How Many Languages Does Manon Speak? My Language Learning Journey

If you are here because you searched “How many languages does Manon speak?”, here is the direct answer.

I am a native French speaker. I speak English and Spanish fluently, German at an intermediate level, Portuguese somewhere between intermediate and conversational, and I have learned several other languages through travel, friendships and daily life, including Greek, Polish, Croatian, Thai and Visayan/Cebuano.

But the real answer is not just a number.

Languages have never been a collection of trophies for me. I did not learn them to put flags in an Instagram bio or to impress people at dinner. Each language entered my life through a story, a place, a person, a book, a country, a friendship, a love story, a job, or simply the desire to understand a little more of the world around me.

This is the story of the languages I speak, the ones I have studied, the ones I have half-forgotten, and the ones I still want to learn better.

French: my native language, and the language of stories

French is my native language, but my first real relationship with French did not begin with grammar rules. It began with stories.

When I was a child, I loved books so much that I memorized them. I especially loved Les Petites Bêtes and Mini-Loup. I knew the stories by heart, and I would sit with my little brother, turn the pages one by one, and pretend I was reading to him.

One day, my grandfather noticed what I was doing. He realized that I was not actually reading yet: I had memorized the stories. So he decided to show me that the words on the page represented sounds. That is how I learned to read.

I still remember one page from Mini-Loup à l’hôpital. The first words were: “Aïe, aïe, aïe, j’ai mal.” I remember being fascinated by the letter ï with the two little dots on top. I thought it was funny, strange and memorable.

That is probably one of my earliest memories of language: realizing that letters were not just drawings. They were sounds. They were meaning. They were stories.

When I entered primary school, I already knew how to read. I quickly skipped a grade because I was being given exercises from the next class anyway. Later, I chose a literary path, obtained my French literary baccalauréat with high honors, and studied for two years in a French classe préparatoire, an intensive academic program with a strong focus on literature, philosophy, history and languages.

Those years gave me a deep relationship with French, not only as a native speaker, but as a language of literature, analysis, nuance and thought.

Today, as a French teacher, I often think back to that little girl “reading” stories from memory. Before French became grammar, exams or academic essays, it was first something I loved enough to share with someone else.

And maybe that is still the foundation of how I teach French now.

English: the language that connected me to the world

I first encountered English in primary school, during a small initiation class in my village. The lessons took place in the attic of the communal hall, and we learned basic words through games like bingo. Colors, simple words, nothing too serious yet.

Later, in middle school, I started learning English and German at the same time. In fourth year, I joined a European class with an extra hour of English culture every week. Then, in high school, I continued in the European section, where I studied mathematics and history in English.

So yes, English started at school. But school is not what made me fluent.

What truly changed my English was living abroad.

I lived in Ireland, studied in Greece, and spent years communicating with people from all over Europe and the world. English became the language I used to make friends, find a home, work, travel, solve problems, ask for help, laugh, argue, and build a life outside France.

Because of that, my English accent became quite neutral. It is not strongly British, American, Irish or French. It is the kind of international English you develop when you use English every day with people from many different countries.

I would describe my English as C1: fluent, comfortable and natural, but not native. I still Google words sometimes to check a nuance, a spelling or an expression. And honestly, I think that is completely normal.

Fluency does not mean knowing every single word.

Fluency means being able to live through the language.

German: the language of effort

I started learning German in middle school, at the same time as English. I studied it for about twelve years, and I also had the chance to travel to Germany several times through school exchanges and pen pals.

German was never the easiest language for me. I found the grammar fascinating but difficult. The declensions, the cases, der, die, das… I understood the logic, but I had to work for it.

My German teachers often gave me good marks because they could see the effort. I was not always brilliant, but I was motivated. I tried. I cared. I wanted to understand.

At the end of my studies, my level was probably around B2. Today, because I do not use German every day, I would say it is closer to B1. When I meet German speakers, I usually understand a lot of what they say. But when it is my turn to answer, I often switch to English or try to build a sentence in German and let them correct me.

