19-year-old student, Ben Phillips, talks to Benny Lewis and Elizabeth Bruckner about his experience of doing a highschool German exchange programme, and how he stayed focussed and motivated enough to reach C1 level after just a year.

Ben explains how, after unsuccessfully dabbling in Japanese, Greek and Mandarin, he was able to excel at German in such a short period of time, how and why reading is so integral to his learning, and the ways he has been able to travel and live abroad more or less for free.

Featured Resources

Mentioned in this Episode

Episode Overview

Some of the topics brought up during the interview are:

High school language exchanges and language camp with the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange
Attending a German school and the joy of finally being able to participate in a class discussion
Taking and passing the C1 test in German after only a year of learning
How to make the most of opportunities to learn a language while living abroad
The importance of keeping your goal in mind
How speaking with people and learning about a culture in your target language is its own reward
Overcoming the temptation to slip back into English while living abroad
How to set monthly goals and why they’re useful
How to find time to study and still do the things you enjoy in your free time
Tracking your accomplishments, like finishing a book in your target language
Reading as a key part of your language practice - novels, Twitter, and using LingQ
Finding motivation to study when you don’t have the pressure of being in the country
Scholarships and work exchanges as ways to travel and have enriching experiences abroad for free

Podcast theme: “A New Beginning” by Shannon Kennedy

Join Our Patreon

Enjoy the podcast? Subscribe to our Patreon to get access to bonus content and monthly exclusives.

#76 Ben Phillips on How to Live and Study Abroad for Free

Language & Travel Hacking

#76 Ben Phillips on How to Live and Study Abroad for Free