StoryLearning Podcast

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 How do you read  in a foreign language if you cannot read the alphabet or the script yet?  How can you read if you can't actually read, if you see what I mean?

If you've spent more than 10 seconds in my world, you will have heard me drone on and on and on about the power of reading for language learning.

But how do you actually do that if you are learning a language where the script is different? I'm going to talk you through how to deal with different alphabets and scripts this in this video.

Because the short answer here is, yes, we still want to read from the beginning, but you do have to make a few adaptations depending on the language that you are learning.

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 I'm lazy, I'm bored,  I'm not motivated, studying is so hard, I don't have an hour a day to study. These are all things that I, at various points in my life, have told myself about language learning.

And as a result, I end up not doing any study. And it's a real shame because in order to get good at a language, you do actually have to sit down and study. 

But there is a trick that I have found to get me to study that's almost embarrassingly simple. And I'm going to dedicate this entire video to this one trick.

👉 Got a question you want Olly to answer on the podcast? Submit it here: https://storylearning.com/ask_Olly_your_question

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A listener wrote to me frustrated that, although he’s at B2 level, he keeps using the same vocabulary over and over again when he speaks. This is a common problem - even in our native language, we understand twice as many words as we actually use.  Extraordinarily articulate people, with a wide vocabulary, stand out because most of us just use the same words all the time. So what is it that those people do differently and how can we apply that to language learning?

Mentioned in this episode: 👉 Olly demonstrating reverse translation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VXmDiBfzwA

👉 Got a question you want Olly to answer on the podcast? Submit it here: https://storylearning.com/ask_Olly_your_question

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I released a video  on how I would learn Spanish again in 2026 if I was going to start over.  When I first learned it, I was immersed - I was living in London and had Spanish friends. Someone left a comment saying - people with lives don't have two years to immerse themselves, how are people supposed to replicate that with one hour a day? The truth is, although it would be ideal, you don't need full immersion to learn a language. In this episode, I'm going to show you how can replicate my immersion experience in one hour a day of focused study.

👉 Got a question you want Olly to answer on the podcast? Submit it here: https://storylearning.com/ask_Olly_your_question

👉 Get a 7-day FREE trial to one of my story-based language courses: https://storylearning.com/Language_Courses

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In this episode, I’m delighted to be joined for a second time by Lamont McLeod from the Days and Words YouTube channel.

We talk about getting over hurdles in language learning, our appreciation of language as an art-form, the Australian Military Linguist Test, accountability practices, Lamont’s take on AI and more.

In just under an hour, we pretty much solve language learning!

More from today’s guest:

💬 Our first interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaeMO_Xyby4

📺 Lamont’s YouTube Channel, Days and Words: https://www.youtube.com/@daysandwords

🗣️ Lamont’s Spanish accountability channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lamontespanol/

👉 Got a question you want Olly to answer on the podcast? Submit it here: https://storylearning.com/ask_Olly_your_question

👉 Get a 7-day FREE trial to one of my story-based language courses: https://storylearning.com/Language_Courses

👉 Check out my all-inclusive VIP language programme with guaranteed results: https://storylearning.com/StoryLearning_VIP_Info

#storylearning #learnthroughstories