Diena Sylla: Learning languages, Study Abroad, French

In this episode I share a recording of an oral examination I completed with a friend for my “Chinese 7” subject at Melbourne University. I completed this oral in May 2022 at the end of my 5th semester of Chinese study at university (so after 2 and ½ years). I think it’s valuable to document and share our progress. We create content about the languages we’re learning but we don’t necessarily share the direct language learning process as much as we should. This episode is almost entirely in Chinese. Ace's YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok or you can find me using the handle @officialacebuck.

In this episode I interview the Lingoholics, Markus, Ian and Cody. The Lingoholics are a group of language enthusiasts with their own language learning podcast. They are based out of Canada and united by their passion for learning languages. Today we get to know the history behind the Lingoholics: how they met each other and how they created their group and podcast. Naturally we discuss their fun language learning projects and challenges they do together. We also covered a range of topics from reflections on the best way to study vocabulary, the breadth vs depth approach to learning languages (the advantages of dabbling in many languages and of intensive study of one or two languages respectively). Right at the end of the episode we do a rapid fire activity of switching between speaking French, Spanish and Chinese which was a lot of fun! In this episode you can find: [00:01:30] Introduction to the Lingoholics (Markus, Cody and Ian) [00:08:45] How did the Lingholics meet and their podcast get created? [00:17:20] How to make and the benefits of language learning friends [00:22:15] The Lingholics bootcamp (living together with one language per day for 3 weeks) [00:24:10] Play in language learning and having fun (ft. Esperanto) [00:27:20] The Lingholics Power Hour (socializing while swapping between languages) [00:31:55] Challenges speaking only your target language with natives [00:36:45] Should you study vocabulary from word lists? How should you learn new words? [00:54:30] Is using Anki to learn vocabulary useful? [01:00:40] Are polyglots “fake beginners” with a headstart when they learn a new language? [01:06:30] Breadth vs depth in language learning and the advantages of each approach [01:20:55] Cody’s language learning routine in Korea [01:30:40] Markus’ “World’s laziest Polyglot” routine [01:39:10] 3 minutes per language: rapid language swapping (French, Spanish, Chinese) [01:52:10] The joy which comes from swapping between languages Links to resources and things mentioned in the episode: Lingoholics' YouTube and Instagram or you can find them by simply looking up Lingoholics and the handle @lingoholicspodcast Ace's YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok or you can find me using the handle @officialacebuck

This episode is a conversation with my friend Danai about her experience moving from London to Hong Kong. It’s the first episode of what we plan to be a 3-part series documenting her experience moving to, living in and working in a new city with a new language and culture! Episode contents: 00:00:00 Episode introduction 00:02:15 Conversation starts (Danai quarantining in Hong Kong) 00:04:00 Danai’s introduction and her Chinese studygram 00:07:00 How Danai developed the idea to work in Hong Kong and searched for jobs 00:14:00 Teaching English vs Danai’s digital media job & Chinese work culture 00:22:15 Learning traditional characters and Cantonese after studying Mandarin 00:29:35 What did Danai have to do to prepare for the move? (Visa, coronavirus delays, and more!) 00:38:00 Tips for preparing to move abroad 00:47:35 Saying goodbye to friends, family and London 00:54:30 Surviving quarantine limbo & advice for quarantine 01:12:25 What is Danai excited to do and see in Hong Kong? Links to resources and things mentioned in the episode: Follow Danai on Instagram and YouTube Follow me on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube Youtubers who Danai watched for moving abroad and life admin ideas Ali Abdaal The Suitcase Designer Ashley from Best dressed

