I think "gateway language" is a really powerful concept indeed! My knowing Spanish has made it much more approachable for me to pick up Portuguese, Italian, and

I think "gateway language" is a really powerful concept indeed! My knowing Spanish has made it much more approachable for me to pick up Portuguese, Italian, and French phrases. Also, while I'm not a native German nor Dutch speaker, when i worked for a Dutch boss and picked up a few phrases, it made it so much easier for me to pick up some German when on another job i gained a German boss.