Job Discussion Forums

[sidjameson]

It's a long story that I wont bore you with, but 10 years ago I spoke reasonable Indonesian, 5 years ago reasonable Japanese. For the last year I have been trying to decide which language I should pick up again. I was planning to leave Japan until a new job offer enticed me to stay. When I do leave it will be for Indonesia.
I can never make up my mind as if I plan to leave in 2 years then i figure dump the Japanese as I would never return. But then I think I may be here for longer as the job is that good. Of course it then makes more sense to study the nihongo again. To tell you the truth though I never really enjoyed the Japanese anywhere near as much as the Bahasa. I know I should stay with the nihongo, but I am just in love with the bahasa:)
Well anyway all the indecision is just resulting in neither language being learned. So, I wonder, what are my chances learning both?
I hope some of you MA guys out there have come across something on this. My experience of language has always been that as a new one comes in the old one gets pushed out, but then again I have never tried to keep the old one there. I find I am using a mix for a while until the new one takes hold. If I studied both would they fit into place?
I guess I am of average ability when it comes to languages, but do seem to struggle with a poorer memory these days.

So should I choose one or go for both? Oh, I do plan to spend 7 months in Japan and a couple months a year in Indonesia from now until I quit this impossible to quit job.

[Super Frank]

It's amazing how much your subconscious will retain, you should find it comes back as and when you need it, not all perhaps but the majority. Why do you want to learn Japanese? Is it just to get by, which I imagine you can anyway or to have a better quality of conversation? If the latter then keep it up, also you never know when you might need it again, you could find yourself as a tour guide in London for instance
Many people study French and German at the same time so don't see why you shouldn't be able to keep them both up. Personally I'm crap with learning languages, my French is abysmal and half my family live there, whilst my Chinese gets harder the more I realise how bad I am. But I am determined to get there eventually. Good luck.

[nomadder]

Last time in Japan I studied Japanese until I got sick of it and then did Spanish.

This time around I'll do Italian as my backup language but also have a book to review Spanish so I could be doing 3. The prob is the similarity between Spanish and Italian could become confusing.

I guess I have more interest in European languages but Japanese is more necessary while living there.

So I'd recommend doing both.

[sonya]

well, you won't really retain most of what you learn unless you constantly use and practice it.. so why not just stick with Japanese whilst in Japan..

[Perpetual Traveller]

Sonya, I think you'll find that sidjameson said he would be spending time in both Japan and Indonesia so both languages would be put to good use I'm sure.

I say go for both, yes it can get confusing when you are taking two similar languages (good luck with that nomadder ), but Bahasa and Japanese are far enough apart that I don't think you'd have too many problems on that front.

I have often been studying more than one language at a time and although the focus does tend to swing to the native language of the country I am in I don't want to totally neglect the others because, as Sonya pointed out, you don't use it, you lose it.

Selamat Tinggal!

PT

[sidjameson]

Yes, thanks PT. My question isn't actually which should I choose. Only I can make that decision. My question is whether I should learn both or is there a realistic limitation to langauage learning that dictates that I would be much better off choosing one?

[JZer]

The best way to learn two languages at once is to live somewhere where you have access to people who speak more than one language. I know this is does not apply to the OP but I wanted to throw my two cents in. For example you could move to a country like Morraco where you could speak Arabic and French on a regular basis. Another example would be one of the teachers at my previous university. He is German but lives in the U.S. and teaches Spanish. So he can use English and Spanish everyday.

[gaijinalways]

The main limitations are your memory and time!

Myself, when I first came to Japan, I was still studying Chinese. Then I started studying Japanese, so sometimes I would check my Chinese comprehension and ask my Chinese teacher for the Japanese equivalent of Chinese words I already knew (her Japanese level was early advanced, well above mine). Found it helpful, reviewing my Chinese and picking up some Japanese at the same time. My wife is always dumping Japanese and French on me now, though since I can't control the input as much (nor when she does it), it's not as interesting !

[sonya]

well, I guess my point was, you're not going to really retain Indonesian while you're in Japan.. unless you have Indonesian friends there, or some other circumstance that would enable you to constantly practice it.. It makes more sense to focus time and energy on mastering Japanese while you're in Japan, just so you really get one language down, you know. then, when in Indonesia, work on mastering Indonesian.

[JZer]

There you go, try to find some Indonesia friends in Japan if it is possible.

[Nomad Dan]

Hi. If you have the desire and TIME to persue both, then by all means do it.

It is possible.

The research, which I cannot cite at the moment, indicates that the brain can handle it just fine (at least normal brains, I don't think I could do it).

Cheers,

Nomad Dan

[Super Frank]

Course it can be done, you don't have to live in a country to learn their language do you, as long as you have regular practise it will get better. I know some Chinese people that have never been to England and with 2 hours a week they are getting better all the time

[Mark]

This is a bit of an old topic, but, anyway, I think it's perfectly fine to learn 2 languages at the same time.

The only thing I'd say is that it's probably not a good idea to learn two languages when your level in both of them is roughly the same.

I think that once you get past the intermediate wall in one language and get comfortable with it and are progressing to a more advanced level, you can start learning your next language. It's more like sequencing then learning 2 languages simultaneously.

You can keep up old languages pretty easily by corresponding with friends and reading books and magazines and whatnot. Of course, it's much more difficult to retain a language if your level isn't high enough to do these things.

[sheeba]

I'm in China and my Chinese is moving towards intermediate but I plan on a move to Italy . I still hammer the Chinese everyday as this year could be my last in the country and I want to get to my goal of understanding news on TV and in papers before I leave . I feel that would be a standard that I could retain when out of China - and it's pretty rewarding communicating in Hanyu which I personally think is the nicest sounding language in the world - Forget that slishy sloshy Romance stuff !! Just joking though . I study Italian everynight AFTER my Chinese and just to relax . It's second priority while I'm in China .

Strangely enough I have found Italian really difficult to learn . I went there a month back and I couldn't speak a word . I understood a lot but I can't get my head around learning grammar . Chinese is such a cool language compared . No grammar and the tones I am quite good with .

To the OP . I agree with another poster . Learn the language of the country you are in . Just do the Indo Lingo as bedtime reading . You'll still pick up more even with 10 minutes a day of that !

Good luck !

[Deconstructor]

It's difficult enough to learn one language, much less two. I would attempt it if I had talent for languages, or if I had to learn them for some specific reason. Otherwise, it's too much of a headache.

I speak from experience. I was born in a bilingual world where I had to learn French; and on top of that my father wanted me to learn Russian. Even as a kid when languages are learned easily, it gave me an awful headache and kept me away from my bike; as a result I hate learning any language.

I think I became a language teacher because subconsciously it is my revenge on the world!!

Do on to others what has been done on to you!!!!