It’s possible to learn multiple languages at the same time, but it will inevitably lead to slower progress in the languages you’re learning than if you just focus on one language at a time.

Fortunately, the years I’ve spent learning multiple languages has given me a clear understanding of when it is and isn’t worthwhile learning multiple languages, and how to make as much progress as possible when learning multiple languages.

In this article, I’ll draw on these years of experience to show you how to learn multiple languages at once in as effective and enjoyable a way as possible.

☕️ How to Learn Any Language

Before we look at how to learn multiple languages, it’s important to understand the fundamental elements required for learning any language. I call these :

🌊 Passive Learning

Immersing in authentic content that first-language speakers would watch, listen to, or read - and doing this as often as possible.

Fortunately, the passive nature of immersion means you can attach this to things you already do, such as your commute, cooking, cleaning, or exercise.

⛩️ Active Learning

Taking time out of your day to actively learn the language through learning whole phrases or sentences.

I call this Sentence Collecting, but you might have come across other terms like 'chunking' or 'sentence mining'. They all boil down to more or less the same thing; learning whole phrases or sentences.

This is much more effective than trying to learn individual words, as learning a phrase or sentence provides you with multiple words in one go, improves your understanding of the grammar contained within that phrase, and gives you phrases you can use in conversation with first-language speakers.

🪷 Practice

This is simply having conversations with first-language speakers - be it through typed messages, audio messages, voice calls, or even in person if you happen to live in a country, region, or community where the language you’re learning is spoken.

Practice is the most natural and authentic way of applying one of the most effective memory techniques: using or applying what you've learnt.

🪴 How to Learn Any Language: Free 40 Minute Video + eBook

If you'd like to learn more about these fundamental principles of language learning, check out How to Learn Any Language: Free 40 minute Video + eBook. They’re the principles that provide the foundation for how I learn languages, including Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, and Vietnamese.

🪷 Benefits of Learning Multiple Languages

Learning multiple languages not only opens up a world of opportunities but also enriches your life in countless ways.

⛩️ Enhance cultural understanding

Personally, this is one of my key motivations for learning languages.

Language is more than just words; it’s a window into the heart of a culture. This may sound a bit cheesy, but it’s true.

When you learn a new language, you gain insights into the customs, traditions, and ways of thinking that shape a community. For example, understanding how proverbs or idioms are used can reveal a lot about a culture’s values, humour, and history.

Learning multiple languages at the same time amplifies this experience. It allows you to notice both the unique and common characteristics of different cultures.

The nuances you uncover deepen your appreciation not only for the diversity in the world, but also the things that bind us all together, no matter where in the world we live or come from.

For example, something I’ve often noticed when living in Việt Nam is that some cultural differences are actually not as different as they first seem. Sometimes, people from different cultures have their own distinct ways of describing the same thing. Whether someone thinks they’re tired because of the weather or because of ghosts, they’re talking about the same thing - feeling tired. It’s beautiful that around the world we all have different ways of perceiving and describing some of the things we have in common.

If this idea intrigues you, check out Is Catalan Similar to Spanish? An Historical Perspective and Is Portuguese Similar to Spanish? Your Ultimate Guide for examples of how geography and history shape languages and of how languages shape regional identity in turn.

🌅 Exercise Your Mind

Research has consistently shown that bilingualism and multilingualism enhance cognitive abilities. Skills like problem-solving, multitasking, and memory retention improve when you regularly use more than one language.

If you’re interested in reading more, I’d recommend The Bilingual Brain by Albert Costa.

🎆 Expand career opportunities

In our increasingly globalised world, mastering multiple languages can be a huge asset professionally. Employers value individuals who can communicate across cultures, making multilingual employees more competitive for jobs.

Whether you’re an interpreter, teacher, or international business consultant, having two or more languages under your belt can open up an array of exciting job opportunities.

You might get the chance to communicate with people from around the world or even spend time traveling to different places for work.

Learning multiple languages can turn your career into more than just a metaphorical journey.

Want to explore more career benefits of multilingualism? The article 9 Benefits of Learning a Second Language outlines how languages can boost your professional life.

