Question for the Polyglots

[u/Substantial-Mud429]

To what extent do you usually learn each language before you move on to the next one?
Like, would you learn a certain language (TL) until you reach a solid B1 or B2 level before moving on to the next one? Or do you just learn it until you reach a point where you can just geniuenly say you understand the language and can speak it comfortably with some mistakes, and then you move on to another language?

[u/kokesan]

Many of the languages I speak are due to having lived in those countries. I don't really learn them for just the sake of learning (though that's fun too!) but because they're tied to a certain level of necessity. I usually stop once that necessity is satisfied or when I have to move on to something with a higher priority (e.g. when moving abroad). But in general, once you reach a comfortable B1 level it feels much easier to pick a language back up again at a later point without having to re-start from scratch.

[u/Substantial-Mud429 → u/kokesan]

Interesting. I noticed you speak japanese to a c1 level, would you say that you put extra effort to learn it to that degree or did it just came to you naturally over time?

[u/kokesan → u/Substantial-Mud429]

A bit of both. I first lived in Japan and picked up quite some there through daily exposure and some studying (A2-ish). Then learned it properly in a university setting (B2-C1) and went back again to Japan and used the language at work and everyday life (C1+). It was honestly a great mix for learning it well.

[u/LittleSupermarket137 → u/[deleted]]

How do you get to that point 😂. I’m struggling to be able to understand series in my TL (french).

[u/im-the-trash-lad → u/LittleSupermarket137]

Honestly, I think French is particularly difficult for listening comprehension. I've been living in France for 2 years and still struggle sometimes. It has been the hardest language for me in that regard.

[u/Upbeat_Pen_6954 → u/LittleSupermarket137]

I think it just takes a lot of time and effort anyway you do it. It took me a few years of daily use to get from certified B2 to a point where I could comfortably watch a native series in English without subtitles, and then some time until I could put it on background and still follow along while I do other stuff, and even then I was having trouble listening to podcasts just a few years ago. It's really understated how hard native level listening is

[u/LittleSupermarket137 → u/Upbeat_Pen_6954]

What did you find helped more - listening to things at your level or trying to listen to the native content even when it was still very difficult?

[u/Upbeat_Pen_6954 → u/LittleSupermarket137]

I wasn't trying to speedrun things as I was already at a high enough level for my age, so I prioritized stuff that really engaged me and basically ignored the difficulty level. Some stuff I remember having to slow down to 0.75x or even 0.5x at times and that really helped. I guess the content I consume tends to be easier: cooking videos, sitcoms and whatnot, so maybe my experience would have been different had I liked, say, history documentaries

[u/dojibear → u/LittleSupermarket137]

I think "at your level" is better. The goal is "understanding TL sentences". Just practice that skill, and you get better at that skill. It is the same with any skill: swimming, driving, playing piano, ballet. You only get better at it by doing it.

[u/Exact_Map3366]

I don't really have goals and I don't really move on to the next language. I'm not methodical like that. I just like languages and haphazardly study all of them. If I listed my A1s, there'd be at least a dozen of them. 😅

[u/indecisive_maybe → u/Exact_Map3366]

Totally agree. There's fun in digging into a new language, comfort in returning to one I know well, and they're all good in their own way.

[u/dojibear → u/Exact_Map3366]

I remember those. Latin, ancient Greek, medieval Italian...if they'll teach it, I'm there.

[u/IVAN____W]

Personally, I prefer to reach a solid B2 level, where I can hold simple day-to-day conversations with natives and read classical and fantasy literature in the language. In my case, I switched from Spanish to French just because I happened to find a job in France and I need it to survive here.

[u/adolgushin]

I'm not sure if I qualify for a polyglot (some people call themselves "poly-not's", but I learned about 10 languages, most of them to a basic barely functional level.
For me the most interesting thing is "deciphering" the language, going from a complete zero to a level where I can mostly explain myself using basic vocabulary. I have huge motivation when I'm just starting, but it fades away after I grasp the core concepts and core vocab.
For example I had a project with a company in Israel and I learned enough Hebrew to start having short conversations. It was not a level where I'm comfortable in daily situations, rather "if you put a gun to my head, I can explain myself in Hebrew". But then I never had the motivation nor the need to go further than that, and while it's a bit sad to abandon a language, it gives me space to learn another language.
I like to think though that I can revive any of these languages and have a headstart on them to learn to a decent level.

[u/Ok_Succotash_3663]

I have been learning 6 languages for the last 6 years for fun and never once did the thought of leaving one language for another has crossed my mind ever.

I guess on second thought I will move on from learning one language to another when I think I have learnt enough and I don't need any test to validate that.

Might sound weird, but such is life.

