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I'm currently actively learning my 5th language and passively learning the 6th one. There's no universal way to learn a new language. What works for one doesn't

I'm currently actively learning my 5th language and passively learning the 6th one. There's no universal way to learn a new language. What works for one doesn't work for another. Also, a big factor in how hard it will be to learn a new language are the languages you know already. If the new language is similar to the one you know already, i.e. is in the same language family, you will have a much easier time learning it. Languages are not just words, they are a way of thinking. You may find yourself having to learn to think in a new way literally. When I start learning new language, I first focus on speech. So just audio until my ears can pick things like intonation, tones, words, and I start to grasp the sentence structure. After that, get my reading to a basic level and learn the alphabet (if necessary). Only after that do I start with some formal study to build a solid foundation. Usually, some kind of textbook series that covers reading, writing speaking, and listening. After that, I try to immerse myself in a language and learn as necessary.

fuzztester 2y ago
>You may find yourself having to learn to think in a new way literally. Like that Alan Perlis quote about programming languages.
arisAlexis 2y ago
I can disagree about same family languages. I think the jury is out because you get very confused exactly because of the similarities and can end up speaking "itagnol" or "portunol" etc which is the nightmare of Italian or Brazilian immigrants. It can be easier in grammar for sure.
- jwrallie 2y ago
  Exactly, there is a point when proximity between languages means that instead of acquiring a new language, one of your existing languages morphs into the language you are trying to acquire. I have seen great counter examples of people that could partition their mental spaces and isolate the languages properly. I had one Spanish teacher in Brazil that could do this. I’m sure she had proper training. I also had a Spanish friend and her mother was complaining that she was forgetting her home language because she was living in Brazil for some time. This is the most common thing to happen. Interestingly, as she was telling me this after visiting Spain for about a month, I was having more trouble understanding her than usual, it can go both ways.
vasco 2y ago
> You may find yourself having to learn to think in a new way literally. I've said for a few years now my personality is slightly different when I speak English. I have a partner of several years that doesn't speak my language nor me hers and we communicate in English and even simple things like expressing affection feel different even after a decade. At some point since I speak more English every day than my own language when I switched to "thinking in English" (not on purpose) I remember feeling very sad, having almost lost a part of me, and I spent some time trying to think what impact it was having on my own actions and behaviors. Nothing major, but I am more assertive and outspoken in English than in my native language because things don't feel so "real" to say, so it's easier to not feel scared. I feel very strange sharing this because when I tried I got strange looks but maybe someone recognizes themselves in this too.
- atseajournal 2y ago
  Javier Bardem recently said the exact same thing, in terms of English being an easier language for him to perform in because it's not as real to him as Spanish.
- bojan 2y ago
  This certainly resonates with me. In my professional environment I use my third language, and, while it takes more thought to express myself, I am more assertive and open simply because the words carry "less" weight to me. Another positive side is that I'm more difficult to offend or upset. Sometimes I translate in my head what I just said back to my native language and realise that chances are I wouldn't have said it if I had to actually say it in my native language. It's weird. It's also not something I think about on a daily basis. It's simply how it works.
- nasir 2y ago
  Living the same life. 10 years speaking English with a non English speaking partner and I can say I now fully think in English and in many aspects my English is better than my native language. Could never put words on it but things don’t feel so real either. The funniest part is now I speak my native language with my small kids and have fully relapsed to my original home town accent. I had abolished that accent years ago to avoid getting bullied at high school after relocating to a big city. My kids are actively hearing and speaking 4 languages and one is with a thick accent!
pawelwentpawel 2y ago
Once you learn, how do you maintain the language? I'm currently in Brazil speaking Portuguese a lot. I used to speak more Spanish. Right now, if I want to switch back to Spanish it takes me a lot of time. They're so similar I still keep on mixing them up quite often. I even started a small project (https://glot.space https://glot.space) to try to keep training vocabulary in two languages at the same time to keep the distinction in my brain.
- arisAlexis 2y ago
  OP here. I'll just say what I'm currently doing. I read a book in french , a second book in Spanish and I'm watching an Italian tv series on Netflix. Doesn't have to be more than 10mins per language per day. The only way you don't forget a language is to reach a high level. Even if I don't speak Spanish for months I won't forget it. But I'll surely forget Italian.
- t_akosuke 2y ago
  It is hard when they are such close languages! But maintaining is always hard. I compare it to building with clay while it's mildly raining. You need to keep re building chunks that fall off what you've built. Eventually some chunks dry enough that they are solid forever and you use them as a base to keep going. I don't think you need to put a lot of time and effort in maintenance but you do have to put some with certain regularity
- barrell 2y ago
  I’m working on phrasing.app partially to solve this problem. My solutions are: - study flashcards from l3 <-> l4 to cut down on time - practice switching between the languages and distinguishing between them (I use interleaved flashcards on phrasing) - have a really painless audio review (to get a lot of your reviews done quickly) - listen to input every now and then (tv, podcast, something). A little bit every now and then goes a long way

fuzztester 2y ago

>You may find yourself having to learn to think in a new way literally. Like that Alan Perlis quote about programming languages.