📚 Is It Possible to Learn Multiple Languages at Once?

🔑 It’s possible to learn multiple languages at the same time, but there are methods and strategies worth following to ensure you’re able to progress in the languages you’re learning as effectively as possible.

🐌 Reasons Not to Learn Multiple Languages at Once

Whether it’s worthwhile learning multiple languages at once will depend on your situation and goals - and these themselves will change over time.

So when deciding whether to learn multiple languages at once, have a flexible mindset and keep the following factors in mind as to why it might not always be an ideal approach :

1. It will probably slow down progress in the languages you’re learning

2. Slowing progress can sometimes lead to falling motivation

3. If you try to make more time for learning multiple languages, you might feel overwhelmed and risk burnout

Despite these considerations, if you’d like to learn multiple languages at once, then you absolutely should go ahead and at least give it a try.

Plenty of people, myself included, have enjoyed learning multiple languages at once, and when done with some of the strategies and techniques I’ll show you in this article, it can be an effective process.

That being said, I’ve found that focusing on one language at a time is even more effective and enjoyable. So I try to stick to that as often as I can.

🪴 My Approach to Learning Multiple Languages

My solution is to take a flexible approach to learning multiple languages at once :

If I feel I need to, I will actively learn multiple languages at once, but my preference is to only actively learn one language at a time whenever possible.

Whenever I do learn multiple languages at once, I apply strategies and techniques to get as much out of the learning process as possible.

I’ll take you through these now so that you can find the experience of learning multiple languages as effective and rewarding as possible.

🏅 Setting Realistic and Specific Goals

🛶 Why Should You Set Goals When Learning Languages?

Finding and understanding your own motivations for learning a language is an essential part of the process. It’s the well you turn to during those moments or times when you don’t feel like studying.

But our motivations themselves can wax and wane, and so it’s important to have other sources of inspiration to keep going.

Setting realistic and specifc goals can be a great way to focus your mind and stay the course.

Whether you’d prefer to think of it as an anchor securing your boat in stormy waters whilst you work below deck or as a fixed target in the distance that provides you direction, knowing what you’re striving for can help you shape the process in a way that makes it easier to keep going.

✅ Setting Realistic and Specific Goals as Steps and Milestones

Setting goals is helpful, but they’re usually more effective when you make them as specific as possible. This way, you can create steps that make the learning process less overwhelming and more rewarding.

You can therefore think of setting goals as like creating a map for your learning journey. If you try to do too much at once, you risk burning out or losing interest. Instead, break down your language learning into manageable, specific goals that function as steps. For example :

• Learn two phrases each day

• Spend at least 30 minutes immersing in the language each day

• Have one conversation (typed, audio, or in person) in the language each week

These sorts of goals are specific in the sense that they can help you aim for a minimum amount of passive learning, active learning, and practice per day or week.

But you can also set specific goals that function as milestones. These are arguably even more effective, as they provide a tremendous sense of fulfillment when you reach them. For example :

• Write a list for the food shop

• Be able to order tea or coffee in the language

• Be able to talk about the weather in the language

• Understand a dialogue on a certain topic or situation

• Understand the gist of a news report or podcast in the language

• Read a book in the language

• Be able to have a flowing conversation in the language

These small but specific goals ensure steady progress and keep you motivated. Some will of course take longer than others, but the key is to have enough specific goals that you frequently get to experience the fulfillment of achieving one of your goals. It will do wonders for your confidence and motivation for learning the language.

You could attach timeframes to these goals if you’d find this motivating, but don’t feel you have to. If you’d find it a burden to have an added time pressure, just let yourself achieve your goals at a natural pace.

It’s important that your goals are realistic, but this doesn’t mean you have to avoid ‘bigger’ goals. As long as you provide yourself with realistic steps and smaller milestones, working your way towards the ‘bigger’ milestones will become a natural part of the process.

Although we often think of goals as fixed targets, making them realistic often requires at least a certain degree of flexibility. Our schedules change all the time, and so a step or milestones that seemed realistic last week may no longer fit with our new schedule this week.

