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Many times I was going to write a huge article on the topic of learning several languages ​​at once. As time went on, my opinion on this matter changed. Now I have determined a certain balance for myself, and I think it's time to talk about it.

My main takeaway is read, apply, and always listen to yourself. You need to honestly evaluate your time, goals, opportunities, approach ... There is no consensus on how to do it right. So I will talk specifically about my experience.

As a child, I studied only English for several years. But somehow, during the summer holidays, I saw a French textbook from a friend and tried to read the dialogues. It was interesting, but not serious, and there was nothing left in my memory except for the basic phrases. I continued my more conscious study of several languages ​​at once at the institute. In addition to English, French and Chinese appeared.

How did I manage to do everything at once?

Clear schedule. I didn’t have to allocate time myself: every day there were lessons at the institute and homework. So the training was regular. Plus, I didn’t waste time creating programs, because all this was already in the finished curriculum. You just had to come to class, do the assignment and practice. Therefore, it was not difficult for me to periodically teach another one at home on my own, choosing it simply according to my interests.

After university, I tried to learn several languages ​​at once on my own and in courses. Even 4 at the same time! And here are the conclusions I came to.

1. Ask yourself WHY. Is it just idle curiosity and a race for more languages, or do you really need to learn a few in this period of time? If not necessary, it is better to devote quality time to one language.
2. Take your time to learn many languages. It is undesirable to simultaneously learn several languages ​​from scratch. As an option: start one new language, and maintain those that you already know at an intermediate level and above. It will be much easier this way: you will put in the first place the language that is in priority. That is, focus on one thing, and keep the rest afloat, using them as often as possible in different life situations (read articles, watch YouTube, visit conversation clubs or chat with a native speaker).
3. Apply the principle of "lightness". If it doesn’t matter to you which language to learn, then remember that languages ​​of the same group are easier to learn. For example, I immediately noticed that my Italian went easily after French, when he was at the intermediate stage. But this is provided that one of the languages ​​is already familiar to you. Back to point number 2.)) When I started learning Italian and Spanish at a language school from scratch at the same time, it was difficult. I had to decide.
4. Learn the basics. The language base can be mastered with a series of lessons by Dmitry Petrov "language in 16 hours". You will get an excellent base in a short time. I had an idea to conduct a small experiment with those lessons in the series that I have not yet completed. It's a secret for now, but I'll be sure to share the details later and put them in articles!
5. Choose the right schedule. At the initial stage, it is desirable to practice every day or at least 4-5 times a week, and at the same time maintain the language that is already at the proper level. For example, I learned Swedish from scratch 4 times a week, while at the same time I tried to watch films / TV shows in the original and read not in Russian, but immediately in English. This saves time too! I support Hebrew by talking to an Israeli woman I know once or twice a week, and in general I come across it in everyday life almost daily. I don't read textbooks.
6. If you have no experience of learning languages ​​at all, it is better to start with one.

If you approach the process qualitatively and competently, then you will master several languages ​​at a basic level, develop your memory, increase your opportunities in communication, work, and broaden your horizons. In the future, you can continue in-depth study of the language that you need at a particular life stage.

Action plan

• Write down specific goals. It will immediately become clear whether there is a need to learn several languages ​​at once. For example, if the goal is immigration, then it is reasonable to focus on the one that will be required in a new country. If you just love learning languages ​​and want to get by with basic knowledge while traveling without moving to higher levels, then you can regularly learn different languages ​​​​at the basic stage.
• Imagine perspective. Decide how you see your mastery of each language in a week, a month, six months. Keep a special language diary in which it is convenient to plan the study of several languages ​​for any period of time. Such an online diary is maintained by the participants of ours. For 30 days of practice, a whole log of records is collected.
• Write down the route to your destination. Make an appropriate action plan for both the language you are learning from scratch (for example, lessons with a teacher at school on Mondays and Wednesdays) and those that are already at an advanced level (communication with a native speaker once a week, reading professional literature only at in this language, attending webinars once every 2 weeks, and so on).
• Add details.

