I must tell you, I could not re-watch this video since I filmed it. I’m a little embarrassed but at the SAME time, I wanted to show you what it’s like to switch between the languages I know.
Hear me speaking the 5 languages I’ve learned in this order:
🇪🇸 Spanish (Español)
🇮🇹 Italian (Italiano)
🇧🇷 Portuguese (Português)
🇫🇷 French (Français)
🇹🇷 Turkish (Türkçe)
It’s NOT easy. I haven’t practiced much, so you will hear many mistakes. Am I a polyglot? You decide 🙂 People always ask me about the languages I speak, why I learned them and so the goal of this video is to share a bit in each language, so you can hear my true unedited, unscripted level. Please be nice in the comments 😛
I’m an online English teacher and author, but what really gets me excited is language learning. It’s a huge part of my life.
- “Camille, which languages do you speak?”
- “How did you learn those languages?”
- “What’s your method?”
- “Can you just speak them for a bit in a video?”
Spanish was the first language I learned seriously. Here’s how Spanish became such a big part of my life:
I started learning for fun, not for a test. I’ve never taken a formal exam in Spanish (or any language I speak). I picked up a lot from living in Spanish-speaking places, talking to friends from Venezuela and Mexico. At one point, I lived in Guadalajara, Mexico with my husband and we lived with a Mexican family while taking classes.
How I learned:
- By being around people who only spoke Spanish.
- Watching TV shows, listening to music, and using Spanish in real situations.
- Making lots of mistakes, especially in the beginning.
I want to encourage you: you don’t need to be perfect to connect with people! Jump in, be bold, and keep trying.
Italian: Beautiful Beginnings
Next up was Italian, which I started while living in Hawaii. Yup, not the most obvious place, right? But it’s proof that you can learn anywhere.
Why Italian?
Italian sounded beautiful, and I loved listening to it. I wanted to talk to Italian friends and dreamt of one day visiting Italy.
How I learned Italian:
- I made it fun! I studied while walking, cleaning, even cooking—just listening to Italian podcasts or music.
- No big textbooks at first. I went for immersion: hearing the language again and again.
Favourite Resources
- A Youtube channel called Italiano Automatico was key for me. Luigi, the creator, is awesome and has so much enthusiasm!
- I made friends on WhatsApp to practice writing and speaking.
Portuguese: From Brazil to Portugal
After Italian, I fell head-over-heels with Portuguese. My learning journey took me through both Brazilian and European accents.
Why Portuguese?
My husband Calvin studied Portuguese after Spanish, and he inspired me to start. Brazilian music is super catchy, and I wanted to understand the lyrics! Later, I traveled in Portugal and wanted to speak with locals there, too.
How I learned Portuguese:
- Listening and speaking, as much as possible.
- Making mistakes boldly (don’t worry, everyone understands you’re learning!).
- Comparing and practicing both Brazilian and European variants.
- Using the language in shops, with friends, and watching Brazilian TV.
Brazilian vs. European Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese feels more musical, with open sounds. European Portuguese is a bit “crisper,” and some vowels sound different. The Portuguese speak more “fechado,” ie closed. Both accents have cool slang and expressions!
French: A New Challenge
After the other “Latin” languages came French, which was a bigger challenge. But I’ve always found French fascinating and romantic, but sometimes my brain would mix up French and Italian. Suddenly, I’d make up words like “ciaobonjour”! With so many latin languages in my brain, this is normal.
How I taught myself French:
- Watching Easy French and Piece of French on YouTube.
- Taking small steps every day—listening, repeating, and reading.
- Chatting with friends from Belgium and France (even if my French was super simple at first).
My favorite French language hacks:
I used Netflix shows with French subtitles (like Lupin—so much suspense!). I love LUPIN the series is so entertaining. I repeated simple phrases daily until they felt normal.
Turkish: The big test
And now for the real brain workout: Turkish. After all those Latin languages, shifting to something totally different was super tough and interesting. All of a sudden the grammar rules changed drastically because of the agglutinative language and the Turkish pronunciation was unique with vowel harmony. In the beginning was very hard, because in many ways I was starting from scratch.
Why Turkish?
I wanted to challenge myself with a non-Latin language. The structure and sounds are unique—very different from Spanish or Italian. The Turkish culture was so different and interesting I wanted to learn more about it.
How Turkish tested my brain
Switching from language to language was already a challenge, but Turkish really made me sweat. The grammar is different, there are lots of “new” sounds, and I had to forget my habits from other languages. At first, I kept slipping into French or Spanish by accident, but I kept pushing. Even though my Turkish is still a work-in-progress, I am proud of where I am. I still have a lot of work to reach an upper B level.
Remember when learning English or other languages: Don’t be afraid to sound silly! You will learn quicker as you speak more!
How It Felt to Switch Between Languages
Whew. Let me tell you, switching languages that fast is a wild ride! My brain sometimes just went blank or mixed languages! Honestly, even after studying for years, I still make tons of mistakes.
- My accent isn’t perfect.
- Sometimes, I use the wrong words.
- I mix up grammar.
And you know what? That’s okay! The point of language isn’t to be perfect—it’s to connect, to learn, and to have fun.
It’s a very humbling process to learn a language, but I hope you guys enjoyed this video. I hope you’re encouraged to experiment with new languages and maybe even practice speaking them.
What languages do you speak? Let me know in the comments!
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