Paulino Brener is one of the few people I know who has managed to successfully blend all of his passions (foreign languages, teaching, crafts, social media, and performance arts) into one, and even get paid to do so! In our interview, he discusses creative ways to harness one's passions in foreign language learning, whether as teacher or learner.

In my interview with Jason West, the creator of English Out There, we discuss the weaknesses of traditional English schools, methodologies, and materials, and how his approach aims to overcome them.

To do lists seem like a good idea in theory, but they have one major disadvantage: there is an infinite number of potential to do items. With this in mind, Timothy Ferriss, best-selling author of The 4-Hour Workweek (and a speaker of 6 languages), recommends "not to do lists" instead.  Since they isolate a finite set of behaviors that are getting between you and your goals, they are far more effective than traditional to do lists. This tool applies perfectly to language learning, where most learners waste a lot of time on ineffective methods and bad materials.

Randy is “on a mission to learn a new language fluently every year.” His current project is Italian, with Lithuanian as a side-project saved for weekend fun. Randy has his language-learning head screwed on tightly, and I firmly agree with his contention that learners can reach “conversational fluency” (the ability to talk with native speakers on a variety of topics) in a year if you spend enough time doing the right things. As we both have observed, most learners neither spend enough time nor do the right things.

In this interview with Clint Schmidt, LiveMocha’s Vice President of Marketing and Product, he shares what he thinks makes LiveMocha unique and he introduces some exciting new products coming down the pipe.  He also responds to some of my grilling questions about the role of grammar in language learning.

In his own words, Dr. Orlando Kelm is "a lucky guy" professionally. Not only does he get to spend his time with two languages (Spanish and Portuguese), but he is also the Associate Director of Business Language Education for the UT CIBER (Center for International Business Education and Research, a part of the McCombs School of Business.

In our interview, Dr. Kelm shares what he believes to be the 6 most important factors in effective language learning.

With fluency in so many languages, most would immediately claim that Steve is “simply a natural at language learning” and that they themselves have no hope of learning 11 foreign tongues, let alone one. But having learned 5 of those languages after the age of 55, he lays waste to the myth that “only children can acquire a language well” along with other common beliefs in his popular Pick the Brain article: 7 Common Misconceptions about Language Learning.

In the interview we discuss what Steve believes to be the 7 most common misconceptions about language learning, how to learn Mandarin effectively, and the role of a good teacher.

In this exclusive interview with Antonio Graceffo, he "pulls no punches" (pun intended) when sharing his views on how to learn a foreign language effectively. His language learning wisdom stems from formal training as an interpreter and translator at Germany's prestigious University of Mainz, coupled with over a decade of living, learning, and working in South and East Asia.

Antonio speaks numerous languages (French, German, Italian, Khmer, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese), and has used his language skills to good ends. On top of a stunning trail of articles and books (see the list below), Antonio continues to fight the human rights atrocities in Burma.