The secrets to multilingualism by Lauren Cudjoe, Reigate College

Multilingualism - the ability to speak multiple languages. In this article, College students Fiona Bentley (who speaks beautiful Hungarian and French) and Nadya Porokhnya (who is fluent in French, Spanish and Russian) discuss their respective journeys towards this timelessly rewarding and profitable goal and offer valuable advice on how others can achieve this too.

Fiona Bentley

'I speak Hungarian and rarely English with my Mum, so it does affect my daily life as I have to speak it and hear it every day. I actually think I said my first words in Hungarian, I learned it just by picking it up from my Mum and family when I was little.'

'When I go to Hungary I can understand the people there, and talk to them or even hear Hungarian people speak in England! Maybe future employers would be interested to know that I speak another language.'

'It can be fun to try and pick up a language. You could start by learning the most common words used and different tenses( past, present, future). You could also start writing things, maybe keeping a journal, in the language u want to learn. Apart from learning common words and grammar, maybe expose yourself to the language you want to learn. For example, listening to music or reading in that language. I think listening and understanding things is the hardest skill to learn in a new language (that is what I thought when I was learning French) so maybe listen to music and watch things in that language to pick it up.'

Nadya Porokhnya

'I guess speaking another language affects your daily life because every day you have to make sure to keep it up, and find something to do to keep it up - maybe just reading a little bit of a book. It's just that there is always something in the back of your mind -  that there's something you need to keep up, otherwise you will forget it. You have to get around lots of situations where you are saying less than what you really want to say, or what you truly mean, knowing you can't get yourself across quite as easily or quite as well.'

'I wanted to be able to discover another part of myself. I guess with your personality, you only know yourself one way when you've only heard yourself speak in one language- so every time you learn a language that's like discovering another person. That was what motivated me to learn French back when I was 12 or 13. I think what has always motivated me to learn a language - is just to be part of that world. To be part of France, to be part of Spain, to be part of that culture - whether it's the books, or the songs, the shows, or the movies.'

'To get the accent I would watch a lot of television shows and YouTube videos and listen really carefully to what they would say, pause the video and try to repeat it. I would also watch French celebrity interviews and write down what the celebrities would say, and listen again, and again. Also, I would read out loud. Reading out loud is better than reading in your head if you are trying to get the accent, and, also, when you can hear yourself in that accent you get used to yourself.'

'Being multilingual has been very useful to me in situations where there would have been a language barrier - but luckily I could speak the other language so there wasn't a language barrier. For example, when I went on the French exchange trip. It wasn't confusing, we could just talk to each other, and that was quite nice. Having a language barrier can be very annoying so it's very useful to be able to just speak. Also when you go to that country you can speak in that language and it's useful because you can understand the signs, or you can speak to whomever you need to in the country - ask for directions if you are lost. On a trip to France, our car broke down and I found some French people, and I was able to speak to them and explain to them the issue, and they could come and help us - and that was really useful. I think that's the most useful thing - when the language barrier is no longer there.'

'I definitely think languages will benefit me in the future because I would really love to live abroad and it would really be a huge benefit for me to live outside of The UK. I've always wanted to live in Paris, or somewhere in Spain. You never know what friends you will be able to come across  that can speak the other language - you never know - so I think that will be a huge benefit in the future, being able to meet and talk to people who come from other countries, and make lasting friendships.'

By Lauren Cudjoe