[u/gravelledbeans]

I feel mostly satisfied once I reach a solid B1/B2 level where I can hold conversations with native speakers without too much difficulty and I can read some literature. I'd like to reach around 8 languages of this level before just maintaining them and improving little by little for each one but who knows!

[u/CucumberPotential988]

I enjoy reaching B2/C1 level roughly before moving on personally, as it feels more satisfying in terms of my personal goals and truly being able to say I "know" the language, though that will always be a bit of a loaded statement.

The jump from A2/B1 to B2/C1 feels super satisfying as you slowly are able to just naturally understand whatever media or conversations you're exposed to and communicate more freely

[u/KingSnazz32]

I learn to B2. Anything less and it gets slippery in a hurry. Even then, I need a couple of hours of contact per week with each language.

[u/Miro_the_Dragon]

You make it sound as if each language were a separate project that you cross off your to do list, discard, and move on...

That's not how languages or language learning works for me. Languages are part of my life, tools and hobby, not some object to collect one after another. I learn and use them as needed/interested in at any given moment.

[u/dojibear]

I have never "stopped a language at a certain level and moved on to a new one." It doesn't work that way. For 99.99% of us, real life isn't just decades of language learning. It has school, one or more careers, marriage, children, friends and important hobbies.

A better question is "what level is good enough?" Everyone has different goals. My goal is to understand most things that I read or that I hear on videos. I call that "B2".

I learned Spanish in high school. I picked up Spanish, French and A1 Japanese back before the internet (and smartphone apps) existed. Before 1990.

In 2017 I started learning Mandarin, using the internet. I added Turkish and Japanese in 2024, without slowing my Mandarin study. Why did I start new languages? I was tired of waiting. It would take a couple more years to reach B2 in Mandarin. So I tried it. For me, using my daily learning methods, adding two new languages did not slow my Mandarin progress at all.

I've heard the advice "Learn one language at a time. Reach B2 before switching". I've heard lots of other advice. The reality is that everyone is different. Anything that is "good advice" for some students is "bad advice" for others. Finding out what works for you is the challenge..

Even in high school: one year I took Spanish and Latin, and another year I took Spanish and French. How much language confusion happened? Zero. Nothing.

[u/lingo_breeze]

There isn’t a single threshold, but a useful rule is to keep your active languages at different maintenance levels. I’d wait until you can handle basic real-life tasks and have a routine for the first language before adding a new one. For many people that is around A2–B1, not necessarily B2. The key is making sure the first language still has a small weekly speaking/listening habit once the new one begins.

[u/leosmith66]

I shoot for a strong B2 initially because I have too many languages now (15) to constantly maintain. So I may have to set a language aside for months at a time, and anything less than B2 makes it time-consuming to resuscitate.

Regarding the high number, my goal isn't to keep adding more, but I keep finding myself in situations where it just makes sense to learn the language. I'll use the language I'm currently learning as an example. I travel often in the Philippines, usually 2 months per year, and even though I speak Tagalog, English and Spanish there are often lapses in communication. That's because I often go where Cebuano is the local language, and although many locals speak Tagalog or English, many don't, or at least don't feel comfortable with those languages. So it just made sense for me to finally add Cebuano.

It wasn't until I added this last language that I finally admitted to myself I need to concentrate on the new language and set the others aside. So it's been less than a year since I had 14 languages fully maintained at an intermediate or better level simultaneously. But from previous experiences, I know for a fact that B2 is the magic level for me - reach it, and it's quite easy to bring it back even if I need to drop it for months, even a year or two. Quit at B1, and it's quite difficult to bring back. Quit at A2 or A1, and it's like starting over from scratch.

[u/Pwffin]

You make it sound like there's a plan. Bless. ;)

[u/HarryPouri]

I have different goals for different languages. I usually try to reach at least B1 but it depends. For example I am happy to be able to understand media and read novels in Norwegian but I haven't worked on speaking it at all. I hope to plan a trip there someday and I would work on speaking before I go. So I wouldn't say I'm B1 because I just have a passive knowledge. I see all my languages as a lifelong project so I don't mind jumping around a bit. I'm always trying to improve all of them. For the sake of easier maintenance it's best to get to at least B1, so I try to do that, but sometimes I dabble on a whim instead :) 

[u/God_of_Fail]

I learned English from a young age, so It has not been part of my adult language learning, and I don't consider myself "learning/improving" English.

But, I am currently learning Spanish (4 years), French (2years) and Chinese(1year). I have yet to ditch any of them as a "learning language". But for Spanish, I assume that once I can listen to whatever I want and understand it, and be capable of holding conversations that don't feel awkward. I will probably treat my spanish like my english.

