I have a question for those who have learnt a few languages to any degree of proficiency really. For the past few months i have focused on learning french using lingq for reading and listening and italki for conversations. I have noticed an improvement in my use of the language in basically every way, albeit my reading is still better than the others. Now I would like to focus on Japanese and improve on it as I live in Japan till September and it would be a true waste to not be able to interact with a certain level of ease. I am perfectly aware that the level of my ability to speak in French will deteriorate with time. Now the question i pose is, from your experience (to anyone who is willing to answer), has your ability to understand a language which you have set aside for a time reduced as well. If yes, to what extent? (Iâm assuming itâs measurable, you may use the CEFR scale to rate comprehension)
Certainly, Iâd even say itâs a normal and healthy process to forget a little of the language you havenât studied for a while. However, Iâve also found that if I have reached a sufficient level of a language (like you presumably have in French), itâs not that difficult to come back to.
Go have fun with Japanese, but accept that your French will get a little rusty. When you come back to French, I think youâll find that spending some time listening (a couple of hours on LingQ, say) is all it takes to ârefreshâ what youâve still got in your brain somewhere.
We get rusty at anything we havenât done in a while, the trick is to come back to the things we love. You never forget something youâve once loved⌠
You can forget a lot of a language that you only speak at a low level. If your levelâs good enough it doesnât decay all that much, although it may take you some âwarming upâ to get back to speed in a language that you havenât practiced for some time.
Another issue altogether is that thereâs a âlayerâ of vocabulary that you must refresh once and again, in order to keep it active but that happens even with your native tongue.
My advice for you would be to focus on Japanese but keep watching fun videos, reading short things, etc. in French.
Thereâs another side to this: depending on your level of French you might find you can still spend quite a lot of time on your French. I am finding this as I move from learning Spanish to learning French. French is so difficult for me right now that I canât concentrate for very long. My learning is intensive, but not extensive. So even though French is the focus of my learning, I am probably actually spending more time on my Spanish just because it is easier to read a book, or listen to a podcast, in that language. So maybe just keep something light and enjoyable in French, like a good novel, or a TV series, on the go, and that will help you maintain the language.
Thatâs exactly how itâs in my case. Focusing on Spanish/Italian means I have to intensify my focus and itâs literally âlearningâ but I have never really studied English and I donât study now. I just spend a few hours a day watching stuff or listening to some material or even writing on lingq forums - all in English. For me it isnât learning, itâs just enjoying my time and keeping my English sharp at the same time.
Exactly! I think getting your L2 (3,4,5âŚ) to a level where you really donât need to try anymore is so important. Iâm sure that, rather than forgetting your English, it will get better and better over the next few years as you use it casually. Hopefully the same for my Spanish and @mo5jiâs French.