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How to learn multiple languages at once? | ||
Tags: Simultaneous study | Beginner | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Medulin Tetraglot Senior Member Croatia Joined 4668 days ago 1199 posts - 2192 votes  Speaks: Croatian*, English, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Norwegian, Hindi, Nepali | Message 9 of 16 16 September 2012 at 3:55pm | IP Logged | |||||
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When I was in medical school, I didn't study for more than one exam at once. It's a waste of time. You want all your efforts and concentration to go to one specific subject/language, which is your focus language of the moment. You have to live in this language, think in this language...That's why one year of intensive 4-5 hour-a-day learning is more efficient than 2 hours every day for many years. The best thing should be: set a goal, maybe a B2 test of the language, and dedicate entirely to this language. Good luck. Edited by Medulin on 16 September 2012 at 3:56pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6597 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 10 of 16 16 September 2012 at 4:18pm | IP Logged | |||||
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4-5 hours a day are only efficient if you can handle that. Most people have this sort of dedication to only one or two languages.
Also, related languages keep one another alive. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| dysphonia Tetraglot Groupie United States Joined 7161 days ago 48 posts - 58 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French, German Studies: Russian | Message 11 of 16 16 September 2012 at 4:39pm | IP Logged | |||||
lol. I knew someone would say this. But I hoped that people would realize that of course if languages = 0, then time and effort also must equal zero, and therefore results still = 0, not infinite ;) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| dysphonia Tetraglot Groupie United States Joined 7161 days ago 48 posts - 58 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French, German Studies: Russian | Message 12 of 16 16 September 2012 at 4:44pm | IP Logged | |||||
Yes, it is too simplistic. But I was trying to answer the persons soul searching in as concise a manner as possible. Is it possible to learn more than one language at once? Of course it is. But there's a limit to how much you can achieve if you divide your effort. Of course the relationship isn't linear as I implied. There is a cut off above which additional effort does not yield returns, and a cut off below which even if you are putting in say 3 seconds of effort a day, it doesn't matter how long you do that you won't reach the critical level at which point the effort adds up in a cumulative way. But the one liner is still - its possible, but dividing your effort will likely make progress slower. So decide what is most important to you, and go with that. If you just *have* to study more than one language, do that. If you just *have* to make as rapid progress as possible or you will lose interest, better to focus on just one. :) 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| dysphonia Tetraglot Groupie United States Joined 7161 days ago 48 posts - 58 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French, German Studies: Russian | Message 13 of 16 16 September 2012 at 4:52pm | IP Logged | |||||
And when *I* (lol) was in medical school we had tests in different subjects every week, so I didn't have a choice but to study multiple subjects at once. Somehow I still managed to learn! But then this study style suited me. Like someone else commented I don't have the interest (or time) in any one language right now to spend 4-5 hours a day on it. It's just my hobby. I prefer to study two languages at once as it keeps my interest up (even if I make slower progress), and I without doubt spend more total time studying languages per day than I would if I just tried one. However, I only study one *new* language at a time - the other are always at some level more advanced. I'm going to stop commenting on this now, as I don't think I am helping anyone. My initial reply was intended to help the original poster choose a goal based on his/her preferences (speed vs breadth) as I (and probably many of us here) have experinced the wanderlust of languages, and the only way to make progress is to set yourself reaistic goals. Edited by dysphonia on 16 September 2012 at 4:54pm 7 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| patuco Diglot Moderator Gibraltar Joined 7015 days ago 3795 posts - 4268 votes Speaks: Spanish, English* Personal Language Map | Message 14 of 16 16 September 2012 at 11:54pm | IP Logged | |||||
Not only that, but, as others have mentioned, I think that you should enjoy what you're doing. If 6 hours per subject per day pouring through 12 different grammar books rocks your boat, go for it. If you like learning 8 languages simultaneously via Pimsleur only, go for it. If you think that nothing beats 15 minutes of learning every other day, go for it. Your results will 'probably' vary, but, ultimately, how you decide to spend your leisure time is entirely up to you. It shouldn't be a chore. 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6597 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 15 of 16 17 September 2012 at 12:06am | IP Logged | |||||
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And within sensible limits what you enjoy is the best method for you, because if you force yourself to do what you don't like you're very likely to give up/study less.
1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Juаn Senior Member Colombia Joined 5345 days ago 727 posts - 1830 votes Speaks: Spanish* | Message 16 of 16 17 September 2012 at 8:34pm | IP Logged | |||||
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In my case at least, the only limitation pertaining to the number of languages I study is time. If you can devote adequate attention to three, four or more languages, and you wish to do so, there is no reason why you shouldn't undertake them. Rather, the more languages and methods you have been exposed to, the better equipped you are to tackle additional content, as it provides you with valuable perspective.
Spending too little time on each language however can be demoralizing and counterproductive, as knowledge becomes rusty before you have had the chance to firmly impress it into your mind, forcing you to constantly backtrack. 45 min of concentrated study at least once every other day is my threshold. 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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