting out on a journey of self-study.

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    Episode 69: Functional But Not Fluent

    13 May 2024  |  Season 4  |  20 mins 40 secs

    There's this weird place I find myself with German where I can function in the language, but I'm far from fluent. It's a place that's both exciting and frustrating. Today I parse through some of the complicated thoughts I have about this functional but not fluent phase and brainstorm some things we can do to work through to finding the next best step.

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    Episode 68: Planning, Confidence, and Reflection w/Bront'e Singleton of The Polyglot Fox

    6 May 2024  |  Season 4  |  50 mins

    Today's episode is one you won't want to miss! I recently sat down with Bront’e Singleton, the incredible woman behind The Polyglot Fox, to chat about her experiences learning languages and coaching others, guiding them to finding the right language path for themselves. Bront’e has a long list of languages she speaks and learns, and she is so inspiring. Bront’e shares some of the struggles she faced over the years trying to learn multiple and very diverse languages often at the same time, and she’s built her coaching program, The Polyglot Fox, out of the lessons she learned along the way. This chat is fun, inspiring, and useful for all types of language learners!

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    Episode 67: Let's Talk About Flashcards

    29 April 2024  |  Season 4  |  30 mins 8 secs

    We've probably all used flashcards at one time or another to memorize vocabulary in our new languages, and I'm sure we've all hated them or at least been bored by them. Many, many language learners, coaches, and teachers bluntly tell us to stop using flashcards because they don't work. But that's simply false. Flashcards can be used very effectively as a complement to your language routine and study time. They can be one tool in your toolbox that helps you make great progress and jump forward into new levels. Today, I share how I've been using flashcards in the best season of my language journey.

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    Episode 66: Manifesting in Language Learning w/Angel Pretot of French Fluency

    15 April 2024  |  Season 4  |  58 mins 28 secs

    Ever thought about manifesting your language? Whether we're aware of it or not, we're all manifesting all the time, and today I sit down with Angel Pretot of French Fluency to talk about what that means for our languages. How does manifesting play a role in our language learning, and how can we use it to consciously bring ourselves closer to our language goals? Find out in this interview with Angel.

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    Episode 65: When Progress Isn't Helpful

    9 April 2024  |  Season 4  |  26 mins 5 secs

    How can language progress not be helpful? When that progress keeps us tied to methods or resources that aren't moving us in the right direction. Maybe we're taking in some words and grammar, but it isn't what we need in order to get to the next step of what we want to talk about. Maybe the resource is super boring, and we hate using it, but we're making some progress, so we keep holding on, grudgingly coming back to it. Just because you're learning something doesn't mean you're making the right kind of progress in your language journey.

  • Episode 64: What I Love About Language Dabbling

    1 April 2024  |  Season 4  |  11 mins 31 secs

    Are you a language dabbler? Do you enjoy playing around with new languages in a fun and non-committal way? Language dabbling isn't for everyone, but I really enjoy it. I also find several benefits to dabbling that actually help me keep my main languages going, and that's what I'm sharing today.

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    Episode 63: Trust (but Verify) Your Language Knowledge

    25 March 2024  |  Season 4  |  11 mins 14 secs

    Do you find that you doubt yourself way more than you believe in yourself when it comes to your language knowledge and skills? I certainly do, and it isn't always warranted. No matter your level, I think we can all find a balance in our language lives where we can trust what we know and also take time to verify when we come across something in the language that doesn't seem right.

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    Episode 62: What's Your Excuse?

    18 March 2024  |  Season 4  |  17 mins 23 secs

    We all have excuses for why we don't study our languages daily, pick up a language app in every spare moment, or even why we take extended breaks. And guess what? Our excuses are valid. They are! You don't have to feel guilty for something being "just an excuse." You do want it bad enough. You are serious about your languages. Life just happens, and that's okay. Keep going when you're ready, and you'll find it much more enjoyable without the unnecessary guilt and shame of "just an excuse."

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    Episode 61: Welcome Back to Season 4!

    11 March 2024  |  Season 4  |  22 mins 30 secs

    Just getting my season momentum going, sharing what you can expect in season 4 and also what I've been up to with my languages