#117 Dr. Barbara Oakley on Learning How to Learn

#117 Dr. Barbara Oakley on Learning How to Learn

Author: Fluent in 3 Months September 19, 2022 Duration: 1:01:02

Featured Resources

Patreon Extended Episode

Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to extended episodes and loads more content. Here’s what you’ll hear in the long-form episode:

  • Motivation around learning and how to make progress when you feel like you’re bad at something
  • Dr. Oakley’s 3 language survival tools
  • Advice Dr. Oakley would have given herself when she was starting out with language learning
  • How to get back into a language you stopped learning
  • How Dr. Oakley would start learning a new language today
  • Dr. Oakley asks Benny what to do when a teacher assigns you things that just don’t make sense for you personally

Learn more and access this bonus content on Patreon.

Featured in This Episode

Mentioned in this Episode

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

  • How Dr. Oakley got into learning how to learn
  • Joining the military to learn a new language at the Defense Language Institute
  • Using the Speak from Day 1 Approach
  • How Dr. Oakley’s philosophies around language learning influenced her learning in other fields
  • Working as a Russian translator on Soviet trawlers, teaching in China, being an Army Captain in Germany, working as a radio operator at the South Pole Station and how these things shaped Dr Oakley’s perspectives
  • How teaching makes you a better learner through retrieval practice
  • The story behind the MOOC “Learning How to Learn”
  • Tricks for encouraging your kids to love learning

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy


There’s a certain magic that happens when you step off a plane and try to order a meal in a language you’re still fumbling through, or when a simple conversation with a stranger on a train opens up an entirely new perspective. Language & Travel Hacking, from the team behind Fluent in 3 Months, lives in those messy, authentic, and profoundly rewarding moments. Host Benny Lewis, a nomadic polyglot and best-selling author, doesn’t just theorize from a studio; he records from the road, sharing raw, real-time experiences and the practical strategies that actually work when you’re navigating a foreign market or building confidence in a new tongue. Each episode feels like a candid chat with a well-traveled friend who’s made all the mistakes so you don’t have to. You’ll hear the sounds of street markets and train stations in the background as Benny breaks down the psychology of language learning, offers actionable tips for picking up phrases quickly, and discusses how travel itself can be the ultimate classroom. This podcast is built on the idea that fluency and cultural connection aren’t distant goals reserved for the gifted, but accessible skills you can hack through smart, intentional practice. It’s for anyone who believes that the deepest way to explore a place is through its language, and that every journey is an opportunity to reshape how you see the world-and yourself. Tune in for honest stories and tangible advice that will change how you approach your next adventure, whether it’s across the globe or right in your own neighborhood.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 271

Language & Travel Hacking
Podcast Episodes
#45 Damon Dominique on Being a Travel & Language YouTuber [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:37
Benny and Shannon talk to Damon Dominique, a French educator who got his start online as part of Damon and Jo, about learning languages to build connection, teaching without lecturing, and how to find confidence teaching…
Ask Benny: Should I Learn Two Languages at Once? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:51
The answer to this week's question may surprise you. People often assume that polyglots learn multiple languages at the same time, but as Benny explains, this isn't as common as you might think. Listen to find out why le…
#43 Eliza Simpson on Accent Training with Hollywood Stars [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:16
Benny and Shannon chat with Hollywood Accent Training Coach to the stars, Eliza Simpson, on finding your voice in another language through accent and pronunciation.Featured ResourcesDialects NowAccent GymMentioned in thi…
Ask Benny: When Do I Learn Grammar? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:57
You asked, and Benny is here to answer! In this short episode he talks about why he thinks tackling grammar shouldn't be your top priority when learning a new language - phew, what a relief!To ask Benny a question, pleas…
#42 Jessie and Kike on Lockdown Language Success [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:16
This episode features Jessie, who learned conversational Catalan in just 90 days with the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge.We actually guarantee that anyone who completes the Fluent in 3 Months Challenge will have a 15-minut…
Ask Benny: How Do You Remember Vocabulary in Another Language? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:36
You wanted advice for memorising vocabulary, and Benny is happy to deliver. Benny explains that it’s not about having a particularly great memory, but instead, using specific tactics to make things stick.To ask Benny a q…
#40 Kris Broholm on Anti-Goals in Language Learning [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:43
Benny and Elizabeth talk to Kris Broholm from Actual Fluency about language learning with depression, the language community, and the power of finding support.This episode discusses depression. If you are currently exper…
#39 Julie Ferguson on Speaking 5 Languages as a Deafblind Polyglot [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:01
In this episode of the Language Hacking Podcast, we talk to Julie Ferguson who has learned five languages and is getting ready to learn her sixth – Scots Gaelic. She’s severely deaf and legally blind and has come up with…