Episode 21: Our Summer Language Activities

Welcome back! Season 4 is finally here, and I'm just starting off with a quick chat about what you're going to find in these episodes and also what I've been doing with my language learning for the last four or so months. I've been doing a ton of intensive language time with both Italian and German, I've been dabbling in a couple languages, and I've been trying to find a good balance between pushing forward and resting. Today's episode is light and, well, about me, but don't worry. Season 4 will be packed with a lot of versatile content that hopefully helps you feel confident in your own language learning life. Links from this episode: Simone Pols website (https://simonepols.com/) and podcast, Simple Italian Podcast (https://simonepols.com/simple-italian-podcast/) 6 Week Challenge (https://6wc.learnlangs.com) Lingua.com (www.lingua.com) website for learning languages through reading (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portugal & Brazilian Portugese) Leggero come il cielo, profondo come il mare (https://www.ibs.it/profondo-come-mare-leggero-come-libro-gianluca-gotto/e/9788804745440) by Gianluca Gotto German travel blog, We Travel the World (https://wetraveltheworld.de/) Sprachen lernen Blog (https://www.sprachenlernen.blog/), by Carl Duisberg Centren Sprachenlust Blog (https://sprachenlust.de/blog/), by Lena Müller Natural.Fluent.German (https://open.spotify.com/show/66RoY4vSCSiSmyNV84NfHe) & Deutsches Geplapper (https://naturalfluentgerman.com/my-blog/podcast-transkripte/) podcasts, by Flemming Boldbecher Verena König Podcast für Kreative Transformation (https://www.verenakoenig.de/blog-und-podcast/alle-folgen/) Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog (https://lovejoyandlanguages.com/) All podcast episodes can be found here: http://www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com/. Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages X (Twitter): @LoveJoy_Lang

In this Season 3 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 German, Turkish, Spanish, and French plus my own wins in Italian and German. 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. Links from this episode: The Talking Ticket blog (https://thetalkingticket.blog/) by listener Lucy, also found @talkingticket on X Langatu (https://langatu.wordpress.com/), listener Kuba's blog Speak in Spades (https://www.speakinspades.com/), listener Tiara's website Melissa can be found on Instagram at @melsouz_a Love, Joy, and Languages episode with Tiara as a guest: http://www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com/episode-56 Info on the The New Year, New Language Summit (https://2024.newyearnewlanguage.com/) is linked here (free tickets available!). Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog (https://lovejoyandlanguages.com/) All podcast episodes can be found here: http://www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com/. Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages X (Twitter): @LoveJoy_Lang More language learning podcasts for you to check out: The Language Confidence Project (https://anchor.fm/emily-richardson1), by Emily Richardson Speaking Tongues Podcast (https://speakingtonguespodcast.com/), by Elle Charisse How to Learn a Language (https://howtolearnalanguage.fireside.fm/), by Lindsay Williams Talking to Grandma (https://languagepreservation.mykajabi.com/podcasts/talking-to-grandma), by Veronica Benavides Shhh, I'm Learning! (https://open.spotify.com/show/6v0GrjOA5UfLRd5vilj5lF) by Martha Summerlin The Fluent Show (https://www.fluent.show/), by Kerstin Cable The Language Learning Show (https://open.spotify.com/show/2KqaP5uKhR6oTYsRKIX7gS), by Azren Insecurities About Languages (https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/alexandria-robinson2), by Alexandria Robinson A Language I Love Is... (https://dannybate.com/2023/09/04/introducing-a-language-i-love-is/), by Danny Bate Actual Fluency (https://actualfluency.com/actual-fluency-language-learning-podcast/), by Kris Broholm My favorite Italian podcasts: Italianglot (https://www.italianglot.com/podcast-feed/), by Carmine Albanese Stivale Italiano (https://www.stivaleitaliano.com/copy-of-home-1), by Alessandro and Carolina Simple Italian Podcast (https://simonepols.com/simple-italian-podcast/), by Simone Pols Vaporetto Italiano Podcast (https://anchor.fm/vaporetto-italiano/episodes), by Francesco Cositore The Teacher Stefano Show (https://www.teacherstefano.com/podcast), by Stefano Psicologia per eroi (https://open.spotify.com/show/5iJsp9pgAEW8UPkDfQQeg4), by Dott. Luca Proietti Curiosità della Storia (https://www.radio-italiane.it/podcasts/curiosita-della-storia), by Storica National Geographic Italiano in Podcas (https://www.ispeakitaliano.it/italiano-in-podcast-5/)t, by Paolo of I Speak Italiano My favorite German podcasts: Natural.Fluent.German (https://open.spotify.com/show/66RoY4vSCSiSmyNV84NfHe) & Deutsches Geplapper (https://naturalfluentgerman.com/my-blog/podcast-transkripte/), by Flemming Boldbecher Deutsch Podcast (https://deutsch-podcast.com/podcast-hoeren/), by Virpi Hach & Sandra Durán Muñoz Feminismus mit Vorsatz (https://www.feminismusmitvorsatz.de/), by Laura Vorsatz Eine Stunde History (https://www.deutschlandfunknova.de/podcasts/download/eine-stunde-history), by Deutschlandfunk Nova Other language learning podcasts I've been on: Shhh, I'm Learning! (https://open.spotify.com/episode/079VZM8YYpPzHuUemtGaV6) with Martha Summerlin How to Learn A Language (https://open.spotify.com/episode/3pNaW4b6aRl1R1oSpyp2TQ?si=93fa2099ca514ccc&nd=1) with Lindsay Williams Actual Fluency Podcast (https://open.spotify.com/episode/4IYoo07RctdUz2EV4CfKWQ?si=a26ea3fec92640b7&nd=1) with Kris Broholm The Italian Escape Podcast (https://open.spotify.com/episode/3gSJaCTJVjwqRlnirZFw08?si=dd4029bb75d84908&nd=1) with Angelique Lusuan & Gabriele Minucci The Future is Bilingual (https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ZmWsHawlLrtPuoFzuNeOA) with Heather

