I work full time, as most, and do not have much time to dedicate to studying a foreign language so I thought I should choose one that is close to my own native one and widely spoken. However, every time I try, I get lured away by trying to learn languages that are very different from my own or that I'd probably not have many occasions of using. So I stick with them only for a little while, get frustrated or lose momentum, do not practice enough and then start again after a lot of time. Is it common? Has anyone had the same and found a way to motivate themselves?

Hello! I am doing a survey based on Immigrant experiences, especially women, for my majorwork in social sciences. The topic discusses discrimination, language barriers and family dynamics. If you could please spend 5 minutes of your time it would be greatly appreciated and all answers will remain anonymous. Thank you! :).

https://forms.gle/jF7YiYZg9J8JWVSx9

For example as a english speaker to hebrew or japanese

Background/how I study: I started learning Italian a couple weeks ago, and am using language learning apps/sites in the other three languages I am already familiar with: English, Spanish, and Portuguese. I did the same thing with Portuguese by signing up for Portuguese for English speakers and Portuguese for Spanish speakers. When trying to learn tenses and other grammar stuff, I use sites geared towards people Spanish speakers who are learning Portuguese, and when looking for simple definitions, I use sites geared towards English speakers who are learning Portuguese.

I figured this might be beneficial because I don't want to fall into the trap of mentally translating everything from Language A to Language B or vice-versa. I thought that attaching words to concepts in all three/four languages might be more effective than attaching a word in one language to a word in another which is then attached to the concept (this makes a lot less sense written out than it does in my head actually). The best example I can think of for this is that when I look back on a conversations, I don't actually remember what language it was in, but I still recall the concepts that were conveyed (still doesn't make sense but whatever).

My Spanish teacher thinks that learning a language through the format of multiple others is damaging your ability to learn because it'll make you more likely to mix up the words and concepts and stuff. I do mix things up very often, but I think that can be attributed to the fact that Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian are all romance languages with a lot of similarities.

TLDR: I think learning a new language through all the other languages you're already familiar with is beneficial. My Spanish teacher thinks the opposite. Which studying method is more effective?

While I've gotten better at being able to dedicate 1-2hrs a day for language learning (e.g., through habit stacking) I still feel like I fall short as I still have loads of spare time left (being a single, introvert guy that lives alone) that I spend just lazing on the couch, doomscrolling, what have you... time that I could spend doing something that I both enjoy and feel like is furthering myself. I'm just learning out of interest but the motivation isn't an issue, the discipline is. Of course I feel a bit tired after work which doesn't help I guess, but I try to do some things before work too.

For those of who you manage to prioritize 3-4hrs of language learning even on a weekday before/after your 9-5, how do you do it? Weekends, in a sense, feels even harder. Not because I have loads of things do to, rather the opposite.

I’m a native English speaker and I’ve been working to learn Ukrainian. I’ve noticed that the more Ukrainian I learn, the worse my English vocabulary gets. I can’t remember the meanings of English words, can’t think as quickly and formatting sentences has become much more difficult. I know that Ukrainian is such a different language because of the Cyrillic alphabet and differences in words/pronunciation. Maybe that’s the reason, but I’m still not certain. Is this just me, or is it common for everyone learning a new language?

So I've been studying Spanish for the past couple years now, probably 3? And so far I've gotten positive feedback and results and most people including my Spanish tutors that I've had for years tell me that I've gotten better (not fluent) even I would confidently say im "halfway to almost there" so I've thought maybe I can start back on my French? (Started learning back in High School (or secondary school) but I hardly remember any of it. I figured I could some of my methods I used to get better at French ad i did with my Spanish but I fear I might lose some or a lot of my knowledge in Spanish. Even then my Spanish isn't even at that level yet where I can say I'm fluent. Anyone have experience in learning a third language? Or even beyond? And how do you do it without forgetting anything from your second language?

Hello all,

Whenever I try to learn a language, I really struggle to motivate myself or have an idea of what I should do next after learning the basics. Like, I can do well when I study from a beginner's course, but like after that, I just give up either due to lack of motivation or just not having an idea of what to do afterwards. This has happened with all the languages I've tried to study so far (e.g. French and Arabic), sometimes I can get a little further than beginner but after that I really struggle to know what to do afterwards. Anyone have any ideas?

