How Coffee Break Languages reached 400M+ downloads teaching 10 languages on Teachable

Mark Pentleton was a high school languages teacher in Scotland with a side project that wouldn't stay small.

In 2006, he launched Coffee Break Spanish from his spare bedroom. The concept was simple: teach Spanish in relaxed, 20-minute episodes that fit into a coffee break. No intimidating textbooks. No pressure to cram for hours.

The podcast hit #1 on iTunes Education charts in both the UK and US within weeks. At one point, it bumped Oprah Winfrey from the overall top spot in America.

Mark kept his teaching job for two more years while the audience grew. By summer 2008, the numbers made the decision obvious. He gave up his day job to run Coffee Break Languages full-time.

19 years later, Coffee Break Languages delivers over 2 million free lessons every month. The podcasts have been downloaded more than 400 million times. And the Coffee Break Academy on Teachable hosts over 300 courses across 10 languages, reaching learners in 196 countries.

"Teachable makes it possible to scale globally without losing that personal coffee break touch that defines everything we do." —Mark Pentleton, Founder of Coffee Break Languages

Mark's Teachable journey at a glance

The turning point

Coffee Break started as a podcast experiment. Mark saw an opportunity in the early days of iTunes to create something different from the dry language tapes that dominated the market.

"Most people think that fluency comes from hours of study every day memorizing endless lists of words and grammar rules. But it's not about how much time you spend. It's about how you use it." —Mark Pentleton, Founder of Coffee Break Languages

The format worked because it respected how busy people actually learn. Twenty minutes during a commute. A lesson while walking the dog. Language practice that fits around life instead of demanding life rearrange around it.

As the podcast audience grew into the millions, Mark needed somewhere to host structured courses for learners who wanted to go deeper. Teachable gave him a platform that could handle payments from over 100 countries while he focused on what he does best: teaching languages in a way that actually sticks.

"Because we have learners in over 100 countries, managing payments and international taxes could have been a nightmare. But Teachable takes care of all that from VAT and sales tax compliance to secure payments." —Mark Pentleton, Founder of Coffee Break Languages

Mark's strategies for building a global language education business

Mark didn't chase viral moments or quick wins. He built Coffee Break Languages the same way he teaches languages: consistent practice, compounding progress, and genuine human connection.

Here's how he turned a bedroom podcast into a company reaching learners on every continent.

Strategy 1: Give away massive value to build unshakeable trust

Most creators worry about giving away too much for free. Mark took the opposite approach. Coffee Break delivers over 2 million free podcast lessons every single month.

"It's no longer a case of having to go out to a conversation class on a cold Tuesday evening in November: you can learn a language where and when it suits you." —Mark Pentleton, Founder of Coffee Break Languages

The free content builds trust at scale. Learners spend weeks or months with Coffee Break before ever considering a paid course. By then, they know Mark's teaching style works for them. The paid courses aren't a hard sell; they're the natural next step for students who want structured progression.

Every minute of every day, over 50 new learners start a Coffee Break episode somewhere in the world. That's 50 potential course students entering the top of the funnel, without a dollar spent on advertising.

Take action: Calculate how much free value you're genuinely providing to potential students. If your free content isn't good enough to build real trust, your paid courses will always feel like a harder sell than they need to be.

Strategy 2: Double down on human connection as AI changes everything

AI language tools are everywhere now. Chatbots can correct your grammar. Apps can generate practice conversations. Mark's response? Lean harder into what technology can't replicate.

"We're finding that learners are craving authentic human connection. They don't just want content. They want to feel like they're learning from someone who understands them, someone who brings empathy, encouragement, and experience to the table." —Mark Pentleton, Founder of Coffee Break Languages

Coffee Break courses deliberately include elements that AI wouldn't think to add. Cultural context that comes from living in a French or Spanish-speaking country. Encouragement that lands differently when it comes from a real teacher who remembers struggling with the subjunctive. The "coffee break with a friend" feeling that makes learning feel less like work.

"AI can generate content, but educators can bring the experience. It's a little bit like a coffee without a cake." —Mark Pentleton, Founder of Coffee Break Languages

Take action: Identify what makes your teaching genuinely human. What do you bring that a chatbot never could? Build your courses around those irreplaceable elements.

Strategy 3: Let Teachable handle global complexity so you can focus on teaching

With learners in 196 countries, Coffee Break faces payment and tax complications that would bury most small businesses. Mark's solution: let Teachable's BackOffice handle all of it.

"My favorite Teachable feature is perhaps not the most exciting one. It is taxes because Teachable deals with all of our taxes. Paying international taxes can be a real challenge. But we know that Teachable with the BackOffice feature are doing all of that so we can know that we're doing the right thing." —Mark Pentleton, Founder of Coffee Break Languages

The BackOffice feature handles VAT compliance, sales tax calculations, and payment processing across currencies. Instead of hiring accountants who specialize in international tax law, Mark's team creates more courses.

