3 Amazing Reasons to Learn 2 Languages at the Same Time

No, you don’t have to learn one language at a time. Learning two works just as well. I’d even go as far as to advise learning two simultaneously. Why? Let’s dive into it.

But first, we also need to address the elephant in the room: Will you mix languages if you learn 2 at once?

The Risk of Mixing Languages

The simple answer to this question is “yes”. You definitely will use a word in the wrong language here and there. This will happen and there’s no denying it.

So how come learning two languages at the same time isn’t something to avoid? Throughout your language journey, you will go through these 3 different stages.

1. Beginner

As you start learning a foreign language, you obviously lack vocabulary and grammar knowledge. If you’re learning only one language, you’d revert back to your native language or English then. When learning 2 languages, you might know the word in the other language and use it instead by mistake.

But that’s not a problem! Since you started recently, nobody is expecting you to not make any mistake. Laugh at your mix-up and move on.

Furthermore, you don’t have to worry much about this as most phrases you will be saying at this stage are simple ones and often learned by heart. The risk will increase as you expand your vocabulary further.

2. Intermediate level

By now, you’ve reached a comfortable level. You can speak without much problem about a variety of topics. The problem? Your head is filled with vocabulary not yet mastered. Both languages are easier but still sometimes feel unnatural. Those times are when you’ll end up mixing vocabulary.

Even when it does happen, you’ll notice it much faster than before and can correct yourself on the spot. As a result, there’s no need to worry here either.

3. Advanced level

You’ve been learning those languages for a few years now. You’ve practiced so much and been exposed to each so many times, there’s almost no risk to mix the languages anymore.

Sure, it could happen. But is it really that awful of a thing to do? Isn’t error human?

And so, here we are, ready to learn two languages at once without an insurmountable fear of mixing languages. On the contrary, you should be excited now. You won’t learn a language you’ve been curious about for a long time, you’ll learn two of those!

Why can it be a good idea to learn two languages at the same time then?

Motivation levels

Whether you learn one or two languages, the most exciting time is when you discover those for the first time. You’re full of energy, ready to tackle lists of words, grammar, or read and watch a lot.

As time passes by, your excitement fades away. The deeply-rooted reasons you started your language-learning journey thus become your safety net. You turn back to those reasons and proceed onwards.

Learning 2 languages at the same time is a sure-fire way to always be motivated to learn one of the two languages.

It’s okay to switch Tuesday’s learning session to language B. After all, you can learn language A another day, and it’s better to learn a language than none at all.

The only aspect you need to be careful of is the risk of skipping too many times in a row one language’s learning session. Make a point never to skip it twice in a row.

Knowledge-transfer

You could learn two closely-related languages like French and Spanish, or completely different ones like Khmer and Finnish. Either way, learning two languages at the same time allows one to support the other.

If the two languages are closely related, then what you learn during a study session of one can simplify the next one in the other language. You won’t have to learn again the principle of noun genders, for instance.

If the two languages are very different, the learning approach you take for one language will give you ideas to apply it to the other one. On top of this, you can rest assured you’ll find similarities. In the above example, Khmer and Finnish both have a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) sentence structure.

Each minute spent on learning one language serves not only as a way to improve it, but also as experience in learning languages as a whole. The more you study, the better you get at the act of studying itself.

Incubation

Finally, let’s talk about taking breaks. Our brain needs time to process information. It needs even more time to remember it.

How many times have you found yourself at a dead-end, finding no solution to a problem you are facing, only to come back to it the next day and suddenly — Eureka! — solve it?

What happened was that, by going away from the problem, you let your brain gather the information it needed, get rid of what didn’t matter, so you could find the solution when you’d get back to it.

Learning works in a similar way. You need to let your brain process the new knowledge so you can set it in your brain for the long-term. What do you need to do then? Anything not related to Language A.

But who said you have to stop learning at all during incubation? You can still proceed with Language B!

Learning two languages allows your brain to switch back and forth. You were incubating Language A while learning Language B. Now you’re incubating Language B while learning Language A.

Sure, you can take non-language-related breaks. But nothing prevents you from actively improving in the second language while the first one gets passively improving in incubation.

Two birds with one stone!

Takeaways

Learning two languages at the same time probably feels counter-intuitive. After all, that’s dividing your time between two languages. There’s no denying the fact that you could progress faster by focusing on one language.

But if you’re curious about more than one language, why not do it?

You’ll mix languages once in a while, but that goes away. Trust me, I used to mix Korean and Japanese vocabulary all the time back in 2012. I haven’t done it for years.

Learning two languages will allow you to always stay motivated, transfer direct or indirect knowledge from one to the other, and take breaks while still improving in both languages.

Some people say you should learn one before the other. I disagree. Learn what you want. If that’s 2 languages, then go ahead. Complement one language with another. Experiment. And, always, have fun!

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