This episode’s audio doesn’t exist, and we have technology to blame (poof! gone into cyberspace!). Instead of listening to this episode, feel free to use the notes below to learn more about the topic. And if you’re like, “CHER, NO. I NEED THIS EPISODE,” then let me know in the comments below. I’ll put it on my list to record again!

Sam Gendreau, fellow language lover and creator of the blog Lingholic.com, has been learning languages for over 6 years – including being fluent in French, English, and Korean and studying Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish.

Like me, he believes that learning a language should be an enjoyable process, and he’s spent so much time figuring out what methods work best for him and other language learners to help everyone take their foreign language to the next level.

We dive pretty deep into what methods work and for whom, what resources are really effective, and what makes the difference between someone learning a foreign language and someone just learning a few phrases.

 

Here’s what you’ll learn in this podcast episode:

— How Sam’s methods differed when he first began learning languages to what he does now (& why now is so much more effective and time-efficient)

— How often you should study a language and why

— Why phrasebooks never worked for Sam initially and why the normal textbook did

— How you learn a language at a beginner and intermediate level (&how you know which you are)

— How you gain confidence to talk to locals and native speakers

— His top three methods for learning a foreign language

— His two favorite online tools for learning a language

— His favorite online resources and books for language learning

Resources mentioned:

Books:

— Success with Foreign Languages – free book!

— Assimil – textbook series that he loves

Tools:

— VLC Player – ability to slow down audio

— LINGQ – Useful if you’re at a beginner level

Blogs he loves:

— Fluent in 3 Months – Benny Lewis’ blog

— The Polyglot Dream – Luca Lampariello’s blog

Some of my favorite Articles on Lingholic:

— Twelve Awesome Ways to Drastically Improve Your Memory

— How to Dramatically Improve Your Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide

— How to Learn a Language through Ted Talks

Connect with Sam and Cher

Twitter:

— @Lingholic

Facebook:

— Lingholic

— The Iceberg Project

Important sites:

— Lingholic – main blog