This matters more than most creators realize. Global reach sounds exciting until you're drowning in compliance paperwork. The right platform makes worldwide scale actually possible.

Take action: If you're spending more than a few hours per month on payment and tax administration, you're probably leaving courses uncreated. Audit where your time actually goes.

Strategy 4: Build your team gradually (and learn when to let go)

Mark's biggest early mistake was thinking he could do everything himself. He loved every aspect of course creation: filming, recording, writing notes, editing. The problem was that loving the work and having time to do all of it are different things.

"Something I did early on was think I could do everything myself. And part of the reason for that was because I loved doing each of the individual aspects of course creation. But it quickly became something that I really needed some help with. Building a team, very gradually, was really important for us." —Mark Pentleton, Founder of Coffee Break Languages

Today, Coffee Break has 19 employees including native speakers and teachers from around the world. The company has been recognized as a Great Place to Work, with 95% of employees saying it's a great workplace. They even implemented a four-day work week that won a national award for flexible working.

The key word is "gradually." Mark didn't hire a full team overnight. He added help strategically as revenue grew, keeping the company sustainable while expanding capacity.

Take action: Write down every task you do in a typical week. Circle the ones that only you can do. Everything else is a candidate for delegation when the time is right.

Strategy 5: Create an ecosystem, not just a course

Coffee Break isn't a single product. It's an interconnected system of podcasts, courses, books, and video content that meets learners wherever they are.

Podcasts attract new learners who've never heard of Coffee Break. YouTube videos reach visual learners searching for grammar explanations. Books (Amazon bestsellers) serve people who prefer reading. The Coffee Break Academy on Teachable provides structured progression for serious students. And Coffee Break TV offers an on-demand video library for ongoing practice.

Each piece feeds the others. A podcast listener becomes a YouTube subscriber becomes a course student becomes a book buyer. The ecosystem creates multiple entry points and multiple revenue streams from the same core expertise.

Take action: Map out how learners currently discover you and what happens next. Where are the gaps? What format might reach people you're currently missing?

Mark's results on Teachable

The numbers tell a story of compound growth over 19 years of consistent effort.

Coffee Break podcasts have been downloaded over 400 million times, with 2+ million new downloads happening every month. The Coffee Break Academy hosts over 300 courses across 10 languages: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Swedish, Portuguese, Gaelic, Japanese, and English.

Learners span 196 countries, with the largest audiences in the United States (41%) and United Kingdom (12%). The team has grown from Mark working solo in his spare bedroom to 19 full-time employees operating from purpose-built studios in Ayr, Scotland.

Student testimonials show the method works. One learner reported going from absolute beginner to B2 level (upper intermediate) in under a year using Coffee Break Spanish. Another wrote to Mark during a trip to Italy, sharing how he helped an Italian grandmother who didn't speak English find her way through the city. He used Italian he'd learned from Coffee Break. After returning home, he enrolled in the intermediate course.

"Stories like that are what it's all about for us. Real people using their language skills to connect with others and feel part of a culture." —Mark Pentleton, Founder of Coffee Break Languages

Expert corner: How Mark thinks about language education

Mark's teaching philosophy challenges the assumption that language learning requires suffering. The "coffee break" concept isn't just branding. It's a pedagogical choice.

Twenty minutes of focused, consistent practice beats hours of sporadic cramming. When learning becomes a pleasant daily ritual instead of a chore, students actually stick with it. And consistency over months matters more than intensity over weeks.

The ripple effect extends beyond individual learners. Coffee Break has helped older adults connect with grandchildren who speak other languages. It's prepared travelers to engage with cultures instead of just observing them. And it's given millions of people confidence that yes, they actually can learn a language, even without living abroad or returning to school.

Looking ahead

Coffee Break continues expanding its language offerings while deepening the courses in its core languages. New seasons of podcasts release regularly. The Coffee Break TV video library grows weekly.

Mark sees the rise of AI as an opportunity rather than a threat. As automated tools handle more of the mechanical aspects of language practice, human teachers become more valuable for what they uniquely provide: cultural insight, emotional encouragement, and the feeling that someone is genuinely invested in your success.

The team recently launched Coffee Break Japanese and continues adding languages based on learner demand. Each new language follows the same proven model: free podcasts to build audience, paid courses for structured progression, and that distinctive Coffee Break warmth throughout.

What to do next

Explore Coffee Break Languages: Visit the Coffee Break Academy to see how Mark structures courses across 10 languages. Whether you're interested in Spanish, French, Italian, German, or something else entirely, there's a coffee-break-sized lesson waiting for you.

Try Teachable yourself: Ready to build your own global education business? Start your free Teachable trial today. Mark's story shows what's possible when you combine real expertise with a platform built to handle scale.