Is Learning 2 Languages at the Same Time a Good Idea?

Contents

• Pros

• Cons

• Tips

• For What Type or Person is it a Good Idea?

• 1 Main Language & 1 Background Language?

• Questions to Ask Yourself

Is learning 2 languages at the same time a good idea?

Or would you be better off only focusing on one at a time?

This is a common question people have and the short answer is - well, it depends.

Not everybody learning a language have the same goals. There are also different kinds of language learners out there.

Some people like speaking more languages to a decent level whereas others like to focus on one and go really deep with it.

From learning both Finnish & Cantonese at the same time I can tell you that it’s very much possible to do it.

It’s just a matter of having the right mindset, attitude & routines to make sure you’re seeing tangible progress with both.

In this blog post I aim to share the pros and cons of learning two languages at the same time so you can better decide if it’s something that’s for you or if you’d rather just stick with one language.

PROS

There are a number of pros with learning 2 languages at the same time:

1.) You won’t get as easy frustrated. When things feel like challenging and moving slowly in one language, chances are the other language will feel smoother or at least that you’re more inspired learning it.

During the seasons where I’m feeling things are moving slow or I feel less motivation in either Cantonese or Finnish - I can just keep either language at a slower pace in the background and just do the bare minimum daily goals that I’ve set up.

Once a certain time has passed those daily habits will have yielded results which will make motivation rise once again.

2.) 2X the languages = double the satisfaction!

It’s a very exciting feeling once you get to a conversational level in a language.

If you chose to learn 2 then now you don’t just have it in one language but TWO languages.

And it’s satisfying even before you get there.

Just the fact that you’re making progress and improving every day in two different languages is a very fulfilling feeling.


3.) The easier language will seem a lot easier

Every language has its challenges. When learning two languages there’s a chance once of them is gonna be relatively easier than the other.

Both Cantonese and Finnish, which I’ve learned at the same time for the past almost 3 years, are considered two of the hardest languages in the world

However, one of them I find is the easier out of the two (find out which one I find the hardest one in this blog post: Cantonese vs Finnish - Which One is the Hardest to Learn?).

So even if you learn 2 difficult languages, because one of them is probably more challenging than the other it makes the other language seem a lot “easier”.

CONS

1.) Your progress is gonna be slower

There’s no way around it. The more things you split up your attention between the less time you’ll have for each of them.

So if you’re someone who’s aiming to get really advanced at a language and you wanna get there as soon as possible - then you’re better off focusing on one language.

2.) It can be tough to keep up the daily goals

This is not a problem for me and that’s why it’s important to not set too high goals.

But life sometimes gets in the way and it’s more to manage the time with 2 languages rather than 1.

That’s why I would suggest to do the bulk of my learning as soon as possible during the day. For me it’s usually one of the first things I do to make sure I put the time in every day.

You don’t wanna get to the end of the day and realized you haven’t spent any time with either language.

3.) When both languages feel difficult

If both languages feel difficult then it can be quite challenging because you don’t have a language that give you a bit of a breather.

However, this is down to mindsets as well as not setting unrealistic goals.

Whenever I’ve felt frustrated in my language learning it’s usually because I feel I should be at a place with it where I just am not.

I’m getting ahead of myself and I put pressure on myself to be somewhere where I’m not.

Try to be careful to not do this as the solution is often just to spend a little bit of time to improve on an aspect that you might find challenging.

It’s hard to feel frustrated when you’re making progress

Tips

1.) Set small but achievable goals

Set small achievable goals in each language for every day. They can be adjusted depending on the season.

I for example have a certain number of new words that I will read every day with LingQ (use this link to get 37% off a LingQ subscription. It’s free to sign up and try it out first).

So if my goal is 50 “new words” (which takes me maybe 20-25 mins in Finnish when reading books) then once I hit that - I’m done and I can move on to Cantonese.

And I might have a higher or lower goal depending on the season.

