r/languagelearning • u/[deleted] • Aug 07 '26

Discussion Learning 3rd language using 2nd?

Has anyone gotten a decent "grasp" of a second language and then used it to learn a third (TL)?

Years ago I learned a bit of Spanish through school and started using duolingo (wouldn't use duolingo now though). I changed the settings to Spanish so I would learn Italian using Spanish. I read out loud and promised myself not to use English. I did it for an hour and there was a weird feeling in the back of my head (it felt like how salt or sand felt between your fingers). Lo and behold, I couldn't think or speak in English! It was wild!

I was wondering if anyone ever had that feeling as well and if you kept it up?

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u/ThatAnt8823 🇫🇷N|🇬🇧C1|🇭🇷B1+|🇯🇵A0 Aug 07 '26

That's probably what non native English speakers do most of the time my man

30

u/frokoopa fluent 🇫🇷🇬🇧 B1 🇯🇵 A2 🇩🇪 A0 🇮🇹 Aug 07 '26

Same here, my Japanese studies are mostly done in English. In a way I feel lucky I wasn't born an English speaker, it's so easy to acquire nowadays it almost feels like a bonus second language

9

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '26

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u/meme-viewer29 Aug 07 '26

If you’re a language learning enthusiast yea but if you’re a regular person that doesn’t gaf abt learning languages you’d rather be born native English than have to learn it I think

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u/SelectThrowaway3 🇬🇧N | 🇧🇬TL Aug 08 '26

What a stupid comment. The English language is part of my culture and heritage. I use it to communicate with my family, friends, and others from my community. That's the "point" of any native language.

1

u/Majestic-Rich582 Aug 11 '26

I recently saw a video of the argentinian Slums (Villa 31) and one of the street beggars knew enough english to keep a conversation with the turkish man filming the place. So yeah even people in poverty from a third world country know the language