LEARN 2 LANGUAGES AT THE SAME TIME: BAD IDEA? (Gabriel Silva & Steve Kaufmann)

These Polyglots are my inspiration for sure

I’m learning French right now and I have reached the intermediate level. I’m considering taking up Japanese again but just wanna see how it can fit in my schedule. You guys are such inspiration 😊

I always enjoy listening to the two of you speak together: something interesting and useful always seems to be the result.

Is learning two languages at the same time a good idea? It depends on how much time you have and how much progress you will make. If you want to become fluent in a foreign language, then that is going to take a lot of committment and time. Also, I'm sure that you want to make lots of progress. If you try to learn two languages at the same time and you are not making that much progress, then stick with one language.

Right now I'm doing exactly that! My main language now is Chinese (since I wanna reach a C1 by the end of this year), and my minor language at the moment is Tagalog. I have experimented and I think that 2 languages max works for me, specially when I have clear goals. But whoring out by studying many different languages at once can be very fun, so it depends on what you want, results or linguistic exploration.

I am learning three languages at the moment: Polish and Croatian for my work (both at B1 level) and a little bit of Turkish (A1) for fun. Learning two closely related languages is like cooking two soups in the same pot, trying not to get them mixed. However, I have noticed that it is very helpful to use a different method for Croatian, compared with the one(s) that I use for Polish. I would love to hear experiences from others who have studied two closely related languages at the same time.

I am learning French, Spanish and, Italian, best decision I have ever made, my world is thrown open and I have exciting things to look forward to. I have just this minute seen a recommendation on Audible for Gabriel's Book, it's like finding the biggest present you wanted and missed it in the wrapping paper !

Another great video of yours! Learning two languages at the same time is possible of course. But the progress is the half... unless you don’t work and are paid to learn languages 🤗 but there is not a confusion in our brain when we do it or anything like this. I did it already but I don’t do it anymore. One language at a time. Professor X here. Stay safe.

Portuguese for 11 months then started Russian on the 6th month of Portuguese. so 11 months total Portugues, 5 months total Russian. Enjoying both a lot!

I got in a rut with Spanish for so long because I just did not know how to make progress, and I had no idea what kindve grammar I needed to learn. But know I’ve finally figured it out and my Spanish has improved so much within the last few days. And know I have a lot of confidence to start another language (Chinese lookin reallll nice) but this video made me realize I don’t have to aim for fluency in every language. I can be a polyglot and not be fluent in every language.

Gabriel is really such a great polyglot

I found that learning a different language every three months has helped me to focus better and not get burned out. I studied Spanish very intensely for three months, then German, then Greek, & now Swahili. Then back to Spanish etc. I had already studied Spanish very heavily in the past & then Ancient Greek. German & Swahili are new adventures for me. I found I was burned out on Spanish and Greek. So far I'm really growing in my new languages & will fell ready for Spanish when it comes time to refocus on it.

I started revising French eight months ago, and I’m now a good B2 level and can understand native podcasts. I started German from scratch two months ago, I’m supposedly low B1 now, more like A2. It works, I don’t worry about not speaking German yet, I have no rush, I can enjoy the process because French gives me lots of reward. If my French was poor, I’d rather not do German, just focus on the French.

So happy to see you back, Gabriel!

I'm learning Italian and Spanish at the moment. My Italian is a lot better than my Spanish because I started it first. I find it helps knowing a little Italian before Spanish because it helps with the male/female way everything is described. I really wanted to learn my mother tongue Welsh but I find it extremely difficult.

In my country.. they're trying this new thing which is teaching both English and French at the same time in primary school ( 3rd grade). I kind of find it interesting; so I want to do my thesis about this topic; however, I'm not sure if it is a good topic to search for.. I really need some opinions

Totally agree. I think language learning can be analogous to sports. Should we just do one sport at a time to make faster progress? For most people life is a richer experience with diversity. Also even if we try to learn just one new language at a time, is that a reality if we have already learnt a different foreign language?, at what point are we only maintaining other languages rather than enhancing our knowledge in them. Do we define that as no longer learning/perfecting grammar or vocab or more native skills e.g.colloquialisms or accent . So I think if we already know a different foreign language we will effectively still be learning in those languages but at a much slower pace unless we don't use those previously learnt languages at all but that would be crazy to just let them slip.

You guys are such an inspiration! Thank you for the great content you put out there for us!

I am seriously studying German, but I dabble in Russian and Arabic every now and then. Once I am comfortable with German I will take Russian more serious, but I am having a lot of fun working on my Russian every now and then.

In my opinion. No problem! I study in the same time, normally, I've studied the same words and phrases at once.