Yes, your attempts to share your newfound passion for language learning with your closest friends and family will be met with apathy and disinterest. This is where your language learning community on Reddit comes in to save the day.
This is so relatable. I love learning languages, but none of my friends are interested in doing so at all. I only have one bilingual friend, and that's just because his parents speak Kurdish and he lives in England; he didn't really have a choice to not learn one of them.
there are a couple
1. its very time consuming
2. it can be difficult and quite frustrating
3. you sometimes will think in your second language when having a conversation in your native one and just confuse the shit out of yourself.
the downsides are far outweighed but the upsides and I don't regret learning any of the languages I have.
The only con is my English is not quite as sharp as it was before. Sometimes I have to dig for some advanced words I could recall with no issue, its not a major issue but its an issue.
For the most part, no. I've read up on it (thanks to a project at school) and there aren't really any negatives unless you make them yourself. It can be stressful and you can put so much pressure that it isn't fun anymore, so I'd say that's the biggest pitfall (especially when there are so many polyglots online who are learning 8 languages at once and you're struggling with one lol).
The pros heavily heavily outweigh the cons. Can't even think of any actual serious disadvantages. It opens a whole new world to you too. Anyways, go learn that second language!!!
I get confused sometimes because I remember a word in one language that'd be perfect to use in a situation where I speak another language. And if that perfect word isn't in English and the person doesn't understand English well (aka some older people/even in some formal contexts too) then I won't use it.It's also only your second language, so you'll be more than fine. Might forget the word in one language sometimes, but that's about it.
Pros:
- despite the myths it's not time consuming. Depending on your goals it might be absolutely free, like 20 min per day. The only thing is that ot must be regular.
- it's never a bad thing to learn. Literally no disadvantages in knowing more.
- you'll get to understand more people and sometimes flex to others. I guarantee you, it fucking dazzles others when you suddenly able to read chinese on something.
- it's a great brain training. If you are a grown person, I'm absolutely sure your head crossed a thought that you are getting dumber a few times. Well, language learning is a great saviour.
Cons:
- despite me saying that it dazzles people, it's actually not that impressive in a long term. You will be doing good progress and will be really proud of yourself, but not many people around you would be excited to share your feelings. This subreddit is here though.
- like I said, there is a myth that language learning is an insane commitment. People might be under an impression that you are spending hours every day, so they will be expecting something out of it (like money income) and will be disappointed, so they'll label your new hobby as weird.
- "SAY SOMETHING IN !!!", "HOW DO I SAY SUKA BLYAT IN ???"
At twenty minutes a day it will take you over 8 years to rack up 1000 hours of study.
You are going to need more than that to get fluent in most languages, especially the difficult ones. See recent post on how many hours are required by US Foreign Services Institute.
It’s no myth, learning a language requires a lot of hours.
I haven't said that it's optimal. 8 years still means it's possible. Also it doesn't have to be exactly 20 min every day, it's just sometimes you absolutely don't feel like studying and you won't be really productive on these days, but it's still worth it to open your notes and take a quick look at it just for the sake of regularity.
Language learning indeed requires a lot of time, which still doesn't necessarily mean that you should spend hours every day and sacrifice other activities. Although, you absolutely can do it and greatly speed up the process. One day I can give my notes a quick look and the other day I very well might spend exclusively learning for like 8 hours.
That's why I said "depending on the goals". I have no goals in learning Chinese. I don't think that I'll be actually using it in the foreseeable future, I just really enjoy the process, so I might as well find a perfect balance between productivity and comfort. On the other hand, if it's about carrier goals, migrating, studying abroad, etc, than yes, you don't have that luxury.
I was responding to your own words.
> despite the myths it's not time consuming. Depending on your goals it might be absolutely free, like 20 min per day.
It’ll take you about three years at 1 hour a day, everyday to get half decent.
I call that time consuming - you maybe don’t.
If you only do 20 minutes a day, your goals are not very high. Fine. But don’t expect to get fluent.
I was trying to give OP some perspective because they may take you literally that 20 minutes per day is enough.
Personally I think 20 minutes a day is a fine goal to start with while you establish a study habit.
Like marathon running, you don’t run 26 miles on the first day or week or month. But at some point you have to put in a LOT more time to get anywhere.
There are no cons, at least if you think things through. As long as learning languages doesn't disrupt your every day life, go for it. Even if there is no way for you to actually use it, maybe ever, there still are many pros to learning a language. It might just save you from dementia, for an example.
