How many low level languages at a time?

[leosmith]

Such as langs in your poll means along in Dutch. To the best of my knowledge it is not English but a typo.

Not a typo; The title only accepts 100 characters, so I did a lot of unconventional abbreviating.

I'm pretty sure I wasn't aiming for efficiency, but long ago I had a weekly schedule, Scottish Gaelic on Mondays, Welsh on Tuesdays, Irish on Wednesdays, Japanese, Classical Greek.... well, you get the picture. Seven languages.

I remember a time on HTLAL where a lot of the most active members were learning a handful to over a dozen beginner level languages at a time. I guess it was a fad, because it doesn't seem to be very common on this forum.

[jeff_lindqvist]

I'm pretty sure I wasn't aiming for efficiency, but long ago I had a weekly schedule, Scottish Gaelic on Mondays, Welsh on Tuesdays, Irish on Wednesdays, Japanese, Classical Greek.... well, you get the picture. Seven languages.

I remember a time on HTLAL where a lot of the most active members were learning a handful to over a dozen beginner level languages at a time. I guess it was a fad, because it doesn't seem to be very common on this forum.

Admittedly, my project didn't last long. A couple of months, up to half a year, I think. Definitely not a whole year. I can honestly say that my Japanese is close to non-existent today. Also my Welsh.

This being said, I think that someone with the stamina could do it.

Not the same thing, but does anyone remember this project?
Learn all 24 EU languages

(It was planned for 12 years, alright, and we haven't heard much since late 2017, but still quite an interesting project....)

[Le Baron]

(It was planned for 12 years, alright, and we haven't heard much since late 2017, but still quite an interesting project....)

Only on those occasions when 'interesting' is a synonym for 'delusional'.

[gsbod]

I voted "other". I think for novices, it is impossible to be efficient because as well as spending the time learning the language, you also have to learn how to learn. The biggest challenge for novices is sticking with it long enough to get meaningful results.

For everyone else, I think we've already figured out whether more than 1 low level language works for us or not. I think it's mainly a personal thing, depending on your personal circumstances and how you learn best in general.

[Odair]

Other: That depends on how much of your time you are willing to invest.

[Cavesa]

I think it's a bit wrong to have only 1 and more than 1 options. It is extremely different to be learning 2 foreign languages at a low level, which is actually pretty common, and learning a dozen.

2 are a very useful choice for many people, especially us without the privilege of having an internationally important native language. Whenever a Czech decides to fully focus on (most commonly) English, and then perhaps later add another language, they are likely to miss out on many opportunities that even half learnt German or French would open them the doors to. And that for all the years they devote only to English + the time to reach at least the basic level in the second language.

While I wouldn't recommend a dozen low level languages to vast majority of people, I would recommend 2 low level languages to most people with a less valuable native language, as a step to getting useful experiences in the two languages asap. We have a handicap in the global world. Learning seriously 2 languages without waiting for 5 or more years to start the second one, that's an efficient way to deal with it.

[leosmith]

Learning seriously 2 languages without waiting for 5 or more years to start the second one, that's an efficient way to deal with it.

By "efficient" I meant "least number of hours". If that is also what you mean, can you explain how it is more efficient/better (using math)? I can't figure it out, but maybe you have some constraints that I'm not aware of.

[lusan]

................Imagine you watch a TV series, usually it's about an hour (more for movies), then you read for another hour and then, of course, you need to continue to do some formal learning: practicing active skills, refining you knowledge of grammar, cultural points etc. So that means that you have to dedicate at least 2-3 hours a day. How on Earth can you double this number in order to include a second, or third language, I don't know.
.......................

I am still trying to figure this one out. One language is plenty, two almost a full time job.... three? Someone has to give.

[Cavesa]

Learning seriously 2 languages without waiting for 5 or more years to start the second one, that's an efficient way to deal with it.

By "efficient" I meant "least number of hours". If that is also what you mean, can you explain how it is more efficient/better (using math)? I can't figure it out, but maybe you have some constraints that I'm not aware of.

Ah, that's the issue. You are talking about "efficiency", I am talking about "usefulness".

Alright, I'll try to illustrate it with some made up numbers. Let's say a Czech native person wants to learn English and German (the most obvious combination for the job market, also a way to basically catch up with a one language learner with the privilege of English or German as the native language). Both to B2 (the most commonly demanded level for jobs).

Let's wildly guess they need 1000 hours to learn each to B2. It's 2000 hours total. It won't be 1500, no matter whether they try at the same moment, they add the second one at A2, or after B2. They are not learning Spanish and French, they are not learning Swedish and Norwegian. They are learning languages, that seem to present equal challenges to the Czech natives, and the similarities of which are not that impactful.

Let's imagine they can put in 250 hours of learning per year. Let's imagine they need 250 hours for A2, 500 for B1, 1000 for B2. Let's see a few scenarios:

1.They start both languages at once in 2022. They'll be (a very simplified model, to illustrate this) spending time and progressing like this:
1/8 of each language in 2023
1/4 of each in 2024. We can assume it could be A2, therefore both languages are useful for tourism at this point.
3/8 in 2025.
1/2 of both languages in 2026. They will be B1 in two languages, which is already useful for many not that skilled jobs.
Two B2 languages in 2030.

2.They stick to just English in 2022, with a plan to start German after their FCE.
1/4 of the English goal in 2023
1/2 of the English goal 2024. B1 in English, already useful for some jobs, but nothing in German. Lost personal opportunities, as they have to rely just on English during their holidays in the surrounding germanophone countries.
B2 English in 2026, but still not a speaker of two foreign languages on the CV, even for jobs requiring just B1.
Two B2 languages in 2030.

3.They do what most 2 language learners do (so a large majority of European kids, even though with horrible results for totally different reasons):They add the second language at A2 of the first.
1/4 of English goal in 2023. Starting German.
3/8 of the English goal in 2024, 1/8 of German.
1/2 of the English goal in 2025, can use B1 English to look for some jobs, 1/4 of the German goal, A2 for personal uses
3/4 of English in 2027, 1/2 of German. Both B1 on the CV
Two B2 languages in 2030.

This is really just an illustration. Of course the numbers would be different, and it would be better to go up to C1 and assume more qualified jobs requiring B2... But I think this makes my point clear. The learner 2, fully focusing on English, is missing out on stuff. Opportunities naturally arising in their life are being wasted.

Of course, a learner in need of one language much more than the other should opt for the path number 2. But a large part of learners could actually profit much more from paths 1 and 3. And I dislike that the concensus on most language learning sites is dismissing options 1 and 3 as something not serious and discourage people from them. Why: because most of them are English natives, most of them have no clue what it really means to need foreign languages.

[zenmonkey]

As always, depends on the languages, person, time, motivations, etc...

If I was trying to get several languages under my belt as a student with lots of time, I'd probably do a couple of languages at the same time.
Now, I just focus on being in contact with one language consistently.

But I'm not looking for efficiency.