I invited a very special language learning and language loving friend to co-host this episode with me and chat all about the joys of language learning. This is a very familiar voice in the language learning community, and it's such a pleasure to have Lindsay Williams of Lindsay Does Languages on the show! We had an absolute blast talking about loving languages and finding joy in learning them. We talk about current language learning wins, some favorite languages and connections to them (spoiler: you may want to learn Guarani after listening to Lindsay talk about it), and what keeps us joyfully teathered at each level of learning. 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 and the community. I hope you enjoy listening in to my chat with Lindsay, and I hope it reminds you of all the exciting things you find in your own language life. I was recently a guest on Lindsay's podcast "How to Learn a Language," where we chat about perfectionism & immersion. Blog, video, and audio formats of the interview can be found here on her site (https://www.lindsaydoeslanguages.com/perfectionism-immersion-myths-that-need-debunking-with-heidi-lovejoy/). Lindsay can be found at: Website: Lindsay Does Languages (https://www.lindsaydoeslanguages.com/) Podcasts: How to Learn a Language (https://open.spotify.com/show/6lDzDtfPLlXfetQnx8EeSs) and Teach Languages Online (https://open.spotify.com/show/0pFVzQIv9YLi6AX1QjQ1jH) Instagram: @lindsaydoeslanguages LinkedIn: Lindsay Williams (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsayhwilliams/) Lindsay's Weekly Curated Spotify Playlist: Not My Mother Tongue (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5w71az9ijvXwtpBLMAXDSO) Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog (https://lovejoyandlanguages.com/) Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages X (Twitter): @LoveJoy_Lang All episodes of the show can be found at www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com.

Are you the kind of language learner who meets something above your skill level and starts to tell yourself that you're just bad at this thing? It's too big. You're not the kind of person who can. You kinda already knew this language was too hard to begin with. I've found myself doing this loads of times while learning Italian and German, but a recent encounter with my daughter reminded me that sometimes we just need to get better first. We just need to get back to the language resources that are at our level and keep practicing. Instead of totally writing off those challenging things and telling ourselves that we're just bad at it, we're better served to remind ourselves that languages are hard, we are learning languages, and maybe we just aren't ready for what we've encountered...yet. We just have to get better first. If you're someone who loves learning languages and are looking for some extra insight into how to learn a language, then you've come to the right place. I love sharing my language journey as an adult language learner, and this includes the personal self-growth and mindset shift things many language learners don't often consider. Language learning is a beautiful and fulfilling journey, and it brings me great joy to share this love with passionate language learners like me. Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog (https://lovejoyandlanguages.com/) Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages X (Twitter): @LoveJoy_Lang All episodes of the show can be found at www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com.

