mykunos

I know for me, one language at a time is more than enough already. I couldn't possibly imagine learning two at a time (although I know it's possible and some people manage to do it! haha). I think for some people it's not as stressful perhaps. But I think that regardless whether you can succeed at it or not, the sheer additional amount of time you'd have to put into learning your languages is enough to deter me. Because you either have to put in double the time, or settle with learning them both slower than if one had your full focus. Another thing to consider about learning multiple languages simultaneously is to be careful and not choose two similar languages - preferably not even in the same language family. I think some people might think that learning two similar languages at the same time would be good because what you might learn in one could assist you in the other but I think that's pretty rare. I think what happens more often is confusion and mixing up what belongs in which language. Would not recommend that at all.

My biggest problem with the language I've been learning (German) has probably been learning what verbs and prepositions work together. Since this is my first foreign language, I never realized how fidgety prepositions are in many languages. There aren't really reasons to why certain prepositions are used, you just have to learn what goes with what. It really can only come through more and more exposure to the language until you develop that knack for what 'sounds right'. That's why it's never a bad thing to have more input of whatever language you're learning - more exposure to it can only help you and adapt your brain to this new challenge of learning a foreign language.

Listening comprehension is probably the most difficult part of language-learning, or at least it is for me. I don't think there's any shortcut to be honest - you're just going to need a ton of audio input. It doesn't really make a huge difference what you're listening to or hearing, just listen! Whatever you can get your hands on - TV, movies, music, radio, audiobooks, absolutely anything in your target language that has natives speaking! I made the mistake of putting too much time and effort into finding only the best stuff to listen to when it really didn't matter that much, because I primarily just needed quantity over quality in this regard. I'll say the only thing that might help you better is if you are listening to something that actually interests you and can keep your attention. Love Harry Potter? Get the audiobooks in your target language! Love cars or science or tech? Download some podcasts! The internet really has made it incredibly easy to access all the listening resources you could possibly ever need.

I know it can seem like such a difficult task to decide which language to learn, but really, try not to spend so much time deliberating on that, when you could be investing your precious time and efforts and resources towards actually learning a language. It's best to try and not over-complicate it - what language is the most practical for you? Which gives you the most joy and excites you the most while learning? I will say that practicality alone is not a strong motivation to learn a language. It may work initially, but when you hit a plateau in your language-learning, you're going to need a real love of the language to fall back on - something you might just not have if you're learning the language for a job or school or whatever. So I'd say if you have a language choice that provides 1. a practical and functional purpose for you and 2. makes you happy and excited to learn - go for it!

Living in Berlin, I get different results every day, haha. I will say that since Berlin is such a diverse international city that English is very very often immediately switched to if I ever ask for clarification or repetition of what was just said to me. That can be annoying, but if you ask politely for a German to only speak German to you, I've only encountered warm reactions - they are usually more than happy to help with learning the language. Now the only problem here is me, haha - since that means I'm the one that needs to set the "only German" rule and that can be hard since sometimes I'm just tired and just want to communicate the bare minimum with minimal effort, e.g - English Oh well, always a work in progress, language learning. One step at a time!

I've had mixed results with using Duolingo. I think, like most language-learning tools and website, it's all about how you utilize it. For me, Duolingo was just too slow and lacking in grammar. I know that's a common complaint with it and many respond that it's more about natural acquisition of language through sheer exposure - but I think leaving grammatical teaching out completely or almost completely is a big mistake and hindrance to further delving into a language. Perhaps the bottom line of what I'm trying to say is that Duolingo can be an excellent resource - just not alone. In order to best utilize Duolingo someone needs to be using some sort of grammar book alongside it. Maybe that's just a personal preference and how I learn best and others can get away with just using something like Duolingo.