As you move further into Europe you realise even more that the “experts” in Asia who claim that learning a foreign language destroys your native language really have no idea what they are talking about.

Today I passed through four different countries and spoke four different languages. The staff in the hotels speak even more, not by studying grammar but by simply talking and having a dictionary handy for any new words. Once you’ve learned a word in context, you know it and it stays.

It’s true that some words you do occasionally mix up, for example yesterday I had no idea what the German word was for the sticker you use to get on the Swiss motorways, until I found out they also use the French word, but most of the time you just assess the situation, try one language then simply switch to another if that doesn’t work out. Just like you know that “boku” or “watashi” are similar but different in Japanese, or that “dollar” or “buck” are similar but different in English, your brain knows that “Je voudrais” or “Ich mochte” are similar but different and you just choose the right one for the right situation.

The human brain is only capable of learning one language? Unfortunately some people hold back their countries with that thought. The rest of us are out there making friends and doing business with the rest of the world. Care to join us?