You can also set a time-specific goal, for example - listen to audio with a transcript or read for 20 mins.

These types of goals tend to be the best because they’re not performance-based but time-based. And you can control time spent, but not achieving a certain result (which time will achieve for you without you trying).

Exactly how much time you spend you’ll just need to experiment with to figure out.

I would say at least 15-20 per day per language to make sure you’re at least progressing slowly. At least an hour or so is ideal if you want to see tangible process.

It doesn’t have to be in one sitting though and things like listening can be done while doing other things.

For most people to start learning 2 languages at the same time from scratch is a bit overwhelming.

So I’d recommend to have a solid foundation in one language before adding another one.

I could already hold decent conversations in Cantonese before I added Finnish into the mix.

2.) Have the right expectations. Frustration comes from constantly falling short of the expectations you set for yourself.

It’s better having low daily goals - it gets you started and once you start it’s much easier to just continue doing more as getting started is most often the biggest challenge.

It’s way more motivating to feel you’re “killing it” and then do more than you set out to do rather than feeling like you can never hit your daily target.

3.) Pick 2 languages that are different from each other.

Portuguese and Spanish or Swedish and Norwegian are not recommended to learn together.

I would advice getting to a really good level in one of those, otherwise chances are you' will confuse the 2 languages.

By picking two completely different languages like Russian & German, Japanese & Spanish you won’t as likely confuse them.

It keeps things fresh when switching back and forth from two very different languages.

If you want more tips about how to maximize your time for language learning then click on the button below to download my free guide “Intuitive Language Secrets”

For What Type of Person is it a Good Idea?

If you’re like me and see your language learning as something that’s not just a project for a season but something that will be with you for the rest of your life - then learning 2 languages could work well for you and be a very positive and powerful thing.

Or if you just want to get to a conversational level and not necessarily reach a native-like level.

Maybe you like quantity and knowing several languages rather than being an expert in one. Maybe you want to know enough to get by as a tourist in the country.

That doesn’t mean you can’t get to a high level in more than one language. I aspire towards that in both Finnish and Cantonese.

It just means it’s a longer process.

Of course some languages are quicker than others to reach that level.

It’s also important to have self-discipline and that you’re consistent in your learning. If you struggle to spend time every single day then you’re probably better off to get used to that first with one language first before adding another one.

1 Main Language & 1 Background Language?

If you browse the internet of what other language learners say then many will give the advice of having one “main language” and “one background language”.

That when learning 2 languages it’s a good idea to spend for example 80% of your time on your main language and 20% of your time in your background language.

I’ve personally taken a slightly different approach as I prioritize both languages I’m learning.

So what I like to do is switch back and forth.

One season I might be spending more time on Finnish - reading more, taking more iTalki lessons etc. and another season I’ll be focusing more on Cantonese.

So I do these sprints in either language. For a few weeks up to maybe 2-3 months.

Then I’ll switch.

None of this is mapped out too strictly as I just feel it out. I for example had a certain number of “known words” (50.000) I wanted to get to in Finnish by last Christmas so I set up a reading plan where it would ensure I would get to that.

I would just figure out how many I needed to learn each day and if I counted backwards to my goal date. It was a doable goal.

And I hit it like a week or 2 before Christmas, which felt great.

Mission accomplished.

And after that I might want to take it slower with Finnish and instead do a sprint of sorts with Cantonese.

You can choose if you’d like to have either one permanent “background language” or switch back and forth.

But after you’ve done it for a long time it honestly doesn’t matter as much as these languages just become part of your life and routines. It’s just who you are and what you do.

Questions to Ask Yourself

• Are you willing to spend at least 15-20 mins per day on each language?

• Can you commit to learning the language for the long haul?

• Are you more of a “know a little bit of a few things” or would you rather go deeply into one thing?

• Are you consistent and have good self-discipline?
  
  

Answering these questions should help you in determining whether learning 2 languages at the same time is for you or not.

For me personally, I just can’t help but doing it.