Learning Two Languages at a Time?

[vexx]

Hello.

Wondering peoples thoughts on learning two languages at a time (both second languages):
Is it possible? More difficult? Help more?

What if the two languages were similar (French/Spanish) and what if they were different (Spanish/Chinese)?

VExx.

(it would be fun as to learn two languages but sounds difficult and not exactly possibly)

[IntoTheNewWorld]

Do you mean both languages from scratch? I wouldn't recommend it. One language is difficult enough; doing two languages simultaneously from beginner level is a bit...

Some random articles:

http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/e/guide/learning-two-languages-at-the-same-time.html
http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/surely-one-could-learn-multiple-languages-at-once

I attempted Chinese and Korean simultaneously from scratch a while ago. It was quite suicidal.

[anti]

In Year 7 I studied both French and Chinese.  Not good as they mix and it doesn't go at all!

[vexx]

thanks for the articles i'll read them now after i click 'post'

yeah i meant both from beginner level but taken both at uni which may be better?

did you attempt Korean and Chinese by yourself?

[IntoTheNewWorld]

thanks for the articles i'll read them now after i click 'post'

yeah i meant both from beginner level but taken both at uni which may be better?

did you attempt Korean and Chinese by yourself?

Yesh I attempted both by myself with the help of the internet. I've since ditched Korean until I get a good foundation in Mando. Maybe it'll be easier at Uni, but I found that trying two languages (three in fact, as I also had Japanese in VCE) at the same time made me spread myself too thin.

[vexx]

^ haha that's awesome.
yeah it would definitely be harder to attempt to learn korean and mandarin yourself whilst undertaking a vce language and vce english (maybe this not so much) but still.

are you doing any languages at uni?

i would be really curious to know how one would cope learning two at uni level from scratch.

[IntoTheNewWorld]

^ haha that's awesome.
yeah it would definitely be harder to attempt to learn korean and mandarin yourself whilst undertaking a vce language and vce english (maybe this not so much) but still.

are you doing any languages at uni?

i would be really curious to know how one would cope learning two at uni level from scratch.

I don't have many spare units, but I intend to squeeze languages in there at some point, somehow =P (most likely Japanese)

I do hope the University style of teaching languages is somewhat more effective/interesting than how they teach it at school.

[vexx]

^ haha that's awesome.
yeah it would definitely be harder to attempt to learn korean and mandarin yourself whilst undertaking a vce language and vce english (maybe this not so much) but still.

are you doing any languages at uni?

i would be really curious to know how one would cope learning two at uni level from scratch.

I don't have many spare units, but I intend to squeeze languages in there at some point, somehow =P (most likely Japanese)

I do hope the University style of teaching languages is somewhat more effective/interesting than how they teach it at school.

oh thats a shame, you can always overload ! it's not too bad just an extra subject per semester or do summer subjects if your up for it.

yeah the uni style is so much better, it's more intense too so that you can learn it faster.
after doing a sequence of any language you can become semi-fluent - so fun

[samuch]

i did two languages from year 7-9 french and italian
they were similar so sometimes i got confused
but i found it too much to handle
so many essays to write and grammar to learn!
took up so much time and in the end i didnt even keep one for VCE

[vexx]

i did two languages from year 7-9 french and italian
they were similar so sometimes i got confused
but i found it too much to handle
so many essays to write and grammar to learn!
took up so much time and in the end i didnt even keep one for VCE

eek yeah french/italian would get soo confusing.
how overwhelming that just sounds..
haha i can't believe you dropped both in the end! you should have kept at least one ;|

[kyzoo]

Mm at MGS we have to take 2 languages (out of Chinese, French, and Latin) in Y7-8. We are basically forced to learn two languages from scratch at once lol. From what I can remember, I considered it too time-consuming to learn two languages well simultaneously, so I dropped French in Y9.

[appianway]

I did Japanese and French in years 7 and 8. Both were among my best subjects, but as soon as I dropped Japanese, I lost it. Completely.

Strangely, I found that my performance among my peers in each of my LOTEs was better when I took both simultaneously than when I dropped Japanese (suddenly I wasn't too great at French anymore).

[samuch]

i did two languages from year 7-9 french and italian
they were similar so sometimes i got confused
but i found it too much to handle
so many essays to write and grammar to learn!
took up so much time and in the end i didnt even keep one for VCE

eek yeah french/italian would get soo confusing.
how overwhelming that just sounds..
haha i can't believe you dropped both in the end! you should have kept at least one ;|

i kept italian in year 10 but realised i made the wrong choice and should have kept french
so i just dropped italian the next year as i came to hate it lol

[physics]

i did italian and japanese...i failed at italian but i still rmbr this line "come stai?" cause it was the only sentence i got right on the quiz.
and jaapanese i still remmebr all teh hirgana and katakana stuff=P

my brain is wasted on unnecessary thinking...

[jejak]

Probably not a good idea to do two closely-related languages at the same time - I once went through a brief stage where I was self-studying Mando and Canto, which ended in disaster. However, I took two unrelated languages at VCE and did quite well at them. Definitely can be done, if you are an effective language learner. Having your own method, and the right resources, are a must.

yeah the uni style is so much better, it's more intense too so that you can learn it faster.
after doing a sequence of any language you can become semi-fluent - so fun

Oh, that's a relief! HS language teaching is shite.... Do you think it's still possible to start a language from scratch at uni, and still come out with a reasonable level of fluency?