How to Decide Which Languages to Learn Next
Got a whole bucket list of languages to learn, and no hope of ever getting it all done? Fear not! Here are some simple ways to help you streamline that list and re-focus on learning what you need without distraction.
Do you have a long list of languages to learn in your life?
Feel like you started a language years ago and now you're stuck learning it forever?
If you need help with choosing your language list, I've got tips to help you streamline all your options.
You can listen to my best tips on the Fluent Show episode below:
How do I decide what to keep and what to omit from my languages list?
Language learner Sheela got in touch with me to ask the following question:
I would love to get your thoughts and advice on how to narrow down or simplify my ' to learn ' languages list!
How do I decide and know what to keep and what to omit, from my languages list?
I feel moreover, if I have studied the language in the past, I am obligated to 'keep' it on the list. Is it okay to let go of some languages and concentrate on others, you think?
What an interesting question! Language choices are a regular polyglot dilemma, but it's not every day that a learner grapples with how to clean up i.e. how to reduce the languages on their list.
What To Consider When Choosing A Language To Learn
Here are a few helpful thoughts when you are working on that list of languages to add to your "lifelong homework".
You're Destined To Leave Something On The Table
With over 7000 languages spoken by humans on planet Earth, one thing is clear: There is not enough time to learn them all.
Even a very accomplished and focused learner who has accumulated way more languages than most of us can imagine doesn’t usually go far above 50. So in other words: We’ve got to make friends with the idea that we’ll miss out in life, and we’ll have to leave a little bit of language on the table.
It's Possible to Have Different Target Levels for Different Languages
Some people differentiate when it comes to language levels and ambitions. We can dabble in more languages (say up to 40 hours) than we can start learning (say 100+ hours), that’s natural. And this can feel like a serious choice to make.
The question only you can answer is what you are expecting to gain from learning your target language.
If you want to feel accomplished, hold conversations, feel like you are adding a useful tool to your list of skills, then dabbling in a language can feel more frustrating than fun. But if you’re preparing for a temporary trip or you’re curious but not committed, by all means have that fun play with a language.
It's Possible To Re-Learn a Language You've Studied Before
We forget languages we’ve learnt, but not entirely. This is especially true if you have learnt several languages from a similar language family, but it applies to all. For example, I remembered completely forgotten Russian words in Croatia, and I can still muddle through Spanish for 15 minutes even though my last straight up lesson was 10 years ago.
For more information about re-learning a forgotten language, check out this Fluent Show episode.
Before I go into a few more tips in relation to this week’s question, I want to address a really great point that Sheela makes in her email, which is that there is no rule that says…. This is RIGHT!
There is no rule that determines how you go about learning your languages, what your list looks like, and how you make your choices. You're not getting it wrong.
3 Steps for Choosing Your Languages Without the FOMO
Here are a few options for getting more clarity in your list:
- Allow yourself a dabble in some languages and choose only one or two big focus languages in a year. (why not try the beautiful Welsh language for a little spin next time? I've got a mini course to help you with that!)
- Focus on the languages that are most relevant to your life right now. This could be because you have travel plans, people to speak to, or you’re simply drawn to a special language.
- It is ok to let go of some languages. Trust that re-learning in the future will be easier than expected.
One final thought to help you feel like you're not missing out on a language:
Most people I know have a pretty long bucket list, but very few squash it all into a short period of time.
I don’t know your age, but there’s a good chance you have at least 20, maybe even 40 or 50 years left in life to learn languages. Consider the many polyglots who are in their 60s and 70s, and still adding languages.
We have so much more time than we think!
Have You Ever Kicked A Language Off Your To-Learn List?
I'd love to hear how you deal with your "language list" if you have one. Get in touch if you want to share your story!
Which Language Should I Learn?
