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Is adding a third language a bad idea? | ||
Tags: Simultaneous study | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5261 days ago 2241 posts - 6731 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 9 of 18 06 October 2014 at 10:58pm | IP Logged | ||
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Welcome to the forum, magnax1. Do what you want to do. You are going to anyway, regardless of any of our advice. Most people who ask these types of questions are usually looking for validation for a decision that they have already reached. I agree with Ari on this one. But hey, you know yourself a lot better than we do or can. Edited by iguanamon on 07 October 2014 at 1:13am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| magnax1 Newbie United States Joined 3703 days ago 5 posts - 5 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Russian, Mandarin | Message 10 of 18 07 October 2014 at 3:57am | IP Logged | ||
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Well I've already reached the decision to learn Portuguese, but not when I'm going to do
it. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tristano Tetraglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 4046 days ago 905 posts - 1262 votes Speaks: Italian*, Spanish, French, English Studies: Dutch | Message 11 of 18 07 October 2014 at 11:43am | IP Logged | ||
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Hi magnax1.
It depends by your goals for each language. Doing Russian and Mandarin is exhausting enough if you aim to gain competences in both oral and written comprehension and production. Adding a new language when your languages are already fairly new would be a suicide. If you aim to just comprehension it's much easier. You can also decide that for a year or two it's enough the read books and watch movies. If so, 100 days of Assimil for 10- 20 minutes a day it's enough, then you will just read/watch movies in Portuguese instead of doing so in English. Otherwise, it's a lot of work. In any case, good luck. Edited by tristano on 07 October 2014 at 11:43am 2 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 12 of 18 07 October 2014 at 4:06pm | IP Logged | ||
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This. Also, your choice doesn't have to be permanent - you can learn mostly passively with things like Assimil, GLOSS, lyricstraining and native materials, and then start writing/speaking when you can/need/want. It's mostly a question of how much you enjoy formal study and whether you'll be able to devote even more time to it than you already do.
2 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 13 of 18 08 October 2014 at 2:58am | IP Logged | ||
*And a question of where exactly the time for Portuguese will come from. Every choice is also about what you're not doing. Even staring at the ceiling is not pointless - you're relaxing, taking a break from visual (and often aural) distractions. Not to mention things like spending time with friends etc that definitely have a value beyond reducing stress and the associated health benefits. See Expugnator's post here for example. It's a lifestyle choice, especially with several languages at once (one at a time can be treated more like a hobby, akin to collecting stamps etc). Basically, are you also trying to become more disciplined/productive/etc, along with starting something new? (I personally think that's a common mistake) Or are you okay with cutting down on your Mandarin and not making other significant changes to your routine? Or do you perhaps feel like you can free your former Russian slot, and do the more advanced things in Russian during the time you previously spent reading in your native language etc? Edited by Serpent on 08 October 2014 at 3:01am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Juаn Senior Member Colombia Joined 5344 days ago 727 posts - 1830 votes Speaks: Spanish* | Message 14 of 18 08 October 2014 at 3:57am | IP Logged | ||
There isn't any objective reason why picking up a third language should interfere with your other two, particularly it being unrelated to them, which some people do find troublesome (though by no means all). In fact, it will widen your horizons and allow you greater flexibility and dexterity in grappling with language as a phenomenon. That being said, there is one key, fundamental aspect you need to consider before deciding: time. In the end, it all comes down to whether you can devote enough time to each. If not, taking on more languages than your study schedule can support will lead to frustration and possibly failure. Edited by Juаn on 08 October 2014 at 4:25am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| magnax1 Newbie United States Joined 3703 days ago 5 posts - 5 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Russian, Mandarin | Message 15 of 18 08 October 2014 at 11:04pm | IP Logged | ||
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Well if I did add Portuguese now, I'd probably do it in a more passive fashion. Stuff
like listening to language learning lessons while I workout, download some big Anki decks and go slowly with them. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tristano Tetraglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 4046 days ago 905 posts - 1262 votes Speaks: Italian*, Spanish, French, English Studies: Dutch | Message 16 of 18 09 October 2014 at 12:15am | IP Logged | ||
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@magnax1:
listening language lessons while workout, as you will realise, will not help you a lot because the most important thing is missing: focus. Memorising lists of words is a terrible waste of time, because you are not using them actively. And it's boring as hell. Personal experience, but can be totally different for you. In my opinion, 20 minutes of study every day will bring you much and much further. Assimil, Teach Yourself, Colloquial, ... pick your favourite one. Good luck anyway. Let us know your progresses. Edited by tristano on 09 October 2014 at 12:17am 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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