Borrowed Tongues

How adults actually learn a second language

Ines Castellanos Roig2 episodes2 min of audio429 playsEpisodic

Episodes

One episode is free to sample for 60 seconds. Sign up free or log in to play every episode in full.

S1 · E2Jul 18, 20260:48288 plays Preview

Portuguese from the dish pit, with Karim Haddad

Chef Karim Haddad learned Portuguese washing dishes in a Lisbon restaurant with no classes and no apps. He and Ines pick apart what worked, what hurt, and what any learner can copy.

S1 · E1Jun 5, 20260:48141 plays Members

Why your streak is lying to you

Ines explains why daily app streaks feel productive but rarely lead to conversation, and lays out a weekly routine built around listening, speaking and one honest mistake a day.

About the show

Borrowed Tongues is for the adult who has started a language three times and quit three times. Ines Castellanos Roig has taught Spanish to engineers, nurses and retired teachers in Valencia and online for twelve years, and she knows the gap between what the apps promise and what a tired brain does at 9pm. Each fortnightly episode runs about 35 minutes and pairs a short solo explainer with one guest who learned a language after the age of 25: a Lebanese chef who picked up Portuguese in a kitchen, a Nigerian nurse who passed her German exam on the third try, a Canadian grandfather learning Tagalog for his grandchildren. Expect practical routines that survive a busy week, honest talk about accents and embarrassment, and a two-minute listening exercise near the end of every episode. If you want to hold a real conversation rather than collect streaks, put this on while you cook.

Listen on

RSS feed

Any podcast app can follow this show with its RSS feed, even before it appears in a directory.

Hosted by