I have always enjoyed learning languages. When I travel, I enjoy speaking to others in their native tongue, it helps me to connect more with the people I meet and to have more engaging conversations, and creates a mood of mutual respect. How I learn languages: As a beginner I learn basic pronunciation, important phrases, rudimentary grammar and vocabulary, and try to listen to the language (and speak with someone if possible) to help get the language in my ears. Once I get to an intermediate level, I do a lot of listening (podcasts, news, etc.), reading, and continue practicing regularly with a tutor — when my motivation is high. It can be difficult to maintain motivation as an American, because in my day to day life, I rarely need my foreign language skills… My sister recently moved to Portugal, so I currently am a total beginner at Portuguese. In French, I am an intermediate level speaker (around B1). I studied Spanish in high school, but am still a beginner.