274: From Zero To Fluency: How To Master A Foreign Language – Benny Lewis

The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup

Benny has been a nomadic polyglot for over 20 years. He speaks over ten languages, several at the fluency level. He runs the largest language blog in the world called Fluent In 3 Months, which receives more than 1 to 2 million unique visitors every month. He is the author of multiple books, has given a number of TED talks, and is a National Geographic Traveller of the World. In today’s conversation, Benny shares his insights from decades of language learning and world travelling experience.

TODAY'S CONVERSATION WITH BENNY LEWIS

• Hear the inside story of how Benny found himself going from a degree in engineering to becoming a language expert.
• Learn how Benny was able to learn Spanish by refusing to speak anything else for months!
• Find out which of the most commonly promoted language learning methods don’t really work well at all.
• Listen to Benny I dig deeper into some of the “dirty dozen” excuses people use for not learning a foreign language.
• Hear why you “have to feel like an idiot” in order to truly become fluent in a new language.
• Learn about the unique ways that Benny has turned “killing time” on social media and technology tools for learning multiple languages.
• Find out why I believe there is a concerted effort to make access to the Russian language difficult for political reasons.
• Hear about how Benny switches between two different “modes” when it comes to learning languages.
• Uncover Benny’s top strategies expats can use to learn the language of a country they are preparing to move to.
• Lastly, find out Benny’s favourite countries he’s travelled to - we have a few in common!

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RELATED EPISODES

169: Best of Foreign Languages 2021 114: How To Memorize A Foreign Language - Dr. Anthony Metivier 083: Olly Richards – Secrets to Learning a Foreign Language Quickly

HOW TO FIND BENNY LEWIS’ WORK

FluentIn3Months.com Benny Lewis on X

CONCLUSION

I was so glad to have Benny Lewis on the show. Believe it or not, I’ve been wanting to get him on since I first started this podcast over five years ago! As you can see Benny’s approach to learning a new language is vastly different from that of many of the language apps and programs you’ll typically find out there. At the end of the day, there is simply nothing that can replace just getting in there and speaking the language, and the sooner you can start doing that regularly, the faster you’ll become a fluent communicator. Heck, if you start now, you could be well on your way to mastering a new language by next Wednesday's episode!

Mentioned in this episode:

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JOIN US IN PANAMA - FLY'N BUY TOUR

Beginning of Q4, 2024, the Panama government has already stated that they are increasing the investment minimums for immigration from $300k to $500k for real estate; we also expect them to make this process more difficult! Because of this, I have decided to run a few quick trips to Panama for our community. Seeing the real estate in Panama is an important part of the due diligence process, that’s why I would like to pay for you to join me in Panama. All you have to do is sign up for the tour at https://expatmoney.com/fly, pay for the tour, and if you end up finding a property that fits your needs on the trip, then the amount you paid for the tour PLUS your airfare (up to $1000 USD) will be taken off the purchase price, making the entire tour and flights essentially free for you. Why am I offering you this awesome deal? Because my hope is you will hire me and my lawyers to do your immigration work! Our company has helped hundreds of people successfully go through the immigration process in Panama, and we do an excellent job, if I do say so myself. This is a service we offer to everyone in our community, but you have to choose a good property that will qualify you first.

Panama Fly'n Buy Real Estate Tour

Join Us For Upcoming Live Webinars

Every month, we offer exciting new webinars for our community. Topics include how to use retirement accounts to buy real estate overseas, how to get a second passport in Latin America, why you should sell your stock portfolio and move your money offshore, how to buy a beachfront rental property in Brazil for less than $100k, or apartments in Paraguay for $60k. If you want to join us for FREE for these presentations with live Q&A, insider secrets, and exclusive opportunities with my professional network of experts, then sign up today.

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