#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
Ask Benny: What’s the Simplest Thing I Can Do to Learn a Language? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:01
We continue our new "Ask Benny" series with one of your most common questions. This week Benny talks about why he thinks speaking from day one is the key, and how you can do this even when travel is not an option.To ask…
#38 Chuck Smith on Why You Should Learn Esperanto [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:28
Benny and Shannon talk to Chuck Smith, a notable figure in the language learning and Esperanto communities about Esperanto and its culture, and why Esperanto should be your next language.Featured ResourcesAmikumuInnovati…
Ask Benny: What's Your Current Language Project? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:17
This is the first episode of our new "Ask Benny" series where Benny answers listener questions. In this episode, Benny gives an update on where he is with his own language learning projects.To ask Benny a question, pleas…
#36 Lýdia Machová on Learning a New Language Every 2 Years [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:58
In this episode, Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy discuss everything from language interpreting to language coaching, the Goldlist Method to novelty in language learning with Lýdia Machová.In our chat with Lýdia, we also…
#35 Richard Simcott on Being a World Famous Polyglot [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:45
In this episode, we talk to renowned polyglot Richard Simcott about learning languages at university, raising a multilingual child, and finding motivation to learn languages through human connection.Featured ResourcesAss…
#34 Lindie Botes on Being a Third Culture Kid [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:07
In this episode, Benny Lewis and Shannon Kennedy have a conversation with Lindie Botes about learning multiple languages, growing up as a third culture kid, and what it’s like growing up bilingual.In our chat with Lindie…
#33 Katie Harris on the Joy of Languages [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:04
In this episode, we chat with Katie Harris, the founder of Joy of Languages, host of Easy Languages Italian and the creator of the #languagediarychallenge. Katie is also a previous student in the Fluent in 3 Months Chall…
#32 Evelyn on Learning Korean During Lockdown [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:40
This episode features Evelyn, who learned conversational Korean 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-minute…
#31 Nelson Dellis on Building Memory Superpowers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:40
In this episode, we talk to US memory champion Nelson Dellis about learning a heritage language, teaching his kids new languages, and memory hacks used by the champions.Featured ResourcesPreplyDropsMemory SuperpowersMent…