117: Becoming Fluent in 7 Languages Through Music, Travel and Freestyle Rapping with Idahosa Ness

<p>Idahosa Ness shares his experience growing up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, playing violin and<br /> freestyle rapping. He then takes us on his travel journey, starting with his first trip to Mexico,<br /> and explains how that ignited his passion for language learning so he could more meaningfully<br /> connect with people. He then shares how he used his background in music and freestyle rapping<br /> to develop “The Mimic Method” for learning languages by ear. He explains how he used the<br /> Mimic Method to teach himself Spanish, Chinese and Brazilian Portuguese, and then started<br /> teaching it to others. He then shares how freestyle rapping played a significant role in helping<br /> him develop fluency in 6 foreign languages. He tells the story of participating in a weekly hip<br /> hop cypher in Portuguese while living in Rio, as well as his experience attending a hip hop battle<br /> in Cali, Colombia. He reflects on the hip hop culture in South America and how it differs from<br /> the U.S. He also breaks down the Mimic Method, explains the reason it is so important to<br /> understand the sounds and perfect the pronunciation first, and then goes on to share the step by<br /> step process for becoming fluent in a new language by ear. And, finally, Idahosa reflects on<br /> what travel means to him at this point in his life. FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE AT:<br /> www.TheMaverickShow.com</p>