Learning Multiple Languages at Once

There are two types of people: those who like to focus on one thing to become as good as they possibly can at it and those who are a bit more scattered and thrive on the chaos of juggling multiple things simultaneously. People who learn multiple languages at once are the latter.

These people also have some experience learning languages already. Usually, they’re bilingual or trilingual learning more languages and maintaining the ones they already have. They’re also many times learning similar languages, like Spanish and Portuguese when they already speak Italian, so the languages are easier to learn. Learning a language like Mandarin Chinese, without any background in languages with characters, would require much more time & effort. However, you could then add a language like Cantonese more easily with a Mandarin background. The more you learn, the easier it becomes to learn.

The people who focus on learning only one foreign language are choosing to dive deeper into that one language. They can focus, using all their time and resources, on becoming good at just that one skill. This is a more advisable place to start for those who have less language learning experience, but sometimes people who already know a few languages choose to focus on only one as well. It’s just as valuable to learn languages one at a time as it is to learn them simultaneously, but some people prefer to learn one way or the other depending on where they are in their language learning journey.

Should you learn multiple languages at once or focus on just one?

If you’re new to language learning, start with just one. You can add on as you progress. The beginning stages of learning a language, especially your second language, are time consuming and challenging. You’re more likely to be successful by focusing on getting your second language to at least an intermediate level before adding a third.

Know that the more languages at once you learn, the slower you’ll learn each language because you’ll be spreading out your time among them instead of dedicating it all to just one. You’ll also mix up languages, and your fluency in each one will be different. You’re trading high skill level for quantity, so consider which is more important to you.

You also will not always be studying all the languages you’re learning regularly. There will be times when you focus on one or two, and others when you revisit languages you started learning that you’ve taken a break from. During that time, your skill level in the languages you take a break from will decline. You’ll shift your focus back over to those declining languages at the expense of time away from the one or two languages you were focusing on before. It’s a lot to manage, and the only way to maintain all your languages is to use them all regularly. So ask yourself:

Why am I learning each of these languages?

Most of us don’t actually need to know multiple languages. Consider whether you’re learning another language because you need it in your career or because you simply want to educate yourself in that way. If you’re learning because you need it, you’ll benefit from focusing on just what you need until you are proficient enough to meet your requirements. Then you can decide whether it’s more beneficial to continue becoming even more highly skilled in that language or adding another or just maintaining what you have.

If you’ve chosen a career path that requires you know multiple languages, then it is a need to learn all those languages, but the need is only to learn the languages that will be most useful to you. So you’ll need to focus on the specific languages you’ll actually use first before adding on any extras for fun. If this is you, it’ll be more advantageous to study these languages simultaneously since it takes years to learn a language to fluency because of the time needed to store information in your long-term memory. You’ll potentially be able to learn all your languages faster by learning each language a bit more slowly with a simultaneous approach.

If you’re learning as a hobby, you have the freedom to explore all the different ways of language studying, but you’ll still want to examine your personal goals for your languages so that you’re satisfied with the progress you make during the time you spend.

How much time do I actually have to dedicate to studying?

You’ll need to determine what’s realistic for you time-wise and how this aligns with your language goals so that you set yourself up for success. Learning a language to fluency takes hundreds of hours over the course of multiple years. Learning multiple languages takes even more. Be honest with yourself about how much time you actually have to dedicate to learning languages and prioritize the languages you need most.

If you’re working full-time, your time available to learn a new language is more limited than someone who is a student studying languages. You may only have an hour a day to dedicate to practicing, which is reasonable for slow and steady language learning progress. Trying to learn more than one language at a time may not be though. If you’re learning because you need the language for your career, focusing on just one is optimal. If you’re learning as a hobby, it’s up to you to decide on your own personal goals with your leisure time.

If you’re a student studying languages for a multilingual career, then language learning is your job all day every day. You have the time to learn multiple languages at once and need to in order to fulfill school/work requirements. You’ll still benefit from assessing how you’re spending your time and prioritizing which languages you need more practice in - either because they’re more challenging or because you need to increase your fluency - but it’s reasonable for you to spend 6+ hours a day practicing and achieve fluency in multiple languages.

Will I enjoy spending my time this way?

Regardless of why you’re learning languages, consider how much you enjoy or dislike spending your time this way. Even if you’re learning for work or school, it’s important that you enjoy the process. If you don’t, reconsider why you are learning and if it is in alignment with the way you desire to live. You always have the option to choose to continue along the path you’ve started, to modify it, or change it all together.

While it’s important to commit to your goals and see them through even when you’re faced with challenges, it’s also necessary to discern when a different approach or complete change may be appropriate. Of course, this is entirely subjective to you as a person, your language & lifestyle needs, and what is overall available to you in your unique position.

Regardless of whether you choose to continue along your original path, modify it, or change it entirely, never lose sight of your motivation and always be open to ways to improve. Your ability to be creative with your study sessions & diligence to practice will continue moving you forward inch by inch toward your language goals. There will be times when you want to quit and times when you do quit for a bit out of frustration, but your overall experience throughout the years should fun and exciting as you challenge the limits of your mind to learn a skill as beautiful as speaking a foreign language.