I consider myself an avid language learner. However, instead of learning small amounts of many languages, my goal in life is to master only as many as I can. With limited time to spend on language learning, this naturally raises the question of which will be the few selected languages I choose to learn. Honestly, it’s a question I can’t answer with certainty yet. But in this post, I will mention the languages I am already learning, and explore the possibilities for my next target languages.

Second Language

I started learning English many years ago, and, though this wasn’t a choice I remember making myself, I’m glad I kept studying it. I can’t even begin to name all the things I’m able to do, some with much ease, because I achieved a high level of proficiency in English. Obviously, it’s a language I will keep studying and practicing every day, probably until my last one. There are still many new things I keep learning about it and many goals I still aspire to attain.

Third Language

Mandarin Chinese was chosen as my third language almost four years ago. I remember being hesitant at first. But now, I’m more than glad I decided to learn Mandarin, because this was the language that made me discover my passion for language learning. For that, it will always hold a very special place in my heart. It was probably the general logic of the language and its writing system that clicked with me. And while some people dread Chinese characters, I find them fascinating and a true pleasure to learn.

Fourth language

Although it hasn’t happened yet, my mind is already made on my fourth language. I will start learning German next year. This was less obvious of a choice than English or Mandarin, but I remember I always wanted to learn German, especially for study or work purposes. The reason I didn’t start learning it earlier was the lack of courses available where I live. But thanks to the rise of e-learning caused by the pandemic, most courses are now online, and I finally can find a suitable course to attend.

Fifth language and beyond

Here is where all the possibilities lie. Some of my current options for future target languages are French, Portuguese and Latin.

Where I live, French is what most people decide to learn as a third language, after English. This is probably because of the number of courses and teachers available. In this respect, the abundance of resources to study French poses a great advantage.

Likewise, Portuguese is also a very popular language to learn here. Due to how similar it is to Spanish, Portuguese doesn't seem too hard to learn for Spanish speakers, and from other people's experiences, it doesn't seem to take too long either. Although this may sound like a positive reason to learn Portuguese, I found I rather enjoy the challenge of studying languages that are relatively different from my native tongue.

On the other hand, Latin is not nearly as popular as French or Portuguese, and I expect there are fewer resources as well. However, being such an ancient language, it is interesting to see how much influence it has had on modern languages.

What languages are you studying? What languages do you want to learn in the future?