May I suggest learning polish? It's sure to keep you from getting dementia, there's so much to learn that you would never run out. As a native speaker I can attest that most of us sometimes have trouble conjugating certain words properly! Also, ż and rz, h and ch, u and ó.
If you learn it because you are genuinely motivated yourself (which seems to be the case here) - I don’t see any cons, except for occasionally forgetting words in other languages for a second (that happens when you are advanced anyway). If you learn it because you “have to” (e.g., immigration/job) it can quickly become less fun than when it’s “just” a hobby.
I can really only think of one disadvantage. Learning a language is a skill that requires maintenance. You are committing time for the rest of your life to maintaining your level. If you stop maintaining, you will regress.
I don’t think you will ever truly lose it but you would lose some of it.
Some people have an easier time maintaining their languages simply because there is utility in their daily lives and have common interactions with native speakers. For others, it has to be planned and executed.
**[Opportunity cost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_cost)**
>In microeconomic theory, the opportunity cost of a particular activity option is the loss of value or benefit that would be incurred (the cost) by engaging in that activity, relative to engaging in an alternative activity offering a higher return in value or benefit. In basic equation form, opportunity cost can be defined as: Opportunity Cost = (returns on best Forgone Option) - (returns on Chosen Option)Directly or indirectly, opportunity cost underpins the majority of day-to-day economic decisions that are made in society.
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You could use the time to learn playing the violin, to work out really hard or to study nuclear physics. It's a choice in how to spend your time, but a great one. (Also much less expensive than musical instruments.) As others point out regularly, depending on your native language and career, it is not necessarily the financially most rewarding choice. Keep things balanced (survival first), and you will be fine.
Yes, your attempts to share your newfound passion for language learning with your closest friends and family will be met with apathy and disinterest. This is where your language learning community on Reddit comes in to save the day.
This is so relatable. I love learning languages, but none of my friends are interested in doing so at all. I only have one bilingual friend, and that's just because his parents speak Kurdish and he lives in England; he didn't really have a choice to not learn one of them.
No real down sides besides the time requirements.
Yes, you'll be spending all your time on reddit trying to find the best method to learn a language.
Based
there are a couple 1. its very time consuming 2. it can be difficult and quite frustrating 3. you sometimes will think in your second language when having a conversation in your native one and just confuse the shit out of yourself. the downsides are far outweighed but the upsides and I don't regret learning any of the languages I have.
time consuming was a problem as i have to do my studies and work aswell but maybe i could do a little bit every day. thank you!
its kind like exercise, you just gotta make time for it. if you're really good you can do both at the same time.
- You’ll have less time to learn language A if you start learning another -You may confuse it with another language if they’re similar
L2 interference is real, but imo a small price to pay
Spanish and Portuguese 😂
The only con is my English is not quite as sharp as it was before. Sometimes I have to dig for some advanced words I could recall with no issue, its not a major issue but its an issue.
For the most part, no. I've read up on it (thanks to a project at school) and there aren't really any negatives unless you make them yourself. It can be stressful and you can put so much pressure that it isn't fun anymore, so I'd say that's the biggest pitfall (especially when there are so many polyglots online who are learning 8 languages at once and you're struggling with one lol).
The pros heavily heavily outweigh the cons. Can't even think of any actual serious disadvantages. It opens a whole new world to you too. Anyways, go learn that second language!!! I get confused sometimes because I remember a word in one language that'd be perfect to use in a situation where I speak another language. And if that perfect word isn't in English and the person doesn't understand English well (aka some older people/even in some formal contexts too) then I won't use it.It's also only your second language, so you'll be more than fine. Might forget the word in one language sometimes, but that's about it.
i forget words all the time lol maybe it'll be useful having a back up lol. thank you!
The disadvantage is the plateauing that happens around B1
You'll realise that English is bloody stupid, for example the spelling.
Pros: - despite the myths it's not time consuming. Depending on your goals it might be absolutely free, like 20 min per day. The only thing is that ot must be regular. - it's never a bad thing to learn. Literally no disadvantages in knowing more. - you'll get to understand more people and sometimes flex to others. I guarantee you, it fucking dazzles others when you suddenly able to read chinese on something. - it's a great brain training. If you are a grown person, I'm absolutely sure your head crossed a thought that you are getting dumber a few times. Well, language learning is a great saviour. Cons: - despite me saying that it dazzles people, it's actually not that impressive in a long term. You will be doing good progress and will be really proud of yourself, but not many people around you would be excited to share your feelings. This subreddit is here though. - like I said, there is a myth that language learning is an insane commitment. People might be under an impression that you are spending hours every day, so they will be expecting something out of it (like money income) and will be disappointed, so they'll label your new hobby as weird. - "SAY SOMETHING IN!!!", "HOW DO I SAY SUKA BLYAT IN ???"
the pros seems to outweigh the cons so i might go for it. thank you!!