One of my favorite language-learning anecdotes happened in Munich.

I was traveling through Europe by train. I arrived in Munich, prepared my most beautiful German sentence, carefully thinking about the grammar and declensions. I said it proudly.

And the person immediately answered me in English.

After twelve years of German, I remember thinking: So this is what it was all for?

But of course, that is not the full story. German taught me patience. It taught me that a language can stay inside you even if you do not use it perfectly. It also taught me something important as a teacher: many learners understand much more than they can produce.

And that is not failure. That is part of the process.

Latin: the invisible language that helped me learn Spanish

I do not “speak” Latin, but Latin played a huge role in my language journey.

I studied Latin for eleven years, from middle school until the end of my studies. At the time, I did not realize how useful it would become. It felt like a school subject: translations, grammar, roots, ancient texts.

But years later, when I decided to learn Spanish, Latin came back like a hidden map.

It helped me recognize patterns. It helped me connect words. It helped me understand how Romance languages relate to one another. I could suddenly see bridges between French, Spanish, Portuguese and even Italian.

Latin taught me that languages do not live in separate boxes. They are connected by roots, history, migration, culture and time.

Sometimes, a language you learned years ago comes back when you need it.

Spanish: the language of love, immersion and real life

Spanish is one of the biggest languages of my life.

I did not learn Spanish at school. I learned it because I fell in love and moved to Argentina for a young love story.

When I arrived, I knew almost nothing. I could say things like “me gusta la abuela” or “vamos a la playa”, mostly because I had heard them in songs. That was basically it.

Then real life happened.

I was in Argentina. I wanted to understand people. I wanted to belong. I wanted to communicate. I wanted to love and be loved in that language.

Thanks to immersion, daily life and the hidden help of my Latin background, I started making progress very quickly. After about three months, I could already manage conversations and live in Spanish. Of course, I did not become C1 overnight, but that was the turning point.

Later, I lived in Argentina and Mexico for around five to six years. Spanish became part of my daily life, my friendships, my family connections and even my emotional world.

Today, I would describe my Spanish as C1, maybe C2 depending on the context. It is fluent, natural and deeply connected to my life. I still use it with friends and family in Argentina.

I also speak Spanish with my dogs.

They were born in Argentina and continued traveling with me, so Spanish became their language too. If you ever hear me talking to them, you will probably hear a very Argentine Spanish coming out of my mouth.

My Spanish is not Spanish from Spain. It is strongly influenced by Buenos Aires and Rioplatense Spanish, with its particular rhythm, vocabulary and pronunciation.

Spanish taught me something essential: sometimes, you do not learn a language because you “should”. You learn it because life gives you no other option — and because your heart is already there.

Greek: the language of roots

Greek had interested me for a long time before I actually learned it.

At school, students often chose between Latin and Greek. I chose Latin, partly because my schedule was already full of options, but I always kept a curiosity for Greek.

I was fascinated by the fact that so many French words are built from Greek roots: philosophie, philanthrope, philo, and so many others. Greek felt like one of the hidden foundations of French vocabulary and European thought.

So when I had to choose a destination for my Erasmus year, I chose Greece.

I studied international relations there for one academic year, over two semesters, and took six hours of Greek classes per week. At the end of the year, I obtained an A1 level in Greek.

With Greek, I can maintain a basic conversation: talk about my day, say what I like or dislike, ask for directions, introduce myself, and manage simple daily situations.

It is still a beginner level, but Greek remains special to me. I hope to live in Greece again one day, and when I do, I want to go much deeper into the language.

Some languages are useful because you need them immediately. Others stay in your life like a promise.

Greek is one of those.

Polish: the language of friendship

Polish entered my life in Greece, in the most natural way possible: through friendship.

During my Erasmus year, my roommate and best friend was Polish. We were both learning Greek together, so we covered the walls of our apartment with vocabulary lists.

