How I'm Learning 6 Languages

I don’t currently speak 6 languages - in fact, I only really “speak” English, Spanish, & French (kind of🙃) - and I’m not even learning them all simultaneously, at least not in the beginning. But, over the course of the next several years, I intend to learn each of these languages to varying degrees of proficiency.

It may end up taking me longer than I plan, and as unpredictable as life is - so are the adjustments I may need to make. BUT these are my goals, and this is how I intend to accomplish them:

English

It’s my native language, but I’m still improving. I’m developing my ability to read and write - by exposing myself to more literature and further developing my own style of expressing myself through my words. As I write more books, more content pieces, more lessons for my courses, I continue to develop these skills, as well as my ability to share my ideas with others.

Spanish

I’ve spent quite a bit of time getting to know the Spanish language - and I plan to always continue to as I take my knowledge to degree level and continue my own studies as well. Spanish is precious to me, though, because of the connection I have with it to my ancestry. Of all the languages I learn, my Spanish studies influence my work most of all.

French

Although I began my French studies quite some years ago, I haven’t progressed as much as I would have liked to. Originally, my motivation for learning it was more so out of necessity of learning a third language for school, but it’s not so much any more. I’m still learning through school, but I’m approaching it differently because I see the potential to integrate my video making skills, as well as language skills, into it as I learn the language and study French cinematography. I plan to take this language to degree level proficiency over the next 4 years🥰

Mandarin

This is my newest language, and where I’m currently focusing my “learning.” I’m still practicing the others, but I’ve progressed through the basics already and am now to the point where what I need is application through more reading, writing, speaking, and listening. So, Mandarin is my new language, and will be until I’ve learned all the basics which will take me a couple years. I plan only to take the first 2 years of this language in school - that’s currently all that’s offered - and continue practicing it independently with tutors and traveling to China to the Shaolin temple where I’ll also continue my Shaolin Kempo Karate studies❤

Japanese

I haven’t even begun this language, but it’s on my list - in part because of it’s influence on Karate and because of the availability of resources for practice (movies, shows, & books). And even beyond this, I see the potential to expand my knowledge of language acquisition by learning this language after Mandarin because of the similarities between the languages - much like learning Spanish & French.

Arabic

There’s always been something that fascinates me about the Arabic language. I love the writing and the way that the language flows. I’ve dabbled with this language in the past, but I didn’t get far because my motivation wasn’t clear, and I didn’t organize my studies in the most efficient manner. I’m not sure exactly when I’ll pick this language back up because it’s not a priority for me at the moment, but I intend continue my Arabic studies - very likely after mastering foundation of Japanese and all the other 😊

How I’m Doing It

Since I’m planning to take Spanish & French to degree level, and I learn best when I’m taking courses or working with a tutor, I’m using these programs as the foundation for my language studies. My Spanish BA is fairly close to completion, but I’m starting French classes from the beginning this fall - even though I already spent a solid 2 years studying it and have exposure to all the basics. I’ve learned the hard way that it’s better to begin with review than it is to skip ahead and struggle because of gaps in my education, so that’s what I’m doing as I work on my French BA over the next 4 years.

In the mean time, I’m also learning Mandarin. I’m taking advantage of the first two years of French that will be largely review by focusing my energy on this new language - my first one of another orthograph which challenging me quite a bit - all while I’ll be continuing my Spanish studies as well.

So my schedule looks like this for the next 2 years:

1 Spanish class (advanced literature or writing)

1 French class (foundational level)

1 Mandarin class (foundational level)

Then for the following 2 years:

1 Spanish class (if there’s any left to take for fun & extra learning🙃)

1 French class (advanced reading & writing)

1 Japanese class (foundational level)

After graduation with my 2nd & 3rd BA

At some point, I’ll begin my Arabic studies. I’ve got some ideas about how I might do this, but I’m not making any decisions about exactly which route I’ll choose just yet.

And that’s about it. This is rough outline of how I plan to learn each of these languages over the next several years 😊