S1E2 Infosode 2 - Vera Felicitas Birkenbihl changed my life

I bought the books, the colorful flashcards — and gave up after an hour. That moment led me to discover why traditional language learning feels so hard — and what your brain actually needs instead. In this infosode, we look at where old methods came from and how to finally learn the BEEE way. 🐝 Contact: DM @beee.jam

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Today, I'd like to start this episode with a little story.
I think you might relate. Maybe you've been there too.
When I decided to learn a new language, in this instance, it was
Turkish, I did what every motivated learner does.
I bought a brand new course book, colorful pens…

(00:23):
and a set of vocabulary cards, of course, in different colors.
And because I wanted to do it properly, I even bought
one of those fancy little boxes to store them in.
I felt so ready… I sat down, wrote maybe fifty words, and after

(00:44):
less than an hour, I just stopped… I literally
threw my hands up in the air and said, I can't do this anymore.
I won't… It brought back all the
memories of learning English, French, and Latin at school.
Endless list, rote memorization, frustration

(01:06):
… And I just knew I didn't want to do that again.
At that time, I was already in my third semester studying
linguistics at university here in Switzerland.
I had to choose a language completely different from German or English
…or all the other Indo European languages.

(01:29):
So I picked Turkish because a friend of mine is
Turkish… I really wanted to make it work.
But after that evening with the flashcards, I decided to find another way.
Within just a few days, I came across a woman called Vera Felicitas Birkenbihl and what she
said…completely changed how I thought about learning languages

(01:51):
… For the first time, it all made sense.
she explained why I had always struggled, where our language learning traditions come from,
and how we can finally learn in a way that fits the brain.
And that's exactly what this episode is about… Ease ease Hey, and welcome to the be German

(02:13):
podcast, your place to learn German in a way that feels
brain friendly, easy, efficient, and effective.
I'm Jacqueline. I'm your language learning coach.
I always loved languages, but for years, I really struggled to learn them.
Then while studying linguistics, I discovered the most brain friendly way to learn a new

(02:37):
language, and suddenly, everything clicked.
Later, I also became a certified life coach.
So this podcast combines the best of both worlds
, language science and personal growth.
You're in exactly the right place if you want to learn German the b way with brain friendly

(02:58):
input, engaging emotion, plenty of exposure, and ease!
So…where do all these vocabulary
lists and grammar drills actually come from?
Long before streaming platforms, before radio, or even printing presses, the
only way to capture a language was through writing.

(03:22):
In medieval monasteries, monks studied Latin using long vocabulary lists and thick
grammar books… The goal wasn't to chart or to travel.
It was to read and translate sacred texts…in perfection.
And for that purpose, the method worked perfectly….

(03:44):
If your job is to decode written text, lists and rules make sense… But when
language became something people wanted to speak, School simply copied that same structure
,… just with teachers instead of monks and blackboards instead of parchment.
… Fast forward to today, and we still use the same model most times… the world

(04:09):
, in the meantime, has changed completely.
But our language learning system hasn't really caught up… When I learned English and French …
It was exactly that old pattern…Chapters, vocabulary list, grammar tables, a
couple of sterile audio tracks…nothing that sounded like real people talking

(04:33):
And it worked enough…to pass exams, but not enough to make the languages…
feel alive… The truth is the traditional way still helps some learners
, especially when there's no access to native input or
technology, or they're just really good at memorizing.

(04:56):
And with me, that's not the case… If all you have is a book.
A list is better than nothing. But today, we have so much more.
Podcasts, YouTube, Netflix, Spotify.
Endless real voices. Real stories, real context… So the
question isn't whether vocabulary lists work.

(05:20):
It's whether they're still…the best way we can do.
Because with all those tools around us, repeating words in isolation is like using a
quill pen in the age of smartphones… What
Birkenbihl explained was revolutionary to me.
She said our brain isn't made for memorizing isolated words.

(05:42):
It's made for recognizing patterns, meaning, and emotion.
When we memorize, we fight against the current.
When we learn through understanding, we go with it.
The brain wants context. It wants to make sense of what it hears.
And when it gets enough input…it starts building

(06:04):
grammar naturally…just like children do.
And therefore, that's the foundation of the BEEE way, brain friendly input,
emotion, exposure, and ease… you don't need to
move abroad or spend hours… in boring courses.
You can create real understanding right where you are, at home, on a walk, in your car

(06:30):
, simply by listening, decoding, and connecting.
That's how I finally started enjoying language learning again and how I became fluent in
English… so today, we looked at where traditional language learning Came from, why it
once made sense, and why it's no longer enough.

(06:52):
In the next infisode, we'll we'll dive into the brain itself, how it processes language
, and how the four pillars of the BEEE way make learning German finally feel
effortless and fun… If this episode resonated with you, make sure you follow the BEEE German
podcast so you don't miss what's coming next.

(07:15):
and if you have thoughts or topic ideas for upcoming minisodes, I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me a direct message on Insta at BEEE dot jam… Remember,
you were never the problem, the method was.
So let's learn German the b way together.

(07:36):
keep listening and be curious