How do you manage to maintain several languages at once?
Were you able to integrate all your languages into your daily life and stay sane?
If yes, please tell me how!
For me, it's an unsolvable puzzle.
I've tried a couple of different approaches:
- Assigning certain days of the week to certain languages
- Learning all of my languages every day for 10-15 minutes, or at least for some number of minutes that is bigger than zero
- Giving in to chaos and sporadically reading or listening to something
None of this seems to work in the long run. So now I'm testing out a new strategy, which I call "organized chaos". Essentially, I'm immersing myself in one language for a certain period of time and then rotate.
For example, I choose one book and stick to it for a while. For as long as the book lasts, obviously. While I'm at it, I read the book, listen to it, and speak or write about it. So I'm trying to extract as much value from it as possible across all the four language skills. Then I switch to another book in another language, and a new cycle begins.
I've noticed that these mid-term bursts of focused exposure help my brain to "welcome" that particular language back, mark it as "still important" and return to thinking in that language. Man, it really feels like a way to regain my identity in that language.
The drawback is obviously that with this approach I can only focus on 1-3 languages at a time. I can't read more than two books at once. The maximum I can do is two books and one series at a time.
I'm curious to know how you do it!
I really like your method revolving around a book, might give it a try as well at some point! As for me, I don't have that many languages to maintain yet, but I do have a system to help me progress. As for now, I split my week in two parts: Monday-Thursday is for German and Friday-Sunday for Japanese. I'm very comfortable with English so I immerse pretty much every day a little bit when I need to relax.
Hi, Liubov Vasileva I wouldn't worry too much about maintaining your languages, unless you enjoy what you do to keep them fresh. I'm not a polyglot, but I think that, once you learn a language, whatever the level you achieve, it remains in your brain forever in a kind of "latent" state.
I only speak three languages, or four if you count my native language. I used to speak French quite well a long time ago. I could communicate with my peers without any trouble. Then I started learning English and completely stopped learning French for many years. Now I've gone back to French and, surprise, surprise, it's still there! The more I listen. read and speak, the easier it becomes to retrieve the words, just like riding a bike or swimming. So I'd recommend getting rid of your anxiety about "losing them". Just enjoy them when and how you feel like it.
@Renby The idea of splitting the week into two parts sounds very interesting. How strict are you about this sistem? What would you do if you stumbled upon an interesting video in German on, let's say, Friday? Would you save it for later or watch it anyway? :)
@Coral Thank you for your comment! I guess worrying too much is my superpower :D I do agree that languages learnt to a decent level (B1/B2) don't disappear completely, they just lie there dormant. I especially like your comparison with riding a bike or swimming! I'm not sure whether it's the same with lower levels, though. I haven't yet had the experience of ditching a language at the A1/A2 stage. But I still have time for that :)
I usually do stick to that, but I also wouldn't be very strict. Actually, I've recently remembered a funny video in German on one of the Japanese days so I just watched it. There were a few times I kind of had to force myself to resist engaging with one of my languages for the sake of another one. It was one of the worst things for me, so I know very well that it's not something you should ever do unless you want to have a terrible time and burn out 😂
@LiubovVasilyeva
I totally relate because I do this constantly. I manage several languages and have found that changing things up is key to avoiding passive routines. I used to do short daily practice, but now I focus on two or three languages a day, with sessions ranging from 15 minutes to 2 hours. To stay organized, I assign specific tasks to certain days, for example listening to French podcasts on Wednesdays and Fridays. I don’t stick to rigid rules, though; every few weeks I adjust, switching between focused writing, reading, or speaking sessions. On weekends, I push myself to actively think or speak in the languages rather than just passively consuming them. Sometimes, when I’m on a train, I read online books in German or another language to make use of the time. This approach keeps me engaged with each language and helps maintain balance without feeling overwhelmed.
I agree with Coral 100%. Languages don't just go away. Anything you've assimilated in a language is in your database and can be recalled or refreshed at any point, and, actually, you may find that what you once struggled with, is now clearer and more readily accessible after you stepped away for a while. Another fun thing you can do when you're reading a book in one target language, is to talk and write about it in another target language and look for YouTube videos about the book in a different target language. Great post!
@LiubovVasilyeva Since you don’t want to temporarily ditch any of your languages, which I totally understand, I’d encourage you to try this:
Set different amounts of time for each language, spending less time on the one you’re at a lower level in. It might sound contradictory, but it’s not.
In the early stages of learning a language, it’s very easy to run into something you don’t know, and the learning curve is steeper. That means that even a twenty-minute session is enough to learn something new.
But with the languages you’re at a high level in, the learning process slows down, and it’s much more difficult to find something you haven’t read or heard before, so you’ll need more time to improve.
By splitting your time this way, you might be able to work on all your languages consistently every day, which in my opinion, is the most important thing in language learning.
@Raena I love the way you manage to balance all your languages and skills, both passive and active, while staying flexible and adjusting your routines to keep your motivation high. Way to go!
@CocoPop Thank you! Oh, that sounds like a cool opportunity to practice several languages based on one source of content. I imagine it would be pretty challenging. Even in Russian, I struggle to explain something that I watched or read in another language :D
@Coral It does sound counterintuitive at first. But when I think about it, it really makes sense. I’m an A1/A2 Dutch learner, and with roughly 20 minutes a day, I feel that I’m making so much progress :)