The Actual Fluency Podcast for Language Learners

AFP 193 - Comprehensible Input and Toki Pona with Joel ( jan Telakoman)

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode I'm joined by Toki Pona speaker Joel, also known as jan Telakoman. During the call we discuss comprehensible input as one of the stron...

AFP 192: Virtual Reality Language Learning with Katie Pascoe

09 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Katie from Dynamic Languages comes on the podcast to share what the future of virtual reality might look like. During the conversation we also cover t...

AFP 191 - Benny Lewis: Recovery from bad times, Korean Mission, and the Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp

15 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we catch up with Fluent in 3 Months founder Benny Lewis about his latest language learning mission (Korean), the new and improved Flue...

AFP 190 - Luca Lampariello: The Impact of Mindset on Language Learning

12 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Kris and Luca Lampariello discuss the importance of building confidence and identity in a language to overcome perfectionism and fear...

AFP 189 - Emily Harris: Language Learning, Culture, and Perfectionism as a Transracial Adoptee

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast episode, language learner and transracial adoptee Emily Harris discusses her own experiences as an adoptee when it comes to learning ...

AFP 188: Cara Leopold - Expat Experiences, Listening Skills, and Movie Club

15 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast episode, I'm joined by Cara Leopold, an English listening specialist, and founder of Leo Listening to talk about her experience le...

AFP 187 - Heidi Lovejoy: Perfectionism and Language Learning

01 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the Actual Fluency Podcast, host Kris Broholm interviews Heidi Lovejoy, the creator and host of The Love, Joy and Languages Podcast...

June 2022 Update - Post Pandemic Stress Disorder, Moving Countries, Podcast

24 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kris comes back with a quick update to announce the return of the Actual Fluency podcast.

AFP 186: Rosemary Salomone - The Rise of English

18 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode I'm joined by Rosemary Salomone to discuss the role of English on a global academic level, and some of the challenges faced by minorit...

AFP 185: Sadelle Wiltshire - Learning at Different Ages and Minority Languages

17 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast episode I'm joined by Sadelle Wiltshire, who shares her story of learning languages at different ages, including her passion for Irish...

AFP 184: Rick Dearman - Using Forums in Language Learning

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Kris is joined by Rick Dearman to talk about using forums to help support you in your language learning, language conferences, and muc...

AFP 183 - Jennifer Degenhardt: Better School Learning and Creating Inclusive Materials

23 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the episode I'm joined by Spanish Teacher and Educational Author, Jennifer Degenhardt. We go over why school language learning is in such a bad sta...

AFP 182 - Liz Sharma from Talk The Streets on Portuguese

18 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the episode I'm joined by Portuguese teacher and YouTuber Liz Sharma to talk about Portugal, Portuguese (European vs Brazilian) and how Liz moved f...

AFP 181 - Olle Linge: Hacking Chinese and Academic vs Non-Academic Learning

26 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brought to you by OPTILINGO -- https://optilingo.com In this episode I'm joined by Olle Linge from Hacking Chinese to talk about his "random" journey ...

AFP 180 - Hēmi Kelly: Māori Language and Culture

06 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brought to you by OPTILINGO -- https://optilingo.com Editor's Note: A previous version of this episode had some audio issues, which have been fixed. I...

AFP 179 - Kerstin Cable: Women in Language and Teaching Careers in Languages

09 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brought to you by OPTILINGO -- One of the most popular guests of the podcast returns to share all the details for her upcoming project, that she co-h...

AFP 178 - Lina Vasquez: Mindset, Psychology, and Self-development

23 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brought to you by Optilingo. In this episode I'm joined by my friend Lina Vasquez, an amazing polyglot who shares her passion for languages, self-deve...

AFP 177 - Gloria Spagnoli: Find Your Confidence and Inner Resources

15 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brought to you by Optilingo. In this episode I'm joined by Italian teacher Gloria Spagnoli who shares her insights as both a language learner and teac...

AFP 176 - Maria Ortega Garcia: Connecting Deeper with Languages!