When you encounter such scenarios, don’t be afraid to adjust your goals to make them realistic according to your present situation. For example, if you’d set a goal of learning 50 phrases a week when you had quite a lot of free time, don’t worry about reducing this to 10 a week if you find you’ve become much busier than usual.

Likewise, don’t be afraid to increase your goals if it feels right for you at the present time. You can always adapt your goals again when things change in the future.

🌏 Setting Goals for Multiple Languages

When learning multiple languages, it’s important your goals are specific to each language you’re learning.

This not only helps you follow a process appropriate to your level and interests in each language, but it also helps sustain your motivation for the languages you’re learning.

For example, you may have different motivations for learning different languages :

• If you live in Germany and want to learn German to integrate and have a convenient daily life, then having goals based on practical situations would make sense (such as ‘be able to book a doctor’s appointment in German’).

• If you’re learning Vietnamese because you’d love to travel to Vietnam one day, then you’ll likely have goals based on experiences (such as ‘be able to have a conversation with a taxi driver in Hà Nội’)

If you’d like some more inspiration for learning multiple languages, I’d recommend this article by Lindie Botes, in which she talks about how she set specific language goals for learning 12 languages in 2020.

As a final caveat for setting goals when learning multiple languages, remember that learning multiple languages will likely lead to slower progress in the languages you’re learning.

So don’t be disheartened if you have to adjust your goals to make them more realistic when learning multiple languages.

🔑 Finding the Best Resources for Learning Languages

Whether you’re looking for resources for learning a language or you’d like help with the entire learning process, How to Learn Languages has you covered.

If you want to save hours looking for resources, then Resources for Learning Languages are eBooks with links to all the online resources you could need for learning a specific language (at the time of writing, there are eBooks covering Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, German, French, Catalan, and Russian).

If you’d like support for the whole learning process, then I’d recommend the How to Learn Languages Guides.

These are eBooks in which I guide you through the whole process of learning a specific language - and you also receive all the links to resources covered by the Resources for Learning Languages eBooks, and I even cover a short history of the language you’re learning so that you can deepen your understanding.

Each eBook also comes with a Welcome Video covering how to get the most out of the guide, as well as a Checklist PDF to help you keep track of your progress.

At the time of writing, there are eBooks covering Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, German, French, Catalan, and Russian.

I’d also recommend checking out the How to Learn Languages Blog, where you can find lots of useful articles about language learning and film suggestions covering a wide range of languages. There’s also the Get to Know area, where you can learn more about languages less frequently covered online.

For a more detailed overview, I’d recommend watching the Welcome Video on the Home page, where I guide you through all the support and resources available on the website.

🍃 Learning Multiple Languages at Once: Strategies for Success

Juggling the task of learning multiple languages at once may seem like a monumental challenge, but with thoughtful planning and structure, it’s entirely achievable. 

The key is to choose strategies and techniques that fit your previous language learning experience, your levels in the languages you want to learn, and the relationship between these languages.

I’ll guide you through these strategies and techniques now, so that you can choose the right ones for you.

🎒 If This Is Your First Time Learning a Language

If this is your first time learning a language, I’d highly recommend learning one language to at least a lower-intermediate level (at least B1 of the CEFR) before you start learning another language.

This is important for two reasons :

1. Avoiding overwhelm when starting a learning process that is new to you

2. Avoiding confusion if learning similar languages

⛵️ Balancing Active and Passive Learning

Use Passive Learning for Every Language You’re Learning

Passive learning is the key to learning multiple languages.

The passive nature of immersion means you can spend time with each language you’re learning without causing overwhelm or confusion. You can attach it to the things you already do, such as exercise, cooking, or your commute, and it doesn’t require your concentration.

As an added bonus, once you reach an intermediate to advanced level in a language, your immersion will become even more enjoyable.

For example, to maintain and improve my level, I enjoy occasionally watching online courses, documentaries, films, and reading books in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.

I also watch a lot of news reports in Mandarin Chinese and Vietnamese.

Passive learning is thus the ideal way to maintain and improve your level in multiple languages whilst you focus on actively learning one language at a time.

