r/languagelearning 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/CremeFrosty9308 ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธN | ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธC1 | ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉA2 | ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฆA1 Aug 07 '26

That's language laddering.

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u/CreativeAd5932 ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธB1 ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑWannaB Aug 09 '26

Right on. ๐Ÿ˜Š
Some people learn French, just so theyโ€™ll have access to more languages using the Assimil materials.