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

I was always fascinated by the mental processing of learning another language. I think the feeling from going from point A (not understanding a word) to point B (being able to speak and think in that language) is something like magic !When people ask me, “How come you have learned so many languages?” I am always a bit hesitant to answer, because the truth is that I do not really know. My usual response is simple and honest: “I kind of started with one, then another one… and then control was lost.” What began almost accidentally has turned into a hobby that has accompanied me for the last eight years and has shaped both my personal and professional life in ways I never expected.

I believe my background played an important role in this journey. My parents are Albanians who immigrated to Greece in the early 1990s, and I grew up essentially with two identities: Greek and Albanian. Because of this, I have been bilingual since birth, speaking both languages naturally from the age of zero. At the time, of course, I did not realise that this early exposure to multiple languages would later make it easier for me to learn new ones. Later, at the age of ten, I began learning English, which quickly became part of my everyday life through school, media, and communication. English was the first “foreign” language I consciously learned, and it opened the door to the world beyond my immediate environment.

My next linguistic love was French. I have always been fascinated by France — its culture, its cinema, its food, and its literature. Films like Amélie and La Haine showed me two completely different sides of French society, yet both deeply captivating. French cuisine, especially croissants, became a small but symbolic part of my daily life, and Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables remains one of my favourite books. Inspired by this admiration, I started learning French at the age of seventeen. Unfortunately, my lessons had to stop when I moved to northern Greece to pursue my Bachelor’s degree.

In the city of Kavala, I tried to continue learning French, but I could not find a teacher at that time — this was before the COVID era, when online courses were not yet widespread. However, what initially seemed like a setback turned into an unexpected opportunity. I found a German teacher and thought, “Why not start German?” This decision proved to be life-changing. Through German, I found a very good job that helped me advance my career, and more importantly, I met one of the most important people in my life. German has accompanied me throughout my professional journey and remains the language I use most frequently at work today.

After French and German, I became curious about Russian. For me, Russian has been one of the most difficult languages I have ever tried to learn. Its grammar is complex and demanding, and in my experience, grammar is absolutely essential to speak it properly. It is one of those languages where, if you do not understand the grammatical structure, your sentences simply do not make sense. Although challenging, learning Russian has been intellectually rewarding and has strengthened my discipline and patience.

Later, my attention shifted toward Spanish and Chinese. Spanish felt relatively familiar, especially because my knowledge of French gave me a strong advantage. I found it easier to adjust my ear to the rhythm and pronunciation, and I could often understand texts and audio material even at an early stage. Chinese, on the other hand, has been a completely new and fascinating experience. Moving from alphabet-based languages to memorising characters requires a totally different mindset. It is not just about vocabulary or grammar, but about learning a new system of thinking and visual recognition. Despite the difficulty, the process has been extremely interesting and rewarding.

Over the years, I have experimented with different methods of learning languages, and my approach varies depending on the language and my goals. For some languages, such as German, Russian, and Mandarin, I used a combination of a teacher and online resources like YouTube. For others, including Spanish, French, and even Swedish, I relied mostly on videos, articles, and self-study. I strongly believe that the most important factor in learning a language is personal motivation. If you do not truly want to learn, no teacher or method can help you. A teacher can guide you through a structured path, help you prepare for certifications, and save you time by organising materials and creating a learning schedule, but the real effort must come from within.

Online video platforms, especially YouTube, have been extremely useful in my learning process. They allow you to immerse yourself in content that genuinely interests you, which makes learning feel natural rather than forced. For example, in French and German I enjoy watching the excellent documentaries and reports from ARTE. For Russian, I sometimes follow humorous educational channels like “Правое полушарие Интроверта,” which make the language feel more approachable. For Spanish, I often watch economic and educational content such as VisualEconomik. When I am learning a language that I cannot yet understand at least 60% through listening, I focus on simpler material, such as street interviews with subtitles or even cartoons. These help train the ear gradually and build confidence. Looking back, learning languages has been much more than a hobby for me. It has influenced my career, expanded my worldview, and allowed me to connect with different cultures and people. 

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

Russian for sure! My aim is at some point to be able to read literature in Russian. I wish I could spend more time learning vocabulary.

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

Except Mandarin that I have already started, I think Polish is a quite interesting language that I would like to learn since it has vast cultural context extending from literature to cinematography.

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

Russian!

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

Being able to enter the everyday life of a country in another part of the world through reading the media or watching the news. Each language represents not only a communication tool but also a unique perspective on life. And although sometimes I still cannot explain exactly how I ended up learning so many languages, I know for sure that the journey has been one of the most meaningful and rewarding parts of my life.

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 think for sure that some languages will stop existing or will become endangered. Global languages like English/Mandarin/Spanish etc are the protagonists in our era where you have to be able to communicate effectively in the workplace. Nonetheless I think people will always appreciate the genuine warm feeling of speaking a foreign language.

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

Do not hesitate and do not put everything under a utility function. Some things make your life better and cannot be estimated/valued before you have conquered them!