Actively Learn One Language at a Time

Learning multiple languages simultaneously doesn’t mean both have to be actively studied. One effective approach is to actively learn one language whilst immersing yourself passively in the others. For instance:

• Learn Vietnamese phrases about going to the market

• Listen to a Vietnamese podcast whilst doing exercise

• Watch a news report in Spanish

• Read a book in German

This strategy allows you to build momentum with one language without entirely neglecting others. It works best for languages you’ve already learnt to at least an intermediate level, as you can maintain and improve them through passive learning whilst you focus on learning a ‘new’ language with active learning (in addition to passive learning).

Actively Learning Multiple Languages

As we’ve seen, not every language needs the same type of attention at every stage, but if you’re wanting to actively learn multiple languages at the same time, then I’d recommend the following tips to ensure your routine is as sustainable as possible :

• Learn the languages at different times of day (more on this below)

• Alternate focus days between the languages if you only have time to actively learn one language each day

• Passively learn (immerse in) the languages every day

🏕️ Differentiating Between Languages

When learning multiple languages at once, creating a clear separation is key. This can be done both through your choice of languages and the contexts in which you study them.

📚 Learn Languages in Which You’re at Different Levels

When you're learning multiple languages simultaneously, deciding how much time and effort to dedicate to each language is critical. 

If you’re a beginner in all the languages you’re learning, there’s a higher chance of you feeling exhausted and overwhelmed from trying to fit active learning multiple languages into your routine.

If you’re feeling worn out, I’d recommend learning languages for which you’re at different levels, or focusing on one language until this is the case. You can then follow the above advice on passive and active learning to reduce the risk of burnout and get the most out of the learning process.

🥗 Choosing Languages from Different Families

Selecting languages from different linguistic families is one of the best ways to reduce confusion. 

Languages have ‘families’ based on shared common ancestry. For example:

• Sino-Tibetan Family: Chinese, Tibetan, Burmese, etc.

• Austroasiatic Family: Vietnamese, Mường, Khmer, etc.

• Austronesian Family: Malay / Indonesian, Javanese, Tagalog, Malagasy, etc.

• Niger-Congo Family: Yoruba, Igbo, Fula, Lingala, etc.

• Semitic Family: Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew, etc.

• Romance Family: Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Italian, Romanian, etc.

• Germanic Family: English, Frisian, Dutch, German, etc.

When learning two languages, it’s helpful to pick ones from separate families. For example, if you learn Spanish (Romance) and Mandarin Chinese (Sino-Tibetan), their lack of shared vocabulary, writing system, and grammar will help to keep them separate in your mind.

Even better, you’d be able to understand and communicate in the three most widely spoken languages in the world (including English).

💃🏻 Use Different Study Contexts

Creating different study contexts is a great way to keep the languages you’re learning distinct in your mind.

The best ways to do this are through allocating separate times and environments for your learning.

Study Languages at Different Times of Day

If you’re learning two languages at the same time, you could keep one to the morning and the other for the evening. 

For example, you could actively learn Italian phrases after waking up and then listen to an Italian podcast on the commute to work. In the evening, you could unwind by watching a vlog in Vietnamese or listen to Vietnamese music. If you’re actively learning both at the same time, you could also take some time to learn some Vietnamese phrases on the commute home from work.

If you’re learning multiple languages at the same time, then you may need to be slightly more creative. 

For example, you could spend some of your lunch break learning Japanese. Or, to reduce risk of burnout, you could use the alternate active learning day approach mentioned above.

Study Languages in Different Environments

Associating languages with certain locations and settings can not only be a great way to keep them distinct in your mind, but also to make the learning experience more enjoyable.

For example, you could actively learn French at your favourite café and listen to a Mandarin Chinese podcast whenever you drive or go for walks.

Being in a different environment can help reignite your focus for learning, and you may even find that it helps you keep healthy habits because you’ve begun to associate that with learning one the languages you’re learning (and vice versa).

If you’re not able to get out the house as often, then you could always try associating one language with the sofa and another with a desk, or you could even apply this to different rooms.