So you have decided that you want to learn a new language. This is big. This will change your life. If you are wondering which language to learn, here is a little bit of help. Here are a few thoughts that you might find useful:
1) Ignore Thoughts of “Easy” and “Difficult”
Here are some common reasons why you might hold back from learning a difficult language:
The New Alphabet
You might know that my current language learning journey is learning Russian. But this is my 7th foreign language. Until I was 28, I never even considered learning Russian. I thought it was difficult. But then came my first business trip to Kazakhstan: A country where street signs look like this:
No English! No Western script! I had to find my way around the streets, and it showed me just how quickly learning a new alphabet can be done. I had been scared of this all my life, and it turned out to be a really small problem.
The New Systems
Now, what about the fact that some languages are just naturally difficult or easy? This is partly true if you measure languages by how similar they are to English. You may find that the ideas listed in this graphic are going to work for you:But if you have an understanding of the English grammar, you already have a basic understanding of language and you will very quickly find that your existing knowledge makes learning easier. Any langauge makes more sense once you know grammar.
The Bad Experience
Many people tell me that they are not interested in learning German or French because they had to study at school and they were bad at it. It is almost as if a bad grade in school was a message to these people, telling them that they are not allowed to try again.
If you have similar thoughts, please adjust. Language learning is not about how you did in school, or about what you found difficult when you were 13. Most adult learners now look at languages from a different point of view, and as a teacher I have often experienced that even the most basic knowledge of a language will be reactivated when you come back to it after many years. So in other words, if it was difficult at school you must not expect it to be difficult after school.
2) 1000 Speakers Is Enough
Many people decide that they want to learn a popular language spoken by many people everywhere. But did you know that even minority languages like Irish Gaelic or Maltese are spoken by over 100,000 people around the world? This means there are more people than you could speak to in a lifetime.
When you decide to learn a new language, choosing the popular language can help you find more native speakers makes it easier to find materials and fellow learners. But there are also advantages to learning the rare language. For example, native speakers will appreciate your effort so much more. Plus, rare languages can actually boost your career! My friend Mike is a native English speaker and found that his skill in Finnish helped him start his translation business in a smaller market and attract bigger clients a lot more easily. This would be a lot harder if you were working in a language spoken by millions.
3) Your Interest is The Best Guide
The first and strongest bit of advice I can give you is to choose a language that truly interests you. This matters more than the number of speakers, the career prospects, the difficulty or anything else. If you are fascinated by the desert palaces of Rajasthan in India, you should not be looking at learning Spanish!
Every expert will tell you that learning a language just gets so much better when you can make it come alive. Obviously, this means speaking in most cases. But even if a language is hardly used in modern times, you can still become extremely passionate about it. Latin learners will enjoy reading the smart (sometimes really funny) writings of Ovid, and if you are in Europe it will give you a new perspective on your own country. This can be fascinating and rewarding, and we haven’t even started to talk about how useful Latin is for learning Italian, Spanish, French, Romanian and so many more.
So, Which Language Should You Learn?
In my life, I have so far studied 7 languages. It never felt like a waste of time. Now that I am studying Russian I know that each and every one of the other 6 is making it easier for me. But the important thing was that I stuck with those languages, and I didn’t start more than one at the same time. My best advice would be to just make a decision and start learning. Stick with your language. If you become interested in a different one in the future, you have not wasted your time because language study is connected, and teaches you a new way of looking at the world.
Stop wasting your time choosing the easiest language, instead choose the most interesting one.
There is just one thing to think about when you want to learn a new language: You will learn nothing if you stay lazy. New languages are always a lot of work, and the only way to keep going is to motivate yourself all the time. This can be because of cultural reasons, but the interest in your own achievement is just as powerful. For example, I never learnt French because I wanted to move to France. But at the same time, I never gave up on French and I committed my time and effort. Now I am fluent in French, and still have never lived in France. French culture is not my passion, but being able to speak French has always been such a strong goal that I just kept going. The formula I would share with you is a bit like this:
Interest * (Commitment + Engagement) * Time = Fluency
If one of these is zero, you will not achieve fluency.
I hope this article helped you make up your mind. Which language do you dream of? What’s holding you back from studying it?
Further Reading:
