Connected By Language: Polyglot Interviews

Epizody

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  EP. 38 - Shea Jordan: How perfectionism helps (or harms) your language learning journey 13.10.2026 1h 1min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHShea grew up in the Arizona desert, where school offered two language options and most classmates saw no reason to learn either. She picked Latin at a school that rarely offered it, fell in love with Rome on a study abroad semester, and years later built a life in Bologna, where waiters still look shocked when the American at the table starts asking questions in Italian. In this episode of Connected By Language, the content creator behind the Shea Jordan YouTube channel opens up about the force that has shaped her entire journey: perfectionism, and the fear of making mistakes that she says has held her back more than any grammar ever could.The conversation covers how she built immersion from thousands of miles away, starting with Peppa Pig because Netflix was too hard, why exchanging audio messages with a girl from Modena became her best speaking practice, and the discovery that surprised her most: coming back from a months-long break to find her Italian had actually improved. She also shares the bittersweet story of tracing her great-grandparents to a small mountain town in Lazio, only for Italy’s new citizenship rules to close that door, and why learning the language has become her way of bringing the heritage back into the family.About the guest: https://www.youtube.com/c/sheajordanWhat is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro0:41 Latin, Spanish, and the Language She Actually Wanted21:29 Fluent and Unconvinced33:55 The Environment You Have to Build Yourself38:24 What Would Have to Change for Her to Believe It 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for watching Connected By Language: Polyglot Interviews, the new Tandem Language Exchange Podcast.
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  EP. 37 - Tandem DeutschConnect, Evgeniya and the Missing Piece of German Classes 29.09.2026 58min

  🇩🇪 JOIN TANDEM DEUTSCHCONNECT: invite.tandem.net/DCV-37-NK4DEvgeniya knew at five years old that she wanted to teach languages, fell for German through Rammstein songs, and arrived in Germany to discover that the language she'd studied at university was not the one people actually spoke. Fifteen years of teaching later, from classrooms in Moscow to a multicultural au pair household where German, Spanish, and English mixed at the dinner table, she has seen every kind of learner, and one pattern keeps repeating: people pass their B1 or B2 exams and still cannot bring themselves to speak.That gap is exactly what DeutschConnect was built for. In this special episode of Connected By Language, we go inside Tandem's EU-funded project supporting migrants in Germany: free live audio rooms called language parties, where learners practice speaking German in a safe space, no sign-up for classes, no grammar drills, just conversation guided by qualified tutors like Evgeniya. She shares what actually happens inside these rooms, from shy listeners sending emojis to a proverb that turned out to exist in nearly every language on Earth, and why her advice for first-timers is simply: don't be so shy. Find the invite code in the description to join, plus 90 days of Tandem Pro for free.About the guest: https://app.tandem.net/community/MzAwNDI0MTU%3DWhat is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro3:32 The Teacher Who Became the Student Again12:24 What is Tandem DeutschConnect?29:34 Everyone in One Room50:36 Fifteen Years of Watching Who Arrives 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for watching Connected By Language: Polyglot Interviews, the new Tandem Language Exchange Podcast.
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  EP. 36 - Veronica: Choosing Languages Like Investments 15.09.2026 49min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHMost people fall in love with a language and then find reasons to learn it. Veronica does the opposite. Before a single flashcard, the 21-year-old from Hong Kong runs the numbers: what career does it unlock, where is the market, how hard is it, and what's the payoff at the end. If a language doesn't pass the test, it doesn't get her time. In this episode of Connected By Language, she opens up the framework that made her choose French over every other option, and explains why in Hong Kong, a language certificate can be the line on your CV that gets you into a Japanese company.But then Berlin happened. Somewhere between a street interview where a French girl answered "what's the most romantic sentence in your language" with a single word, and trading Cantonese for Spanish with her internship partner on the way to film shoots, the spreadsheet met something it couldn't measure. Veronica still swears by her system. She just knows now that you don't need an exam, a certificate, or fluency to let a language change you.About the guest: [coming soon]What is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00  Intro3:39  Growing Up With a Framework15:56  Languages as an Investment31:01 When the Framework Was Not Enough37:14 What Calculation Cannot Give 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for watching Connected By Language: Polyglot Interviews, the new Tandem Language Exchange Podcast.
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  EP. 35 - Sayaka: The Super Kanji Map and Rethinking How Kanji Is Taught 01.09.2026 1h 2min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHSayaka was born and raised in Okinawa, learned English as an investment in her future, and moved fifteen times following military life across the world. In this episode of Connected By Language, she explains how living in survival mode, setting up a new life again and again in a foreign language, shifted her mindset from speaking perfectly to simply getting her point across, and how that philosophy now shapes the way she teaches Japanese.The heart of the conversation is kanji. Having taught the writing system to both Japanese children and foreign adults, Sayaka discovered a gap: Japanese kids learn how kanji works, while foreign learners are handed lists and left to memorize thousands of characters alone. Her answer is the Super Kanji Map, a poster organizing all 2,136 kanji by their readings through a parent-and-child system, so learners can guess the pronunciation of characters they've never seen before. She shares why building it took years, and her advice for anyone stuck between understanding a language and truly speaking it.About the guest: https://www.youtube.com/@wrightjukuonlineAbout the poster: https://superkanjimap.my.canva.site/What is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro0:38 The Island, the Bases, and the Language Between33:52 Making the Invisible Visible36:29 The Super Kanji Map and Why It Exists53:22 What the Intermediate Wall Feels Like From the Inside 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for watching Connected By Language: Polyglot Interviews, the new Tandem Language Exchange Podcast.
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  EP. 34 - FrenchSchoolTV: From Zero to Millions of Followers, and Why He Gives It All Away 18.08.2026 43min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHVincent wasn't supposed to be a French teacher. He was a construction engineer who hated French at school, until years of traveling revealed he had a talent for teaching the language like an equation to be solved. In this episode of Connected By Language, the founder of French School TV explains how he quit his job at the French Institute in December 2019, three months before Covid put the whole world on their phones, and turned that gamble into a language school with 3+ million followers across social media.He shares the philosophy that shaped it all: giving away complete courses for free because the more you give, the more you receive, building a team of teachers who are encouraged to propose anything, and running every decision through one simple filter, doing the opposite of what the worst manager he ever had would have done. A conversation for anyone dreaming of turning language teaching into something bigger than themselves.About the guest: https://frenchschooltv.com/What is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 intro7:59 How a Career Change Became a Calling14:45 Building a Team Around a Language24:28 The Philosophy Behind Giving It All Away30:34 What Language Teaching Looks Like at Scale 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for watching Connected By Language: Polyglot Interviews, the new Tandem Language Exchange Podcast.
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  EP. 33 - Xena: Exploring Asia Through Food, Language, Dance, and Random Experiences 04.08.2026 53min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHXena is an Italian content creator who grew up bilingual between Italian and French, with Senegalese roots and the sound of Wolof in her childhood home. In this episode of Connected By Language, she shares how a multicultural upbringing shaped her relationship with languages, why she once pushed away the language of her heritage to fit in, and how she now finds connection in places where words fail entirely, from dance trainings in China to dinner tables in South Korea.The conversation follows her journeys across Asia, including the mistake so many Europeans make of assuming English will carry them everywhere, and the small cultural moments that no textbook can teach. Xena explains what she's really searching for in her random food adventures and unplanned encounters, why a stranger asking to take her photo turned into a lasting friendship, and why she believes anyone still figuring out where they belong is luckier than they think.About the guest: https://www.instagram.com/xiexiexena?igsh=b2Y2ZDM4YnhzOXFz What is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro0:23  Italy, Senegal, and the Languages in Between19:06 Falling in Love With Asia One Random Experience at a Time26:59 When Two Cultures Meet and Neither Has the Words for It44:53 What All These Worlds Gave Her That One World Never Could 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for watching Connected By Language: Polyglot Interviews, the new Tandem Language Exchange Podcast.
