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Is it wise to learn 2 languages at 1 time | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6434 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 9 of 19 18 June 2013 at 9:03pm | IP Logged | |||||
If you need to choose one, go for Portuguese as you have a specific motivation. Whenever you get frustrated you can think of Brazil. Be sure to watch some matches too - PM me if you don't know how. I've had an AMAZING experience with pre-Euro Poland last year :) But it was easier for me as a Russian, so I think that regardless of your Spanish, you should start Portuguese now ♥ 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5099 days ago 2237 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 10 of 19 18 June 2013 at 10:12pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Serpent, you misunderstood me. In this sense "isn't going anywhere" means physically, not metaphorically, isn't going anywhere- Portuguese, as a language, will still physically be there when he gets his Spanish up to a decent level- not that the language isn't growing or won't have importance- far from it! What I mean is that Portuguese doesn't have a "sell-by" date stamped on its side. It's not going to expire while he learns Spanish or vice-versa. Believe me, I would never insinuate that Portuguese isn't, or isn't going to be, very important for an American to know.
I have the deepest respect for your abilities, which I consider nothing short of amazing, but I must admit that I am somewhat surprised that you would recommend a rank beginner to learn two similar languages simultaneously. Would you advise me, if I were monolingual with no language learning experience, to learn Russian and Ukrainian at the same time? How would you have fared learning Finnish and Estonian simultaneously as your very first foray into foreign languages? Most of us here are accomplished language learners, let's try to put ourselves in the shoes of someone who, as the OP says, is a "complete beginner". I have no doubt that I could probably learn Italian and French simultaneously, but I have language learning experience and two Romance languages to rely on. The OP only has English and has never learned a foreign language before, as far as I know. Edited by iguanamon on 18 June 2013 at 10:35pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6434 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 11 of 19 18 June 2013 at 10:57pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I know you didn't mean Portuguese is useless :)
And as I said, I recommend either passive skills only, or ditching Spanish temporarily because Portuguese is more interesting. The main thing I recommending is not missing out on a fantastic opportunity in Brazil. Because I'm jealous :P unlike you, I've never been to Brazil. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5099 days ago 2237 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 12 of 19 18 June 2013 at 11:23pm | IP Logged | |||||
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You'd love Brasil, Serpent! The people are so warm and friendly and the country itself is amazingly beautiful. I agree, it's a tremendous opportunity for him to have. Given the same set of circumstances, I'd drop Spanish and pick it back up in a year. There isn't much English or Spanish spoken in Brasil.
The OP has a lot of big plans, time will tell whether or not he fulfills them. The power is, indeed, in his hands. I just don't want the OP to end up like a lot of former members here who had similar great plans, bit off way more than they could chew and gave up on language learning. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4544 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 13 of 19 18 June 2013 at 11:44pm | IP Logged | |||||
Correct, but I did take into account she said she lived in Limburg (near the border with Germany). In Limburg (and in the eastern part of the country in general), there are plenty Germans that cross the border and so speaking German is a little more common in those areas than it is in the west. Limbourg is a strange area of the Netherlands in general; the dialect tends to be stronger in that area, and it's also the only tonal dialect of Dutch. Since I rarely visit the area after the passing of my grandparents (who lived in the North - a world of difference with Maastricht for example), their dialect isn't my forte - but what I can say is that Limbourgians have much more and much better contact with the German language than I do here in the west. Whether you encounter many German speakers in the Netherlands is quite location-dependent. For city-dwellers, I would actually recommend Turkish or Moroccan Arabic. As for the OP; I personally don't see interference as a risk; burn-out is a bigger risk. But I do not know the OP well enough to pass definitive judgement on that. Edited by tarvos on 18 June 2013 at 11:46pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| DevonAero Newbie United States Joined 4019 days ago 34 posts - 38 votes Speaks: English* | Message 14 of 19 19 June 2013 at 12:07am | IP Logged | |||||
Yep lol that's me. I'm already starting to feel the "burn out". How did you guys stay so motivated? PS: And thanks for all the awesome suggestions everyone! 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5099 days ago 2237 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 15 of 19 19 June 2013 at 1:39am | IP Logged | |||||
Keep your eyes on the prize, always. Think about how great it will be when you will be able to read for pleasure, enjoy music, films and television without subtitles, talk about anything you want easily with Spanish-speakers who cannot speak English. That's what kept me going. Learning a language is more akin to a marathon, not a sprint. Don't push yourself so hard that it becomes a chore. Burn-out is counter productive. That's why I said you'd be better off taking 10-11 months to reach your goal in Spanish rather than three. Then you could start picking up some Portuguese for a couple of months before your trip. But remember, you still have to maintain your Spanish or you'll lose a lot of what you will have worked so hard to get. Edited by iguanamon on 19 June 2013 at 1:49am 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| DevonAero Newbie United States Joined 4019 days ago 34 posts - 38 votes Speaks: English* | Message 16 of 19 19 June 2013 at 5:23am | IP Logged | |||||
That was beautiful, thanks a lot! I'm still gonna need a lot of help though, so I hope the forum doesn't get tired of seeing me. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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