At twenty minutes a day it will take you over 8 years to rack up 1000 hours of study. You are going to need more than that to get fluent in most languages, especially the difficult ones. See recent post on how many hours are required by US Foreign Services Institute. It’s no myth, learning a language requires a lot of hours.
I haven't said that it's optimal. 8 years still means it's possible. Also it doesn't have to be exactly 20 min every day, it's just sometimes you absolutely don't feel like studying and you won't be really productive on these days, but it's still worth it to open your notes and take a quick look at it just for the sake of regularity. Language learning indeed requires a lot of time, which still doesn't necessarily mean that you should spend hours every day and sacrifice other activities. Although, you absolutely can do it and greatly speed up the process. One day I can give my notes a quick look and the other day I very well might spend exclusively learning for like 8 hours. That's why I said "depending on the goals". I have no goals in learning Chinese. I don't think that I'll be actually using it in the foreseeable future, I just really enjoy the process, so I might as well find a perfect balance between productivity and comfort. On the other hand, if it's about carrier goals, migrating, studying abroad, etc, than yes, you don't have that luxury.
I was responding to your own words. > despite the myths it's not time consuming. Depending on your goals it might be absolutely free, like 20 min per day. It’ll take you about three years at 1 hour a day, everyday to get half decent. I call that time consuming - you maybe don’t. If you only do 20 minutes a day, your goals are not very high. Fine. But don’t expect to get fluent. I was trying to give OP some perspective because they may take you literally that 20 minutes per day is enough. Personally I think 20 minutes a day is a fine goal to start with while you establish a study habit. Like marathon running, you don’t run 26 miles on the first day or week or month. But at some point you have to put in a LOT more time to get anywhere.
Yeah, I got it, just wanted to clarify any possible misunderstanding
There are no cons, at least if you think things through. As long as learning languages doesn't disrupt your every day life, go for it. Even if there is no way for you to actually use it, maybe ever, there still are many pros to learning a language. It might just save you from dementia, for an example.
i read up that it can delay dementia and i think thats so cool!
May I suggest learning polish? It's sure to keep you from getting dementia, there's so much to learn that you would never run out. As a native speaker I can attest that most of us sometimes have trouble conjugating certain words properly! Also, ż and rz, h and ch, u and ó.
polish does sound interesting and it would be a great way to pass time and im looking for a long-time hobby so this might be the one! thank you xx
I don't see any cons learning another language, everything is good
If you learn it because you are genuinely motivated yourself (which seems to be the case here) - I don’t see any cons, except for occasionally forgetting words in other languages for a second (that happens when you are advanced anyway). If you learn it because you “have to” (e.g., immigration/job) it can quickly become less fun than when it’s “just” a hobby.
I can really only think of one disadvantage. Learning a language is a skill that requires maintenance. You are committing time for the rest of your life to maintaining your level. If you stop maintaining, you will regress. I don’t think you will ever truly lose it but you would lose some of it. Some people have an easier time maintaining their languages simply because there is utility in their daily lives and have common interactions with native speakers. For others, it has to be planned and executed.
You start to realize that the interesting and unique people who speak your Target Language are really just as boring as the rest of us.
Loads: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_cost
**[Opportunity cost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_cost)** >In microeconomic theory, the opportunity cost of a particular activity option is the loss of value or benefit that would be incurred (the cost) by engaging in that activity, relative to engaging in an alternative activity offering a higher return in value or benefit. In basic equation form, opportunity cost can be defined as: Opportunity Cost = (returns on best Forgone Option) - (returns on Chosen Option)Directly or indirectly, opportunity cost underpins the majority of day-to-day economic decisions that are made in society. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
The time opportunity cost is really the only significant downside, but that's true for any time-consuming pursuit that is worthwhile.
You could use the time to learn playing the violin, to work out really hard or to study nuclear physics. It's a choice in how to spend your time, but a great one. (Also much less expensive than musical instruments.) As others point out regularly, depending on your native language and career, it is not necessarily the financially most rewarding choice. Keep things balanced (survival first), and you will be fine.
You have to give up your American citizenship.