This is an experimental format. Your feedback is very much appreciated for fine-tuning future podcasts.

No-one learned their mother tongue by studying the grammar the first. In fact, if you try to think about the grammar while you’re speaking, you will fail to speak. This is why studying in school and with most language learning apps doesn’t make you fluent.

Instead, you need comprehensible input - text and audio that’s mostly understandable. Your brain will subconsciously create patterns (for grammar) and memorize the words. After lots of input, you’ll be finally ready to speak and write without having to think about it.

Sentences like “A cat wrote a letter in Japanese.” and “Where is the museum?” are both grammatically correct and practically meaningless. The first one isn’t even theoretically possible and the second one isn’t possible in my current situation (I’m not looking for a museum while I’m on my couch at home).

For the content to be interesting, it has to be actual content. Something that the native speakers would read or listen to as well. It can’t be made up. As a bonus, you’ll also gain cultural knowledge.

This is where language schools and apps fail the most. They force you to a learning track where you have no choice over what to study. Everyone has to be interested in the same things. But interests can’t be standardized. You need to pick and choose the topics you are interested in.