That being said, the above advice on how to use active and passive learning for multiple languages will naturally ensure the languages you’re learning are kept separate to at least some extent anyway. For example, if you’re only passively learning Portuguese then you’ll naturally end up listening to a podcast on the morning commute, whilst you’re active learning will have to be whilst you’re sat down at home, on your lunch break, or at a café.

Use Different Social Media Accounts for Each Language 

The benefit of having different social media accounts for each language you’re learning is that when you log in to a certain account, you’ll only see content in that specific language.

To do this, simply make sure you only follow, subscribe, or like content in a certain language whilst you’re using a certain account.

This can save a lot of time finding new videos or content to watch or read, and will also help you to discover a wider range of resources in each language you’re learning - as the algorithms will only suggest further content in the specific language of that account.

🎨 Having a Hobby in Each Language

Aligning the languages you’re learning with your hobbies and passions is a powerful way to add context to your learning, keep multiple languages distinct in your mind, and sustain your motivation.

For example :

• Cooking : if there’s a certain meal you’ve been wanting to try, watch a recipe guide in the language you’re learning on YouTube, find a cookbook in the language you’re learning, and use the language to engage with online or local communities about recipes

• Music : this isn’t just a great form of immersion, it’s also a way to actively learn languages. You can do this by actively learning lyrics, or even by taking lessons in a musical instrument conducted in the language you’re learning

• Sport : if you love Spanish football, for example, try following dedicated radio shows, podcasts, and YouTube channels based in Spain

Doing this will not only enhance your language learning, but will also make your hobbies even more rewarding.

You can also apply this to more practical matters, such as when there’s something you need to do and you want to watch a how-to tutorial on YouTube. Instead of searching in English, look for a video in the language you’re learning.

🥢 Learning Closely Related Languages

Learning languages that are similar can help propel you forward in both, but it’s important to follow certain techniques to avoid causing confusion.

Only Learn Similar Languages When You’re at Different Levels in the Two Languages

If you’re a beginner in both Spanish and Italian, for example, then their array of shared vocabulary will probably lead to a lot of confusion. However, if you learn Spanish to an intermediate level before you start learning Italian, then the array of words you’ve learnt in Spanish will make their Italian equivalents even easier to pick up when you’re learning Italian.

As mentioned earlier, your schedule will also be under less strain, as you’ll be able to focus on actively learning Italian whilst you passively maintain and improve your intermediate-level Spanish through immersion.

♻️ Using One Language to Learn Another

Using one language you’ve learnt to learn another language can be an effective way to learn multiple languages at once. It allows you to maintain and improve your level in one language whilst you actively learn another language.

This method has various names, including ‘triangulation’ and ‘laddering’, but all amounts to the same principle.

You can use this technique for any language combination as long as there are resources in the language you’ve learnt for learning the language you want to learn.

The method is usually even more effective when done with languages that are closely related. 

For example, I used Assimil’s L’espagnol book to learn Spanish dialogues via the corresponding French translation on the opposite page.

I did the same with Assimil's Portugués de Brasil book, which featured dialogues in Brazilian Portuguese on one page and a corresponding translation in Spanish on the other.

I also did this when learning Italian and Catalan.

More recently, I’ve been using the Vietnamese versions of the Standard HSK 6 textbooks to prepare for the HSK 6 exam in Mandarin Chinese.

Although I don’t find the abundance of Chinese loanwords in Vietnamese especially helpful for the learning process, I do find this to be a great way of maintaining and improving my Vietnamese whilst getting back to improving my Chinese.

⛩️ Choosing Language Pairs

Consider How Two Languages Complement Each Other

Similar languages don’t always complement each other’s learning process in the way you expect. It’s therefore important to consider how languages might fit together when choosing multiple languages to learn.

For example :

• when learning Romance languages like Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Catalan, the abundance of cognates (shared vocabulary) between them helped me to learn to read these languages in just a few months, thus enabling me to conduct research on fascism in Europe during the 1930s as part of my final-year dissertation project at university.

• in contrast, I’ve found the significant amount of Chinese loanwords in Vietnamese to be of almost no help at all. There are various factors that have contributed to this, and I’ll cover this in more detail during a future article and video exploring the differences and challenges when learning Mandarin Chinese and Vietnamese. 

