🇺🇸 Written in English
Learning foreign languages is my favorite activity. It is really fascinating to communicate fluently in foreign languages. You can safely leave notes on your desk without anyone understanding it. Or how about a telephone conversation without anyone understanding it. Some kind of espionage?! The languages I speak fluently are Dutch (mother tongue), English and Norwegian. I also understand Danish, Swedish and French quite well. What I would like to learn in the future is Russian and Icelandic language.
Perhaps understandable, mastering foreign languages can get you confused. Especially if you are good at at least one foreign language. Foreign words start to sound more logical at a certain point. Sometimes so logical that you can no longer distinguish whether the word is Dutch, English or French. Certainly in terms of speaking, this can lead to a mix of two or even three languages together or that you can no longer spontaneously think of the word.
You don’t just learn one or more languages. Besides the fact that it takes a lot of time and patience, learning a language consists of three parts: understanding, speaking and writing. If you would like to get a language certificate, you should eventually focus on all parts at the same time – explanation.
My best tip: start by learning the alphabet first and then how to pronounce the letters. Sometimes this is quite difficult if you don’t speak the same foreign language around you. What helped me a lot is watching children’s movies and listening to music. Usually I use a translation program to be able to use search terms in the specific language. To give an example:
Dutch: kinderliedjes
Norwegian: barnesanger
Swedish: barnsånger
French: chansons pour enfants
Icelandic: barnalög
Before you continue your journey through languages
Do you have questions about words, expressions, or linguistic differences? Or would you like to add something to this topic? You can always share your thoughts via the contact form or in the comments below. Together, we make language more understandable.
See you on the road!
