Gallery

Samira

Hometown: Orlando, Florida

Language: Japanese

Samira is a health education and behavior student at the University of Florida. She can speak English, Bangla, French and Japanese. Speaking different languages has helped her broaden her communication skills and learn to appreciate other cultures and traditions.

Her advice: “You need to continuously study because all the vocabulary or grammar you learn one day will disappear from you head the next.”

Japan

While Japan's four main islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku are the most well-known, the Japanese archipelago actually includes 6,852 islands, with more than 18,000 miles of coastline. Approximately one-third of Japan's 124.7 million people live in and around the Tokyo area in Honshu's Kanto region.

Data from the CIA World Factbook and Statistics Bureau of Japan.

The Kanto region of Japan.

Irene

Hometown: Madrid, Spain

Language: Catalan

Irene is pursuing a master’s degree in communications. She speaks Spanish, English, Catalan, French and some German. A native Spanish speaker, she began learning Catalan when dating her now-husband from Tarragona, who speaks it with his friends and family.

Learning languages opened up many opportunities for her. She has studied in the United States in two different stints. Catalan has helped her grow closer with her husband’s loved ones. She has also found apologizing in his native language effective for placating an angry husband.

Her advice: Immerse yourself. Her English improved considerably when she started watching TV and reading books in English. For fellow English learners, she found “Friends” to be a valuable resource.

Spain

While Castilian Spanish is official nationwide, several other regions have co-official languages.

These include Catalan and Valencian (a dialect of Catalan), Galician, Basque and Aranese, which is official in northwest Catalonia with fewer than five thousand speakers (<1%).

Data from the CIA World Factbook.

Official languages of Spain.

Marc

Hometown: Tarragona, Spain

Language: German

Marc is pursuing a doctorate in mechanical engineering at the University of Florida. He speaks 5 languages: Catalan, Spanish, English, German and French.

He grew up in Catalonia, where both Catalan and Spanish are official languages learning both as a result, but considers Catalan to be his first language.

He decided to learn German at age 14, guided by his interest in engineering. Since Germany is a nexus for engineering in Europe, he knew he would eventually need to speak German to communicate with his colleagues.

He ended up pursuing a master’s degree in Germany.

Best experience with the language: He is proud of defending his master’s thesis in German — followed closely by the first time he dreamt in German while living abroad.

His advice: “Practice, practice, practice. Don’t be shy; even if you aren’t totally confident, speaking is how I learned the most.”

Marc used German to advance his engineering career. It just goes to show that if you can dream it, then you can do it — and if you’re lucky, you might even dream it in German.

Germany

In the European Union, around 3 million people work in mechanical engineering. Germany accounts for 43% of those jobs, more than two and half times the next leading country.

The proportion of EU scientists and engineers a country employs typically tracks with its population, however Germany's percentage is higher than it's population would suggest.

Data from VDMA and Eurostat.

Haram

Hometown: Busan, South Korea

Language: Mandarin

Haram is pursuing a doctorate in psychology at the University of Florida. She speaks Korean, English and Mandarin. She has been speaking Mandarin for around 15 years.

She lived in Shanghai, China for 8 years, where she attended middle and high school before returning to Korea for her bachelor's and master's degrees.

She hopes to continue practicing Mandarin.

China

The world's most populous country has a total of 306 languages, 13 of which share a writing system and are collectively known as Chinese. Mandarin Chinese — the most widely used of the 13 — boasts the world's largest number of native speakers.

While having nearly twice as many native speakers as the next largest language (Spanish), English surpasses Mandarin in total number of speakers including non-native speakers.

Data from Ethnologue.

Katie

Hometown: Tampa, Florida

Language: French

Katie works as an immigration adviser at the University of Florida, where she is also working towards a master’s degree in mass communications.

She began learning French to try to feel a connection to her grandfather, who passed away before she met him. “My grandfather loved French. I thought studying the language might help me understand him.”

For Katie, speaking French has provided many opportunities: French has helped her create relationships in countries where it is not the primary language and helped her get by in countries where it is.

Katie’s French really paid dividends when she met a man from Haiti. He seemed reserved—even uneasy and stuttered when he spoke in English. He reacted with joy when she asked in French if he preferred to speak French instead. The similarity between Creole and French made it much easier for him to open up to her.

He mentioned that it was difficult for him to communicate in English with the stutter and that he was more comfortable this way. Seeing his face light up and hearing his stutter disappear made learning French worth it to Katie. She helped someone else out and made a new friend in the process.

Her advice: “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or sound stupid. Displacement and feeling uncomfortable is a great thing.”

Being around native speakers may seem daunting, but for Katie, immersing yourself in potentially uncomfortable situations is just part of the process. In the end, you will become better for it and even gain respect for others who have done the same to learn your language.

French

French is spoken in 117 countries and territories around the world, with nearly 267 million total speakers. In fact, 29 of these use French as an official language.

Many international organizations also use French as an official working language, such as the European Union, the World Health Organization, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and FIFA.

Data from the Ethnologue and Wikipedia.

Territories with French as an official language. Data: Wikipedia

Hunter

Hometown: Coral Springs, Florida

Language: French

Hunter started learning French in 2019. He takes French classes in Gainesville, Fla., but he also practices at the Gainesville Language Exchange (GLX), a weekly meetup at a local bar.

He takes the opportunity to meet people from different cultures and practice with other French speakers.

He was inspired to learn a new language after a trip where he hitchhiked from Lisbon, Portugal to Frankfurt, Germany. Struggling to communicate effectively and connect with others on the trip motivated him to start learning a new language.

He was opportunities why he takes the time to go to GLX.

"It just brings language back to its roots. I'm not learning French so I can study and study and study, I'm learning French so I can talk to people."

Gainesville Language Exchange

The Gainesville Language Exchange (GLX) gathers language learners, university students and other community members weekly at a bar in downtown Gainesville, Fla. At these casual get-togethers, guests can choose flag stickers that represent where they are from and what languages they speak, giving others a basis for conversation and connection.

GLX offers 182 different flags to visitors, which include established languages, countries and territories, as well as some regional and even fictional flags, such as that representing Black Panther's Wakanda.

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