Why My First Mandarin Project Almost Broke Me (And How I Fixed My Approach)

In this episode, I explore the difference between three-month language-learning projects and longer journeys that take three years or more. I share how losing 35 kilograms over four years while recovering from clinical depression taught me that progress doesn't have to be fast to be meaningful. The right timeline depends on your circumstances, goals and the time and energy you can realistically commit. I also share how I'm working towards my Irish B2 exam with focused weekly goals and explain why short-term projects can help you stay motivated without promising fluency in three months. Whether you need three months or three years, I'll help you find a pace that fits your life.

I've been saying for years that I wish Irish was among my fluent languages, and I've finally stopped delaying. In this episode I announce my next big project: sitting the official TEG B2 Irish exam in December. There's just one small problem. I'm in Italy for the next three months and won't be back in Ireland until a week before the test, and I haven't sat a Common European Framework exam in sixteen years. So how do you prepare for an Irish exam in entirely the wrong country? My answer is to make every single Wednesday a 100% Irish day, from newspapers and podcasts to vocabulary drills and hours of live speaking practice online. I explain exactly how it works, why one fixed block in your week beats waiting for spare time, and what happens if I pass.

In this episode, I share my plans for spending the next three months in Italy and my mission to reactivate my Italian. After years away from the country, I’m rusty—but recent conversations in Dublin have reminded me that you can start bringing a language back wherever you are. I’ll be exploring new regions across eastern Italy, using Italian every day, meeting fellow language enthusiasts, and speaking at the Polyglot Conference in Bologna. My biggest reminder from this journey: it’s never too late to reconnect with a language you care about. Start using it, be patient, and see how much comes back.

In this episode, I share how I’ve built a completely free digital immersion setup for Irish without adding another paid subscription. My goal isn’t to find one perfect resource, but to make my target language easier to encounter throughout my everyday life, wherever I am. I walk through how I use IPTV and free TV websites and YouTube channels to access news and other content in different languages, with Irish TV as my current example. I also talk about getting free reading and listening material through library cards and apps like BorrowBox and Libby, which can give you access to newspapers, books, and audiobooks. Finally, I explain why I recommend creating a separate social media account for each language you’re learning, so the algorithm fills your feed with useful content in that language. With TV, libraries, and social media, there are plenty of ways to create meaningful digital immersion completely free.

For four years, I worked toward becoming a conference interpreter. I learned languages, passed exams, took translation training, and even accepted a difficult, poorly paid job to strengthen my application. Then, just before I could apply for the master's degree I had been working toward, the university changed its admissions rules and made me ineligible. It felt like four years of effort had gone to waste. But I still had everything I had built along the way. My translation training led to freelance work, which became my first location-independent job and eventually helped me build a life as a digital nomad and create Fluent in 3 Months. In this episode, I share why a failed plan doesn't erase your progress, and how the skills you gain along the way can open doors you never expected.