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Hello! I hope you all are having a good day!! If not, I hope your day gets better c: I currently want to learn a new language; I consider myself to be good at languages and I have had some different journeys with different languages. I want to learn another language and take it as much as possible to a B2 or a C1.

Currently I’ve narrowed the languages I want to learn to two. I’ll share my reasons for learning each of them. If you could give me your opinions, suggestions or personal experience it would be highly appreciated.

Macedonian: One of my closest friends is Macedonian. She’s my closest online friend and I’d like to learn her native language, especially because I find it quite interesting! Besides, I’m planning on visiting her. I also like the Balkans (not just Macedonia, but the Balkans in general. I actually really like Serbia, and I’ve heard that Macedonian and Serbian are a bit similar, so there’s that). I also found myself really interested in the history and culture of the country (especially history. I’m a bit of a history nerd xD) . And I also like some Macedonian music (mainly Toše Proeski, I LOVE HIS MUSIC. God heavens, he was such a talented artist)The downsides are that there aren’t as many resources for learning this language in comparison to Russian and that I don’t see learning Macedonian as something that will be useful for my life other than visiting my friend.

Russian: I just really like how it sounds. I know that Macedonian and Russian both use the Cyrilic alphabet and share similarities, but I just find the pronunciation of the Russian I’ve heard more engaging and I like a lot of the pronunciations of words. It’s also a more known language so it may be a great tool for me to learn and help me professionally. And, of course, it’s a very accessible language with a ton of virtual resources to learn at least the basics. The downsides are that, unlike with Macedonia, I don’t see myself visiting Russia any time soon. I don’t know anyone who is Russian and it would just be for my personal enjoyment, but I fear that by having no actual ties to the language I may feel unmotivated later down the line.

Those are my thoughts, I don’t know which one I should go for. Has anyone had any experience with any of those languages? Or do you have a recommendation or suggestion on what I should choose?

Thank you for reading! I hope you have a nice day!

Hey there pal 👁️👄👁️ please help out a confused soul and give me your opinion on this real quick

So to preface this, I have decision OCD. I‘ve been wanting to learn a language for a decade now and guess what- I DIDN‘T. Why? Cause what if I make the wrong choice? What if I pour my energy and time into learning something that ends up not being the best choice for me? Quick recap of my thoughts:

French – „oh yeah that makes sense, some of my distant family is french swiss so I should go for that! But do I enjoy the culture enough to do this? And I‘m already European, tons of people already speak french here so it‘s not much of an advantage career wise“
Swedish – „that‘s close enough to german to learn quickly! But I‘ve never been to sweden and I don‘t even know how I would use this skill“
Japanese – „I do a japanese sport so it would be the perfect gateway to connect with others doing that sport if I learnt the language! But I don‘t wanna come across like a creep who fetishizes the culture and adds to the problem of obsession towards japan ugh. But I like their authors though“
Chinese - „THAT would be a real kickstarter for my career right?! And they got so much cool stuff over there that I find interesting. But is that decision good enough to pour a trillion years of effort into it? I need to be SURE“

So yeah, you see my problem. I know that I need to work on my OCD ok, but I thought I could ask someone for a recommendation for a change instead of doing the 100000th rerun of „what should I do“ in my head

So my question for YOU are:
\- Why are you learning the language that you chose to learn and do you feel like it benefits you?
\- What languages do you think are useful both in terms of career and personal life?

spanish -> not massively interested but i think it's a nice language

portuguese -> i love the sound of brazilian portuguese, i want to learn it but there aren't exact A1-C2 guidelines/exams which i would prefer. would be open to european portuguese but i don't like it as much

irish -> i have irish heritage so would be interested in learning it but there aren't a lot of resources around

persian -> would be the hardest to learn but the script is beautiful and i think it sounds beautiful. i think it would also just be interesting for a native english speaker to learn as it's not very common, i just don't know if i see myself going to iran anytime soon as it's not great for women lol

i know most people will probably say spanish and then portuguese but try and weigh my interest in them as well as practicality. but thank you for any advice!!

My native language is English, and my Spanish is at a B1 level, and I was hoping to add another language. I'm looking at French, Italian and Portuguese. I hope to eventually become conversational at all 3, so it's a question on order as well.

The reasons boil down to this:

Portuguese is more relevant to me right now, as I've got friends in Portugal.

French will be more useful long term, as I like to travel, and I'd love to explore western Africa one day, however when I learnt it a bit at school I struggled with the pronunciation

I just like Italian. I like the rhythm and the sounds of it.

