5 Podcasts To Help You Learn a New Language (That Inspire & Motivate Without Teaching)

Although pop Linguistics has a strong place in popular society with the help of thought leaders like Steven Pinker, Gretchen McCulloch, & John McWhorter, actually learning languages is still often seen as a mysterious, scary process. When searching for podcasts on languages it is easy to find podcasts about languages such as Patrick Cox’s Subtitle and an abundance of podcasts teaching us how to learn a language. But what is much less so addressed in podworld thus far is how people actually learn languages, ie, what their process and learning journey include. YouTube has a strong language learning and polyglot community of Content Creators who share these stories but this process focused content has not gained momentum in podcasts until very recently. But do not lose all hope because we have 5 podcasts that are filling this podcast need and inviting us into their and their guests minds to see the ups and downs, the challenges and failures and so much more about their language learning journeys. Learning to communicate in any language is not easy but the process can be very interesting to explore. 

The Fluent Show

Kerstin Cable started the Fluent Show podcast in 2014 and Lindsey Williams joined later as a guest and is now as a once a month Co-Host. Their goal is to provide practical tips and encouragement for language learners throughout their language journey but their impact has been much more impactful than this. In all of the types of episodes (interviews, answering listener questions and conversations between the two of them) the language talk is honest, open and  driven. Kerstin and Lindsay are both multilingual but they still share struggles with their current language learning process all the same. Their language sensitivity makes this podcast unique and heartwarming: they are not just encouraging the acquisition of a language as a skill but as a part of our emotional lives. They both have a strong presence in the global polyglot community and have a number of language related projects that they are involved with in addition to this podcast including the Women In Language Conference.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Website | Podchaser

Mandarin By Mistake

One of the things that is far too often missed when talking about learning a language as an adult is balancing life with the learning process. Cameron, an Australian man with a full time job, side businesses, a family, intensive sports hobbies and a pension for language learning shares weekly how he deals with this tricky triad of physical, social and language learning health. His main goals, he reminds us (and probably himself) often are to speak Mandarin Chinese for social conversations to help him connect to business clients on more than a monetary level and to learn more about Chinese traditional culture from within the language. His shameless efforts in using Mandarin Chinese in any and all situations that he can in Melbourne, where he lives, are inspiring. As an added bonus, he describes the cognitive tools that he finds for his physical fitness training to help him organize and realistically plan his language learning schedule and execution.     

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Podchaser

You Can Learn Chinese

Jared Turner and John Pasden of the Mandarin Companion graded reader series want to help you find and nurture your Mandarin Chinese language WHY via this podcast.  Motivation is the key to language success that is often missing. They are two Americans who have lived in Shanghai, China for quite some time and who have reached a high level of proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. The unique quality of what Jared and John do in this podcast is not in the topics they cover alone but in how they view them and the depth that they can, as fluent users of Mandarin Chinese, go into them. In fact, because of their approach to language learning, many of these episodes can be useful to learners of other languages as well. And for those of you reading this that use WeChat, there is a WeChat group for the podcast where both Jared, John as well as many of their guests, are very active discussing different aspects of learning Mandarin Chinese. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Website | Podchaser

My Fluent Podcast: Learn With A Learner

One of the most brave language learners out there is Daniel Goodson (an online alias), a Swiss National who claims to speak the most difficult dialect of Swiss German. He started this podcast when he hit an intermediate slump in his English language usage, a common plateau in language learning in general. He has been making this podcast since April 2016 and with time has included interviews, book reviews, language learning thoughts, reflections, and frustrations. There are also specific episodes where he shares Quora responses to his posted questions. No matter what type of episode he produces there is an underlying content clarity and relevance that is useful, personal and curious. Daniel’s language fluency determination and candor make this a learning journey journey that is very interesting to follow. And with 4 years of episodes available, follow we can. 

Listen: Apple | Website  | Stitcher | Podchaser

Chenelle’s language learning journey podcast

Adding to this list of brave and sharing language learners is Chenelle Patrice Hancock, a visually impaired woman approaches her language learning with a veracity that is hard to match. In her language learning life Chenelle has learned to use Spanish, Russian, and Arabic, to name a few languages. But what sets her audio experiences apart is not how many languages but how much they are a part of her life. For example, even if she is not studying Japanese, she shared that if she knows that she is going to a Japanese restaurant she will look up and practice a few words and phrases so that she can use them for the experience. Chenelle also interviews enthusiastic and successful language learners with different backgrounds, including some visually impaired language learners as well. All the while, Chenelle does not sugar coat her language learning or visual challenges and that is what makes this podcast so unique to listen to because her bluntness and frustration fuel her language curiosity and determination to explore other languages and cultures.  

Listen: Apple | Spotify | Podchaser