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This book will reveal the secrets of memorizing foreign words of five European languages ​​(English, German, French, Spanish and Italian). You will learn to memorize the words of one foreign language or several languages ​​at once. To facilitate the memorization of words and make this book accessible to everyone, the author uses Russian transcription.
The memorization process is accelerated due to the "keys" that are matched to each word, i.e. 500 most necessary words of a foreign language - 500 keys to remember. In total, the book reveals the secrets of memorizing 2,500 words in 5 foreign languages.

What does it mean to remember a foreign word?

Indeed, have you ever wondered what a “word” is? What components does it consist of? Probably not. So let's think together! Take, for example, a pencil. A pencil is an object that can be touched, held in hands, smelled and even tasted, that is, felt with all the senses. What happens when you hear the word "pencil"? You have an image of a pencil in your mind. In addition, the word "pencil" can be said aloud, you can whisper to yourself, you can sing it, in a word, you can say it. So the word has a pronunciation. Moreover, the word "pencil" can be written, even in block letters, even in capital letters, that is, the word has a spelling.

Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Reading "Russian" transcription
Memorize 500 English words

Chapter 3
Reading "Russian" transcription
Memorize 500 German words
Technique for memorizing numbers
Chapter 4
Reading "Russian" transcription
memorize 500 french words
Technique for memorizing numbers
Chapter 5
Reading "Russian" transcription
memorize 500 spanish words
Technique for memorizing numbers
Chapter 6
Reading "Russian" transcription
memorize 500 italian words
Technique for memorizing numbers
Chapter 7
Conclusion

Free download e-book in a convenient format, watch and read:
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• 300 English words in 1 day, Vasilyeva E., 2008 - Since childhood, we have often heard the proverb: It is better to see once than hear a hundred times, and more than once we were convinced of ... English language books
• 182 irregular verbs with a unique memorization system, Vasilyeva E.E., Vasiliev V.Yu., 2012 - Irregular verbs are quite common in English speech, so it is important to know them as twice two. But unfortunately after... English language books

Practice shows that in order to achieve good results in the language, it is not enough just to choose a teacher. Dr. Norman Fortenberry (MIT professor) says that a critical factor in any learning is multi-mode input is the use of several tools for obtaining information.

Depending on which one you havebasic type of perception of information (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), you need to saturate yourself with learning methods that suit you personally. And your English tutor is just a guide for you.

If your teacher is really good, then he will "weave" the language into your life and ask you to learn in different ways. A good Russian teacher will recommend practice with a native speaker, and a native speaker, if you need to seriously systematize grammar or specific skills to prepare for an exam, will ask you to “build a system” with a Russian teacher.

Your language will be sparse and irrelevant if only a textbook is used. Grammar will be lame if you study only with a native speaker, without using books or a strong systematizing tutor. The language will have an unusual melody and accent for foreigners if you study only with a Russian tutor. You will not be able to remove the language barrier if you study only from films with subtitles and so on.

The history of each of my 5 foreign languages ​​is different, BUT all languages ​​were learned with the help of multi-mode input. Here is a summary of my “learning formulas” for languages:

• English language(free)
• Kindergarten (Soviet!)
• school (6 years, somehow)
• Russian tutor (school, 1 year)
• practice with visiting Americans at AIESEC (2-3 months)
• special vocabulary (economics) at HSE (3 years)
• practical ika on trips abroad (regularly)
• education with subtitles on Coursera and EdX + reading articles
• French(free)
• school (10 years, but no practice)
• Russian tutor (gorgeous! 1 year)
• textbook by Popova-Kazakova (brilliant!)
• French tutor ( 1 month)
• study at the Sorbonne (6 months, but too much communication with Russian neighbors, little practice with locals)
• reading articles (rare)
• Portuguese(medium, you need to spend 2-3 days in a native environment in order to speak fluently b)
• tete-a-tete lessons with a Brazilian (4 months)
• 2 trips of 3 weeks to Latin America (communication with locals only on Rugalian!)
• songs (sometimes I look at the translation)
• Italian language(basic, you need to spend about a week in the environment of carriers in order to speak fluently)
• tutorial (10 lessons)
• Russian tutor (10 lessons)
• a trip to an Italian family (3 weeks + songs (sometimes I watch the translation)
• Spanish(basic, you need to spend about a week in a native environment in order to speak fluently it)
• classes with a native speaker online (5 lessons)
• practice in Latin America and Spain on trips + cartoons and songs with children

So, what will a good Russian tutor give you?:

What a good native tutor will give you:

Not all English tutors (both Russian and native speakers ) are equally good, it is important to understand how much your teacher involves you in integrating the language into life and using it.

