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In this episode of the StoryLearning podcast, I reconnect with longtime language-learning friend Kerstin Cable, creator of The Fluent Show podcast and teacher on my course, German Uncovered.

Kerstin is one of my oldest internet friends who gave me some excellent advice in the early days of my blog that I still remember 13+ years later!

We talk about AI, choice overload in the modern world, habits and why my parent's generation were such good language learners.

More about today's guest:

Kerstin Cable is a language learning expert and consultant living in England.

Kerstin is the author of 15+ books and courses for language learners including German Uncovered at StoryLearning, co-founder of AI Language Club and the Women in Language conference, and creator of the Fluent Show podcast.

She is a native German speaker who hails from the beautiful Moselle valley. Kerstin studied 6 languages in Germany and has added 4 more so far, including her language crush, Welsh.

AI Language Club: https://www.ailanguageclub.com/

Kerstin's website: https://www.fluentlanguage.co.uk/

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There are all kinds of techniques and tricks and that you can use to learn a language. But they're all just that - tactics and techniques. In today’s episode, I’m answering an interesting question about the deep truths that I’ve learned over the years that I’d like to pass on to the next generation of language learners.

Link mentioned in this episode:

Story about my breakthrough in Spanish: https://storylearning.com/olly-story

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Today's question is about the most asked about topic in the more than 10-year history of this podcast: learning two languages. So many of us want to learn tons of languages, so we often study two at once. And then we realise, hang on, this is creating a few problems because we get muddled up. This episode is all about how to deal with that.

Link mentioned in this episode:

Angela de Bruin, Liv J. Hoversten, Clara D. Martin, Interference between non-native languages during trilingual language production, Journal of Memory and Language, Volume 128, 2023, 104386, ISSN 0749-596X.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749596X22000730

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I'm always going on about why it's so important to read a lot if you want to learn a new language - and I'll do it again in this episode. But is it enough to be able to speak a language fluently?

Links mentioned in this video:

Reverse translation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VXmDiBfzwA

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In this episode of the StoryLearning podcast I chat to my good friend and fellow podcaster Anna Tyrie, creator of the popular YouTube channel, English Like A Native.

Anna started her career in acting and, via some twists and turns, made her way into teaching English to an audience of millions on YouTube.

You’ll discover her surprising journey from fearful to confident. She’ll also share her best tips for helping you speak with more confidence and clarity, no matter what language you’re learning.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Anna's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EnglishLikeANative

Anna's podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@englishlikeanativepodcast

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Can you be too old to learn a language? What about kids? They soak up languages like a sponge, so surely that means there's never any chance of me learning another language. Well, we'll see about that. Tune in for some inspiring examples of 60 + people learning languages and tips for any age.

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Link mentioned in this episode: Siddiqui, J. S. Second Language Acquisition Beyond Critical Age: A Case Study of an Old Second Language Learner. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. https://doi.org/10.46568/JSSH.V55I2.81

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In this episode, I tackle a question from four years ago, but the topic is as relevant as ever: how to learn Japanese kanji. There are strong opinions online about the best way to learn Japanese, kanji included. I share my experience from learning Japanese in Japan and what I would do if I could start learning kanji over again.

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In this episode,  we're revisiting a topic that I feel we'll be talking about until the end of time.  The sun's going to expand to engulf the Earth and we're all going to be frazzled up like sausages and I'll be there until the end talking about this topic, which is flashcards.

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Link mentioned in this episode:

What Really Matters in Vocabulary Acquisition?: https://gianfrancoconti.com/2025/04/26/what-really-matters-in-vocabulary-acquisition-a-ranked-analysis-of-key-influencing-factors/

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#storylearning #learnthroughstories