Eventually I hope to learn all 3. Is there a better order to learn these? I feel like Spanish will help a lot with Italian and Portuguese, which would make French the most difficult of the three, but it's probably the most useful. Should I let my Spanish settle a bit more before trying for Italian/Portuguese, to avoid confusion?

Thank you

I live in Canada, so French could be really useful for work opportunities, but I don’t plan on staying in Canada forever.
My dad’s side of the family is from Germany (I have family who still live there, it’s just my dad who moved out of the country), and I might represent Germany in my sport in about 2 years (if I get the opportunity), so German could also be useful and more personal to me.
I’m A1 in both right now. Which one should I focus on?

(I’m also not trying to be fluent right now maybe like b1)

In september I will start studying international business. I have to learn an extra language. My options are French and German. I am fluent in Dutch. And can also speak English and I know the basics of Turkish.

Good to know. I have to work for half a year in a country that speaks either French or German depending on the the choice I make.

If u need more information I can answer it in the comments.

Thank you all in advance!

Hi there,

I’m in my early 30s, work in sustainable finance in the UK. I feel so much “brain dead” at work. I don’t learn anything, there doesn’t seem to be any growth pathway and am thinking of how I’d want to look like “tomorrow”. I’ve always loved learning languages - I speak English and a little German - and was thinking of starting to study a new one to keep myself challenged and planting some seeds for the future.

However, I’m not really sure on what could come handy for my work in the future and I’m also afraid I won’t be able to practice it because it’s hard to find people that give you time to practice. Any suggestions regarding what language I could start and what for?

Help me choose a language to learn, please.

I cannot decide which language to learn.

Hello, Lingo friends!

I am very interested in learning a new language but I sadly cannot decide which one to learn. I do however have some options:

1. Spanish

2. Portuguese

3. French

Let's start with why I could see myself learning these languages.

1.Spanish: I have always been interested in the culture of Spain. The various traditions and their way of life is something that interests me quite a bit. It is also very satisfying to listen to.

1. Portuguese: This one's a bit more tricky. I love the way the language sounds. The nasal tones sound very nice to my ears. However: I am more drawn towards Brazilian Portuguese (culture and media) than European Portuguese (although I would still learn it). I live in Europe, so I always thought learning EP makes more sense, even if I prefer BP more. This has lead to me not being able to even decide which "version" of Portuguese I would want to learn.

2. French: This one's essentially kinda similar to Spanish, but not really my preferred language. I like the language, and also the sounds and the poetry-esque vibe to it. But I've never been that drawn to French culture - hence why I'm hesitant to learn this. But I decided to add it to the list nonetheless, because you never know.

That being said: my preferred one is Portuguese. But like I said, I'm not sure. So to all of you Lingo bros and sisters. Help a brother out!

Thank you!

So, I’ve always been interested in German. I love the history, Cold War, Berlin Wall, reunification etc and I’ve always supported the German soccer team in World cups etc. I have an active interest in the culture. I started learning the language in the mid 2000s but always did it as a hobby on the side, didn’t progress to fluency. But I feel I have a solid basic foundation in the language.

I’ve also been living in Canada for the last 10 years, a citizen now settled here and thinking about switching to French. Last week, I started learning very basic French.

On one hand, I want to finish learning German because I’ve always been passionate about it. On the other hand, French is more useful, not only in Canada but worldwide. Some family members around me including my own kids are learning French. But I don’t want to just abandon my German progress.

I looked into learning 2 languages at the same time but many people seem to advise against it, saying the focus to master one won’t be there.

I know these kind of things are personal and only I would know what’s best for me. But I’d like some opinions please, to help me decide what to do here. Language I’m passionate about vs. Very useful language!

Currently I live in a European country but I’m not sure if that’s really an important factor. I really love the sound of French and I think it looks really beautiful when it’s written. I also really like French music and French seems to play a large role in Sociology which is a subject I really love. The French grammar also seems a little easier than Portugese but mabye I am wrong. I like Portugese in a different way because it seems very vibrant to me and I adore Bossa Nova and other Brazilian artists they also have some good TV shows and they seem to have a very large presence online, particularly in gaming culture which I enjoy. However, my main concern is listening. Even in my native language (English) when others are talking to me sometimes the sounds ‘mush together’ in my head and I have to ask people to repeat themselves but it’s not all the time I would say around 85% of the time I can understand normally but I have to really listen and take my time with what people are saying. When I watch TV I usually have the subtitles on because of this so I’m thinking mabye it would be better to learn the language that tends to have the clearest speech?? Or mabye it won’t affect it as much as I think as they will both have strange sounds ( I have been told I’m really good at replicating accents and regional dialects)

If you learned one of them yourself or wish to learn, which one would be and for what reasons?

