Friday 14 May 2021

learn another language - it's easy!

After you've 'learnt' another language - you should find the next one a lot easier.

Here's a lively discussion on Duolingo:

Trilingual? How was learning your third language different than learning your second? - Duolingo

And some helpful guidance from ESL:

The more languages you know, the easier it is to learn another one | ESL

There is scientific research into this:

Bilinguals find it easier to learn a third language -- ScienceDaily

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The excellent Liz Granirer writes for the EL Gazette on the subject:


The second language is the hardest

Research from a University of Tokyo and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) team has shown that multilinguals are faster and more effective at learning additional languages than bilinguals. 

The results, published in Scientific Reports, were gathered in tests where participants’ brain activity was monitored through MRI scans while they were introduced to Kazakh. All the participants were native speakers of Japanese and had English as their second language. The multilinguals also had either Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian or German as a third language and some spoke as many as five languages.

Proving the theory of cumulative enhancement, the multilinguals who had the most fluency in their second and third languages were quicker at determining answers to test questions, needed fewer learning sessions, and became more confident of their knowledge and ability faster than the bilinguals.

“This is a neuroscientific explanation of why learning another new language is easier than acquiring a second,” says professor Kuniyoshi L Sakai of the University of Tokyo who worked on the study. “Bilinguals only have two points of reference. Multilinguals can use their knowledge of three or more languages in their brains to learn another new one.”

It just goes to show that, sometimes, more is more.

The second language is the hardest | E L Gazette

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Finally, here are some great reasons to learn other languages:

The 5 Big Advantages to Learning Multiple Languages at Once

How to Learn Several Languages At The Same Time by Fluent Language

Learning Two Languages at Once: Can You Learn Multiple Languages at the Same Time?

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