30 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brought to you by Optilingo. In this episode I'm joined by Spanish teacher Maria Ortega Garcia, who shares unique insights as both a language learner ...

AFP 175 - Tetsu Yung: Raising Children in 5 Languages

23 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brought to you by Optilingo. In this episode Tetsu Yung returns to update on his childrens' language learning (5 languages!) and talks in detail about...

AFP 174 - Peter Strang: From the UK to Russia

07 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brought to you by Optilingo. In this episode I'm joined by Peter Strang from the United Kingdom, who took up a position as English teacher in Russia. ...

AFP 173 - Anthony Metivier: Mental Well-Being and the Victorious Mind

28 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brought to you by Optilingo. In this episode I'm joined by podcast regular Anthony Metivier, to talk about his new book The Victorious Mind, mental he...

AFP 172 - Dick Howeson: From CD-ROM to App learning with uTalk

17 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brought to you by Optilingo. In this episode I'm joined by Richard 'Dick' Howeson from uTalk to discuss how he started the company, and developed it f...

Podcast Update: April 2020

30 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this unnumbered Actual Fluency episode I'm getting into a few updates as of April 2020. Here's what you'll hear about in the episode: Why the pod...

AFP 171 - Matt vs Japan: The Mass Immersion Approach

28 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brought to you by Optilingo. In this episode I'm happy to be joined by Matt from "Matt vs Japan" to share his ideas about immersion (Mass Immersion Ap...

AFP 170 - Mark Pentleton: From Teacher to Language Podcaster (Coffee Break Languages)

17 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brought to you by Optilingo. In this episode I'm extremely honoured to be joined by one of my very own podcasting idols. Mark has been running Coffee ...

AFP 169 - Sweeps Episode: Events and Plans for 2020

06 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Brought to you by Optilingo. In this episode I preview 2020, and share a few updates about Actual Fluency. The regular episodes with guests are return...

AFP 168 - John Fotheringham: Inside the Language Podcaster's Studio (Part 2)

29 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

PART 2! > John Fotheringham, a fellow language podcaster comes on the show to do an experiment. Instead of a traditional interview, we are chatting...

AFP 167 - John Fotheringham: Inside the Language Podcaster's Studio (Part 1)

17 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

John Fotheringham, a fellow language podcaster comes on the show to do an experiment. Instead of a traditional interview, we are chatting as two langu...

AFP 166 - Ekaterina Matveeva: Language Alter Ego and Cultural Intelligence

07 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ekaterina Matveeva comes on the show to talk about her amazing polyglot story, as well as the concept of the language alter ego and cultural personali...

AFP 165 - Lea Tiralarc: 5000+ lessons as an online teacher and the staircase method

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode, I chat to French teacher Lea Tiralarc, who's taught over 5000 lessons on italki about her experiences as a teacher and a learner. We ...

AFP 164 - Scott Young: A Year Without English and Ultralearning Languages

20 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode I chat to entrepreneur, blogger and author Scott Young about his experiences learning 4 languages in a single year (without speaking a...

AFP 163 - Mait Müntel: From discovering the Higgs-Boson to language learning

31 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode I chat to Lingvist founder Mait Müntel, who was part of the Higgs-Boson discovery team at CERN.  His big passion is furthering h...

AFP 162 - Jonty Yamisha: Heritage language learning and practical advice

09 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode I chat to Jonty Yamisha, who took it upon himself to learn his heritage language of Circassian as an adult.  He shares a lot of g...

AFP 161 - Jon Mahoney: Around the world in 900+ days and mastering Russian

28 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode I chat to Jon Mahoney, who went on a trip around the world that lasted over 900 days. We also get into his story of living in Ukraine,...

AFP 160 - Steve Kaufmann: YouTube, Travelling, and learning languages when retired

18 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode I catch up with Steve Kaufmann to hear what he's been up to in the last 5 years since he was last on the podcast. We also chat about h...

AFP 159 - Nelson Dellis: Using Memory techniques for languages

05 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of the podcast I chat with Grandmaster of Memory and 4x US Memory Champion Nelson Dellis about his mission to learn Dutch, his heritag...