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  Ep. 32 - Guillaume: How Speaking Different Languages Can Make You a Better Activist 21.07.2026 1h 6min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHGuillaume grew up near Brussels as a monolingual French speaker who failed to pick up Dutch at school and thought languages simply weren't for him. In this episode of Connected By Language, he explains how discovering his own learning methods changed everything, eventually building up to seven languages at B2 level or above, plus a collection of others including Norwegian, Catalan, and Mandarin.The conversation centers on how he combines this skill with animal rights activism. During an international outreach event in Amsterdam, Guillaume held 500 street conversations in a single month, half of them in languages none of the other activists could speak. He breaks down why addressing someone in their native language connects to their values in a way English never can, how the Socratic method opens minds that direct arguments shut down, and what humans and animals share in the language of communication itself.About the guest: https://www.activism.wtf/What is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 intro10:17 What Polyglots Get for Free14:34 Seven Languages in the Streets of Amsterdam37:32 How to Have a Conversation That Actually Changes Something52:53 The Language We Share With Animals
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  EP. 31 - From Language Fear to Language Coaching: a Conversation With tschechisch.online 07.07.2026 1h 12min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHKaterina is a Czech language coach who moved from the Czech Republic to Germany at nineteen and built her career explaining Czech to German native speakers, a niche she carved out for herself. In this episode of Connected By Language, she talks about the fear and structure that shaped her own German learning journey, why she barely speaks her native language anymore despite growing up with it, and how one supportive teacher taught her the difference between knowing a language in theory and actually living in it.The conversation moves into how Katerina built an online language business from scratch, starting with a simple system of learning one new word a day and turning it into pre-recorded courses, coaching, and in-person retreats in Prague. She shares her philosophy on staying human on camera, why she never tries to convince hesitant students, and what she believes anyone starting a language business needs to understand about finding their own reason before chasing scale.About the guest: https://www.tschechisch.online/What is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro0:22 From Forced to Fluent17:22 Why Most People Fail at Languages and What Actually Works 44:22 What It Actually Takes to Turn a Language Into a Living1:05:22 What She Would Tell Someone Starting From Zero 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for watching Connected By Language: Polyglot Interviews, the new Tandem Language Exchange Podcast.
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  Ep. 30 - Natascha Moser: How a Scar Became Her Entire Language Teaching Method 23.06.2026 1h 10min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHWhat happens when the people who are supposed to teach you tell you you'll never make it?For Natascha Moser (@german.language.coach), influencer with 400,000+ followers, and incoming managing director of Expo Lingua, that question shaped everything.In this episode, Natascha shares how years of being told she had no talent in her own mother tongue became the foundation of a coaching philosophy built on identity, belief, and starting before you're ready.We talk about her move to San Diego with a failing English grade, her semester in Buenos Aires where she studied human resources in Spanish (yes, really), and what it actually takes to thrive in a language beyond just moving to the country.About the guest: https://www.instagram.com/german.language.coach/?hl=enMore about Expolingua 2026: https://www.expolingua.com/What is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00  Intro0:19  The Things They Said29:38 Proving It In the Real World48:19  Building a Philosophy From a Scar1:03:08 What Language Still Owes Her 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for watching Connected By Language: Polyglot Interviews, the new Tandem Language Exchange Podcast.
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  EP. 29 - Petr: How Language Exchanges Led to Helping Ukrainian Refugees 09.06.2026 1h 1min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHPetr is a Czech linguist and freelancer who spent years treating English as just another school subject, until an early internet language exchange site opened up the world to him. From there he taught himself Russian in his thirties, not because he had to, but because he was drawn to the post-Soviet world and the vast geography a single language could unlock. He passed a B2 exam, traveled to Georgia to put his skills to the test, and built quiet long-lasting friendships along the way.Then February 2022 arrived. When Ukrainian refugees began flooding into his city, Petr showed up to volunteer at the reception center, speaking a language he had learned entirely for personal curiosity, now suddenly needed in the most human way possible. In this episode we get into what that experience felt like, what a crisis teaches you about language that no classroom or app ever could, and how a hobby you build slowly over years can matter enormously in a single unexpected moment.About the guest: https://freelancing.eu/petrloucka/What is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro 4:36 From Classroom Boredom to Real Motivation 11:34 Building Russian From the Ground Up 38:33 The Moment It All Meant Something 54:43 The Dream That Started It and the Reality It Became 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for watching Connected By Language: Polyglot Interviews, the new Tandem Podcast.
