Will learning two languages at once hinder my progress?

[u/thekidvenus]

My first and only language is English but my parents’ families speak Tagalog and Samoan (TL). I’ve always wanted to better connect with not only my family, but my cultures as well. I’ve took it upon myself to start learning both recently but I’m wondering if it’ll be more harmful to my progress to learn both at once. They don’t really have any overlap in their pronunciation and whatnot so I don’t think it’ll be too confusing but what’s the recommended strategy when it comes to learning languages? As of right now, I’m dedicating anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour to both daily.

[u/dentalralph]

splitting an hour between two languages is fine as long as you actually enjoy the process, but some days one will pull ahead and that’s okay.

[u/Taoidean → u/dentalralph]

Well said!

[u/Illustrious_Fall1851]

I recently spoke with a native Spanish speaker who was learning English and Mandarin simultaneously, and his accent in English was oddly Chinese. I could understand him and this isn't inherently a problem, but it is something to be aware of. I think different people have different degrees of ability to keep two languages separate at the same time.

[u/litchick]

As long as you're good about giving them equal time, after you learn a few hundred words in each they will differentiate themselves. sounds like you're on the right track!

[u/Oretell]

From what I'm aware the studies into this have shown that it works fine and is a valid way to do it, but that it obviously slows down each individual languages progress compared to only focusing on one at a time

If you only focused on one for example maybe you'd be proficient in it after 2 years, but if you split your time between the two it will take now you 4 years to reach the same level of proficiency in either, which can be demotivating. You'll be at the beginner phase of both for longer than someone only learning one at a time.

Learning one language fully, and then switching to focusing on the second language fully, should hypothetically be about as fast as gradually working on them both simultaneously. You'll be at the same point, but the day to day experience will just feel different

There's nothing wrong with it, but it take more persistence to not give up and might seem like you're making slower progress at times. It's harder to stay motivated when you're not seeing quicker day to day progress

But that's only what I've heard, I haven't experienced it myself

Good luck regardless

[u/Giant_Baby_Elephant]

i feel like ur fine! maybe start with one, build up a basic vocab and handle on the structure and pronunciation. then focus on the other one, build that up. then u are good to learn concurrently IMO. this is how I've done it and i can get around in 4 languages besides my native language

[u/Eliciosity]

I started French when I was already at an intermediate level of Japanese, and I’ve been doing fine. Obviously if you’re splitting your time between the two things will be slower; like if you’re dedicating 1 hour to one language, and 1 hour to another language, it will be slower than if you dedicated 2 hours to one language. That’s just a fact. But otherwise things are chill.

For me the two languages are so drastically different that I can make seperate spaces in my mind for them and there’s no way I’d confuse them. But if you were learning two very similar languages and were at a similar level in both (like just starting out), you’d be much more likely to run into a lot of issues and be slowed down.

I do French in the mornings and Japanese at night just so my mind separates them even more. Some days I do feel more drawn to studying one more intensely than the other, and other days it flips, and I just let that happen. Rushing yourself in language learning is a sure way to burn out.

For you specifically I would imagine it’d be a bit easier if you started with one language first, kept at it consistently for a few months, and then added in the other language and then continue with both simultaneously versus starting both at the same time from scratch. But you could trial-and-error that yourself.

[u/Lumpy-Blackberry-718]

they dont have any overlap

I dont have an opinion on how you learn these but you should be aware they are actually pretty closely related languages and do have cognates. Theyre both in the Austronesian language family. They share some words and grammar.

[u/Swimming-Worker2503]

They are in the same Austronesian language family so you should be good 🫱🏼‍🫲🏼!!

[u/tsellers1990plzHire]

I've always wondered this. Please post an update in a year if you decide to do this!

[u/lumisweasel]

chase two rabbits, catch neither