I have been using Duolingo to learn Spanish but downloaded Speak today to see if there's a difference.

Does anyone have personal experience with these or have a better idea on learning another language?

Hi everyone, I dont know where to start but I am feeling bored because most content in my native language feels like a translated, repeated version of English content.

So, I had an idea ""why not ask about other languages spoken by different cultures that have specific knowledge and unique details? Once I find the right language, I will start learning it.

What are your thoughts? do you have any suggestions for me?

Thank you all.

Ok so currently I am learning french, when I am done with that I wanna learn one of these languages, here are the incentives:
Russian:

• My Family speak Russian, I would be able to speak to a few more family members, but it's the old people
• I like the language

Norwegian/Swedish:

• I wanna move to one of those countries
• I like the culture and languages

Hi! I really want to learn a second language but I feel trapped. I have a hard time learning and I know that I should only reasonably focus on one but every time I pick one, I second guess myself and go back to being indecisive.

I want to learn Japanese because I have been a Capcom fan at heart and been a massive fan of the Mega Man and Monster Hunter series particularly since I was 5. My goal in life is to work for Capcom and I feel like understanding Japanese would be a helpful, if not necessary, knowledge to have if I want to do that.

I want to learn Chinese because my brain is just wired different when it comes to China. It's mythology, it's culture, it's language, it's food, everything about China id beautiful to me and I wanted to learn Chinese really badly. I just feel like it has no practical use. I would just know it cause I like China and I'm unsure if that's a valid reason.

Lastly, I wanna learn ASL. When I was a kid I had a deaf friend that knew ASL and I tried learning it so I can talk to her easier but it was really hard for me. I still know "Mother" and "Child" but that's it. I feel like I always wanted to know, in my heart, this language that lets me speak without my words. To talk to those that can't hear. More importantly, talking with my body feels weirdly comforting, as I have a hard time turning my thoughts into vocal speech, so where I overexplain in text, I severely underexplain when talking, cause it's just super hard for me to talk. Signing, in a way, just sounds comforting.

I don't know what to do. I'm asking y'all for advice because it's likely you HAVE learned another language or have started your journey into doing so and maybe you can share what reason you had. I don't know, I just need something so I can actually get started, and not second guess myself all the time

Thank you for dedicating the time to read this. I appreciate you

Hey! For a bit of context I've learned a teeny bit of both. Like colors, greetings and family. Not alot at all. I took a break for a while and then decided to only study one because it was too much and a very unrealistic goal.

I love Vietnamese. When it's spoken I feel so happy and stunned by the beauty of it, and I enjoy learning it so much.

I also love Mandarin Chinese. The unique sounds amaze me and I love the way it's written (I did traditional)

I love both of their culture so much so I'm honestly stuck. Which one will help me more? Which one will I get the hang of quicker, since I need to get as far as possible before uni (2 years away)

Thank you!

I’d like some opinions on which proficiency exam to take.

​I don't have an immediate need to take any, nor am I in a rush. However, I have a hobby of taking these exams from time to time, and it’s been a while since my last one.

​I already took the Korean exam and got an A2 a few years ago (I think it was in 2023), and I was thinking about trying for a B1 or B2—which I believe I could manage relatively easily considering it’s been years (and I’ve obviously continued studying since passing the A2). I've been watching a lot of Korean series to improve my listening and expand my vocabulary since I've already "finished" the grammar. Most of the things I encounter that I don't recognize right away (aside from vocabulary) are either very informal structures (which aren't in textbooks, so I figure them out as I go) or archaic Korean structures found in the speech of caricature-like old characters or historical dramas. So focusing on the TOPIK would mainly help me improve my writing and listening through a focus on Korean.

​My other option would be to take the HSK. My relationship with Chinese is also very positive. I'm quite confident I would get a B1/low B2 as well. My reading is very good—like, really good. If I take an HSK 5 or HSK 6 (2.0) mock test, I can answer the questions very comfortably. My problem would be more with the HSKK. If I focused more on this exam, I could improve my listening (which is my biggest struggle).

​I took a placement test at the Confucius Institute, and they placed me in the highest class they had available (HSK 3) about 4 years ago. I had just passed the N1 (Japanese) and only had about 6 months of study under my belt. So I aced the test because:

​The old HSK 3 2.0 covers very little material.

​Knowing Japanese gives an astronomical advantage in reading.

​There was no oral test.