Today I'm talking about multitasking and monotasking. Multitasking, for me, is becoming something that really stresses me out. More often than not, I make mistakes and have to redo something, get easily distracted and frustrated, or completely forget what I'm doing. Multitasking affects our language learning not only when we're trying to do multiple language things at once, but also because all parts of our lives come together to affect each other. Every area of our lives that's vying for our time, attention, and thoughts, affects all other areas. So today I'm breaking down the ways in which I find myself multitasking, share how they affect my language progress, and talk a bit about what I'm trying to do to be more mindful in my language life...and all other parts of my life. Multitasking certainly has its place in life, and it isn't always bad. But being aware of the potential negative consequences and knowing how it makes us feel or negatively impacts our progress is the first step to creating a joyful language experience. Links from this episode: The Language Confidence Project, S1E18: Eliminate the monor irritations (https://open.spotify.com/episode/1TSWfXw9ntOvKa76mQdnTY), by Emily Richardson of The Language Confidence Project (https://www.languageconfidenceproject.com/) (<- check out her website because her work is awesome, she has so much to offer, and she's networking with language learners and teachers to grow her business...this is a much-needed effort in language spaces!) E50 - Listening, Speaking, and Overstimulation (https://open.spotify.com/episode/5e1d511JDkT6CxRg68rYHZ) - Love, Joy, and Languages (link to Spotify) Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog (https://lovejoyandlanguages.com/) Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages X (Twitter): @LoveJoy_Lang All episodes of the show can be found at www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com.

Today's episode is an extremely joyful chat with Tiara Younbgblood of Speak in Spades. A passionate langauge learner and card/board gamer, Tiara shares where her love of games and puzzles began in childhood and how they’ve been a stable foundation of curiosity and knowledge throughout her life. She takes us on her language journey, which includes Latin, Antient Greek, Spanish, Italian, French, Japanese, and Korean. Tiara now teaches English in South Korea, and you’ll hear how she brings games into her classroom, as well as the benefits of being able to work with language students in this fun and engaging way. One of the best things Tiara brings us in this conversation is complete joy, and it’s contagious! I love her outlook on language learning, her thirst for knowledge, and her creativity when sharing her passions with others. She has an incredibly refreshing view of making language learning fun and removing the usual stressors through the addition of games. Check out Tiara's website, shop, and YouTube through the links below. Her language learning journals and cards are uniquely enjoyable! Where to find Tiara: Speak in Spades website (https://www.speakinspades.com/) Shop for Tiara's langauge journals and decks of cards here (https://www.speakinspades.com/shop) Speak in Spades YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@speakinspadesllc818) Instagram: @speakinspades Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog (https://lovejoyandlanguages.com/) Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages X (Twitter): @LoveJoy_Lang All episodes of the show can be found at www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com. Also mentioned in this episode is Matt Boyle (https://www.youtube.com/@MatthewRaymondBoyle) of Language Card Games (https://languagecardgames.com/).

This month has been an absolute whirlwind. Things are so busy, and every day there are so many things that need my attention, between work, kids starting school, general parenting, appointments, and house chores. Honestly, it's just all too much. I recently realized, however, that as my to-do list grows but my time and energy shrink, I've started asking myself this one simple question to be really honest with myself about my expectations. "What really matters?" Some days I try to do it all, and I feel defeated (and angry, negative, powerless, frustrated) when I can't do it all. Other days I realize that it's okay not to do it all because I was never meant to in the first place. My expectations were too high. So asking this quesiton, "What really matters?" allows me to focus on the things that matter most and put off other things until my time and energy allow. It's been a lifesaver this month. This question can be so valuable to language learning. Whether I'm stressed about not reaching the highest levels of Italian or not being what anyone would consider "fluent" in German, if I ask myself what really matters, then I realize it's okay. I'm doing okay. I can still keep working toward the highest levels of Italian, but what really matters is that I can converse with my Italian-speaking friends. I keep working on my German, but what really matters is that I feel comfortable communicating in the situations that arise living in the country. I can do both of these things, so keeping that in perspective helps me progress from here in a joyful, low-stress way. Because everything else doesn't really matter right now. They're just extras. So I can give them my attention when my time and energy are higher. Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog (https://lovejoyandlanguages.com/) All podcast episodes can be found here (http://www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com/). Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages X (Twitter): @LoveJoy_Lang