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  EP. 28 - Rafael: Teaching Korean, Learning Spanish, and Starting Over for Love 26.05.2026 1h 1min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHRafael is a Korean native speaker who started teaching Korean online after noticing how many people in Prague were desperate to learn the language during the height of the K-pop and Squid Game wave. What began as a casual side project turned into a full career… Until he followed his Spanish partner back to Europe, landed in Barcelona without knowing a word of Catalan, moved to Madrid, and suddenly found himself on the other side of the classroom for the first time in his life.In this episode we get into what makes Korean both more logical and more nuanced than most learners expect, why so many Koreans can read and write English perfectly but freeze the moment they have to speak it, and what teaching a language for years teaches you about it that simply speaking it never could. We also get into Rafael's current approach to Spanish: the classic textbook, the public language school, the Spanish partner, and a playlist of classic Spanish hits that he sings along to alone at home… which he insists is working!About the guest: https://ochikortutor.com/koreanclassWhat is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro 8:31 Growing Up Inside the Korean Education Machine 19:29 Teaching Korean to the World 39:51 The Spanish Adventure 51:07 What the Classroom Looks Like From the Other Chair 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for watching Connected By Language: Polyglot Interviews, the new Tandem - Language Exchange Podcast.
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  EP. 27 - One doctor, Seven Languages, and a Polyglot Community Built From Scratch in Stockholm 12.05.2026 49min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHJonatan grew up in northern Sweden with Eritrean parents, speaking both Swedish and Tigrinya at home, and was promptly labeled the math kid while his more extroverted sister got the language person title. That label stuck until a passionate Spanish teacher named Lars changed everything, and what started as a school subject eventually took Jonatan through Spain, six years of medical school in Hungary, fluency in Hungarian, Russian, and several other languages, and back to Sweden with a completely different understanding of what languages are actually for.In this episode we explore what it really means when a doctor speaks a patient's native language, why the difference between a direct conversation and an interpreter goes far beyond words, and how Jonatan turned a quiet longing for his polyglot community into Stockholm Polyglots, a growing nonprofit that brings language lovers together every two weeks across ten languages at a time. We also get into the Hungarian saying he opens every event with, and why he believes every language you speak makes you a more complete human being.About the guest: https://polyglots.se/What is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro 4:14 The Language Person He Was Not Supposed to Be 13:31 Language in the Hospital Room 35:11 Building the Community Sweden Forgot to Build 43:32 What Seven Languages Taught Him 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for watching Connected By Language: Polyglot Interviews, the new Tandem Podcast.
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  EP. 26 - Ali: How Obsession, Self-Education, and a One-Way Ticket Built a Career in English 11.05.2026 1h 8min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHAli Alradhi grew up in Basra, Iraq, surrounded by brothers who traveled the world and spoke English fluently. At twelve, he asked for a dictionary instead of a toy, started reading five to ten pages a day without knowing why, and spent the next decade quietly building an obsession that would take over his entire life. By the time he was twenty two, he had turned down Arabic music, Arabic friends, and anything that wasn't in English, bought a one-way ticket to Turkey, and started over from scratch.In this episode, Ali walks us through how that radical self-taught approach shaped the way he now runs Just English, a language school in Turkey where English is the only language allowed in the building. We get into what it actually takes to hire great teachers, why mindset always comes before grammar in his classroom, what English genuinely represents for people in Turkey who desperately want it but can't always access it, and why he believes the word "impossible" is just another entry in the dictionary.About the guest: https://linktr.ee/alawiiizWhat is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro 2:07 From Basra to Fluency 13:30 Building a Multilingual Classroom 47:20 What English Really Means in Türkiye 56:30 The Outsider Advantage 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for watching Connected By Language: Polyglot Interviews, the official Tandem Podcast.
