Schedule for learning two languages--opinions wanted

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CarlyD
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Schedule for learning two languages--opinions wanted

Postby CarlyD » Fri Jan 20, 2017 6:20 pm

I'm going back and forth between Spanish and German on a long schedule--like 6 months German, 12 months Spanish--and it's not working. Using the "Easy Step by Step" texts as a reference, I'm at the end of Easy Spanish Step by Step, and currently reviewing chapter 2 of Easy German Step by Step, so I don't feel like I'm trying to learn the same things in the two languages at the same time.

I'm trying to find a workable schedule. Right now, I do a one to two hour study session first thing in the morning, and can reliably do this 5 days a week, with Memrise, reading, etc. sporadically throughout the day on all 7 days.

Is there anyone else that's dividing their time? And how do you divide it?
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Re: Schedule for learning two languages--opinions wanted

Postby Systematiker » Fri Jan 20, 2017 6:50 pm

I give each langauge 10-15 minutes, spaced throughout the day, for almost every langauge I work on, daily. OK, so I'm not motivated with one of them right now, and that one is not happening daily, but everything else is.

I've got everything broken up into those sorts of short tasks, and I keep a list, so every time I can squeeze something in, I work on something. I generally don't give extra time to a language unless everything else is done or I just can't face any more active studying (e.g. reading or watching happens once the actual work-day is done, not if I take a break during the day).

I hardly ever have a long block where I could focus on working on one language (discounting the evening, by which point I'm in entertainment mode), so I don't worry about it. In each language, after three or four consecutive days, I spend a slot briefly reviewing what I've done over the last few days.

I'll also do things at half-attention and repeat them the next day, which works most of the time, in order to find time to do everything; when I'm not doing that, I'm often listening to a podcast alongside my other (work) tasks in one of the languages where the only "study" I do is media consumption. I can usually manage 7-9 hours of "language time" in an 18-hour waking period this way, and it works for me.

Not sure if that helps, but I do find small bites better, maybe that's applicable in your situation.
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Re: Schedule for learning two languages--opinions wanted

Postby Soclydeza » Fri Jan 20, 2017 8:53 pm

I generally just do one continuous block of French (minimum 30mins, usually over an hour) and one continuous block of German (usually over an hour) each day. Sometimes I'll go back to French after German and vice versa if I have a day off.

I remember having trouble with learning two languages at first, then I got better at it. The important rule that I have for myself is that my weakest language should be at a usable level before starting a new one and to also allow for a "palette cleansing" period between languages (at least 20mins).

If I understand your routine correctly, you were focusing 6 months on German, then switching your focus to Spanish after that? I would give them equal, simultaneous focus (maybe emphasize one a bit more if needed). Do both languages every day. Or you could do an even-odd thing: main focus on one, short review of the other, then switch your focus the next day, again the next and so on.
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Re: Schedule for learning two languages--opinions wanted

Postby golyplot » Sat Jan 21, 2017 7:37 am

My biggest struggle is not dividing time between languages, but dividing time between language learning and my other hobbies.

But as far as language learning goes, I'm currently trying to learn French and ASL. For a while, I solved that problem by just abandoning French, but now I want to try out the Mimic Method and see if I can improve my pronunciation and speaking skills, so I'm actively studying French again. I guess my compromise will be to watch The Daily Moth and go to classes and Deaf events, and spend the rest of my time studying French. ASL is a bit different in that it is hard to actively study - there's nothing like Duolingo and there aren't any big TV shows, so you're basically limited to vlogs and in-person interaction.
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Re: Schedule for learning two languages--opinions wanted

Postby IronMike » Sat Jan 21, 2017 8:40 am

Maybe someone wrote this already...if so, sorry for the repeat.

I like to divide up where I do my languages, IF I study them both on the same day. I'll listen to Esperanto radio while walking the dog. I'll read Esperanto on the couch. But I'll study Russian, read Russian, listen to Russian, at work. That tends to help my brain divide it up.
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Re: Schedule for learning two languages--opinions wanted

Postby Brun Ugle » Sat Jan 21, 2017 10:46 am

I think rotating between languages every six months or so would be a problem at lower levels because you'd risk forgetting too much. At the moment, I am actively studying five languages at a B2 level or lower. I don't always get to every one of them every day, but I study all of them several times during the course of the week.

