Piotr Cios, born and raised in Poland. After graduating from Applied Linguistics (English and German) at the University of Warsaw, he moved to the Netherlands to immerse in the Dutch language. Since 2016 he has lived in Portugal, where he has worked in various language-related fields. Currently self-studying Hungarian and Greek. His favourite areas of linguistics are semantics, phonetics and psycholinguistics.
Whether you're just starting to say your first words or you're experienced but striving for perfection, making mistakes in a foreign language is an ever-present fear, and our hosts are no strangers to it! Today we're sharing our experience and mentality to help you get over that scary feeling!
This is Don Guillermo a Cuban soul with a passport full of languages and a heart full of rhythm. Based in Cologne, he’s a polyglot, intercultural coach, and future business psychologist mixing brains with sabor. From diving into Bantu and Asian languages to ice baths and triathlon training, Don G’s always on the move crossing cultures, pushing limits, and keeping it real.
In an emotional reunion for the whole team, our hosts record their first episode together in person in beautiful Lisbon! We discuss Tilemahos’ return from backpacking in Latin America, our impressions of Lisbon, our first Greek workshop for Lisbon’s polyglots, and of course our exciting plans for the future.
You'll find Sara at language-related events. Favourite movie is Dune. She's from Slovenia and has been living in Lisbon for the last 5 years (and plans to stay here). She also lived in Australia, France, Belgium and Kazakhstan. She’s conversational in 6 languages. She's down if anyone's looking for a workout buddy, to join a classical/jazz concert or a beach day. This year started her own company and is looking to launch a really cool app in the language space in October. More about the project and bio: Lingoodie
Today we talk about something that everyone can relate to, namely mistakes. In this episode you will hear about: Is there life after subjuntivo? What’s Dimi´s pro tip for handling German cases? How to correct someone when you do language exchange? And finally, what are the most common mistakes that our hosts make?
Terry is the founder of Polyglot.tw, the first organized and officially registered polyglot group in Taiwan. He is also an immersion program designer/engineer, a published writer, a linguistic entrepreneur, and a language revitalization activist. He began his polyglot journey when he was 20 and has learned more than 50 languages. Today he continues to learn new languages and especially enjoys conversations in different languages. In addition, Terry is also a cat rescuer, a globe-trotter and a serious video gamer.
In today’s episode we discuss the concept of small talk. What were some cultural shocks connected to small talk for our hosts? Who, among them, is the king or queen of small talk? How can small talk help you with learning languages? Tune in to find out!
Krisztina is a down-to-earth orthopedic surgeon who also happens to be a fitness trainer and a bit of a language buff. Born Hungarian but raised in Romania, Krisztina speaks five languages and is casually picking up a few more.
When she's not fixing bones or learning languages, Krisztina's favorite pastime is traveling. Her simple goal? To visit every country in the world.
Are language courses outdated? Can a good teacher make all the difference? How can you self-learn a language up to an advanced level? Is it really possible to learn Serbian in just 3 months?
We’re back with the second part of our episode, where we dive into methods and tools for learning foreign languages. What methods do you use?
Joshua Balata moved from India to France nearly a decade ago, thinking he’d just get a degree, he ended up learning French, working at L’Oréal, and building a whole new life — all while making videos about the ups, downs, and awkward in-betweens of expat life. In this episode, we chat about how he learned his languages, why he picked up a camera, and what it’s really like to build a second home in a foreign country.
You can find more about him by simply searching his name in Google or visiting his page www.joshuabalata.com or YouTube channel @JoshuaBalata
Four different personalities, a lot of different approaches for learning languages - Today we discuss various tools and methods, and which one suits us personally. Tune in to find out which one fits you best!
It's almost the middle of the summer; festivals are happening, cicadas going crazy, and podcasts being recorded! What is coffee that Greeks cannot survive the summer without? What are the typical complaints various languages have about the heat? Grab your freddo or cold beer and tune in this lazy summer morning!
Today we’re diving into the places we dream of exploring! What’s Asya’s unexpected top pick? Which region is calling out to Dimi? Listen in to discover our travel wishes and don’t forget to share yours and what draws you there!
The Polyglot Gathering 2025 is over and we're all down with the infamous Post-PG Depression... But what always eases the pain is reminiscing about all the wonderful moments we had, the talks, the people, the dancing! So whether or not you know the feeling, tune in to hear about our experience!
When you start making pancakes, the first one comes out bad. But hope dies last, and practice makes champions, so keep going until it comes easy to you!" Four phrases from three languages hide here... Tune in and find out these and more of our favorite phrases from the languages we speak!
Looking back to an entire year of recording this great podcast that we love. A little bit of history, a little bit of behind-the-scenes, and a lot of beautiful memories. Thanks to all of our listeners for joining us on this lovely journey, and we hope you'll enjoy the surprises we still have in store for you!
Which country goes crazy for real crime stories during Easter? What do Greeks do after dying their eggs? And of course, we couldn't help but include our favorite Easter dishes in this festive episode! Happy Easter everybody!
The most controversial episode ever in the history of BT podcast? Maybe! In this episode, the team shares their unpopular opinions when it comes to language learning. What is the one language that is not so useful, according to Irena? Is motivation overrated? And what does Asya think about learning the grammar in the beginning?Tune in to find out!
Our hosts are back with our second chapter on books and languages! Do they still read in their mother tongue? What gets lost when translating a book? And of course we have a lot of recommendations for you, including books written by polyglots, so choose your fighter:
- Jakub Kolas, "Novaya Ziamlia"
- Simone Pols, "Il Mondo tra le mani"
- Svetlana Alexievich, "Second-hand time"
-Eirin Meyer, “The Culture Map”
-Theodor Kallifatides, “Another Life”
-Kato Lomb, “Polyglot: How I Learn Languages”
-Daniel Kahneman, "Thinking, Fast and Slow"