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  EP. 25 - From No Plan to Fluent: Frank's Language Immersion Journey 14.04.2026 1h 8min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHFrank grew up in London convinced he was simply bad at languages. Seven years of French at school, five of German, and not a single conversation to show for it. So at twenty-two, fresh out of university, he did the only logical thing: bought a one-way ticket to Buenos Aires with no contacts, no savings, and barely enough Spanish to order a coffee.What followed was equal parts terrifying and transformative. In this episode, Frank walks us through what real immersion actually looks like from the inside: the supermarket anxiety, the elevator small talk, the football team he joined by pretending he understood every word, and the pandemic lockdown that unexpectedly turned Argentina into home. We also get into how that journey eventually led to a language teaching career, a viral moment on Instagram, and a philosophy about fluency that has less to do with grammar and everything to do with the confidence to just keep going.About the guest: https://www.instagram.com/frankly_speaking_english/What is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro 4:24 From “Bad at Languages” to Moving Abroad14:45 Designing Immersion & Building Real Fluency44:47 Turning Language into Career & Leverage58:58 Reflection & Mindset
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  EP. 24 - English Dominance, Dying French Languages, and the Luxembourg Exception 31.03.2026 1h 8min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHLuke is a British-born polyglot who grew up in a national park in northern England, spent his adult life living across eight countries, and now works at a French language school in Lille, advising, testing, and reassuring students from all over the world who come to learn French in an immersive environment. In this episode, he shares what years of living abroad and watching hundreds of students succeed and fail has taught him about what language learning actually takes.We go deep on the psychology of learning: why attitude almost always outweighs environment, what Luke calls the "tea bag effect," and how the fear of speaking to native speakers holds people back far more than grammar ever could. We also zoom out into the bigger picture: how the dominance of English threatens minority and regional languages across Europe, why France and the UK couldn't be more different in how they handle linguistic diversity, and why Luxembourg might just be the quiet model no one talks about enough.About the guest: https://www.instagram.com/lukielingual/What is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro4:10 From England to France: A Life Built Around Languages11:44 Working in Language Education40:00 Language Diversity & Rights in Europe57:19 Reflections & Advice🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments!
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  EP.23 - Inside CLEAR Global: Helping 3.7 Billion People Get Their Voices Heard 17.03.2026 45min

  🫂 Donate to CLEAR Global today: clearglobal.org/donate🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHIn this special episode of the Connected by Language podcast, we dive into the critical mission of CLEAR Global to bridge the "digital language divide". We sit down with CEO Aimee Ansari to discuss why 3.7 billion people remain "digitally invisible". From crisis response in Nigeria to disaster preparedness in Bolivia, we explore how language barriers can become a matter of life or death and why language justice is a fundamental human right.Discover how CLEAR Global uses language data and innovative technology to ensure that half the world's population can finally access essential information in their own tongue. Amy shares powerful insights on the importance of speech data for low-resource languages and provides practical ways for multilingual listeners to volunteer their skills to save lives. Join us for this impactful conversation and learn how you can support the push for global language equality during this year's Podcasthon event.This episode is part of Podcasthon 2026, a global movement where podcast hosts interview NGOs and charities to spread awareness and support for humanitarian wonders across the world.Join Podcasthon 2026: https://podcasthon.org/What is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro 6:14 Personal Journey into Language and Humanitarian Work8:46 Low-Resource Languages and Why They Matter17:39 Beyond Translation: Building Language Infrastructure25:16 Beyond Translation: Building Language Infrastructure31:42 Language, Power, and Getting Involved 39:08 The Future of Language Access 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! This episode features a charitable appeal for CLEAR Global as part of Podcasthon 2026. No payment was exchanged for this interview
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  EP. 22 - This Dutch Mother is Learning Luganda for a deeply personal reason. 03.03.2026 56min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHIn this episode of Connected By Language, Dutch content creator Jetske shares her experience learning Luganda, a language of Uganda. Originally visiting for a university minor, she eventually settled there and started a family. Jetske explains her commitment to the language as a way to connect with her partner's family and ensure their daughter grows up with both her Dutch and Ugandan heritage. The conversation covers the technical aspects of Luganda, including its twelve noun classes, tonal pronunciation, and the use of double consonants. Ultimately, the episode highlights how learning a language serves as a form of respect for a partner's culture and identityThe guest: https://www.youtube.com/@tess_chineseWhat is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro3:39 Falling in Love with Luganda11:28 Learning Luganda as a European Adult29:28 Baby Intermission30:51 The Learning Process39:57 Language, Family & Bilingual Parenting48:24 Advice for Learners of “Uncommon” Languages 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! 