Mine is “feature”

Possible to be fluent in 10 languages and keep them? (Noting that 4 of them are romance)

From a linguistic point of view?

Those would be

Spanish as a mothertongue English since very young age Italian fluent

Chinese mothertongue though is other than mandarin

Portuguese starting French starting German i am a2

Russian starting albanese zero knowledge Swedish aiming but im scared its too much

What do you think?

what are some struggles you're facing while organizing and finding learning resources, making a study plan or anything else related to studying itself rather than a specific language?

Hello!

Years ago, I tried using Tandem as I had been told it was a great app. However, the delay for the registration put me off. I feed off instant rewards thanks to ADHD, and this had not done the trick.

Today, I tried downloading the app first, and I was baffled by their requirements. You must give your real name, surname, and date of birth. Additionally, you must also provide your gender, which of course, can only woman or man (non-binary people don't exist). So, NOT off to a good start for me personally. I hate using my real data info as it's often sold to third parties.

I've finished the registration, and it says that it can take up to 7 days to finalise the process. I have questions, and I would like "non official" answers, a.k.a, not reasons listed on their websites. My questions are :

1. Why does it take so much time to accept the registration?
2. Why do they need to know your gender ? And also why not a third box "other" or "nb" ?
3. Why do they need a real name? Can't people chat with an alias?
4. I didn't provide a picture of myself, but used a public image on pinterest (an adult of course). Do they check for picture authentity? Why would they be crazy about that?
5. Do they refuse you if you don't look like a certain gender?

Also, if people want to share their experience on this app, I'd be pleased to read you. I'm trying, emphasis on trying, to learn Japanese and I'm a very begininer. How has your journey been for you? Have you felt awkward on the app? Have you met creepy people?...

Hi language community,

So I was lucky enough to get a place in a free C1 course that is also preparing the participants for telc C1 Hochschule exam. I desperately need a decent German course and a C1 certificate, and I have a tight budget, so the whole situation is absolutely perfect for me.

The catch is in the intensity of the course - it only lasts 4 months with 8 in-class hours per week, meaning that the sheer number of words and phrases that I either don't know or know but don't have in my active vocabulary, on average exceeds 100 per week. So far, I have been using Anki to memorize the words and hope that during the hours that I dedicate to listening in German, I will stumble upon those words. In particularly difficult cases I also use youglish.com to find the phrases in different contexts. The learning and revision stages of these words take ages, it seems.

Taking into account that there are only three months left before the exam, I've started doubting this approach and looking for something more effective. Unfortunately, I also study at university and work 20 hours per week, and I cannot give up these responsibilities in order to devote more time to learning German. While I understand that I might not be ready to be at full C1 level by July if I have to make so many Anki cards right now, I am determined to do my best once I know how.

In summary, I am asking for advice to improve my chances of passing the exam.

I have recently started learning Italian quite intensively (so far about 3 months) because my father's first language is Italian and we are using a trip there soon. Eventually, not in time for my trip, I hope to reach CEFR b2 level

I also live in Canada and have some French. My son is in French immersion and it is becoming clear that we need to be more capable in French at home to support him in his schooling. In addition, being able to speak French would be hugely fun, though not necessary, to travel around Quebec. I'm hoping to get French to b1 eventually.

So... Is simultaneously learning both a bad idea? Are there pitfalls I need to be aware of?

(Yes, I am aware of Anki and other spaced repetition software existing).

1. Let's say I make new flashcards and put them in slot 1 of the box. Those flashcards I study and review once a day until I know them. Then I move them into slot 2, which I review every three days, then slot 3, which I review once a week and so on. But if I study slot 1 for three days every day and then, since three days have elapsed, I review slot two, in slot 2 only those flashcards which have been studied on the first day will be three days old in my memory. There will also be flashcards which I had learned that very day and knowing them is not the same as knowing those where three days have elapsed.

   This is simple in the beginning to keep track of but as flashcards multiply and move forward and backward it becomes impossible to remember when I learned which. It could happen that when, let’s say the time to review slot 5 every six months comes, some flashcard will have been there for a few days only, instead of six months. How do you deal with this issue?