AFP 158 - Ben Worthington: Improve your English and pass the IELTS exam!

29 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of the podcast I chat with Ben from IELTSPodcast, about how you can improve your 4 key skills in English, and specific tips and advice...

AFP 157 - Pablo Roman: Japanese in 6 months and DreamingSpanish

21 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Pablo Roman, founder of DreamingSpanish comes on the show to talk about his experiences learning Japanese in 6 months, learning Thai, and developing m...

AFP 156 - Iker Uriarte: italki past, present, and future

26 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Head of Marketing for italki: Iker Uriarte comes on the show to share his language background and how he got involved with italki. He also shares some...

AFP 155 - Marija Dobrovolska: Confidence in language learning and teaching German

10 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Marija Dobrovolska comes on the show to talk about her experiences with learning languages, the importance of confidence and how she got into teaching...

AFP 154 - Silver Ilves: Language Startups and Development

03 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Silver from MagicLingua comes on the show to share his multilingual experiences, as well as his new startup MagicLingua, which uses speech recognition...

AFP 153 - Tamara Marie: Teaching Spanish through Music (Spanish Con Salsa!)

26 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tamara from Spanish Con Salsa comes on the show to talk about the benefits of using music in teaching and learning languages. Links:  Website:&nb...

AFP 152 - Norbert Wierzbicki: Learning, teaching, and travelling!

19 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

 Norbert from Ecolinguist.com comes on the show to share his own learning experiences, as well as his experience teaching people foreign language...

AFP 151 - Andrew Feinberg: Learning Japanese and Japanese Culture

11 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Feinberg is back on the show to discuss his experience moving to Japan and learning Japanese, as well as some of the tricky aspects foreigners ...

AFP 150 - Lindie Botes: Growing up in multiple languages and cultures

30 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Lindie Botes comes on the show to talk about her passion for languages, and her extraordinary upbringing in different countries and la...

AFP 149 - Gabriel Gelman: How to become a language hero

23 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Gabriel Gelman from Sprachheld.de comes on the show to talk about learning languages at home and abroad. ===================   📣...

AFP 148 - Àdhamh Ó Broin: The Languages of Scotland and Reclaiming Gaelic

15 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

 Àdhamh Ó Broin comes on the show to talk about the many languages of Scotland (past, present and future) as well as his own personal mission t...

AFP 147 - Marek Kohn: The benefits of multiple languages in society

08 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

 Marek Kohn, the author of Four Words for Friend:Why Using More Than One Language Matters Now More Than Ever comes on the show to talk about the ...

AFP 146 - Shannon Kennedy: Women in Language

27 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Shannon Kennedy is on the show to talk about the upcoming Women in Languages conference (March 7-10, 2019) and some of her other projects. http://wome...

AFP 145 - Katie Harris: The Joy of Languages

16 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

 Katie Harris comes on the show to share how her joy of languages started, and her philosophies for learners today. We also get around her curren...

AFP 144 - Sara Maria Hasbun: From Translator to Business Owner with 3000+ freelancers

07 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

 Sara Maria Hasbun from Meridien Linguistics comes on the show to share how she went from translating to founding a linguistics consultant compan...

AFP 143 - Aviva Levin: Coincidental French Teacher in British Colombia

31 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

 Aviva Levin comes on the show to share her story of how she became a French teacher by coincidence, and what strategies she employs today to tea...

AFP 142 - Amarinder Grewal: Pidgins and Creoles

24 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

 Today's episode is all about Pidgin and Creole languages with enthusiast Amarinder from the US.  ===================   📣 This podca...

AFP 141 - Anja Spilker on using languages and travels as a reboot, and mental health

14 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode I'm joined by Anja Spilker (CEO and Founder of Zaloa Languages, where we talk about the positive effects learning languages and travel...

AFP 140 - Kerstin Cable on Goalsetting and New Year's Resolutions

07 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Kerstin Cable, host of The Fluent Show and founder of FluentLanguage.co.uk comes on the show to talk about goalsetting and New Year's resolutions. We ...