In this episode I have a chat with Sofia, a friend from the online language learning community from Miami! Sofia grew up in between English, Spanish and Portuguese worlds and her multilingual and multicultural upbringing shines through as a super interesting theme in the episode. We also discuss some really interesting topics like the interaction between identity, personality, language and culture and wrap it up by having some fun chatting in French. In this episode you can find: Episode introduction [0:00] Sofia’s intro and multilingual, multicultural upbringing [3:15] Sofia’s brazilian background and Portuguese [11:45] Mixing languages growing up [24:55] Raising multilingual children [27:55] Being shy and afraid of making mistakes [33:15] Pain au chocolat vs chocolatine & mooncakes [34:45] Being a tourist vs becoming a local: travelling for Sofia [41:40] Not being able to travel because of COVID [47:10] Living abroad as a boost to language learning motivation [49:50] Maintaining advanced languages [52:15] Sofia’s naturally acquired vs consciously learned languages [56:35] Spanish in Miami [1:00:00] Accent as an identity marker [1:03:45] Passing for a native speaker [1:10:35] Belong to all cultures and none simultaneously [1:12:30] Personalities and culture in languages [1:16:05] Humour, memes & personality in languages [1:21:05] Natives vs non-natives in understanding cultural references [1:24:15] Learn languages to get to know people in their most authentic way [1:30:15] Future topics to talk about in a part 2 [1:32:30] Conversation en français (études linguistiques d'Ace à l'université, système HSK, particularités de comportement françaises et chinoises) [1:35:10] Links to resources and things mentioned in the episode: Sofia's YouTube and Instagram or you can find her by simply looking up Sofia Jeane and the handle @sofiajeane Ace's YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok or you can find me using the handle @officialacebuck

In this episode I chat with Mark from Language Come Up, originally from the United States but now based in Mexico where he has been living for several years. We talk about his experiences learning Spanish and Russian, living in Mexico and his philosophy and wisdom about language learning. In this episode you can find: Mark’s self introduction [2:50] Ace’s language study and maintaining French through Toastmasters [8:00] Attending university classes in Mexico to maintain Spanish [11:20] Mark’s future creative plans for using his languages [16:50] Mark’s experience arriving to live in Mexico [17:45] How did Mark start language learning and learning Spanish? [23:10] Swapping the default language of conversation with friends [27:15] Impact of language learning on Mark’s life [31:00] Life lessons learned from running and their applications to language learning [42:15] What Mark is doing now for language study [50:35] Avoiding burnout in language learning [53:05] 40 hour, 7 day language challenge #40h7dlc [57:25] What does Mark’s study actually look like at a micro-level? [1:06:45] Mark’s long-term language plan & gaining access to new world through languages [1:18:45] Conversación en español (español mexicano, cómo Ace practica su español, aprendemos idiomas para hablarlos, acentos) [1:28:12] Links to resources and things mentioned in the episode: Mark's YouTube, Instagram and Twitter or you can find him using the handle @languagecomeup Ace's YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok or you can find me using the handle @officialacebuck.

In this episode I chat with Sylvia, another friend I've made in the online language learning community from the United States who studies Bengali, Arabic, German and other languages and is currently living in Morocco on a gap year!  In this episode you can find:  Sylvia's introduction [2:25] Morocco on a gap year and what Sylvia is doing there [7:50] Morocco's linguistic landscape (Moroccan Arabic, French, Tamazight, Spanish) [14:30] Advantages and disadvantages of being an English native speaker & multilingualism as a product of environment [20:25] Multicultural perspective in Morocco and how this resonates with Sylvia [30:10] Sylvia's experience travelling in India and Jordan and gaining perspective [34:55] Weather in Morocco [39:10] Sylvia hosting a Bengali "exchange sister" for a year [40:50] Bengali language classes, language skill imbalances, underdeveloped Bengali tuition [46:10] Benefits of non-native teachers [49:05] Sylvia's Bengali learning resources project [49:55] Advantages of studying more commonly studied languages like Mandarin [55:45] Disparity between written textbook language and spoken colloquial language [57:40] Sylvia's advice for people studying less commonly studied languages [1:01:25] How to find resources [1:06:25] Sylvia's Bengali "exchange sister" and improving spoken language skills [1:13:15] Sylvia's advice for people learning Bengali and Arabic dialects [1:15:15] What it's like learning new scripts [1:18:30] How Sylvia studies languages [1:25:40] Reading in your target language [1:26:55] Links to resources and things mentioned in the episode:  Sylvia's IG (@thecuriouslinguist): https://www.instagram.com/thecuriouslinguist/  Sylvia's website/blog (including Bengali grammar posts): https://thecuriouslinguist.wordpress.com/ Sylvia's patreon: https://www.patreon.com/banglablog Sylvia's Bengali language resources project: https://www.banglablog.org/ Sylvia's Levantine Arabic resource post:  https://www.instagram.com/p/B_TT5lDH6E2/ Short videos in Arabic with bilingual captions which you can filter for difficulty and dialect:  https://playaling.com/ You can also follow me on any social media (instagram, twitter, facebook, tiktok, youtube) using the handle @officialacebuck or as 'Ace Buck'.