For every word, we wrote the English version, the Greek version, the French version and the Polish version.

So every time we learned a word in Greek, I also learned it in Polish, and she learned it in French. It was not a formal method. It was just our daily life, our apartment, our friendship, our shared curiosity.

Because of that, I can communicate in Polish in a very basic way and recognize many words in conversation. I cannot really use Polish grammar, declensions or conjugations properly, but when I meet Polish people, they are often surprised that I understand parts of what they are saying.

Polish taught me that a language can enter your life through one person.

You may never become fluent. You may never take a proper course. But some words stay because they are attached to a face, a home, a year of your life.

Portuguese: the language I never formally studied

Portuguese is one of the funniest surprises in my language journey, because I never officially studied it.

When I lived in Dublin, my roommates were Brazilian. I built a very strong connection with them, and through daily life, conversations, music and friendship, I started absorbing Portuguese.

At the time, I had not learned Spanish yet. But I remember noticing that Portuguese somehow felt close to French in the way it was built. I did not fully understand the Latin connection yet, but I could feel that there was a bridge.

Those six months gave me a base of vocabulary and intuition. Later, my love for Brazilian series, including 3%, helped me continue developing the language passively.

One day, just for fun, I took a Portuguese level test. The result placed me somewhere between B1 and B2, even though I had never taken a Portuguese class in my life.

Today, I can watch series in Portuguese and have long conversations with Brazilians. Learning Spanish later also helped me connect French, Portuguese and Spanish even more clearly.

Portuguese taught me that formal classes are not the only way to learn.

Sometimes, exposure, affection, repetition and curiosity do a lot of the work.

Croatian: the language that opened the Slavic door

I spent two summer seasons in Dubrovnik, Croatia, four months each time.

Dubrovnik is famous for being one of the filming locations of Game of Thrones, but for me, it was also a place where I worked, lived and met Croatian colleagues.

Because I was living there, I became curious about the language. My Croatian colleagues spoke some foreign languages, but I still wanted to learn a little of theirs.

I learned very basic Croatian: greetings, talking about the weather, asking how someone is, saying what I was doing that day. Not even a full A1 level, more like half an A1. But those small basics mattered.

Years later, I realized that even this tiny amount of Croatian had opened a door.

When I met Macedonian, Serbian, Russian or Ukrainian speakers, I could sometimes recognize words or patterns. A phrase like dobro veče or dobar tek suddenly connected to other Slavic languages. I did not know the grammar, but I could feel relationships between languages.

Croatian taught me that even a small amount of knowledge can change the way you hear the world.

You do not need to be fluent for a language to open a new mental door.

Thai: the language I barely touched

During the last few years, I spent time between Thailand and the Philippines.

In Thailand, I learned only a few basics: greetings, polite expressions, simple everyday phrases. Part of the reason is that I was going through personal difficulties at the time, and I did not have the emotional space to study Thai deeply.

Another reason is that my daily social environment did not push me into the language in the same way other countries had. I did not have as many local conversations or community interactions as I later experienced in the Philippines.

So Thai stayed at survival level.

And that is also part of language learning.

Sometimes, the timing is not right. Sometimes, the country is there, the language is there, but your life is too full, too heavy or too chaotic to absorb it properly.

Not every language becomes a success story. And that is okay.

Visayan/Cebuano: learning the language of where I live

When I moved to the Philippines, especially to the Visayas region, I decided to learn Visayan, also commonly called Cebuano.

I started taking one hour of Visayan per week. But the real learning happened outside the lesson.

The Philippines taught me something very important about language and community. Here, community matters a lot. People talk, joke, ask questions, comment, help, react, tease and include you.

So every small piece of Visayan I learned immediately became useful.

I could use it with friends, neighbors, drivers, shop owners and people around me. And because I was using it in real life, the language became alive very quickly.

Today, I would say my Visayan is around A1. I can maintain a basic conversation for five to ten minutes, and then I usually switch back to English. I understand some of the structure, especially the way the language expresses time and aspect, but I still need to understand the grammar more deeply.