Look, listen, write by hand, repeat to yourself or aloud what you want to remember better, practice as much as possible, surround yourself with everything related to the language, weave it into your daily life(at least 10 minutes every day, in any way use it, that's my next article!), and he will not have a chance not to become free;)

(P.S. if you're interested, watch Dr. Fortenberry's 10 minute video on what he considers key principles of learning in general, this applies not only to languages)

Anya Stogova

In a guest article, Alyona Dudarets, a teacher of Spanish and English, a fan of independent language learning and a novice polyglot, will tell you how she manages to learn 5 languages ​​at the same time, why TV shows are indispensable helpers in learning languages ​​and, most importantly, why all this is needed.

Alena Dudarets

Spanish and English teacher, fan of independent language learning and aspiring polyglot.

Hello, my name is Alena, I am 25 years old and I want to become a polyglot. According to my calculations, soon I will speak well or very well in seven languages, not counting Russian and Ukrainian. If I don't screw up. In this article, I will talk about how I learn five languages ​​at the same time, since at the moment I have only such experience.

1. Not all at once

Now I study English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Turkish.

Here it is worth mentioning right away that all these languages ​​did not appear in my life yesterday and not at the same time. I suddenly learned English at school, after school I studied a little on my own in order to give myself a British accent and “clean up” the grammar.

I have been learning Spanish by myself since the age of 13 and to this day. Until about 2010, I taught it somehow, sometimes I could not open a notebook for 5-6 months, but these times have passed, and in November last year I successfully passed the DELE C1 exam. I have been teaching both English and Spanish for almost seven years now. That is, even when I do not deal with them, they are still here, with me, because I share them with others.

I made several attempts to learn Italian. The first one was at the age of 14 and lasted about three weeks, during which, however, I managed to fill out half of the notebook for 96 sheets. Oddly enough, the knowledge gained in those few weeks was almost completely restored within a few hours 9 years later, when I started learning Italian again. However, the bulk of my studies took place in the summer of 2015, when I studied Italian quite intensively for three months at the Language Heroes language marathon. By the end of the summer, I could already hold an hour-long conversation with a native speaker, although, of course, I had both mistakes and Spanishisms.

Turkish I know a little since childhood. Well, as “I know”: I could always order my own food and orange juice and get my bearings in Turkey, I knew a lot of random words, but I didn’t know grammar at all. In the spring of last year, I began to correct it, finally learned the present tense, some cases and some new words. But by the summer I gave up Turkish.

I started learning Brazilian Portuguese in January, at the same language marathon. It turned out to be even more difficult for me than Italian, because Portuguese is even more similar to Spanish and it is very difficult to control so that Spanish does not interfere.

Accordingly, it cannot be said that I learn all these languages ​​in the same way and with the same intensity. If I didn’t crave C2, then English and Spanish could only be supported, not studied. Now I am preparing for the C1 level English exam, so I had to sit down for my textbooks again. But, for example, in Spanish, no exams are hanging over me now, so lately I have been reading a novel by Mario Vargas Llosa (Mario Vargas Llosa) and writing down everything new and interesting in a notebook, and also rapping along with Calle 13.

2. YouTube

You probably thought that I would advise you to watch a lot of YouTube videos. This goes without saying, but I want to say a little about something else. An integral part of my language learning has been my YouTube channel. I started hosting it in 2013 by posting a video of myself speaking Italian after a week of learning (a week, to be exact, and three more weeks nine years before). And at the end of the year, I posted my first video in Spanish. Now he has more than 20 thousand views, and the channel has more than 700 subscribers, most of whom are Spanish speakers.

Now, as soon as I start learning a language, I almost immediately record a video in this language and post it on my channel. Even if native speakers don't come and leave comments (it was and probably will be with Turkish), after a while I will shoot other videos, and then I will compare the results and enjoy the progress. I correspond with people in the comments, and then even communicate with some on Skype and Facebook. I recently sent a postcard with snow to one such friend in Argentina, and he could not get enough of it!