• I did find that learning Vietnamese tones (which has at least six tones in the Northern dialect, depending on who you ask) helped me to appreciate learning tones a lot more and this in turn has been helpful in improving my tones in Mandarin Chinese.

None of these factors should you put you off learning similar languages, but having some understanding of how languages may or may not complement each other will help you to shape your plans and routine in a more effective way. 

🇻🇳 Vietnamese and 🇨🇳 Chinese (How to Learn Multiple Languages)

When I first came to Việt Nam, I hoped to learn Vietnamese using resources in Mandarin Chinese.

I soon realised my Chinese wasn’t yet at a high enough level to help me learn Vietnamese as a beginner, and so I decided to focus on building my Vietnamese to an upper-intermediate to advanced level before then using Vietnamese to go back and improve my Chinese.

This way, I’ve been able to make fast progress learning Vietnamese, deepened my appreciation of tones, and I can now get back to improving my Chinese whilst simultaneously maintaining and improving my Vietnamese.

🇯🇵 Japanese and 🇰🇵 Korean (How to Learn Multiple Languages)

Another example is Japanese and Korean.

Although I haven’t yet started learning these languages myself, I do plan to in the future, and so I’ve done some research into the best way to study them as a pair.

Given that they both have very similar grammar, once you’ve learnt one, learning the other will be less of a challenge. 

But as for deciding which one to learn first, this will depend on your situation.

Generally speaking, it would probably be best to learn Korean first, as its writing system is world-renowned and takes anywhere between a few hours to a few days to learn.

You’d then be well-placed to start actively learning the language and becoming familiar with its grammar - which does have a reputation for seeming complicated to English speakers.

Once you’d reached an intermediate level in Korean, you’d be able to maintain and improve your level through passive learning whilst you begin to actively learn Japanese without the burden of tackling its difficult grammar (due to its similarity to Korean grammar).

Personally, I might decide to learn Japanese first due to my understanding of Chinese characters (which will make Japanese Kanji easier to learn) and because I’d love to visit Japan one day - but there isn’t a right or wrong way.

By considering how languages complement each other alongside your personal goals and language experience, you can make the process of learning multiple languages at once even more rewarding.

✨ Learn About the Same Topics in Multiple Languages

This piece of advice isn’t one I follow myself, and it certainly isn’t something I deliberately try to implement when learning languages. But it is something I’ve come across before, and it is worth mentioning in case it’s something you’d find helpful.

The logic behind this technique is that if you learn about the same topic in multiple languages, you’ll be able to form even stronger associations with that topic, thus helping you to remember what you’ve learnt about the topic in each of the languages you’re learning. 

Personally, I prefer to just let my goals and interests guide what I learn in each of the languages I learn - and these will naturally vary from language to language. If there ends up being some overlap with topics, that’s grand, but I’ve also found that the unique context of having goals and interests specific to each language is a great help when learning multiple languages.

🌍 How to Learn Many Languages at the Same Time

Although I wouldn’t recommend this if you want to make fast progress in a given language, it’s certainly worth doing if it aligns with your goals and if you’d enjoy the process.

To get the most from the process of learning many languages at the same time, be sure to follow as many of the techniques mentioned above and combine them in a way that suits your experience, goals, and motivations.

If you’re looking for inspiration, I’d recommend this video by Alexander Arguelles in which he explains his intensive routine for learning many languages at the same time.

If this sort of approach to language learning doesn’t seem like your cup of tea, don’t worry. It’s not mine either. But if you’d enjoy it, by all means give it a go.

🌊 Overcoming Challenges in Learning Multiple Languages

The hardest part of learning any language is keeping going, sustaining motivation, and riding the waves life throws your way. 

The most important thing for overcoming these challenges is to be flexible in your approach, but there’s also various methods and techniques you can use to make the process as smooth as possible.

🏔️ Is Learning Multiple Languages Worth It?

Only you can answer this question. 

To do so, it’s important to balance your goals, motivations, and interests with an approach that allows you to enjoy the process of learning multiple languages.

I’d recommend trying out and using the methods and techniques I’ve discussed in this article, and seeing how you can align them with your situation. 

