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

Portuguese is my native language. I started with English when I was eight, and the other languages came much later. At 16, during the pandemic, I decided to learn French, because I was already fluent in English at that time.

My progress was fast, so it encouraged me to continue the journey.

My next language was German, followed by Spanish and Russian, which is the most recent one I’ve learnt.

I’ve never studied two languages at the same time, though.

My favourite method when it comes to language learning is Comprehensible Input, so I prioritise listening and reading. However, as soon as I find myself at an intermediate level, I start to work on the active skills: writing and speaking.

It’s crucial for me to listen to the language as much as I can, so that I eventually get used to the sounds and they become natural for me.

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

I wish I could spend more time practising all of them, to be honest. As for now, the languages I’ve neglected the most are certainly German and Spanish. I listen to them sometimes, but don’t study them as much as before.

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

I’d love to start and become fluent one day in Arabic and refresh / relearn Latin. I started Latin in the pandemic, but gave up after one year. I hope I’ll go back to it at some point. I’d also like to learn some Italian, which I can already understand reasonably well, thanks to the other romance languages I speak.

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

Russian, for sure. It’s my favourite language. But each language is beautiful and special in their own way.

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

My greatest pleasure is actually being able to read books in the languages and find out more about the history, culture, people of each country. Talking to others is also fantastic, as well as understanding songs, movies, interviews etc.

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?

I don’t think so. Languages are bridges between people, and all of them bring a historical and personal weight with them. No technological progress or political disaster that might happen in 100 years would be able to suppress that human urge to understand and be understood through languages.

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

I’d highly encourage them to never give up and continue practising as much as they can. I’d also say that they need to find their own path. There is no secret formula, the most important step is actually taken when you start learning regularly, making language learning into a life-long habit.