Like Systematiker, I have a list. I have several resources that I use for each language, but I try to have just one or two learning resources that I prioritize for each language. At the beginning of the week, I'll write a list of what I want to get through in each language that week. For each language, I'll have one or two "study" items I want to get through, and for stronger languages, also one or two other items like TV or reading. Then I write a few items in parentheses that I can do if I get through everything. Hard stuff usually comes before fun stuff during the day.

I usually switch between languages a lot throughout the day sometimes with a break between and sometimes not. The length of my study sessions varies according to what I'm studying. Most things I break up in a way that is natural for that resource. So for FSI, I usually study one "tape," for GLOSS one lesson. For something like Duolingo, I usually do an amount that feels comfortable, which means about 15 minutes for me.
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Re: Schedule for learning two languages--opinions wanted

Postby tcl » Mon Jan 23, 2017 6:07 am

Systematiker wrote:I give each langauge 10-15 minutes, spaced throughout the day, for almost every langauge I work on, daily. OK, so I'm not motivated with one of them right now, and that one is not happening daily, but everything else is.

I've got everything broken up into those sorts of short tasks, and I keep a list, so every time I can squeeze something in, I work on something. I generally don't give extra time to a language unless everything else is done or I just can't face any more active studying (e.g. reading or watching happens once the actual work-day is done, not if I take a break during the day).

I hardly ever have a long block where I could focus on working on one language (discounting the evening, by which point I'm in entertainment mode), so I don't worry about it. In each language, after three or four consecutive days, I spend a slot briefly reviewing what I've done over the last few days.

I'll also do things at half-attention and repeat them the next day, which works most of the time, in order to find time to do everything; when I'm not doing that, I'm often listening to a podcast alongside my other (work) tasks in one of the languages where the only "study" I do is media consumption. I can usually manage 7-9 hours of "language time" in an 18-hour waking period this way, and it works for me.

Not sure if that helps, but I do find small bites better, maybe that's applicable in your situation.


Can you give some examples of these 10-15 minute tasks? I would love to try this, but (perhaps as with any new idea) it seems daunting to put into practice. The language obviously doesn't come to you in pre-packaged convenient mini-chunks, so you must have some good tricks for dividing it up into worthwhile bits.
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Re: Schedule for learning two languages--opinions wanted

Postby jeff_lindqvist » Mon Jan 23, 2017 10:07 am

tcl wrote:Can you give some examples of these 10-15 minute tasks? (...)The language obviously doesn't come to you in pre-packaged convenient mini-chunks, so you must have some good tricks for dividing it up into worthwhile bits.


Assimil lessons are short and learned (not mastered) in ~15 minutes, you can flip Anki cards if you want, read, listen to podcasts, do grammar exercises, write... 15 minutes is my default time slot and I generally switch activity and/or language after that.
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Re: Schedule for learning two languages--opinions wanted

Postby Systematiker » Mon Jan 23, 2017 12:29 pm

jeff_lindqvist wrote:
tcl wrote:Can you give some examples of these 10-15 minute tasks? (...)The language obviously doesn't come to you in pre-packaged convenient mini-chunks, so you must have some good tricks for dividing it up into worthwhile bits.


Assimil lessons are short and learned (not mastered) in ~15 minutes, you can flip Anki cards if you want, read, listen to podcasts, do grammar exercises, write... 15 minutes is my default time slot and I generally switch activity and/or language after that.


I couldn't have said it any better.
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Re: Schedule for learning two languages--opinions wanted

Postby Ani » Mon Jan 23, 2017 9:45 pm

If you currently spend 1 hour on a language each morning, an obvious choice would be to split that straight in half or to alternate days. The activities you do throughout the day cab just be rotated. Either read one book in language 1, followed by a book in language 2, or have both books going concurrently (maybe on different locations like IronMike suggested

Systematiker wrote: I can usually manage 7-9 hours of "language time" in an 18-hour waking period this way, and it works for me.


Oh now I see how you accomplish so much more than I do... You're awake about 6 hours a day more than I am lol.
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