2. I like to keep track of which textbook or source flashcard came from (this would be similar to having different decks in ANKI) because then I can remember (or find) context more easily. I considered simply writing context on the reverse side of them, but I like to make flashcards which I am able to study from both sides TL -> native language, and native language -> TL, so I obviously can't write a sentence using the word I am supposed to be producing from memory.

   I would also like to keep them in the same box since interleaving is a powerful study method, and I don't want to have a house full of boxes, which will unavoidably lead to them being all mixed up.

   Do I write the textbook where the word is from on each flashcard? Or is there a better way?

Let me know if it's not perfectly clear what I'm asking, I struggled to explain plainly what I'm curious about, but it came out less than ideal.

Hey there guys. I've been trying to make a portion of a song based on (nerd alert) an Alternate History of the Ottoman Empire in the WW1 Redux mod of HOI4. One of the verses I want to write is to be sung with the Constantiniyye/Constantinople Dialect of Armenian, but I can't find any sources. I also wouldn't mind any other western armenian dialects like the Homshetsi dialect that survived the Unfortunate Tragedy of the 3 Pashas that saw much of the West Armenian Population exterminated and genocided. The closest I could find was a basic grammar book from the mid to late 1800's on archive.org.

Any books would be appreciated. Even if the book is in another language whether it be Turkish or Armenian or even Russian. Anything would be helpful even if I don't know the language of reference. I will figure it out.

I have been studying my second language for about 3-4 years and am at a point where I feel pretty comfortable in/absorbed into it, though I am still nowhere near fluency. But now that I have finally reached that stage where learning it feels easier, I have lost interest.

I feel like a traitor saying this, because I used to be completely enchanted by this language (even though I had a rough time figuring out how to learn it). It also makes me feel kind of disappointed in myself. I'm trying to find my love for it again. I am sure that this must be a common experience, and would love to hear from anyone else who has experienced it (and got through it). I am not willing to give it up but really feel I'm at a bit of a standstill.

By contrast, I recently started learning a third language, and am obsessed. I feel that I could study it all day. That made me think maybe this is a natural experience (passing the honeymoon phase etc)? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Those of you that have tried to learn a language at an older age how did you do it? I’m 26 and have been itching to learn a new language. I have fallen in love with Shqip (Albanian) such a unique language with rich history. I know there isn’t any particular way to learn I suppose. But where too start? Watch kid shows in target language ? Grammar books? Start with basic vocab ? Hire tutor (italki) ? Those of you that have picked up a 2nd language any input would be appreciated!

Hey there fellow language learners. I'm trying to find books on Armenian spoken in the Ottoman Empire.

It involves me writing a song in the main languages of Anatolia for (nerd alert) an alternate historical style song for a game I play. I found sources on Ottoman Turkish, but I can't find anything on Ottoman-Armenian. I know Western Armenian is close the Constantiniyye Dialect, but I'd rather have a book that is more close to the original dialects. Homshetsi Armenian doesn't have many sources nor does Constantiniyye Armenian. Everytime I look for sources it either sends me to Modern Western Armenian, gives information on the dialect without any breadcrumbs to learn it, or directs me to a site about the unfortunate genocide that took place by the Pashas.

If Modern Western Armenian is intelligible with Constaniniyye Armenian or any Ottoman Dialects I will ise those sources to make a song, but if there are any older sources, I would greatly appreciate it.

Are there any sources you know that I can look at for any Ottoman Dialects? Thank you.

I also don't mind if you can show me some pontic greek. I want to make some verse with it too.

PS The books don't even have to be in english I'll honestly take any source you can give me even if it is German or Russian. Just something.

Whenever I read long texts or listen to audios in my TL, I automatically translate whatever I am hearing to English. Even when I speak with friends I do it, and because of this, it takes more time for me to respond. It is not the case that I don’t understand the words or context in my TL, it’s just a habit. I really want to improve this (thinking in my TL during conversation), but I’m not sure whether it’s just a matter of time/practice, or if there is anything else I can do? What has worked for you?

