Love, Joy, and Languages

Episode 16: Forging a Joyful Bond With Your Languages

27 June 2022  |  Season 1  |  12 mins 23 secs

Discussing the differences in how I interact with my languages as it relates to my early years learning each one. My experiences learning Italian and German are very different, and one stark contrast relates to how I viewed each language and my ability to learn it from the beginning. The early mentalities I experienced solidified a foundational bond with each language that affects how I feel about my abilities with each one, even to this day.

Episode 15: Language Learning on Vacation

13 June 2022  |  Season 1  |  11 mins 44 secs

Discussing what I do while on vacation to keep contact with my languages. To be clear, I don't study, do intensive language activities, or take lessons when I'm on vacation. I do, however, touch my languages daily as a way to relax, re-energize, and keep my stress low. I enjoy doing something in my languages daily, no matter where I am in the world, so finding little ways to include them in my holidays without feeling stressed, obligated, or guilty is just a part of me finding joy in life. Listen in to hear how I use language apps, read, listen, speak, and write in my target languages while on vacation for maximizing my relaxation.

Episode 14: Navigating Language Learning Abroad - Interview with Sarah Knight

6 June 2022  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 4 secs

Listen in as Sarah shares her story of moving abroad to France for an intense immersion program. Sarah shares her discovery of immersion as a way to learn a language, her expectations, and struggles living abroad in an intense language learning environment. While her experience was in an immersion program in the country, Sarah explains the concept of an immersion spectrum, allowing me to identify my experience along the spectrum. We compare and contrast various aspects of our diverse experiences learning a language while living abroad, talk about the role of family in our language choices, and what we envision for the language community.

Episode 13: Expat Parenting Language Expectations

30 May 2022  |  Season 1  |  26 mins 56 secs

Talking about my biggest mistake as a parent supporting my kids as expat children learning the community language -- having unrealistic expectations. I talk about my expectations of myself learning the languages alongside them in an immersive environment, expectations of my children taking command of their own language journey, and expectations of our local community and its role in our language acquisition. I share how I've adjusted my expectations and what it's done for each of us, especially as we moved to Germany and got to start a language journey from scratch -- but doing it better this time.

Episode 12: Multilingual Parenting as a Non-Native: Learning Languages Alongside Your Kids - Interview with Nina Peacock

23 May 2022  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 7 mins

Interview with Nina Peacock, talking about her experiences as an adult expat language learning mother in Japan and Germany. Nina shares challenges she faced when moving back to the U.S. from Japan but wanting to continue learning and speaking Japanese at home with her children. Through this journey, Nina discovered TalkBox.Mom and found such success in it that it immediately became her family's foundation for learning German as they moved, yet again, and work to learn the community language in their new home.

Episode 11: My Language Learning Routine

16 May 2022  |  Season 1  |  27 mins 33 secs

Sharing my language learning routine (SPOILER ALERT: I don't have one!) Today, I share why creating a language learning routine has never worked for me, how social media emphasized feelings of failure for not having a routine, and what I've intentionally done in my language life to continue making progress, stay motivated, and reap the benefits of routine without having one.

Episode 10: Solidifying My Language Level

9 May 2022  |  Season 1  |  18 mins 49 secs

Sharing my experience organizing and consolidating two years' worth of Italian notes, only to discover that areas I know are weak in my spoken language...I had already learned and practiced over a year ago. I had just never reviewed them or solidified them into my production of the language. I discuss the feeling of unsureness and apprehension I've had about my level of Italian and how reviewing my notes (and talking with my very experienced tutor) cleared my mind, showed me that I can live (and speak!) confidently at my current level while simultaneously focusing to strengthen my abilities and keep moving forward to the next milestone.

Episode 9: Good Advice Gone Wrong, Round 1

2 May 2022  |  Season 1  |  16 mins 45 secs

First episode of "Good Advice Gone Wrong," a segment in which I highlight some really good language learning advice that can also go wrong. There are countless methods for learning a language, and I believe that 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 good 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.

Episode 8: Good Enough Language Learning

18 April 2022  |  Season 1  |  21 mins 12 secs

Discussing what it means to consider "good enough" in language learning -- finding good enough words to communicate what we want or need, recognizing that our language abilities can be situational (and that's okay!), and understanding the importance of accepting what's good enough for today in order to continue progressing

Episode 7: Dealing with Overwhelm in Language Learning

11 April 2022  |  Season 1  |  28 mins 54 secs

Discussing how time, resources, and expectations are three main sources of overwhelm in language learning and how getting organized, getting analytical, and getting grounded can help reduce overwhelm and provide for clear, focused, and healthy forward progress

Episode 6: Language Learning as a Multi-Passionate - Interview with Marjolein Benschop

4 April 2022  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 4 mins

Interview with Marjolein Benschop of The Language Community, talking about her experiences, struggles, and perceptions as a multi-passionate language learner. How can we satisfy our numerous passions, seeing progress and growth, without getting overwhelmed and listening to negative self-talk? Join my chat with Marjolein to explore this incredibly interesting topic!

Episode 5: Facing Language Tasks We Tend To Avoid

28 March 2022  |  Season 1  |  22 mins 17 secs

Discussing avoidance in language learning and why I think we tend to avoid certain language activities; introducing the Face The Avoidance Challenge I created specifically for addressing the issue of avoidance

Episode 4: Considering Other Aspects of Life for Language Learning

21 March 2022  |  Season 1  |  30 mins 6 secs

Discussing how reconsidering the way we do non-language learning activities can work as a starting point for addressing all-or-nothing thinking and improve how we work to learn languages

Episode 3: My Story, Part 3, The Perfectionist

14 March 2022  |  Season 1  |  31 mins 47 secs

Discussing some of the ways my perfectionism shows up in language learning & my top tips toward combatting the restrictiveness of my perfectionist tendencies.

Episode 2: My Story, Part 2, The Parent

7 March 2022  |  Season 1  |  31 mins 38 secs

Discussing the parent side of this adult language learner, trying to figure out how to best support my kids learn languages in the communities where we've lived.

Episode 1: My Story, Part 1, The Language Learner

28 February 2022  |  Season 1  |  28 mins 11 secs

bilingual, english, english language, expat, language learner, language learning, languages, multilingual, multilingual parenting, polyglot

Meet Heidi, an adult language learner trying to figure out how to best learn languages outside of the standard classroom methods.