arisAlexis 2y ago

I can disagree about same family languages. I think the jury is out because you get very confused exactly because of the similarities and can end up speaking "itagnol" or "portunol" etc which is the nightmare of Italian or Brazilian immigrants. It can be easier in grammar for sure.

jwrallie 2y ago
Exactly, there is a point when proximity between languages means that instead of acquiring a new language, one of your existing languages morphs into the language you are trying to acquire. I have seen great counter examples of people that could partition their mental spaces and isolate the languages properly. I had one Spanish teacher in Brazil that could do this. I’m sure she had proper training. I also had a Spanish friend and her mother was complaining that she was forgetting her home language because she was living in Brazil for some time. This is the most common thing to happen. Interestingly, as she was telling me this after visiting Spain for about a month, I was having more trouble understanding her than usual, it can go both ways.

vasco 2y ago

> You may find yourself having to learn to think in a new way literally. I've said for a few years now my personality is slightly different when I speak English. I have a partner of several years that doesn't speak my language nor me hers and we communicate in English and even simple things like expressing affection feel different even after a decade. At some point since I speak more English every day than my own language when I switched to "thinking in English" (not on purpose) I remember feeling very sad, having almost lost a part of me, and I spent some time trying to think what impact it was having on my own actions and behaviors. Nothing major, but I am more assertive and outspoken in English than in my native language because things don't feel so "real" to say, so it's easier to not feel scared. I feel very strange sharing this because when I tried I got strange looks but maybe someone recognizes themselves in this too.

atseajournal 2y ago
Javier Bardem recently said the exact same thing, in terms of English being an easier language for him to perform in because it's not as real to him as Spanish.
bojan 2y ago
This certainly resonates with me. In my professional environment I use my third language, and, while it takes more thought to express myself, I am more assertive and open simply because the words carry "less" weight to me. Another positive side is that I'm more difficult to offend or upset. Sometimes I translate in my head what I just said back to my native language and realise that chances are I wouldn't have said it if I had to actually say it in my native language. It's weird. It's also not something I think about on a daily basis. It's simply how it works.
nasir 2y ago
Living the same life. 10 years speaking English with a non English speaking partner and I can say I now fully think in English and in many aspects my English is better than my native language. Could never put words on it but things don’t feel so real either. The funniest part is now I speak my native language with my small kids and have fully relapsed to my original home town accent. I had abolished that accent years ago to avoid getting bullied at high school after relocating to a big city. My kids are actively hearing and speaking 4 languages and one is with a thick accent!

pawelwentpawel 2y ago

Once you learn, how do you maintain the language? I'm currently in Brazil speaking Portuguese a lot. I used to speak more Spanish. Right now, if I want to switch back to Spanish it takes me a lot of time. They're so similar I still keep on mixing them up quite often. I even started a small project (https://glot.space https://glot.space) to try to keep training vocabulary in two languages at the same time to keep the distinction in my brain.

arisAlexis 2y ago
OP here. I'll just say what I'm currently doing. I read a book in french , a second book in Spanish and I'm watching an Italian tv series on Netflix. Doesn't have to be more than 10mins per language per day. The only way you don't forget a language is to reach a high level. Even if I don't speak Spanish for months I won't forget it. But I'll surely forget Italian.
t_akosuke 2y ago
It is hard when they are such close languages! But maintaining is always hard. I compare it to building with clay while it's mildly raining. You need to keep re building chunks that fall off what you've built. Eventually some chunks dry enough that they are solid forever and you use them as a base to keep going. I don't think you need to put a lot of time and effort in maintenance but you do have to put some with certain regularity
barrell 2y ago
I’m working on phrasing.app partially to solve this problem. My solutions are: - study flashcards from l3 <-> l4 to cut down on time - practice switching between the languages and distinguishing between them (I use interleaved flashcards on phrasing) - have a really painless audio review (to get a lot of your reviews done quickly) - listen to input every now and then (tv, podcast, something). A little bit every now and then goes a long way