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Can I learn 2 languages at once? (Why it's hard to learn 2 or more…
Can I learn 2 languages at once?
Learning
vs.
Maintaining
There's a difference between learning and maintaining a language.
Maintaining
Still learning new things all the time but at slower pace and mostly through passive immersion (conversation, tv/radio/books and learning from context)
E.g. My current situation in Spanish
You're not actively setting aside team to learn new words/phrase/strucures in this language
Not actively pursuing short term goals in this language
Learning
Consciously attempting to significantly improve your level in this language
Studying every day in a focused (or somewhat focused) manner
Why it's hard to learn 2 or more languages at once?
Time
Time is the one thing most of us don't have enough of. If you're working full-time it can be hard to find enough time to invest in 1 language let alone in 2 at a time
Start to mix up languages
The more you invest getting the right mindset and mouthshape to speak the less you'll have this problem
Much more common among related languages (i.e. between 2 romance languages or between 2 Slavic languages)
Lack of focus
You'll make more progress if you work on one thing with a clear focus. This doesn't mean you can't learn 2 languages at once but you'll always be able to learn more efficiently by investing all your time and energy in one rather than dividing your attention.
Benefits of learning 2 languages at once
Helps you stay constantly motivated
How I would approach learning 2 languages at once
Have a primary & a secondary language
Decide which language is the most important to you and focus on that language.
You can change primary language every month or two if you like in order to find more balance or give yourself a change
Separate the time you spend on each language
i.e. Russian in the morning, Portuguese in the evening
Choose 2 languages which are quite different rather than trying to learn 2 languages from the same family