If you hit upon a routine that helps you learn multiple languages without the process becoming a burden, that’s brilliant. But don’t worry if you find it too frustrating and ineffective. Many people, myself included, try to focus on one language at a time as often as possible.

For example, I very occasionally immerse in content in languages I’ve already learnt to an intermediate to advanced level, but I don’t consider this a regular part of my routine. I like to keep things as simple as possible, so that I can keep a healthy balance with the rest of my life.

☕️ Building a Study Routine You Enjoy

Building a study routine you enjoy is crucial for sustaining motivation and avoiding burnout. 

Fortunately, many of the methods and techniques mentioned above contribute to building a study routine you enjoy.

For example, creating a learning schedule that’s doesn’t overwhelm other areas of life is essential to avoid burnout, whilst learning languages through your other hobbies and passions is a great way to find the process even more rewarding.

It’s also important to be flexible, allowing yourself to adjust your routine and goals so that language learning continues to fit with the rest of your life.

Passive learning is particularly conducive to building a study routine you enjoy, as you attach it to the things you already do in your daily life.

If your commute was previously something you dread, listening to a French podcast may turn it into something you look forward to.

Housework can be tedious, especially when we’re tired, but if you’re listen to Spanish music it might fly by. 

One of the joys of learning languages is that you get to enjoy things you wouldn’t have been able to enjoy otherwise.

For example, once you’ve reached an intermediate level in Italian or Vietnamese, you can enjoy watching Italian films and series to unwind in the evenings, or relax with a Vietnamese book before going to bed.

For more detailed information on building a study routine you enjoy, I’d recommend reading an article I’ll be publishing in March - How to Create a Language Learning Routine.

🧘 Avoiding burnout

Burnout is one of the biggest challenges when learning multiple languages at once.

Pushing yourself too hard can lead to exhaustion, frustration, or even giving up altogether. So, how can you avoid it while making steady progress?

1. Pace Yourself: Treat learning multiple languages like a marathon, not a sprint. Plan small, manageable daily goals instead of massive, overwhelming tasks.

2. Take Scheduled Breaks: Incorporate mental "breathers" when planning study sessions. A quick break lets your brain process new information and prevents overwhelm.

3. Diversify: If you find yourself getting weary of a certain podcast, don’t be afraid to choose another one to reinvigorate your evening jog, for example.

4. Be Flexible: this is arguably the most important, as it underpins all the other decisions you make when shaping your learning process. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or burnout, don’t be afraid to change your routine and goals. There have been many occasions where I’ve felt I simply no longer have enough time in the day to follow my previous routine and goals - and I always feel so much better after lightening the load to fit with my new schedule in other areas of my life.

Burnout happens when the journey feels more like an uphill battle than an adventure.

Keep it fun, balanced, and forgiving.

🍵 Try Waking Up Fifteen Minutes Earlier

Aside from adapting, you can also try creating more time.

For example, you could have a go at waking up fifteen minutes earlier each day and use the extra fifteen minutes gained to learn one of the multiple languages you’re learning.

You can follow the strategies and techniques I’ve mentioned in this article in order to get the most out of this extra fifteen minutes for language learning, deciding how best to use it according to your goals and the rest of your study routine.

But you don’t even have to use it for language learning at all.

I’d equally recommend using that extra fifteen minutes to just ease your way into your morning in whatever way works best for you.

This could be stretching, yoga, having a cup of tea, writing a diary, or just taking time to sit in peace and quiet.

Aside from the benefits to your mental and physical health, you’ll also feel calmer and more in control of your day, and this will only help the process of learning multiple languages.

I came across this advice of waking up fifteen minutes earlier in the book Zen : The Art of Simple Living by Shunmyō Masuno.

I’d recommend the book as there’s lots of other simple, actionable tips for getting more out of your days whilst reducing the frenetic pace of modern life.

🪴 Building a supportive learning environment

A supportive environment significantly enhances your ability to overcome challenges.

Although the majority of your time learning languages will be spent by yourself regardless, also being part of a community can add motivation, accountability, and a sense of belonging. 

