1Choose languages from different language families, or ones that are not very similar. While it may seem helpful to learn two similar languages at once, such as Spanish and Italian, this can result in some confusion if you’re not careful. If you have a choice in which languages you learn, choose languages that are different from one another to avoid blending them into one combined language in your mind, or mixing up words or grammar.
If you are studying similar languages, avoid studying them in the same study session—separate them by studying them on different days or even on alternating weeks.[1]
However, for some people, learning similar languages helps them remember each one better. You can make connections between the two languages that will help you understand each one better.
2Choose languages that vary in difficulty. If you have a choice, choose to learn one language that is easier for you, and another or others that are more difficult. An easier language will be one that is similar to your native language or another language that you know, while a more difficult language will be one that is less similar.[2]
For English speakers, Romance languages such as Spanish, Italian, and French tend to be easier to learn.[3]
Languages from the Germanic family, such as German, Dutch, and Swedish, also tend to be easier to learn for English native speakers since English is also a Germanic language. If you decide to learn a Germanic language, you’ll find that there are many words similar to their English equivalents.
Slavic languages, such as Russian, Ukrainian, and Polish are often challenging for native English speakers due to some unfamiliar grammar concepts. Many Slavic languages use an alphabet called Cyrillic, which isn’t very hard to learn.
Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean are some of the most difficult languages for native English speakers to learn, due to different sentence structures and different character sets.[4]
Uralic languages, such as Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian, also tend to be difficult for native English speakers, since they have little connection to Indo-European languages (which includes Germanic, Romance, Slavic, and others).[5]
3Make one language your priority. It is helpful to prioritize one of the languages, giving it the most time and attention. This way, at the end of your hard work, you are more likely to be skilled in at least one of your languages, rather than only knowing a small amount of each of them.
Consider making the language that is the most difficult your priority language. You can also prioritize the language that you are most eager to learn, or the one that has the most urgent time crunch.
4Create a detailed schedule to stick to. Time management is very important when you are learning several languages. Schedule how much time will be spent on each language per day or per week. When doing this, allot more time for your priority language.[6]
It is up to you how you allocate your time. The most important thing is that you stay consistent and adhere to the schedule you create whenever possible.
Try dividing your language-learning activities into different days of the week. On four or five days per week, study your priority language(s). Then, on one or two days per week, schedule time for your secondary language(s).