The vocabulary was easier than expected in some ways because many words are connected to Spanish. Words like pamilya are close to familia, and other everyday words have Spanish roots too. Since I speak Spanish, that helped me remember a lot.

My personal goal before leaving the Philippines is to reach A2 in Visayan: to be able to hold a full conversation without immediately relying on English.

Visayan is not just another language on a list. It is the language of the place where I live now. It is a way to show respect, to belong a little more, and to meet people halfway.

So, how many languages do I speak?

It depends on what you mean by “speak”.

If you mean languages I speak fluently, the answer is three: French, English and Spanish.

If you include languages I can use or understand at different levels, the answer is much broader: French, English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Greek, Polish, Croatian, Thai and Visayan/Cebuano.

But I do not think language learning should be measured only by numbers.

A language you speak fluently can change your life. But so can a language you only speak a little.

A few words can make someone smile.A basic sentence can open a conversation.

A survival phrase can make you feel less lost.

A song can stay in your memory for years.

A roommate can teach you vocabulary you never forget.

A country can give you a new rhythm.

A love story can give you a new voice.

That is why I do not see languages as trophies.

I see them as traces of life.

What learning languages taught me as a French teacher

Learning languages in so many different ways changed the way I teach French.

I know what it feels like to be the student who understands but cannot answer fast enough.

I know what it feels like to speak like a five-year-old in a language you studied for twelve years.

I know what it feels like to be proud of one sentence, only to receive an answer in English.

I know what it feels like to learn fast because you are in love, because you are immersed, because you need the language to survive socially.

I know what it feels like to learn without a textbook, through roommates, dogs, colleagues, series, markets, buses and friendships.

And I know that fluency is not a straight line.

That is why, at Nomad Languages, I do not teach French as a dead academic object. Of course, grammar matters. Structure matters. Accuracy matters.

But French is not only a subject.

French is a living language.

It is a language you can use to think, travel, work, flirt, complain, read, argue, joke, connect, dream and build a life.

My goal is not to help students collect perfect grammar rules. My goal is to help them make French part of their real life.

Because that is how languages stay.

FAQ

How many languages does Manon speak fluently?

Manon speaks three languages fluently: French, English and Spanish. French is her native language, while English and Spanish became fluent through study, travel, immersion and daily life abroad.

Does Manon speak Spanish?

Yes. Manon speaks Spanish fluently, with a strong Rioplatense influence from Buenos Aires. She learned Spanish in Argentina and later lived in Argentina and Mexico for several years. She still uses Spanish regularly with friends, family and even her dogs.

Does Manon speak English?

Yes. Manon speaks English fluently at around a C1 level. She studied English at school and university, then developed fluency through living abroad, especially in Ireland and Greece, and through more than ten years of international travel and work.

What is Manon’s native language?

Manon’s native language is French. She learned to read very early through children’s books, especially Les Petites Bêtes and Mini-Loup, and later studied literature, philosophy and history through the French academic system.

Does Manon speak German?

Manon studied German for about twelve years. Her level was probably around B2 at the end of her studies, and is now closer to B1. She understands a lot of German, especially in conversation, but does not use it as fluently as English or Spanish.

Did Latin help Manon learn Spanish?

Yes. Although Manon does not speak Latin, studying Latin for eleven years helped her recognize roots, structures and patterns in Romance languages. When she later learned Spanish, Latin helped her make connections more quickly.

What other languages has Manon learned?

Manon has also learned or been exposed to Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Croatian, Thai and Visayan/Cebuano. Her levels vary from basic survival phrases to intermediate conversation, depending on the language and the life context in which she learned it.

What is Manon’s approach to language learning?

Manon believes languages are not trophies to collect, but living tools for connection. Her language learning journey has been shaped by books, school, travel, love, friendships, work, community and immersion. This is also how she teaches French at Nomad Languages: as a real language for real life.

Read more about teacher Manon here!