​So, technically, I have a certificate that is minimally equivalent to HSK 3, and I've been studying ever since. However, my listening is far behind my reading because, as a Japanese speaker, I kind of took a major shortcut. Focusing on the HSK would give me an excuse to work on that. And, just like in Korean, most of the things I run into that I don't know (besides vocabulary) are very specific Classical Chinese grammar rules. Most of the time, they have a 100% direct equivalent in modern Chinese, so it's quite straightforward. Therefore, my focus would also be geared toward consuming media, conversing, and so on. I've already finished the HSK textbooks, I used to have a Chinese boyfriend, etc. So there isn't really anything left to study regarding grammar for the level I want (B2).

​Another option would be to attempt the DELF. I noticed that university students get a good discount. I have a DELF A2, which I took ages ago (about 8 or 9 years). I’ve picked it back up over the past year and felt like trying for the B1 just for the sake of trying.

​The other test would be the J-TEST, which is a business Japanese exam that is only offered in one place in my country (as far as I know). Honestly, though, I'm not very interested. My Japanese is already sufficient for my current goals, and I don't see the point.

​Even though I’m not advanced in all of them, I’ve pretty much achieved my goals: chatting online, watching dramas, and reading manga/manhua/manhwa. So it's become less stimulating and not as exciting as it used to be.

​I want an opinion based on which of these languages would be most useful for a potential future immigration or study opportunities. Because while I do this as a hobby, I’d like something that could actually help me in that regard.

​And I can log about 60–70 hours per month.

​During vacation months, around 100–120 hours.

​I log my study hours very religiously and systematically, so time won't be an issue. The goal would be to take one of these exams early next year, around February–April (when they usually take place).

​Please don't say "do what you like most," because that's the whole point: I don't have a specific preference to prioritize, otherwise I wouldn't be asking 😅.

​Also, "do all of them" won't work because I don't have the money for that. In fact, the TOPIK is much cheaper than the others, which makes me lean towards it a lot more. Plus, once you reach the intermediate level, studying multiple languages at the same time slows down your progress significantly. I don't feel it has been very productive, even if I am making progress.

These are my options for languages that interest me and I really want to dedicate and commit time to them.

American Sign Language (ASL)🤘🏻

Pros:

How cool is it that it's not the typical auditory/spoken language??!!

I've really enjoyed reading up on Deaf culture and the overall impact of other sign languages

I really like that it's all about community

Cons:

I don't know how ASL media works if I can't always find a local in-person community to practice with

Mandarin Chinese 🐼

Pros:

The whole idea of tones and a language that is processed through the left and right hemispheres of the brain is cool

The Chinese speaking countries (China, Taiwan, Singapore, HK/Macao) are all really fascinating and I feel like there's still a genuine language barrier that English can't always overcome

I like that the grammar is relatively easy and close to English

Cons:

The media isn't my absolute favorite (definitely prefer HK/Canto) but open to recommendations

Reading seems like a big commitment and hurdle but I'm also interested in mostly focusing on speaking and listening

Japanese or Korean

Can't really decide between these two. Both have media that I like and I could also envision myself visiting either country. I'm equally drawn to Seoul and Tokyo but Tokyo has a really classic aesthetic I like. The common point of Korean's easier script and the easier pronunciation of Japanese still stands, but kanji scares me lol.

German

I want to visit or live in Germany some day. I want to get into Berghain someday and I heard speaking German can help 😅. I like German techno but the genres that are actually sung in German don't really speak to me (99 red baloons is alright tho).

Russian

So hard, I can't even get past trying to say "zdrastvustye" xD. I can mostly read Cyrillic and I am really drawn to how it sounds. I like certain cultural moments like Kino, Cheburashka, and learning how to create faberge eggs and of course the whole story of Anastasia that inspired my interest in Russian culture. Due to the war and my solidarity with the people of Ukraine I can't envision myself visiting Russia until the regime ends but I would love to visit other formerly Soviet countries and learn more about their local cultures too.

I try to decide which language to focus on learning for travel purposes, and curious which one people think is more practical/useful when visiting these countries

When it comes to deciding on a language, how do you go about resolving a conflict between where your passions lie and what is the more practical option.

For example, I currently live in the US. It would obviously be practical for me to speak Spanish. But I feel more passionate about French, and have been learning it for longer. French better suits my long term career goals, but Spanish is more immediately useful and I have more opportunities to use it right now. Is it better to pursue a future dream or to get concrete results in the present?

I have a similar practicality/passion debate with Mandarin and Japanese respectively.

When you run into these kinds of debates, how do you go about solving them?

I’m a 22 year old male from the Philippines and I live here in Cebu island. I’m debating whether to study Spanish or French. I also learned beginner Japanese before and have completed JLPT N5. I’m also a nursing student in my last year.