• Let friends and family know about your language learning goals

• Join Language Groups: Look for local meetup groups or online communities where learners gather to practice and share experiences. Sites like Tandem or HelloTalk are great for this.

• Find a Tutor or Language Exchange Partner: Tutors can provide expert guidance, while exchange partners give you the chance to practice conversationally. Again, Tandem or HelloTalk are great for finding language exchange partners, whilst italki and Preply can help you find tutors.

• If you’ve been enjoying immersing in a particular Spanish YouTube channel, for example, don’t be afraid to interact with others in the comments section. This isn’t only practice for your Spanish, but can also help you connect with people on topics you’re interested in.

Although being part of a community can be a key part of building a supportive learning environment, the most fundamental element of a supportive learning environment is the mindset with which you approach your learning and your health. 

As mentioned above, be sure to prioritise your health through taking a flexible approach to your language learning routine.

This will not only make the process more enjoyable, but will also provide the crucial support needed to avoid burnout.

🧉 Motivational techniques and rewards

Keeping track of progress and rewarding your milestones can be great ways to nourish your motivation.

• Visual Progress Tools: Keep a progress journal or chart your achievements to remind yourself how far you’ve come. Remember, motivation isn’t constant—but small, rewarding successes can reignite your passion on challenging days. Personally, I like to use a notebook for my active learning, and this ends up being a natural way of tracking my progress.

• Take Time to Appreciate Your Progress: Now and again it will dawn on you that you’re doing something in the language you couldn’t previously do. This could be a conversation at the market or understanding more of a series you’ve been watching. Whatever it is, take the time to reflect on your achievement.

• Set Milestone Rewards: Treat yourself when you hit milestones. For example, celebrate after completing a lesson series or holding a short conversation in the language you’re learning. You’ll know which rewards work best for you.

Aside from these ideas, be sure to use any other motivational techniques that you’ve found helpful in previous endeavors.

🍁 Sustaining Motivation When Learning Multiple Languages

The key to sustaining motivation is to setting out your reasons for learning a language and coming back to these whenever you feel your motivation ebbing away.

As mentioned above, making specific and realistic goals can help a lot, such as :

• Being able to speak with a taxi driver in Madrid

• Being able to buy fruit from the market in Vietnamese

• Being able to understand your favourite Korean films

Remind yourself of these goals from time to time or whenever your motivation feels like it’s dipping.

These sorts of vivid, realistic goals are far more personal, engaging, and attainable than a vague ideal of ‘becoming fluent’. Of course it’s possible to become fluent, but as a goal it’s not really helpful.

Setting more specific goals that provide realistic milestones for your journey will make the learning process far more rewarding and help to sustain your motivation.

For more detailed information on sustaining motivation when learning languages, I’d recommend an article I’ll be publishing in May - How to Not Give Up Learning a Language.

🪷 Do What’s Right For You

Whether you thrive on comfort or challenge doesn’t matter.

The important thing is that you make your approach to learning languages as comfortable or as challenging as you need. 

If you respond best to challenges, then feel free to push yourself with your routine. If you find it a bit much after a while, you can always scale back and adjust, no problem.

If you respond best to comfort, then don’t agonise over reducing the burden of your study routine. If you find a lighter routine enables you to keep going and achieve your goals, then that’s far more effective than overstretching yourself and giving up altogether.

As ever, the important thing is to shape your learning process in a way that’s right for you, and to be flexible in adapting your study routine whenever it falls out of line with this.

🪴 Conclusion

The question of how to learn multiple languages does not have a specific answer. 

Learning multiple languages at once will usually slow down your progress in the languages you’re learning, but there are many methods and techniques you can use to reduce this impact and get the most out of the learning process.

The most important thing is to set specific and realistic goals that provide you with steps and milestones, think carefully about the combination of languages you learn, and be flexible with your language learning routine.

By following these core principles and adapting them to your experience, situation, interests, and goals, you’ll be able to sustain your motivation and enjoy the process of learning multiple languages.

As ever, if you have any questions please feel free to email me at contact@howtolearnlanguages.info, and I’ll get back to you promptly. I’d be more than happy to help.

Enjoy learning languages 🪴