AFP 139 - Lucas Bighetti: The silent method and parrot conversation

23 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Lucas Bighetti comes on the podcast to talk about his techniques learning many languages quickly. Some of his ideas include: The silent method, parrot...

AFP 138 - Elisa Polese: Teaching Multiple Languages at Once

16 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Elisa Polese from Italy comes on the show to share her method of teaching 13 different languages, even teaching several of them with students at the s...

AFP 137 - Michele Frolla: Travelling and Languages the Intrepid Way!

09 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Travel Blogger and all-around awesome person Michele Frolla (of The Intrepid Guide) comes on the show to share her tips and advice on how you can leve...

AFP 136 - Maureen Millward: 1200+ tutoring lessons later + LingoFringo

01 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The new season is here! Happy December! Scottish polyglot Maureen Millward comes on to show to share her love for learning languages, the new polyglo...

AFP 135 - Season Review & Updates (2/2)

15 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Kris sits down to review the season that's just finished, and talks about the future for the podcast and much more. This podcast is s...

AFP 134 - Season Review & Updates (1/2)

11 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Kris sits down to review the season that's just finished, and talks about the future for the podcast and much more. This podcast is s...

AFP 133 - Miroslav Šedivý: Seize every opportunity to learn languages!

04 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this final interview of the current season one of the first true fans of the podcast; Miroslav Šedivý finally makes an appearance and shares the...

AFP 132 - Josh Koehn: Be inspired by your community

21 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On this show Josh Koehn talks about his early passion for language learning, and gives some examples of how he interacts with his community using his ...

AFP 131 - Conor Clyne: Eastern European Travels and Experiences

17 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode we change the topic a little to talk about how one polyglot; Conor Clyne has been using his languages to enhance his travelling experi...

AFP 130 - Dave Prine: Polyglot Therapy Part 2/2

09 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Be sure to listen to part 1! In this episode I'm put on the spot by my good friend Dave Prine as we quickly dive into the super heavy topics of what ...

AFP 129 - Dave Prine: Polyglot Therapy Part 1/2

09 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode I'm put on the spot by my good friend Dave Prine as we quickly dive into the super heavy topics of what the pursuit of language learni...

AFP 128: Mike Campbell - Glossika and Repetition Learning

04 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Glossika founder Mike Campbell comes on the show for the first time in 3 years and shares some more musings on effective language lear...

AFP 127 - Susanna Zaraysky: Music and endangered languages

01 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode Kris welcomes legendary polyglot community contributor Susanna Zaraysky! Susanna is the author of multiple books, and most recently a ...

AFP 126 - Azren the Language Nerd

18 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode Kris chats to Azren Raju about learning languages, the intricate psychological battle that your brain is doing when learning new langu...

AFP 125 - Joey Perugino: Billingual Upbring and LangFest

07 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the podcast Langfest Organizer Joey Perugino comes on and talks about his billingual upbringing, organising the Montreal Language F...

AFP 124 - Alexander Mynzak: Start your own language school

28 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Ukranian polyglot Alexander Mynzak comes on the podcast and shares his love for learning languages which led him to establish a language school in his...

AFP 123 - Daniel Welsch on Spain, Spanish & Teaching English

20 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

American Expat in Madrid, Daniel Welsch comes on the show to talk about his experience learning Spanish, moving to Madrid and making a living as an En...

AFP 122 - Artem Nazarov on learning similar languages

01 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Russian polyglot Artem Nazarov comes on the podcast to talk about his experience learning languages, including how he rapidly learnt similar languages...

AFP 121 - Lukas van Vyve on learning languages

16 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Lukas van Vyve comes on to the show to talk about his way to learning a lot of languages in a relatively short period of time. Lots of practical advic...

AFP 120 – How language learning can improve mental health!

27 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's special episode Kris shares some of his own mental health battles, and the importance of reaching out and seeking help when you need it...

AFP 119 – Quinn Taber: The power of Immersion

21 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

AFP 119 - Quinn Taber: The power of Immersion

AFP 118 – Mihalis Eleftheriou: Language Transfer

11 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

AFP 118 - Mihalis Eleftheriou: Language Transfer

AFP 117 – Robin MacPherson: How To Maintain Languages

04 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The podcast returns with one of the most popular guests of all times to discuss how to maintain and reactivate languages at every stage of your learni...

