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Learning Dutch and German simultaneously | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| Ug_Caveman Newbie United Kingdom Joined 4773 days ago 32 posts - 31 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Dutch | Message 1 of 10 27 April 2014 at 7:22pm | IP Logged | ||
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Just a curiosity,
Has anybody ever tried/succeeded in learning German and Dutch at the same time? I know the general consensus about learning two related languages is generally not to do so, but I've also known people to learn Spanish and Italian without incident and other similar combinations. The reason I ask is because I want to learn both languages in a way where I am able to speak them independently and not have one language influence the other, accidentally saying "nicht" as opposed to "niet", etc. Is this possible, or is it simply a better idea to learn one first, then the other? If this is the case, which would you recommend learning first - Dutch or German? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Ug_Caveman Newbie United Kingdom Joined 4773 days ago 32 posts - 31 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Dutch | Message 2 of 10 27 April 2014 at 7:33pm | IP Logged | ||
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Also, I'm not sure if I posted this in the correct section. If it is not, please do move
it and I apologise. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| snorrews Pentaglot Newbie Norway Joined 4077 days ago 4 posts - 8 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Swedish, Danish, German Studies: Russian | Message 3 of 10 27 April 2014 at 8:04pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think it is very possible to learn two even closely related languages at the same time. However, in order
to make it easier for yourself, I think it is a good idea to try to separate the activities connected with learning each language as much as possible. The separation could be German in the morning - Dutch in the evening, German books - Dutch newspapers, German TV - Dutch audiobooks, or whatever. I can read German quite well, and I am reading Dutch using LingQ in order to see how much I can learn without effort (i.e. without using grammar book, Assimil, etc). I don't mix the two, but they are at quite different levels for me, and maybe that helps. In general on the question about whether it is wise to learn two languages at the time or one after another, I would say that it depends on how much interest you are able to muster for the languages. If you find that you have energy and interest to study one language all the time (i.e. filling all your available time with one language), then perhaps it is OK to learn one first and then another. However, if you get "bored" after some hours with one language, but still want to study more, perhaps it is advisable to study both at the same time, switching between the two as indicated initially. Also, if you start with one language in order to learn it properly and then another, you will (I think) soon reach a level in the one language that allows you to start with the basics in the other without confusing them. The bottom line is that it all comes down to interest and doing things you enjoy. If you find pleasure in studying two related languages at a time, go ahead and do so. You will even discover several advantages to that approach, I would guess. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| beano Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4613 days ago 1049 posts - 2152 votes  Speaks: English*, German Studies: Russian, Serbian, Hungarian | Message 4 of 10 27 April 2014 at 8:42pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think you can learn any two languages simultaneously. If the languages are closely related then it cuts down
the work load (although I guess you have to tread carefully to avoid conflating them). Millions of people learn 2 languages as part of growing up (not sure if its correct to say 2 languages natively. For example a Tunisian kid with Arabic and French. Speaks one at home, schooled in another). 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| albysky Triglot Senior Member Italy lang-8.com/1108796Registered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4379 days ago 287 posts - 393 votes Speaks: Italian*, English, German | Message 5 of 10 28 April 2014 at 12:46pm | IP Logged | ||
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It is surely possible , but I think it is more effective to learn first German and than dutch or vice versa .
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| fabriciocarraro Hexaglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member Brazil russoparabrasileirosRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4706 days ago 989 posts - 1454 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, EnglishB2, Italian, Spanish, Russian, French Studies: Dutch, German, Japanese | Message 6 of 10 28 April 2014 at 3:23pm | IP Logged | ||
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Why are you in such a hurry in the first place?
I would try to dedicate myself to learn one of them first (probably German) for at least 1 year, then Dutch will be like a walk in the park. I agree with something Luca Lampariello said once: supposing there's a challenge to learn 10 new languages in 10 years, one of the contestants tries learning all the 10 at the same time, and the other one focus on a pair of languages not closely related for blocks of 2 years (for example, Italian and Swedish for 2 years, then German and Portuguese for another 2 years, etc). The latter will most likely be much more successful in his journey, because the previously learned languages will ease the learning of the closely related new ones, since he'll have a deeper knowledge of it already. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4698 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish | Message 7 of 10 28 April 2014 at 3:46pm | IP Logged | ||
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Interference is overrated, the bigger trouble is with your workload and burnout.
6 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| albysky Triglot Senior Member Italy lang-8.com/1108796Registered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4379 days ago 287 posts - 393 votes Speaks: Italian*, English, German | Message 8 of 10 28 April 2014 at 6:22pm | IP Logged | ||
Wise words :-) . I can also support what Travos says , having a really solid foundation in German I feel that to learn to understand native content in dutch reasonably well is a matter of months . 1 person has voted this message useful |
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