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When choosing becomes just too difficult | ||
Tags: Wanderlust | Choosing a Language | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| Jacob_Kap Pentaglot Newbie IsraelRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5110 days ago 11 posts - 12 votes Speaks: Arabic (Levantine), Russian, Modern Hebrew*, Arabic (Egyptian), German Studies: Arabic (Written), Japanese, Swiss-German | Message 1 of 14 20 September 2013 at 9:10am | IP Logged | ||
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Hey guys,
I'm really into learning languages and linguistics but when it comes to choosing the next language to study, it just becomes too difficult. I struggle a lot deciding on a target language and when I overcome this struggling I get tired of the language, as I become more interested in some other language. Have you experienced this feeling? Was it difficult for you to stick to ONE language, too? Would be glad to read any suggestions! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| caam_imt Triglot Senior Member Mexico Joined 4864 days ago 232 posts - 357 votes  Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2, Finnish Studies: German, Swedish | Message 2 of 14 20 September 2013 at 9:55am | IP Logged | ||
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There are many threads on the forum about this matter, so you could try searching. But to
answer your question, here's what I did. I opened an Excel file and devised a points system in order to rate my languages. My criteria were grammar (how hard for me), resources (a lot or not), how exotic it is (writing system, language family), number of articles in Wikipedia and phonetics (how hard for me). I had a list of like 30 languages, but after seeing the results of the sheet, I narrowed it down to 15. It's still a lot, but not as bad as before. And what's more important is that I also came up with an order, so now I know that I'll be learning e.g. Greek a loooong time from now. Try to do something like this yourself, sometimes math and statistics offer perspective. Edited by caam_imt on 20 September 2013 at 9:56am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Ogrim Heptaglot Senior Member France Joined 4641 days ago 991 posts - 1896 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, French, Romansh, German, Italian Studies: Russian, Catalan, Latin, Greek, Romanian | Message 3 of 14 20 September 2013 at 10:00am | IP Logged | ||
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What you describe is the typical Wanderlust that many people experience from time to time, but if I read you correctly you seem to lose interest very quickly.
Maybe you should ask yourself why you decide on a particular language. Is it for purely linguistic reasons or is it because you are interested in a country, a specific culture or the literature of that language? My choices have always been based on such criteria. And why do you have to stick to just one language? Unless you have an ambition of learning one particular language as quickly as possible, it might be better to do two or three at a time, in order to satisfy your wanderlust/curiosity. Maybe that way you will keep your interest in the language longer. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4709 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 4 of 14 20 September 2013 at 10:39am | IP Logged | ||
Yeah. This is why I never decide on a new language, but end up studying something radically different and loving it. I just do what I do. I can't stick to one language, really. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| eyðimörk Triglot Senior Member France goo.gl/aT4FY7 Joined 4101 days ago 490 posts - 1158 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French Studies: Breton, Italian | Message 5 of 14 20 September 2013 at 3:46pm | IP Logged | ||
I think that's excellent advice. If you lose interest in a language the second you decide to learn it, you are probably not very invested in learning it. And if you aren't invested in learning the language, chances are that you won't even if you give it a try. On the off chance that you are very invested in several languages but stressing out over time limitations and wanting to do everything now, or something similar, then it may just be a matter of getting organised... but that shouldn't really lead to losing interest, should it? 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| ScottScheule Diglot Senior Member United States scheule.blogspot.com Joined 5230 days ago 645 posts - 1176 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Latin, Hungarian, Biblical Hebrew, Old English, Russian, Swedish, German, Italian, French | Message 6 of 14 20 September 2013 at 4:20pm | IP Logged | ||
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Let me just put in a good word for wanderlust. I study a very large amount of languages, and when I get bored of one I simply switch to another. Is this efficient? Almost surely not. But, if like me, you simply enjoy the process of learning a language, results be damned, it's hard to find anything to complain about.
(Although I have tried to restrict my learning to a couple languages as an experiment.) Edited by ScottScheule on 20 September 2013 at 7:10pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5558 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 7 of 14 20 September 2013 at 7:36pm | IP Logged | ||
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Wanderlust used to be a real problem for me too, but then I took on a few more languages, and am now just too busy to wander any real distance. Studying several languages is like a satisfying full-blown linguistic banquet, offering room for little else by its conclusion each day. By the time I've gobbled down my starters, main course, pudding, cheese and crackers, glass of port, and complementary chocolate mints, my eyes are certainly no longer bigger than my tummy (indeed, quite the opposite!). And so it's pretty much the same with languages nowadays, although I occasionally cast a greedy eye over at a neighbouring table to see what they're eating from time to time, especially if it looks or smells mighty tasty. :P Edited by Teango on 20 September 2013 at 7:36pm 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6107 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 8 of 14 20 September 2013 at 8:12pm | IP Logged | ||
Agreed! And the same flavour(s) day-in-day-out can give linguistic indigestion. That's why I'm tempted to add a few contrasting flavours to my solitary TL, lovely though it is :) We all need a dessert right? (Hmmm....that Italian looks nice....) Edited by Mooby on 20 September 2013 at 8:14pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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