3. Series

The role of serials in my language learning cannot be overestimated. Thanks to Sex and the City for English, Wild Angel for my Argentinian Spanish, Las Aparicio for Mexican Spanish, Avenida Brasil for learning Brazilian Portuguese just by watching episode after episode with Russian subtitles.

In general, my scheme is very simple: if the language is at the initial level, then the series is worth watching with Russian subtitles. If the language is at an intermediate level (approximately B2) - without subtitles, if possible. In any case, even with subtitles, their usefulness is undeniable, because you are endlessly listening to a huge amount of real colloquial speech. The movie is also great, but the problem is that you do not have time to come to your senses, as it has already ended.

The main thing here, perhaps, is that Spanish sounded like Mandarin Chinese to my ear before I watched over 80 episodes of Wild Angel without translation and subtitles.

4. Extensive reading

Extensive reading is when you read in large volumes of literature that interests you, in which there are no more than 5-10 unfamiliar words per page. Reading for pleasure. That is, I want to say that if you just started learning Spanish, then taking One Hundred Years of Solitude right away is most likely not the best idea. In most popular languages, you can easily find adapted books for any level, but in general, having A2 or B1, you can take care of finding some author who writes easily and interestingly.

My English and Spanish would be very different if I hadn't read a bunch of books in them.

This is despite the fact that I read very carelessly, I'm too lazy to poke around in the dictionary: if the meaning is clear, then I move on. Although now, after so many books have been read extensively, I am finally learning to read intensively and use a notebook, pen and marker. Often I write out not only words or phrases, but also a whole sentence or paragraph with these words and combinations, and also highlight them in the book with a marker. In the same way, I always work with articles - they are not as long as books, I do not have time to be lazy with them.

5. Culture and context

If you ask me why I study these languages, I will answer that it is because I like them. And I like not only them, but also many countries in which they are spoken. And in these countries, I often like cuisine, literature, music, whatever. Therefore, I will always find a way for me to use the language, even if there is no opportunity to travel to the country. And any text, any podcast, any song will be much more useful for me than poking at random words on Memrise. I mean, I don't really have anything against Memrise, and if it works for anyone, that's great. I even myself there sometimes create sets of hard-to-remember words. But for me, this approach, unfortunately, does not work. I hardly remember words out of context. I need a dialogue, a text, a situation, and even better, a couple of exercises after that.

6. Type of perception

It is very important. At one time, I realized that I was not an auditory. My speaking skill is ahead of my listening comprehension skill. In order to memorize a new word by ear, I need to hear it ten times, and sometimes more. And that's not the fact that I remember it correctly. That is why the study of Egyptian Arabic using the Pimsleur method categorically did not work for me.

On the other hand, I try to listen to podcasts and watch series from the very beginning of learning a language so that my ear gets used to the sound. And the best way for me to remember is to see and write by hand.

Spanish is the language I have studied the longest on my own and consciously. So, according to it, I now have the fifth notebook for 96 sheets, and this is not taking into account any entries on A4. But here you need to understand that if you are an auditory, then for you this method can be a waste of time. But if you have been learning a language for a long time, almost to no avail, without writing anything by hand, then think about it - maybe this is the reason.

7. Language in three months

A language cannot be learned in three months unless you are some kind of genius. But you can create a very good base for yourself or even reach the B1 level (depending on your initial data).

In general, returning to the topic of five languages ​​at the same time. Since participating in Language Heroes, I have been intensively studying one language for three months: going through one main textbook fairly quickly, studying basic grammar, listening to a lot of podcasts, writing a lot on sites like italki.com and polyglotclub.com, trying several times talk for a long time with native speakers, watch adapted videos. If there is, then I read adapted books. And all this in large quantities.

The rest of the languages ​​at this time I'm doing in the background. If there is a textbook, then I slowly go through it, watch movies, from time to time I communicate with native speakers on Skype (when I am in the mood), listen to the radio and podcasts. After three months, I try to “release” that main language into the fields, that is, start absorbing culture in it and just communicate. Then, after some time, I can again take up this language intensively, but in general I try to teach at such intervals.

In general, learning five languages ​​at the same time is very difficult psychologically.