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  EP. 21 - How 8 Years of Self-Directed Learning Led Me to a Career in China 17.02.2026 59min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHIn this episode of Connected By Language, we sit down with Tess, an Australian content creator and university teacher currently living and working in China. Tess shares her incredible eight-year journey of mastering Mandarin, starting from a high school trip to Guangzhou that changed her life forever.From waking up at 6:30 AM to study before school to navigating the complex world of Chinese radicals and tones, Tess reveals the specific strategies she used to transition from self-directed learning to professional fluency. We also dive into the cultural shifts she experienced, such as moving from the informal communication style of Australia to the formal professional environment of a Chinese university.The guest: https://www.youtube.com/@tess_chineseWhat is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro5:20 Discovering Chinese From a Distance28:30 Independent Language Learning and Self-Directed Progress42:43 From Learner to Teacher and Living the Language53:11 Language Learning Mindset and Advice for Independent Learners 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! 
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  EP. 20 - How Languages Connect Philosophers Across Borders 03.02.2026 1h 4min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHIn this episode, we sit down with Dr. Tanu Biswas, associate professor of pedagogy and lifelong polyglot, to explore how language can be more than a skill — it can be a worldview. Growing up multilingual in India and continuing her journey across Europe, Dr. Biswas shares how each language she’s learned became a bridge to new cultures, academic research, and deep human connection.We dive into how multilingualism can shift not just your vocabulary, but your imagination and identity. Dr. Biswas discusses the power of switching between languages intuitively, how meaning shifts across tongues, and how even listening can be a powerful act of contribution.She also opens up about her work on Childism: a growing academic movement that reimagines children’s roles in society,  and how she’s building multilingual research communities around it across the globe.Whether you're learning your first language or your tenth, this episode offers a rich, philosophical, and deeply human perspective on what it means to be “connected by language.”The guest: www.tanubiswas.net  The Childism Institute: www.childism.orgWhat is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro3:08 Becoming a Polyglot Without Chasing Fluency?19:43 Language as a Tool for Bridging, Academia, and Meaning53:54 Rethinking What Language Learning Is For 🌟 What topics/language should we explore on the next episode of the new tandem podcast? Let us know in the comments! 
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  EP. 19 - Is Learning Swedish With a Non-Native Teacher Better? 20.01.2026 1h 10min

  🌍 JOIN TANDEM TODAY: https://tandem.go.link/lcLQHCan a non-native teacher actually be more effective than a native speaker? In this episode, we sit down with Una, a Serbian-native who built a successful career teaching Swedish. We dive into her "superpower": the ability to explain the language from the perspective of someone who actually had to "survive" the learning process from scratch.Una explains the "secret advantage" that Balkan speakers have when it comes to perfect pronunciation , the "death of formality" in Swedish culture where an 80-year-old is treated like a friend , and why your face might actually hurt after trying to master the Swedish melody. From the daily ritual of "Fika" to the "trap" of Swedish grammar books, this episode is a deep dive into the unique bridge between Balkan and Nordic cultures.The guest: https://www.instagram.com/naucimo_svedski_engleski/What is Tandem - Language exchange?Tandem is a global language exchange app on a mission to connect the world through languages. Members build confidence and improve their language skills through real life conversations with native speakers in 1:1 chats or live audio rooms. 🔗 Connect With Us: https://linktr.ee/Tandem_App0:00 Intro4:21 Growing Up in Serbia and Falling in Love With Languages12:12 Why Swedish42:25 Teaching Swedish Online56:25 Content Creation in Serbian About Swedish