How many low level languages at a time?

[leosmith]

I got the idea for this poll from this thread.
Lets say you want to learn several languages. If your goal is to reach B2 or better in all of your languages as efficiently as possible, how many at A2 and lower should you study at a time? Please vote, and comment here if you'd like to explain your answer.

[PeterMollenburg]

It depends on two main things:

1. The person learning.
2. The amount of time available.

[sporedandroid]

Depends on your expectation. I’ve been “studying” Finnish on and off since 2020. Even before that I just picked up random Finnish words without trying. Since I’m not taking Finnish too seriously, I’ve barely made progress. I don’t mind the lack of progress. I think people run into problems when they try to start a bunch of languages and expect to make progress. I think if I decide to take Finnish more seriously I’ll be able to progress more quickly than if I started from nothing.

I also find Finnish feels more “comfortable” than other languages. This was very noticeable with Hebrew and Turkish. I even noticed it with German. While it has a lot of words that are similar to English and Icelandic, the words that weren’t didn’t stick. I also just mixed up a lot of German words. This doesn’t seem to happen with Finnish as much. This vague familiarity just makes Finnish a lot more pleasant to study.

Even though I wanted to study Hebrew, starting Hebrew really wasn’t fun. It did get better over time as my level and amount of exposure went up. I usually don’t find the beginner phase pleasant in any languages, but it was the worst in Hebrew. Finnish is the only language where the beginner phase isn’t unpleasant. Maybe that’s why I’m still a beginner.

[anitarrc]

in which language is the poll question?

Seriously, as long as you learn two very different languages at the same time it is possible . But don't try similar languages where words may seem alike but have a different meaning.

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

[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.

[BeaP]

For me the most efficient way to study languages is: one language, one thorough resource (or 2-3 resources that complement each other) and native media / conversations with a native until B2/C1. But that's the theory.

Practice is different because efficiency is not the only important factor. It was very easy for me to follow my own advice when I was at school and needed a B2 exam for graduation. I took up German, went to the classes and passed the exam with a solid B2 knowledge. However, now I study languages for pleasure, so I need to motivate myself, I need to discipline myself. Beside that it's hard, I also find it unnatural. Why would I spend so much time every day with a language that I don't need? And why would I do something every day that's boring or doesn't bring visible results in improvement? So at the beginning I'm enthusiastic, then I get the wanderlust and I move on to the next one. There's one positive aspect though: the languages in my profile plus Russian and Portuguese are the only ones I've studied, so I rotate a limited number of languages. This inevitably leads to at least some improvement.

Also, I find it very hard to define if one language or the other would become important and useful for me. I don't know if it's just me, but I can't see my circumstances and future clearly, and this used to be different in my childhood. We knew for sure that German was THE useful language (we didn't question it), but now there are various options. Moreover, resources are available for a much larger variety of languages and we are spoilt for choice. Learning a language to a high level takes years, so which one do you put your bet on? Immigration is hard, but it's a realistic option for a lot of people (my family included). Will we leave? For which country? It would be great to speak the language by the time we start packing. I sometimes have the impression that there are learners who study several languages because they can't decide which one is useful or which one helps them achieve a better life. (I don't necessarily mean it in an economical way, it can be anything that brings you joy.)

[bolaobo]

I think the upper limit is just how much time you have. If you're spending less than 15 minutes a day per language, it's not going to be enough time. So the limit will be different for someone who studies 1 hour a day vs 6 hours a day.

But, in my experience, the answer is more than one, unless you're a novice to language learning. I get diminishing returns when I study a single language. I start to lose concentration or I just get bored. I could stop studying entirely, but I prefer moving on to something else. I also like using the comparative approach to study languages and that necessitates simultaneous learning.

[Le Baron]

I think it's best to learn one up to at least B1 before even thinking about starting another one. And that adding more, for the average person, just drains away time and focus and eventual results; especially if a person has a normal life with work and other responsibilities.

Running multiple beginner languages at the level described is, for the most part, a crackpot pipe-dream for people dreaming about being a polyglot.

Of course I am not a 'polyglot' so I'm likely biased. Those who make languages their life probably think and behave differently.

[galaxyrocker]

I voted two, but I wanted to put a few caveats on it.

(1) They're not your first foreign languages.

-- If you've never learned a language before, focus on one. Period. There's a lot of metalearning that needs to take place about how to learn languages and what approaches to take, and you shouldn't be attempting two while also learning that. I've seen way too many people who never learned a language try to learn two or more at the same time on r/languagelearing...and it usually ends up with them dropping it.

(2) They're different enough from each other.

-- I include this caveat because I think if they're different enough, there shouldn't be a huge lot of interference to it. So you could probably do something like French and Russian, or French and Mandarin, but I wouldn't try French and Italian, or Mandarin and Japanese even.

(3) You have enough time to dedicate a good chunk each day to both

-- If you've only got 30 minutes a day, splitting it between two languages would just slow you down. Even if you've got an hour a day. I'd say you'd at least want 45 contact minutes with each language daily in order for this to work.


I think going anywhere above two, however, just invites trouble unless you're in an immersion situation for one of the three (doubly so if doing immersion classes). But even then, it feels weird and I'd still recommend two, maximum.

Now if efficiency isn't your goal, have fun. That's why, after my thesis, I intend to focus on Irish and French, but also dabble in Old Irish and Old French and maybe a few others.

[einzelne]

B2+ means that the bulk of your study 'materials' would be unadapted materials — you would read books, newspapers, watch TV series, movies, listen to radio and real podcasts. Also, B2 is usually when you hit the intermediate plateau: provided that you have a firm grasp of grammar and high frequency words, you face the ocean of words and expressions you need to master if you want to feel confident in the majority of situations. 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.

Maintenance, on the other hand, is something which doesn't require that much, at least when it comes to passive skills. I barely engaged with German last two years (some sporadic reading and listening) since I was too busy with my French but I picked up a Krimi last month and could read it relatively easy.