Hello ladies and gentlemen, I hope you all are having a wonderful day. :) Lately I’m thinking about learning two languages at the same time. Usually I always was like “hell no, this is not going to happen” because I remember when I first tried doing this (without a plan or any knowledge how I could do that) I failed. Like really hard. I always switched up words and grammar, because I was learning them literally AT THE SAME TIME. For example when I tried to learn a new word, I learned it for language A and B simultaneously. Later I didn’t know which word belonged to which language. Or if I knew it in language A I just couldn’t get away from this word. No chance to remember it in language B.
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So the goal is to separate them as much as you can! You want to learn them at the same time but NOT together. Make them as different as possible.. You want your brain to connect these languages with different things. Now, it’s time to take a look on how you can do that.
Don’t start them at the same time. I know first it sounds strange if you want to learn two languages at the same time but you shouldn’t start both on the same day. Because right at the beginning you have to learn the same words like “hello, how are you, my name is, bye, etc.” and as I said you want to separate them as much as you can. Just pick one and concentrate on it for a few weeks (like one month or if you learn fast even less) and then start the other one. This way you already know the very basic stuff in language A and don’t confuse it with language B.
Don’t take similar languages. The worse you can do is learning two similar languages. First it sounds like a good idea, because of similar grammar and especially similar words, which could make you think “this way I learn faster” but it’s NOT the case. Italian and Spanish? Bad idea. German and Dutch? Bad idea. Russian and Ukrainian? Bad idea. The best is to take languages that aren’t even in the same language family.
Take languages with different letters. This is a hack that can help you a lot. Especially if you are a visual learner, languages with different writing systems will make it nearly impossible to switch them up. I mostly learn stuff through seeing it. Like seriously, I can’t remember shit if I just hear it but I were able to learn 500 Spanish words for a test on the next day in 2 hours because I used a technique for visual learners. Of course I wasn’t able to keep all of them in the long term memory but it was enough to get an A. And I never ever switched up words (even if I learned them at the same day in two languages) if they were written in different letters, because if I remember a word, I see it in front of my inner eye. So to all visual learners: THIS is the best thing you can do.
Use different colours and stick to them. For example always use blue for Russian and red for Spanish. It makes it easier for your brain to switch between them. You brain will associate the language with this colour. So if you switch from Russian to Spanish and your brain sees red it will automatically first use the connections it built up around this colour. And you connected Spanish with red. I don’t know how to explain that properly but if you see red your brain connects it with Spanish vocab because it’s “closer” than the Russian vocab.
Use different times. Same as above. You connect one language with a specific time. For example after you get up in the morning you study Russian and before you go to bed you study Spanish.
One of the languages should be a familiar one. This way you will have “less” work. For example if your native language is French then Spanish or Italian are good ones for you. But remember that the second language you chose should be as different as possible.
Chose a main language. There will be a time when you question yourself, if this was a good idea. It will feel like you’re getting nowhere and of course you will think about if it’s because you don’t concentrate on one language. With a main language you will see more progress because you spend more time with it. A really great way to motivate yourself and if you don’t like the choice you made you can always take the other one as main language.
Make a plan. I don’t know what else I could say about this because you probably all know what I mean. You have to make a plan WHEN you learn WHICH language for HOW LONG and WHAT you want to learn.
Think in your target languages. As soon as you have an intermediate level, you can start using both languages at the same time and even practice them together. Try to translate from language A to language B. This way you can learn to think in your new languages because there is no need to think in your native language at all. At this point try to avoid your native language as much as you can.
Take your time. You can’t expect to learn two languages as fast as you would learn a single one.
Learn at different places. Same as the colour and time tip. Connect every language with another place. For example Russian is the living room and Spanish the kitchen. Or if it’s possible try to learn one of them at the library/park/etc.
Connect them with emotions (and not only textbooks). For example speaking Spanish with your friends (happy, comfortable, etc.) and exploring Moscow while speaking Russian with the natives there (exited, nervous, etc.)
Study both every day. I guess I don’t need to say more.
Keep in mind that it’s even harder to keep your motivation. If you loose motivation in learning languages, it will be twice as hard to get back on track. Because everything will take twice as long. So if you find it hard to learn one language if you’re not motivated, you should consider learning one after another. Your progress will be slower if you learn two languages at once and if you’re not a person who can handle this, you should stick with one.
Make everything different. I know I mentioned it a lot but just think about what you could change in your learning routine. You can help your brain to connect many things with language A or language B. You drink Cola while studying language A and tea while studying language B. Put a picture of Spain on your table while studying Spanish and one of Russia while studying Russian. Write with a black pencil in Spanish and with a grey one in Russian. Meditate before Spanish and work out before Russian (or other morning/night routines you do, followed by the language you want to connect it with).
I hope this post was helpful for you and keep in mind that if you just want to speak as many languages as possible, one after another will be faster. But if you want to learn both languages at the same time because you really like them, there is nothing stopping you. :)