In this episode I have a very interesting chat with Diena, a French friend I've made in the online language learning community! In this episode you can find: Diena's introduction [3:10] English is difficult to escape [9:25] The languages Diena speaks [15:30] How Diena learns languages [17:30] Extroversion in language learning [19:40] The benefits of speaking with natives and others [22:05] Interacting with people in your target language in your home city [26:35] Swapping languages mid-friendship [35:25] Diena's experience speaking Portuguese [37:05] Problems when a foreign language class is actually taught in your native language [38:35] How did Ace learn French? [39:40] Highschool language examinations in Australia and France [49:00] University and French tertiary education: Arts et métiers (Diena's Engineering school), grandes écoles and classes préparatoires (prépa) [55:15] Our science interests, relating other interests to language learning [1:03:10] Future travel and why Diena travels [1:08:30] Diena's experience studying abroad in Japan and Germany and culture shock [1:14:25] (in French) The first time we spoke French together and content in French I recommend for French language learners [1:19:35] The transcript of this episode can be found here (including an English translation of the conversation we had in French at the end): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l2toAL00rhlwQlFlQTSy2TmPRO2Dqlvb/view?usp=sharing You can follow Diena's instagram by clicking on the hyper-link or using the handle: @diena_slla Likewise, you can find me on instagram, twitter, facebook and tiktok using the handle @officialacebuck and as 'Ace Buck' on youtube.

I recently realised that I can live experiences as if I were in China without even leaving my home city. This is not something I've ever been able to do before in the same way with languages I've previously learned. I think a great way to become a part of the Chinese sub-community here in Melbourne is to find casual employment in a Chinese area. I've applied to a few places, we'll see if it leads anywhere! The idea behind this episode is that language learning can be about so much more than studying at your desk, it can be about living your life THROUGH and IN other languages. You can find the full English transcript of the episode here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FkQ37TeJJ8cUDQOS-1ML6tDxkraapk6K_tE1FDoQH14/edit?usp=sharing You can find me on all major social media platforms using the handle @officalacebuck and as Ace Buck on YouTube. Part of this episode is also available in video form here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIm9Gxmnpyg/

I had the idea to record this episode after having chatted with two friends about our experiences on exchange in France. It's not the most relevant of episodes right now as we're dealing with the coronavirus but I hope that one day it may become relevant again. In this episode you'll find three big pieces of advice for going on a linguistic/language exchange abroad that I would have liked to have heard before my first exchange experience.   You can find the full English transcript of the episode here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1I_Go_BtfYcZSCBzYC3x-JwIxXTiD-qzBpNDDqAMot2c/edit?usp=sharing You can find me on all major social media platforms using the handle @officalacebuck and as Ace Buck on YouTube. This episode is also available in video form here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCLgKqMJ1fM

In this introductory episode I, Ace, welcome you to my podcast about language, language learning and linguistics! I also let you know a little bit about myself and what you can expect to find here on the language podcast! You can find the transcript of this episode here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QHY1wkCSeKurUMcpczaPlTlTVXXv6aWMwS9VulcwtH4/edit?usp=sharing You can find me on all major social media platforms using the handle @officialacebuck