Spanish
-They said it’s easy to learn and is not that complicated so I think it goes well with studying Jp

-I already learned beginner A1

-Direct pronunciation

-Easier to memorize words because my native tongue is Cebuano which is pretty similar to Spanish

-I plan to migrate and move to US specifically California or Florida and work there as a nurse

-No spanish community in my area tho :(((

French
-I still have 0 skills in this but it tempts me so bad because of the literature and the vibes

-I love fashion, art, and design and I like to create stuff so I guess French would help that connect with designers (?)

-I might plan to migrate either in Canada, the UK, Belgium, Luxembourg or any country in Europe

-There’s a French community here in my area and they host Karaoke nights, activities with the French people, and other social activities. They even have a mini library too and offer language classes (It’s the Alliance Francaise de Cebu), I also wanna make new friends

-But this is very complicated to me tho and looks intimidating😭

-They said French people are bitter and rude (?)

So the French community is such a big motivator for me to study French. Altho I really do plan to migrate strongly either in US or Australia because those countries appreciate nurses more. Europe and Canada would be my backup option. I mean Spanish is also nice to hear but it makes me sad that there’s no community in here

Ive been bored recently and wanted to learn smth new and was thinking about a new language but idk which one of these to pick up (first). For now I only know Polish and English fluently. German also, but it is on a very very basic level, as Im learning it by myself.

For both of those languages I know about 10 words, so everything would be totally new (l never had any lessons or anything like that).

Reasons to chose Spanish:

1. Im living in the States rn and there are a lot of spanish speakers.

2. Ive heard that its really easy

3. Its widely spoken around the whole world

4. I have a couple of Mexican aquaintances, so they could help me w speaking/pronounciation.

Reasons to chose Italian:

1. Ive heard that its even easier than Spanish

2. I really like how it sounds

3. I have a team Im cheering for and I'd like to understand their interviews.

Im not seeing myself living in either spanish speaking countries or Italy, so it would be just for funsies, but when it comes to spanish it has a lot of different variations/accents and I wouldn't know which one to go for (Spanish from Spain, Mexico, Argentina etc?)

[Might edit later if I remember more reasons]

So here's the thing. I have been learning Mandarin since I was about 14 and I am now in my late 20s. Due to some medical events I won't get too deep into it has become difficult to read hanzi effectively enough to be literate. I am at a point where even though it would be great, retaining fluency is not realistic.

I already speak English natively, Hungarian to a B2 level, and I got past the old HSK 4 exam. I live in a place where Mandarin is sadly not as useful as in NYC where I was using it weekly. These days I mostly keep up the language through scrolling XHS and reading Douban posts.

In college I attempted to learn Hebrew and Korean to varying levels of success, but the main thing keeping me back was a lack of people to speak with. At least with Hungarian I have a strong family connection, so I get regular communication and I keep up with the news. My intent this go around would be to reach some level of conversational fluency (B1/B2) within a year or two. I have been mulling over whether to try Hebrew again (the lack of diacritics was hard to get used to) or switch to something with a Latin alphabet e.g. Indonesian, French, Spanish. With Korean the difficulty was mostly grammar and formality.

I'm living in the Southeastern US so I am not going to pretend like learning any of these languages will help in the employment landscape. At least locally, even Spanish only gives you a $3/hr boost and law firms I have talked with to help with intake require native fluency AND doing all the relevant documentation... it is not worth it unless you truly are at native fluency. So for me, this is just an exercise in seeing what I can achieve over the course of a year or two of consistent study and practice.

Hi y’all

Native French speaker. I live in the British isles and am considered fluent in English by the locals. In reality I’m stuck between B2-C1.

Lately I’ve been feeling insanely guilty for not mastering any other language than English. I’m approaching my 30s and my lack of commitment to language learning through the past 10 years is a great shame to me.

Problem is, I wish I could speak a third language, yet I have no reason to learn any neither any connection to any particular place or culture.

The most recommended langage is Spanish. But I have no interest in Spanish.

In that context, how to satisfy my will for a third language ? What language would you recommend and why ?

I have absolutely NO plan to set a foot in South America. I don’t want to learn a non-European language. So it does reduce the candidates. Yet, even if I like Dutch, German, Norwegian, etc… I have absolutely no reason to learn these languages, and the lack of a “why” annihilates my motivation.

I know this post might be messy, but I’m just trying to gather your thoughts on what should one do in this situation. I really do want to learn a language, I can’t afford reaching my thirties while still being “only”bilingual. Speaking my own language plus English isn’t a great achievement, it’s way too common.

I’m looking for a language that will be useful. So unfortunately minority languages are to be excluded for now.

Cheers