So by the summer, I'm going to take Portuguese and Italian out of active study to make room for energy-intensive French. I actively studied French for several months in 2012, on my own, being not so experienced in learning languages ​​​​(Spanish does not count - it really is the most grateful language of all that I have met, even Slavic was not given to me like that), so at first I will work on reading and pronunciation.

In the fall, German will be added, which I studied at school for seven years and in which I have something like an A1 level. In general, the trick is that this year I decided to bring to mind all the languages ​​\u200b\u200bthat I have already dealt with and with which I don’t need to spend time learning the rules of reading, conjugation of the verb “to be” and the topic “My family”. Of course, by the end of the year I won't be able to read Madame Bovary in the original, but chances are that my main goal of speaking German will be achieved.

Why is this all?

Well, first of all, it's beautiful. But seriously, I have a million reasons. For example, I recently read a great detective novel by two Catalan writers, which has not been translated into English or Russian and most likely will not be translated. And I can't describe how happy I was with my knowledge of Spanish while reading.

And I will never forget how in a hostel in Vilnius I went into the kitchen to make tea, saw three Mexicans there and decided to talk to them. It was hard to decide, because I only heard that they spoke in Spanish, but it was impossible to hear exactly what they said. However, my fears turned out to be unfounded. At first they were surprised and asked why I was learning Spanish. Considering that in those days I practiced about once or twice a year, it was not very easy for me to speak, but I quickly dispersed, and they tried to speak to me more slowly and did not use slang.

Can you imagine that a native English speaker would be surprised that you speak their language and would admire it? What do you tell him that you love Kasabian, and he's like, "Wow, you know Kasabian, who would have thought!" And with Latin America, this happens to me all the time. I’m just immersing myself in Italian and Lusophone (Portuguese) cultures, but in general everything is the same there.

But the coolest thing in Turkey is to watch the reaction of the canteen or restaurant workers when you come in and order everything in Turkish.

LILYA LEDNEVA

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If you have been trying to learn one foreign language for several years, but still cannot speak it confidently, the wrong approach is most likely to blame. According to polyglots, almost the entire success of this undertaking depends on which method to use in the study. So it's time to put boring textbooks aside and find out what unconventional methods you can use to accelerate your own progress.

We are in website decided to collect advice from linguists and polyglots and identified several strategies that will help you learn a language faster. And in the end, we will throw in the trash the most popular excuse that all this time allowed people to take a break from learning languages.

1. Exercise by Alexander Argüelles

This exercise is recommended by a person who already speaks 50 languages ​​(some of them are dead). He draws our attention to the fact that when learning a language, writing is much easier than speaking or understanding the pronunciation, because during writing the brain has more time to think about everything.

It may seem strange to some, but the same Alexander Argüelles recommends repeating words from audio lessons and conducting educational dialogues only while moving. According to him, it is important to observe 3 conditions:

• You must be outdoors and move as quickly as possible (cardio, running or walking will do).
• You must keep straight posture.
• You must formulate sentences in a clear voice.

The polyglot notes that being in a classroom or room makes us slouch and mumble, and can also interfere with concentration. Alexander has repeatedly tested his methodology on college students, and those who studied while running or walking found the process of language acquisition much easier than those who studied in the classroom.

3. Method of repeating mini-stories

Learning a language is much more difficult for those who have a badly trained working memory(This is partly the difference between polyglots who "swallow" new languages ​​and people who have been learning English for 10 years). This is a type of memory that allows a person to keep in mind the information with which he works.

But fortunately, working memory can be trained. The Dual N-Back exercise showed high efficiency- a kind of game in which you have to memorize letters and positions of squares for several moves and react if you notice a repetition of the position shown 2 moves ago.

You can train your memory on the website or using a smartphone by downloading the application on Google Play or the AppStore.

5. Practice writing

If you correspond in a foreign language, it may be inconvenient for you to type at first, because the arrangement of foreign letters on the keyboard is slightly less familiar to us than the arrangement of letters in the Russian-language layout.

To eliminate the inconvenience, you can take advantage of special resources that allow you to print for a while. A few workouts - and your stiffness in typing will disappear.

6. Keeping a diary

Learn new words off topic in the textbook, but in areas that are relevant to you. This can be done by saying what you see around you, or by trying to write about your feelings (perhaps it could be a song or a poem).