Though "parent" is in the title, this is an episode for all. Language learning was the first area in my life where I started being able to face some of my personal demons and really start on a path to self-acceptance and growth. The skills I've gained through this journey of learning languages have absolutely been useful in other areas of my life, as well, like in parenting. There are so many similarities between how I used to approach language learning and how I've approached parenting. While it may sound odd at first, this shouldn't be surprising because there's one common factor here - me. The perfectionist language learner in me is also the perfectionist parent. The part of me that lacks confidence and always assumes I'm wrong when it comes to languages is the same part of me that always assumes I'm screwing up in parenting. And the side of me that beats myself up over language mistakes and just wishes I could go back in time to prevent the mistake? Yep, she's there in my parenting, as well. It just so happens that, for me, language learning was the first area of my life where I could start facing these things, questioning them, and figuring out how to overcome them or at least live with them in a better headspace. So when I started finding better ways to deal with these things in my language life, of course I eventually started asking myself if they'd work in my parenting, as well. I'm not at the end-state of this story, though. I absolutely still have down days and troubling times when I fall back into my old ways, both in languages and in parenting, and I'm not here to paint a picture of perfection that simply isn't reality. But let's start talking about these intersections of life because none of the challenges we face exist alone, and recognizing what challenging parts overlap can be incredibly useful to accelerating your personal growth, as well as your language growth. Links from this episode: New Year New Language Summit (https://2024.newyearnewlanguage.com/), Online, 10-14 January 2024 Multilingual Parenting Websites: The Language Preservation Project (https://thelanguageproject.co/) Bhasha Kids (https://bhashakids.com/) Multilingual Parenting (https://multilingualparenting.com/articles/) Multilingual Family (https://www.multilingual.family/https-multilingualfamilypodiacom-about) Multilingual Parenting Podcasts & Videos: Talking to Grandma Podcast (https://languagepreservation.mykajabi.com/podcasts/talking-to-grandma) The Future is Bilingual (https://thefutureisbilingual.wordpress.com/) Bilingual Parenting Podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/31Ae68sigZ1kL60Qz6fEO0) Speaking Tongues Podcast (https://speakingtonguespodcast.com/latest-episodes-language/) (Not multilingual parenting specifically, but Elle has tons of guests who grew up multilingual and/or are multilingual parents, so there's a wealth of resources and networking here) Multilingual Family (https://www.youtube.com/@MultilingualFamily/featured) on YouTube Multilingual Parenting (https://www.youtube.com/@Multilingualparenting) on YouTube Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog (https://lovejoyandlanguages.com/) All podcast episodes can be found here (http://www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com/). Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages X (Twitter): @LoveJoy_Lang

In today's episode I'm talking about building habits and routines. This all started with me wanting to make a habit out of going to the library every week with my kids, getting books, and reading them. Sounds simple, right? But after a few weeks of the kids complaining and us bringing home books that were then never opened, I started to feel like this was a useless endeavor. I was clearly failing at such a simple activity, so I might as well just give up. This all-or-nothing thinking doesn't work for me anymore, though, so I gave it some thought and identified what was really going on, and it all came down to expectations I had that were rooted in the word "habit." So today I talk about the difference between habits and routines and why that could be important to your mindset. I share how I've worked to turn this library and reading thing into a whole process that, little-by-little, is actually working for us to do the thing that I've desired to repetitively and frequently do for so long. Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog (https://lovejoyandlanguages.com/) All podcast episodes can be found here (http://www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com/). Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages X (Twitter): @LoveJoy_Lang

In today's episode, I’m chatting with German teacher Kris of Deutsch mit Kris. Kris shares her story of how she got into the German language as a high school student from the Southern United States. She had the typical story many of us know growing up in a place where only one language is spoken, taking a few years of language in school, and performing really well but not being able to speak the language. Yet something happened for Kris that sparked her interest in German, and luckily, she followed that curiosity all the way to living and studying in Germany and then to becoming a teacher of the language. But her path wasn’t that simple. Kris shares many of the struggles she experienced having a high level of academic German but still not feeling like she could speak it at all. She tells a wonderful story of how she grew into her advanced level German, gaining ability and confidence as she found a way to force herself into speaking situations; she explains how her experiences in language classrooms shaped her entire teaching philosophy and methods; and she talks a bit about what she does to continue learning and expanding her German while living in the country as an advanced speaker and teacher of the language. We cover being a science/math person who also loves languages, how cultural misunderstandings affect when and how we speak our languages, and helpful versus unhelpful feedback from others. Kris has such an honest and down-to-earth approach to language learning, and listening to her share how she worked to overcome her own hurdles and then translated those into helping her students is so exciting. I love her approach, I love her transparency in her own journey, and I have no doubt you all will enjoy it, too. Kris's online info is below, so you can connect with her, nerd out over languages and math with her, and share her German course with anyone you know who can benefit from her work. Find Kris Here: Website: Deutsch mit Kris (https://deutschmitkris.com/) YouTube: Deutsch mit Kris (https://www.youtube.com/@deutschmitkris) Instagram: @deutschmitkris Where to find me: Love, Joy, and Languages Blog (https://lovejoyandlanguages.com/) All podcast episodes can be found here (http://www.lovejoyandlanguagespodcast.com/). Instagram: @love.joyandlanguages Twitter: @LoveJoy_Lang