Last week I participated in Asiaglot, a new multilingual conference in Taipei.
I first heard about Asiaglot a few months ago when Philipp Marxen, a graduate of my coaching programme, told me about his plans to create an annual multi-day conference in Taipei, bringing language lovers and polyglots together for a joyous weekend.
Philipp asked me if I’d be interested in speaking at the event and I jumped at the chance.
In truth, I’d been looking for an excuse to travel back to Taiwan after living and studying there for a year in 2023, so I didn’t take much convincing.
Arrival, Recovery and Pre-Conference Meal
I landed in Taipei on Saturday evening, a week before the event, and met event organisers Philipp and Fu-lan (host of the Fu-lan speaking podcast), as well as Shannon (another graduate of my coaching programme who also happened to be in town.)
After that, I spent the next week in bed recovering from jet lag and a nasty bug I must have caught on the plane over.
Fortunately, by Friday, I felt fully recovered to participate in a pre-event evening meal for VIP ticket holders and event speakers.
Before the meal, I travelled back to the airport to pick up two guests, Matt Vs Japan and Lionel Rowe - both previous interviewees on the I’m Learning Mandarin podcast who have reached unusually high levels in Japanese and Mandarin, respectively.
We spent the entire ride back from the Airport discussing our favourite topic - the theory and practice of language acquisition - and getting lost several times in the process.
By the time we arrived at the restaurant, the rest of the guests had been there for nearly an hour.
Professor Karen Chung - another friend of the I’m Learning Mandarin podcast - who has lived in Taiwan for forty years - chose a variety of traditional Taiwanese dishes which we devoured while continuing our discussions late into the night.
Saturday: The Conference Begins
The following day, we flocked to Taipei Central Station conference hall, home to an impressive amphitheatre with seats for up to 600 people.
The conference was well attended and following a few introductory words by Philipp, Matt Vs Japan kicked off the event with the first talk of the day.
Drawing from his personal experiences mastering Japanese, Matt shared his journey, challenges, and breakthroughs in language acquisition.
His presentation focused on the concept of Automatic Language Growth (ALG), a methodology emphasising immersion and natural exposure to language rather than traditional rote learning.
After that, it was my turn to take centre stage, presenting on the Controlled Output Training techniques I teach my students to master conversational Chinese.
I spent the rest of the day in and out of talks and taking part in language tables where I got the chance to chat with all manner of fascinating people in Spanish, French and Mandarin.
I was also interviewed in Mandarin by various media outlets including Taiwan Plus, a local TV, radio and online channel.
A highlight from that afternoon included a passionate talk by Lōa Ēng Hôa, a Taiwanese commentator and advocate for the preservation of the Taiwanese language.
He emphasised the importance of retaining the Taiwanese language, which he sees as vital in the face of Mandarin’s dominance.
In the evening I returned to the amphitheatre to host a live interview and audience q&a with Professor Karen Chung, about her life’s work helping language students improve their pronunciation, clarity, and speech rhythm.
Having got to know Karen as a friend over the past few years and had many long conversations with her about our shared passion of language learning, it was wonderful to have the opportunity do so in front of a live audience.
Afterwards, I was delighted to hear the interview was voted by survey respondents as their most popular moment of the whole conference.
The evening ended with a live performance by a by a Latino fusion band and joyous dancing as dozens of conference goers descended on the stage. Not being much of a dancer myself, I happily observed proceedings from afar.
Sunday: More Language Fun and Closing Words
On Sunday, I delivered an interactive workshop in the morning teaching Mandarin and English students to mimic using the echo method.
Later that day, I led a Mandarin language table and attended several fascinating talks including one on flirting in Taiwanese sign language and another by Matt Vs Japan on his attempts to master Japanese pitch accent.
At the end of the day, Philipp said a few final words and with that, the first Asiaglot ended. The time flew by so quickly it felt like it was over before it had even begun.
Final Thoughts
The first Asiaglot was genuinely one of the most enjoyable weekends I’ve experienced since I became interested in language learning.
Besides some early technology glitches on the Saturday (my slides look a while to appear on the big screen), the event went pretty smoothly.
Every talk and workshop I attended was fascinating. But best of all was just getting to hang out (and nerd out) with some of the coolest and most passionate people in the language learning space.
Bring on Asiaglot 2026!
