1. What’s your story? How did you get into all these languages?

Everything started when I began learning Spanish in high school and realized how fun it was to speak in a new language. My Spanish teacher inspired me as well. She was from Belarus and was the first person I met who spoke more than two languages and had been to many different countries. She told us about how life was different in Europe and Latin America and, living in a small, relatively homogenous suburban town, became curious to discover the rest of the world, learn Spanish as best as I could, and even learn other languages. I never stopped.

2. Which language(s) do you wish you could spend more time practising?

Portuguese and Catalan because they are really beautiful languages, but I rarely have the chance to speak them. And Mandarin because I would like to get better, but find it hard to find time to speak more than once a week.

3. What are some languages you’d like to learn in the future?

Japanese, Turkish, Dutch, maybe more!

4. So let’s be honest, which language has the most charm for you?

Spanish

5. What’s the greatest pleasure you get from speaking so many languages?

There is something very fun about being able to express your thoughts and feelings in many different structures, to meet people from so many different places, and to understand the world from so many different perspectives. Languages help me feel more deeply connected to the world by helping me experience new perspectives and connect with new places and people.

6. Some people say the world is really just going to have a few languages left in a 100 years, do you think this is really true?

No. Many languages will be spoken less, but I don’t think 100 years is enough time for them to disappear. And there are many efforts underway to defend minority languages, many of which are at least partly successful.

7. What is your message to young (and not so young) people out there who are interested in studying multiple languages?

Go for it and don’t give up. If you aren’t making progress, change your method, but never give up completely. With consistency and perserverance you will reach your goals, as long as your method is also good. Impatience and lack of belief in yourself are big hinderances here, as are perfectionism and the fear of making mistakes. It is very important to overcome the need to speak perfectly. You cannot learn if you do not make mistakes often and ideally get feedback on them. For most people, it is not possible to speak with the accent of a native speaker, but this is also not a problem. Most people who judge you for your accent are prejudiced against foreigners. Do you really want to spend time with people who don’t accept you? Trust that you will slowly get better as long as you keep working and celebrate small victories to keep you motivated. Enjoy the journey. Since you can always get better, you will never fully arrive at your destination.