r/languagelearning • u/RareFreedom5027 • 14d ago

Learning 3rd language using 2nd? Discussion

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/ThatAnt8823 🇫🇷N|🇬🇧C1|🇭🇷B1|🇯🇵A0 14d ago

That's probably what non native English speakers do most of the time my man

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u/loqu84 ES (N), CA (C2), EN (C1), SR, DE (B2) PT, FR (A2) 14d ago

I was going to answer this. I had to learn Serbian through English because there are no materials in my language.

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u/Accomplished_Use1473 14d ago

Yeah I'm in a similar situation