This must have been asked so many times before but I stay confused regarding this topic despite looking it up often so please explain simply. How mutually intelligible are Swedish, Norwegian and Danish. In my mind it's possible that one understands the others while only understood completely by one or something like that. I might be completely wrong which would explain why I am still so confused about this topic. Please refer to both written and spoken language because I know written is much easier to understand between all the 3.

I used to enjoy using Memrise back when you could create your own flashcards. Now that it’s changed, I can’t seem to find a new app or website quite like it. I am looking for an app or website where I can create my own English-Spanish flashcards that uses spaced repetition, has a feature where you can test yourself by typing in the answer, and preferably has a learning feature. At this point the only option I seem to have is coding is myself lol. Anyway, any help is appreciated, thanks.

I passed A1 in my TL a few weeks ago, and based on the known test content for A2, am probably about halfway between A1 and A2 now. Really, I need more solid vocabulary.

However, I feel like an A0, lmao. I can't keep up with news broadcasts besides piecemealing words I know together. Like I hear the words, but ask me the main idea and you'll lose me. I can't imagine the news is "high vocabulary", though?

On the test I took for A1, I feel like I did very well on the Reading and Listening simply by discerning context clues and answering questions -- ie being a good test taker, because I definitely struggled on Speaking and Writing -- mostly because I get easily psyched out when I start coming up with a response and yet struggle to say it the way I would in English. I am getting better about working within a diminished vocabulary, but it's hard.

In your experience taking TL tests (and yes I know, YMMV and all), do the proficiency levels really match up with the stated capabilities of each level?

My impetus for asking this -- I don't want to set myself up for failure if I do pass A2, and then maybe even B1 in the future, and then find that I'm still basically useless. I don't know. On the other hand, if it is a good metric, then maybe I can proceed confidently and just dismiss my own anxiety as "setting the bar too high".

I’m 18 living in the US so ideally it would be Spanish but I don’t have motivation for it.. Spanish always feels like a language that I can pick up later. I got into French I love it but I also have motivation for Russian, German, Italian, and Chinese (I won’t pick up Chinese rn though) and every time I study French I just feel like stopping and listening to either one of these languages.

What should I do?

I'm bilingual and I never thought about this until today. In English, I could say "I love you" to my friends and a partner, and it wouldn't be weird. But it doesn't work the same way in my other language.

My TL is Korean but I don't know if there are separate words or not.

I am new to this sub so sorry if it does not fit. I am proficient in 2 languages I grew up with (german and english) and currently learning to speak italian. I was consistently studying using english-italian materials and courses but now I find myself wondering wether would help me accelerate faster to also use german-italian courses/ books because that might help me interconnect the three languages better. On the other hand I think it may create additional confusion and mixups.

Please share some experiences or other input.

Hi, I don't really know how to kick off this post but I will just start typing and hopefully, I'll produce a coherent text that's not choppy in the sense that I start talking about A and without properly finishing talking about A, I just switch to B.

But anyway, I am a 21-year-old Hungarian trans girl. In addition to Hungarian, I speak English (C2) and German (C1) . My dream is to become a conference interpreter for Hungarian, English, and Mandarin Chinese. There is a training program for would-be interpreters where I can learn Chinese from scratch and within five years, I can achieve a high level of fluency in Mandarin. However, I am going to have to put this dream on ice because I am suffering from severe depression which is linked to my transsexuality. I have plans to get facial surgery first in order to make my face more feminine because I know that Hungarians and the Chinese aren't super accepting of transsexuality and the only way I can work as a conference interpreter one day is if I focus on getting every masculine characteristic of my body eliminated by means of surgeries. But this endeavor entails me having to work for two years before enrolling in the training program.

My parents are willing to help me by letting me live with them while I work to set money for the surgeries aside and I am grateful for their help. By the time those two years pass, I will have almost turned 25.

Do you think it will be too late for me to enroll in that training program? I really don't want to give up on my dream job but now I need to prioritize my mental health and this requires me to put my language-related dream aside for two years.

Just curious.

Extra question: If anyone has got to this level, how confident do you feel in speaking

Hello, I’m learning polish with a friend of mine. In order to stay motivated, I’m looking for an app that can track our progress together- something where we can both learn at the same time and be in the same place. Does this app exist? Cheers.