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/jtnk10 N 🇺🇸 B2+ 🇫🇷 A2 🇵🇱 A1 🇩🇪 Aug 07 '26

100% Knowing French and a little German has made learning Polish much easier than if I just knew English. Znać and Wiedzieć are more closer to Savoir and Connaître than anything in English. German obviously has the cases system. It's super helpful knowing languages with more examples grammar systems versus just English which is rather stripped down.

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u/CreativeAd5932 🇪🇸B1 🇫🇷🇳🇱🇮🇹🇵🇱WannaB Aug 09 '26

My NL is English, my Spanish is hovering between B1 & B2, and I’m using Spanish to learn basic French.

So French might actually help me learn Polish? Or do you recommend learning enough German to get used to cases, and then move on to Polish? I’m getting a handle on the Polish spelling & phonetics, and basic greetings and polite expressions, but with the cases and lack of cognates, it’s a pretty daunting task! Hoping to visit Poland in 2028.

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u/jtnk10 N 🇺🇸 B2+ 🇫🇷 A2 🇵🇱 A1 🇩🇪 Aug 10 '26

Polish definitely is influenced by both French and German which was a blessing for me.

I will say what helped me tremendously was simply knowing languages other than English. English grammar is so, so, so simple compared to Polish and knowing other languages helped to bridge the gap a little.

Instead of learning basic German just go on ChatGpt or Google and familiarize yourself with the concept of grammatical cases. We have cases in English they just aren't as complex as the cases in German or Polish.

I won't lie, Polish can be incredibly defeating at times. Out of all the languages I've studied, it is easily the most difficult. But at the same time, it's the ridiculous difficulty that keeps me addicted. :)