learning 2 or more languages simultanously

[Englishlanguage]

Hello everydoby,
I have some questions for you about multiple language learning.
Do you think it is possible to successfully learn two or more languages simultanously?
If you think it is, how do you think this may affect the process of language acquisition?
Do you think it will only slow you down or might it be an intelligent means for learning languages faster?

[Mohammed Abu Risha]

Why not? You can even be a master in both languages.

When I was a freshman, students were to learn another foreign language. Many students excelled in French, others in German.

[Anglika]

In the past in English school, pupils would be taught Latin, Greek and French, with no basic detriment [apart from the usual resistances]. I've known people learn French and German, or French and Russian. My nieces were brought up with two languages, English and German, and one has gone on to learn Swedish and French. And in Holland it is normal to learn three languages.

I think the answer is that it should not be a problem. It is of course easier if your languages are derived from the same origins. There is some evidence to show that learning two languages at once improves the learning ability.

[Englishlanguage]

Thank you for your replies.
Some people say that learning more langauges at once may slow down the process of language acquisition and get the learner to mix them up, especially if they are similar (similar to the learner's mother tounge and between them).
What do you think about this?
I think the similarity to one's mother tounge can only make one learn the language faster.
If that was true, it may be a good idea to start learning them simultanously only after you have learned the basis of the languages.
What if I as an Italian native speaker wanted to learn French and Spanish - which are very very similar to Italian - at once?

[Anglika]

You would progress rapidly in Spanish and less rapidly in French, but I wouldn't see any great problems for you

[Devil's tear]

Yes it can be. My italian friend speaks English, French, Spanish and italian fluently. And now, she learns chinese, arabic and Turkish because she has a Turkish boyfriend. Life is easy man.
Thanks. I hope to speak more than 6 languages. But it depends on our brains.

[keltouma_H]

No problem, spanish and italian are close languages, someone who speaks spanish can understand italian, and someone speaking italian can understand spanish.
As for frensh, it's not difficult, it just needs practice and almost dealy reading.
good luck

[Englishlanguage]

Originally Posted by keltouma_H

No problem, spanish and italian are close languages, someone who speaks spanish can understand italian, and someone speaking italian can understand spanish.
As for frensh, it's not difficult, it just needs practice and almost dealy reading.
good luck

Actually I do understand some Spanish since it's so similar to Italian that I think any Italian would. I think what I'll have to work a little harder on is speaking, writing and spelling. The rest will be pretty easy.
As for French, sometimes I can make out the meaning of some sentences but to an Italian ear it doesn't sound as easy as Spanish.
Obviously at the moment I have no knowledge of either.

[keltouma_H]

Originally Posted by Englishlanguage

Actually I do understand some Spanish since it's so similar to Italian that I think any Italian would. I think what I'll have to work a little harder on is speaking, writing and spelling. The rest will be pretty easy.
As for French, sometimes I can make out the meaning of some sentences but to an Italian ear it doesn't sound as easy as Spanish.
Obviously at the moment I have no knowledge of either.

You know, f you take a lot of time thinking about what to do, you will do nothing.....
Go ahead, learn and don't lose time.

[Englishlanguage]

Originally Posted by keltouma_H

You know, f you take a lot of time thinking about what to do, you will do nothing.....
Go ahead, learn and don't lose time.

You're definitely right!!
But actually I was planning to start this summer. I don't have much time at the moment...