004 Why Duolingo Failed, Paying for 100 Lunches and Trying To Become a Refugee (Erik Åkesson)

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How I Learned Finnish (with Ohe)

Oheneba "Ohe" Poku-Marboah

10 episodes

1 day ago

An interview series where I interview people who have learned Finnish to a high level on how they did it. How to learn Finnish or any language. I pretended I didn't know English for an entire year so that I could become fluent in the Finnish language. I will tell you how I did it and interview others to share how they achieved fluency and on how to remove the friction from achieving your language learning goals and how to learn efficiently.

Language Learning

Education

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Language Learning

Education

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004 Why Duolingo Failed, Paying for 100 Lunches and Trying To Become a Refugee (Erik Åkesson)

How I Learned Finnish (with Ohe)

58 minutes 51 seconds

3 months ago

004 Why Duolingo Failed, Paying for 100 Lunches and Trying To Become a Refugee (Erik Åkesson)

What if the best way to learn Finnish isn’t in a classroom — but at lunch with an 85-year-old stranger?

Meet Erik Åkesson, a Swedish dad of four, former global head of FX trading, and now a Finnish speaker thanks to one of the most original language learning methods I’ve ever heard. He didn’t qualify for integration courses. So what did he do? He offered to buy lunch for anyone willing to speak Finnish with him — and ended up having over 100 lunches with strangers.

In this episode, we talk about:

Why Duolingo didn’t work
The power of non-reversible promises
Finnish vs Swedish education systems
The dark side of “easy English in Finland”
Why the government should fund immigrant-lonely elderly lunches

And why, if you're serious about learning Finnish, this method might be your new secret weapon.

🎙️ Welcome to How I Learned Finnish – with Ohe
Helping immigrants thrive (not just survive) by mastering one of the world’s toughest languages.

👉Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share if this inspired you or made you think differently about language learning.

00:00 Introduction and Initial Struggles

00:51 Meet Erik Åkesson

01:38 Life Journey and Career Moves

03:11 Challenges in Learning Finnish

05:22 Innovative Methods to Learn Finnish

06:55 The Power of Social Interaction

11:45 Reflections on Language Learning

13:36 The Role of Older Generations

15:37 Final Thoughts and Recommendations

31:11 Challenges of Learning Finnish

31:25 Passive and Active Learning Strategies

33:11 Balancing Multiple Languages

34:18 Making Irreplaceable Promises

36:43 Diversity and Integration in Finland

45:59 Difficulties of Learning Finnish

56:07 Commitment and Social Integration

58:18 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Finnish language, learning Finnish, how to learn Finnish, Finnish fluency, language learning tips, integration in Finland, immigrant experience Finland, Duolingo, language immersion, lunch with locals, language hacks, adult language learning, suomen kieli, suomi, Erik Åkesson, podcast Finland, Finnish for immigrants, unconventional language methods, language and identity, retired mentors, language motivation

#LearnFinnish #FinnishLanguage #LanguageLearning #ImmigrantsInFinland #HowILearnedFinnish #SuomenKieli #IntegrationInFinland #LanguageFluency #DuolingoFail #LanguageMotivation #LunchToFluency #FinlandLife #RetiredMentors #ImmigrantStories #Suomi