Whether you are an experienced language learner or just getting started, let me tell you about three inspiring language experts who I have had the honor of interviewing and getting to know these past two years. When I first decided to pursue teaching online and searching for experienced language teachers and bloggers who could point me in the right direction, I first came across Kerstin Cable of Fluent Language.

I had just purchased Olly Richard’s Language Learning Foundations course and started going through the bonus interviews, and one of which that caught my attention was between Olly and Kerstin because she introduced herself as an online language teacher and blogger, which is exactly what I wanted to become.

Very quickly I started to follow Kerstin on social media, read her blog, and listen to the Creative Language Learning Podcast (now the Fluent Show) that she co-hosts with Lindsay Williams of Lindsay Does Languages. On one of Kerstin’s earliest solo podcast interviews she mentioned how having a podcast was a great way to get one’s foot in the door when talking to people, so with that in mind, it was thanks to her inspiration that motivated me to launch my Language Meanderings podcast in February 2016.

As I continued to follow along how Kerstin’s podcast developed, I thought it was really cool to hear the backstory of how Lindsay had written an article for the Guardian about the Top 10 podcasts to help you learn a language, which featured the Creative Language Learning Podcast at the top of the list, and then that led to the future collaboration between Kerstin and Lindsay to co-host the podcast. Little by little I also started to become a fan of Lindsay’s YouTube videos and 9 Reasons to learn a variety of languages series.

I quickly went from podcast listener and YouTube subscriber to fanboy who tweeted at Kerstin and Lindsay and to my surprise, they tweeted back and even reacted to my tweets in their next podcast episodes. I jumped at the opportunity to see their webinars that they brilliantly hosted on a variety of topics, such as when helping launch Lindsay’s Successful Self-Study course, for example.

It was thanks to those webinars that I also discovered Shannon Kennedy of Eurolinguiste. Any friend of Kerstin’s and Lindsay’s is a friend of mine, and once again I found a kindred spirit. Shannon is a fellow musician, language enthusiast, blogger, foodie, traveler, and now parent raising a future polyglot. I was very impressed when Shannon launched Goodbye to Shy, especially with the support of Benny Lewis and Fluent in 3 Months. More recently, it has been a pleasure to see Shannon take on the role of Community Manager and Language Encourager as Fi3m has taken over leadership of the Add1 Challenge. I can’t think of a more apt person for the task.

I think the best of Kerstin, Lindsay, and Shannon, and greatly admire them and have been very supportive and proud of their initiatives, projects, and endeavors because I know they put so much energy and passion into what they do, which is why I’m really excited about their latest online conference, Women in Language, taking place from March 8-11, 2018.

I completely agree with the goal of this conference to embrace diversity and to highlight women’s contributions in language learning because they more than anybody embody the spirit of that message. Moreover, Kerstin, Lindsay, and Shannon have brought together a fantastic panel of speakers. There are several of whom I have had the pleasure of already connecting with online and even interviewing, and several more who I’m looking forward to discovering thanks to their presentations.

What to expect from Women In Language

Women in Language is a unique online event designed to champion, celebrate, and amplify the voices of women in language learning. Presentations are based around four key areas: Starting Language, Mastering Language, Living With Language, and Working With Language.

What makes Women In Language different from other language events

This is an event that is open to all who love language, regardless of gender. However, for this first event, the entire lineup of speakers is female, unlike any language event the three hosts have attended in the past.

“No one learns a language because they want their life to stay the same. ” -Kerstin Cable & Lindsay Williams

If you haven’t purchased your tickets for the event, it’s not too late to join. Find out more here.