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Learning multiple languages | ||
Tags: Simultaneous study | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Silvance Diglot Groupie United States Joined 5493 days ago 57 posts - 81 votes  Speaks: English*, Pashto Studies: Dari | Message 1 of 23 22 June 2014 at 1:21am | IP Logged |
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I'm curious as to everyone's opinion. Is it easier for you guys to slowly build up multiple languages at a time or to learn one, then move on to another, and then another. If the latter, at what level do you stop a language and move on to another?
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| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5008 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 2 of 23 22 June 2014 at 2:33am | IP Logged |
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1. Depends on many things. What are your goals, what kind of learner you are, which languages, etc. There
are exemples of both approaches on htlal. Usually, americans tend to go for high level in one before moving on while europeans tend to prefer more at once ;-) 2. No matter which one you choose, there is no such thing as stopping a language unless you don't mind losing it. Maintain it enough to keep the level or enev progress slowly or find yourself lost a year later. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6596 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 3 of 23 22 June 2014 at 3:22am | IP Logged |
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I'm trying to sum up as much of this on-going discussion as possible here.
(Cavesa, can you think of a suitable part for the Europe vs America thing? Maybe a specific post of yours where it's explained in more detail? I obviously know what you mean but I kind of struggle incorporating this into the wikia page, at least at 5am :D) Edited by Serpent on 22 June 2014 at 3:58am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| JamesS Diglot Newbie Australia Joined 4214 days ago 20 posts - 30 votes Speaks: English*, Indonesian Studies: Javanese, German, Mandarin | Message 4 of 23 22 June 2014 at 1:16pm | IP Logged |
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It seems you may have to find out for yourself whether the issues mentioned will affect you - there are
enough people who have proven they can study a number of languages at the same time to show that it is not necessarily an impractical approach. If you begin with the assumption that it is necessary to work on your language(s) more or less every single day, you can simply weigh the time you have available against the amount of time you consider necessary for meaningful and useful study. I have personally found I need/prefer an hour per language and, given my lifestyle, I can set aside two hours per day at the most. So, I limit myself to studying two at a time. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Fuenf_Katzen Diglot Senior Member United States notjustajd.wordpress Joined 4368 days ago 337 posts - 476 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Polish, Ukrainian, Afrikaans | Message 5 of 23 22 June 2014 at 6:22pm | IP Logged |
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Cavesa's observations that Europeans tend to go for more at once while Americans (or maybe we could even include English speakers generally) go for learning one to a high level first would make a lot of sense. As Europe as a continent has many countries which have different languages, there is a good argument to be made for learning several languages to an A1 level instead of focusing on getting a C1 in one (and therefore be limited to those few countries where it will be spoken). Even an A1 level can make it so that your interactions with others stay in that language. Compare that to the average American where you can go several thousand miles and you will not need to speak anything other than English. Of course you may have an opportunity to do so, but unless you were to find your way into a very distinct neighborhood, English will be the expected language.
Personally I chose to learn one language to around a B2 before starting on another. I wouldn't necessarily limit it to being at that level anymore though. I've really come to change my expectations on how much one actually knows at the lower levels, and I've found that even A2 can take you pretty far (much more than one might expect). 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5008 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 6 of 23 22 June 2014 at 7:17pm | IP Logged |
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Well there are two more reasons behind the difference in my opinion
. 1.north america, and especially the usa, is a much more competitive culture from what i've observed from various americans and europeans and their views. One of my history teachers explained the difference by the fact that the north american continent was colonized mostly by protenstants, especially calvinists, whose religion required them to work hard and the success, while there were few ways to enjoy its fruits without becoming a sinner, was.a sign of god's love and approval. While today's americans live much more comfortably, they have still kept the need for success and achievement inside of them, which is supported by greater social differences between those who succeed economically and those who fail. I suppose the difference of Europe lies in this: it is the continent where these life views were mixed with others, more hedonist ones. Baroque rich art and need to astonish is just an exemple. Europe is a continent where the majority of western philosophy was born. A continent which went through lots of wars and evils where people tend to ask more questions about quality of life and its meaning beside money. Therefore I see the difference as the difference between americans, wanting a highly useful tool to profit from, and europeans, wanting to enjoy the path and gain the most in term of wide opportunities for both business and enjoyment. 2. Native language of most north americans is English. They don't need another language. Everyone else kisses their a...s with English. And the dark side is that they need to be highly proficient in order to be better then their partner is at English. Significantly better if the other person has a tendency to language banditry. Most europeans have a different native language. Therefore they need lower levels to "outlevel" the tl natives as those are much less likely to have a B2 or higher in anything else than English. They know as well how hard it is to learn a language so they appreciate the efforts of others more as well in my opinion. As a czech or danish, you are unlikely to meet a language bandit. And you are on a continent where several proud nations are still keeping their languages quite as useful as English. 9 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6596 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 7 of 23 22 June 2014 at 7:40pm | IP Logged |
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It's not an A1 vs C1 debate either. Most Europeans want to reach at least B1 I think, and A1 is only useful for casual travel. Besides, the passive skills are very likely to reach C1-C2 in English and B2-C1 in other big languages. Edited by Serpent on 22 June 2014 at 7:43pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5008 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 8 of 23 22 June 2014 at 7:54pm | IP Logged |
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I agree about the levels totally. It's not that europeans settle for low levels and don't go further. We want good levels (B1-C1, depends on the person and language) but we just don't mind getting there later because of spreading ourselves thinner.
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