Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World

Not Mixing Up Languages
Now that we’ve established the ideas behind multilingualism, I can share
some techniques that have helped me keep track of all the different
languages in my head without mixing them up. These are equally applicable
whether you have your eye on a large handful of languages or on only two
or three.
As I mentioned before, I pick just one language to learn at a time and
stick to that until I am very confident in it. When I apply certain techniques
to blend in and appreciate the local culture more, I find this seeps into my
language skills. Plus, I use body language and a sense of a “personality”
with the language to help me keep it separate in my mind. This is more of a
psychological tool than a language learning one, but as I learn a language, I
make sure I am trying my best to use it as a native would.
For example, in French you have to speak a little in the front of your
mouth. This requires you to purse your lips a little to get a more authentic
sound. I would learn all my vocabulary this way, sounding it out and trying
to do it à la française.
Castilian Spanish, on the other hand, tends to be spoken further back in
the mouth. This means that a French word like voiture simply can’t come
out of my mouth when I am speaking Spanish, because I have learned this
word in a French way and it just feels weird to say it another way, even
when adding a more Spanish -o or -a to it. Not only does it not synchronize
with the position of my mouth, but the word also doesn’t line up with my
body language or even the way I think.

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This mental association helps us naturally compartmentalize languages
in our minds, the same way we use certain formal words in work situations
and slang ones with our friends. We are in a different mindset in both cases.
Saying a Portuguese word like falar with Brazilian body language while
trying to think like a Brazilian and speak a similar language like Spanish is
just not going to happen. Saying anything but hablar for “to speak,” in
Spanish, will sound like an aggressive intrusion to me. Practice and
reinforcement mean that the language becomes a part of you, and things
like this just sound right—or wrong, as the case may be.
Hearing a word and using it regularly is the best way to make sure you
use each language confidently. With time, you will successfully
compartmentalize each new language in your mind.
Like Richard, I also have been in environments that have required me to
make a switch in a language, such as at international events with people
from all around the world. At first, I have stumbled into some weird
Franglais, Spanglish, Portuñol, Denglish, Espaliano, or some other odd
mixture of languages, but I can quickly correct myself and remember not to
do it again. You simply learn and become good at switching between the
languages.