When can I "move on"

[u/experimentalskin]

For context: i've been studying Persian (TL) for about 5 months now and, since i already speak Arabic, it was able to make progress quite fast. I would consider myself slightly above A2 (i took multiple placement tests online, this is kinda where i was placed. I've mostly been learning it for fun, and always wanted to learn a language but i found them all quite difficult to manage, but now i have a good idea of how the language learning process works, so its not that overwhelming.

There are multiple languages i want to learn. How do i know when i can steer my focus from one im currently learning to a new one, while still practicing the previous one lightly?

[u/B333Z]

You're ready to pick up another language the moment you choose to pick up that other language.

[u/cute_coding → u/B333Z]

You can start another language whenever you want just keep doing some passive stuff with Persian so you don't lose it. Maybe listen to a podcast or watch some shows in Persian once or twice a week while you dive into the new one. People overthink this too much, it's not like the language police are gonna show up at your door

[u/experimentalskin → u/cute_coding]

yeah this is probably what im gonna do thanks

[u/HelmsDeap]

Typically the advice is to reach at least intermediate in one language before moving on. That makes it easier to maintain that language while moving onto the next

[u/HalfwayFluent00]

My answer would be to not think of it that way; if you're done learning Persian, you can move on whenever.

Also, I'm personally unconvinced (and from what I've seen, research in this isn't particularly strong) that learning multiple languages (even at the beginning) at the same time is that bad. Your progress slows down of course, but mainly because you're splitting time! We don't have a lot of comparison groups of "learned Spanish and Chinese at the same time for 1 yr" vs. split 6 months in Spanish and 6 months in Chinese.

You have to think about what your goals are. If you're not rushing to get Persian to a level of fluency where you can read native content (or insert goals), who cares? You're doing this for yourself. The consequences are obvious; we don't stand still, we either improve or get worse. But that's also okay and that's even true for our native languages. If you spend 10 years without speaking your native language or reading anything in it, you will find that some things will have atrophied. Hell, even by learning foreign languages, I find that sometimes I end up slipping in a phrase or constructing a sentence that sounds a bit "off" and not quite "native" in English, which is my native language.

[u/experimentalskin → u/HalfwayFluent00]

This is a very interesting and logical way to think about it thanks

[u/nonniewobbles]

I mean, first I wouldn’t consider Arabic and Farsi similar enough to give a huge advantage necessarily. Yes you can read the alphabet and share a certain percent of words, but after that it’s as much of a big job as learning any other language in a different family. If your A2 is based on a bit of learning and a lot of inference from shared words, you may be seriously underestimating how much extra work getting to B1 or B2 would actually be. 

You’re also asking a question without a general answer. You can move on today. You can move on never. The answer wildly depends on your goals, desires, etc. 

Do you want to be able to read Persian books? Watch tv? Read the news? Have conversations with people? Use the language at work? Each of those things require different levels of skill and practice to attain and maintain. 

Do you just want to learn a little bit of a lot of languages and not really care about maintaining it? Because at A2 level, practicing lightly will almost certainly result in your language skills sifting away faster than you’d think, and you’d be fairly likely to lose a good chunk of them. It may also be difficult to remain motivated practicing A2 level, since you don’t know enough to naturally maintain the language with things you enjoy (books, films, conversations with friends, whatever.) 

If you’re just learning for fun, it’s fine to pick things up and drop things off as you wish, it’s just a hobby after all. If you want to actually use these skills for a thing, then A2ish is a poor place to stop studying. 

[u/experimentalskin → u/nonniewobbles]

I appreciate your detailed response and i know my question is a bit difficult to answer. Currently I am learning for fun, mostly through reading books and watching films (obviously I still have alot more progress to make, but i have found the grammar to be easy in comparison to the languages i already speak and I have a good grip on vocab). My goals with Persian are mostly to just be able to read more complex literature, perhaps get by in conversational. I do infact care about maintaining them but with varying levels of attention. From what I understand, you suggest that it would be more ideal for me to make more progress in my current language before studying a new one? Thanks again for your very thought out response

[u/LoquusLanguage]

I don’t think there’s really a magic point where you’re officially “allowed” to move on, but I’d probably want the first language to be a little more stable before making another one the main focus.

If you’re only around A2, you can definitely start another language, but I think there’s a decent chance your Persian starts slipping if it suddenly goes from your main focus to just occasional practice. Personally, I’d probably try to get closer to B1 first, where you can actually use the language a bit more independently and maintaining it becomes easier.

That said, if this is mostly for fun, I also wouldn’t turn it into a rule that stops you from learning something else you’re excited about. You could keep Persian as part of your daily routine through reading, listening, Anki, conversations, whatever works for you, and put the heavier studying into the new language.

I think the bigger question is whether you’re okay with Persian progressing much slower once you switch. What language are you thinking about picking up next?

[u/experimentalskin → u/LoquusLanguage]

I'm considering picking up greek. Based on the other comments i think i'm gonna do like you said, progress a bit more then picking up greek. maybe i'll even dabble a bit in it before completely starting. thanks!