vavarazzi Newbie United States Joined 5852 days ago 7 posts - 7 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Vietnamese
| Message 1 of 2 04 June 2012 at 11:18pm | IP Logged |
So I know I've been told not to try to learn multiple languages at once, but....ahhh how my language wanderlust tempts me! I was wondering if there is a way to actively engage yourself in learning one language (your main language, which you dedicate the most time to) but also gradually work on several others at the same time?
See, my most important language goal is fluency in Japanese. I'll be moving to Japan in a few months and I'm already at a low-advanced level with the language..around JLPT N2?...I understand that it takes total dedication to get to fluency, and I intend to not enclose myself in the expat bubble that so many foreigners get stuck in. I want to essentially immerse myself in Japanese once I get there. Basically, yeah, Japanese is my main goal and I think I know how to get over the hill to fluency in it if I work hard!
But at the same time, I have other language-learning goals too, and I want to still try to learn them while I'm still young and passionate for learning...people say to wait til I've mastered Japanese, but can I really not practice the other languages too, as long as they're just in smaller chunks out of my day? Like, maybe just maintaining them through Anki alone?
In addition to Japanese, I want to know:
-Vietnamese
(I've just finished taking one year of this in university and loved it. I'm still a beginner, but I feel like it would be such a shame to let go of what I've got.)
-Spanish
(I took a year of this in community college but forgot all the grammar stuff since. I still remember quite a bit of vocabulary, but I'd still call myself a beginner. Still, I LOVE this language and would really like to know it properly.)
-Turkish
(Total beginner. I know almost nothing, besides that it's an agglutinative language, which I actually love. I'm really fascinated with this language and culture, but have never taken classes or anything. I've got a dictionary and phrasebook though!)
Basically I'm wondering....has anyone ever tried focusing their main attention and immersing themselves in one language, but still (slowly) learning several others at the same time, just through Anki reviews and the occasional grammar lesson? I mean, that's what polyglots eventually do anyways, right? Dedicate little chunks of time to maintaining each of their languages? So is there a way to dedicate little chunks of time learning each of those secondary languages? Even if it's a slow process...
YOU GUUUUUYS I wanna be a polyglot so bad it hurts. :( Any ideas? Should I just research pronunciation and pop some occasional phrases from each secondary language into Anki decks while I do my main immersion stuff in Japanese? Sorry to be redundant, haha..
Edited by vavarazzi on 04 June 2012 at 11:22pm
1 person has voted this message useful
|
Alexander86 Tetraglot Senior Member United Kingdom alanguagediary.blogs Joined 4904 days ago 224 posts - 323 votes ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) ![](/images/pokal.2.jpg) Speaks: English*, Spanish, German, Catalan Studies: Swedish
| Message 2 of 2 05 June 2012 at 2:10pm | IP Logged |
Planning is the key. Make sure the main language has priority and then see how much you can fit around that. I
find that I can maintain a few languages relatively easily, and then work on two besides those.
Set out reasonable short, medium and long term goals and then plan towards them. If you wanna be a polyglot
you're gonna have to work towards it, but it wont be too difficult if you have the right attitude towards the
languages i.e. you need passion!
I'd concentrate on two, your main and your subsidiary. Set up a plan, try to stick to it and see how it feels.
Remember that you need well defined goals and targets, and then you can feel your progression which is key to
ensuring you don't become unenthused. You may be able to gradually phase in a third language, but make sure
you have sufficient time and that you don't start to confuse them.
Good luck.
1 person has voted this message useful
|
If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login. If you are not already registered you must first register
You cannot post new topics in this forum - You cannot reply to topics in this forum - You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum - You cannot create polls in this forum - You cannot vote in polls in this forum
This page was generated in 0.1406 seconds.