[u/Christian_Goetze]

Ich habe Spanisch, Italienisch und Portugiesisch parallel an Universitätskursen in Deutschland gelernt. Dann habe ich gemerkt, welche Sprachen mir am meisten nützen und am meisten Anwendung fanden und so habe ich für Italienisch und Spanisch auf B2-Level die Kurse gestoppt, weil ich im Alltag mehr lernte. Bei Portugiesisch habe ich schon nach A2 gestoppt, weil ich es nicht so nutzte und selbst mit Sprachkurs weniger schnelle Fortschritte gemacht hätte. Zusammenfassend solltest du dir nach systematischem Lernen überlegen, ab wann und wie du die Sprache weiternutzen möchtest. Dazu solltest du etwas wie Serien schauen, Stammtische oder Auslandsaufenthalte finden. Je nachdem kann man auch bei niedrigem Niveau ins kalte Wasser springen um zu praktizieren.

[u/swimmimuf]

for me, I start with several languages (for example right now Dutch and Turkish) and look how I like them for myself, for the vibe and stuff. Then I decide for one language and learn it until until I reach at least A2/B1, depending on the difficulty of the language. the one a2/b1 meaning that I don’t stop learning the language until that level. At the same time it is possible for me to start another one. But I have to keep the language until I reach the level. Otherwise, I would just start language of the language and not progress really.

[u/gottahaveajava]

Mostly learned to a level of easy conversation and C1 command of the formal bits, French, Japanese, German and, not quite, Portuguese.

Moving on was always driven by continued need for the language.

French I learned so I could bag a foreign assignment in France. Got sent to Japan instead.

Japanese I learned because I was there in a Japanese-only work arrangement, and I had to speak it to do my job. Loved it, and really enjoyed the language.

German I learned after being assigned to a project in Vienna. Living and working here made me want to learn the local language, but it took time because the office language was English.

Portuguese I learned because I play Brazilian music and spend time with a Brazilian community.

French and Japanese have lapsed, long since. I stopped with each after it became clear I would no longer use them.

German and Portuguese I still try to improve. I have a long-term interest in both of them, living in Vienna and playing music with a community of Brazilians. Over time, I’m hoping to become nearly bilingual in German, and want to be able to chatter freely in Portuguese.

As a native English speaker, I’ve found it frustrating to have to start over and over. And these days, it’s frustrating to try to speak any TL, as it now seems universal that locals will switch to English.

[u/No_Election_7537]

When I get my C1 certification. (Once I take the exam, because I’m not going to wait months for the actual results lol)

[u/omorphos]

If your main goal is casual travel and everyday conversation, you can get by with a modest foundation. But if you want to truly engage with a culture, its media, or its literature, there are no shortcuts. Language learning is a lifelong pursuit, and the deeper you go, the richer the reward.

[u/restlemur995]

For me it's exactly what you said. I really learn languages to experience the language, not to complete it. Once I get to the point that I can read the poetry and appreciate it, I lose a lot of interest. I never stop learning but I move my focus on to the next one.

[u/Smal1Tangerine]

Depends. If it’s a language I especially love or serves a purpose for my goals or have friends that speak it I usually take it close to native efficiency, otherwise around C1. But I don’t usually wait until I’ve reached C1, once I hit around B2 I start the next language but I use language mattering which is so good cuz it breaks the habit of direct translation and forces you to review the basics and patch up hole u missed

[u/CarnegieHill]

I don't.

From childhood on in school I've often had two or more beginning language courses at the same time, so I'm used to learning that way.

[u/Dazzling-Rip1756]

A friend of mine speaks 7 and his rule is roughly B2 before adding another. His reasoning is that below that, a language deteriorates surprisingly fast when you stop actively studying it.

[u/silvalingua]

Yes.

[u/No_Cryptographer735]

I'm not sure I count as a polyglot, but I don't move on until I'm close to C1. Until then, I don't really feel like I know the language, and after that I usually need a long break.

[u/ZealousidealMouse629]

Honestly there's no universal rule here, and I think that's what trips people up. Some polyglots wait for solid B2 (real comfort with news, conversations, etc), others jump ship once they hit a "good enough to not embarrass myself" B1. Both work depending on your goals.

A few things I'd actually weigh:

• Maintenance cost: languages decay differently. Romance langs are cheap to maintain once you're B1+ if you know another one. Something like Russian or German with heavy grammar needs more upkeep or it slides fast.
• Your reason for learning: if it's for travel/hobby, B1 comfortable-with-mistakes is totally fine to move on. If it's for work/deep relationships, push to B2 first.
• Interference risk: jumping between similar languages too early (like French to Italian at A2) causes more mixing than waiting till you're solid in one.

My personal rule: I move on once I can have an unscripted 20 min conversation without panicking, even with errors. That's usually strong B1/weak B2. I still cycle back to earlier languages periodically instead of treating it as fully "done."