AFP 116 – Gabriel Wyner: Raising 500K on Kickstarter

17 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Gabriel Wyner's language learning app recently broke all records to become the most crowdfunded app of all time! here we talk about how it all happene...

AFP 115 – Alex Voloza: Mindfulness and language learning

16 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest is my good friend Alex Voloza and during the show we talk about mindfulness, and how to become succesful at learning languages.

AFP 114 – Kalle Wångstedt: Discovering Language Learning

24 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We often hear about people who discovered language learning at a very young age, but not every learner has that exact story. My guest today Kalle only...

AFP 113 – Learning Languages with a Full-Time Job

09 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We're back from Manchester England! In this episode I talk about my recent experience transitioning from a freelancer to a full-time employee when it ...

AFP 112 – Sarah Barrett: Introducing Foreign Languages to Children

06 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode I welcome Sarah Barrett to talk about her company Lingotastic, where she introduces young children to foreign languages with games and...

AFP 111 – Michael Mischkot: How an engineer learns languages

26 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode I welcome Michael Mischkot to talk about his experience learning languages through sentences and immersion (but no classroom classes!)...

AFP 110 – Chenelle Hancock: Visually impaired learning

09 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Visually impaired Chenelle comes on to the show to share her inspirational story and experience learning languages.

AFP 109 – Birthday Q&A with Kris

25 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode I answer listener questions about language learning, travelling, Denmark and much more.

AFP 108 – Richard DeLong: 14+ years in Eastern Europe

10 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's episode I'm joined by Richard DeLong, an American who has lived in Eastern Europe most of the last 14 years to share his experiences on...

AFP 106 – Moshe Sherizen on Yiddish

12 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's thematic episode I invite Moshe Sherizen on the podcast to talk about the Yiddish language and the culture behind it.

AFP 105 – Lydia Machova: Interpreting for Tony Robbins and Brian Tracy

02 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Time for another Actual Fluency Podcast! This week I talk to Lydia Machova about her experiences learning languages, interpreting, and her concept of ...

AFP 104 – Alex Strick van Linschoten: Learning Pashto in Afghanistan

25 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week I talk to Alex Strick van Linschoten about his experiences learning language from the "usual" romance languages to the more obscure.

AFP 103 – Gareth Popkins from howtogetfluent.com

17 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Season 5 Premiere! Listen for language learning wisdom and stories from the founder of "How to Get Fluent": Gareth Popkins!

AFP 102 – Dimitrios Polychronopoulos: Inspired by travelling

01 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode I welcome Dimitrios Polychronopoulos to share his language learning story with the rest of us.

AFP 101 – Agnieszka Murdoch: Back to Basics

11 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode I chat to Agnieszka Murdoch about language learning and her recent projects.

AFP 100 – Tim Keeley: Around the World in 40 Languages

27 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode i chat to Tim Keeley to learn more about his extraordinary life of travelling and language learning.

AFP 99 – Fiel Sahir: Indonesia and Indonesian

14 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

To learn more about Indonesian and the culture behind it, I invited Fiel Sahir on the podcast to give us all the details.

AFP 98 – Andrew Feinberg: Duolingo and Norwegian

08 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

On the show I welcome Andrew Feinberg to talk about how he got into languages and eventually learn Norwegian and contribute to Duolingo.

AFP 97 – David James: Creator of the Gold List Method

01 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

During the 2016 Polyglot Gathering I had the pleasure to sit down with Gold List Method creator and all-around legend Mr. David James.

AFP 96 – Marcus Furness: Identity and Culture

23 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week I'm happy to welcome long-time listener Christian from Tazmania on to the show to talk about identity, culture and building relationships th...

AFP 95 – Eleanor Wroblewski: US Language Learning

15 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

On today's program I'm joined by Eleanor Wroblewski, a passionate language learner, student and aspiring comedian to talk about all things language le...