As you can infer from my profile and post history, I’m a language learner trying to master 3 languages. I’m not in this for fun or just to prepare for some 3-day trip, I actually want to be really f****** good at all 3 languages. I’ve decided to dedicate my life to this labour (sounds cult-like, I know, but I really feel a strong sense of passion for what I’m doing) (that is, I don’t aspire to be the idiots who claim to speak 20 languages but can only utter a few simple words and phrases). And after that, maybe I’ll learn a couple more- Russian perhaps?
It’s not that I’m terrible at them: for Spanish, I’ve reached a pretty good level- for those who know the CEFR scale, it’s around the C1 level, while for Italian and Portuguese, I do have an intermediate level when it comes to writing and listening and reading comprehension, but I struggle with speaking at times.
However, I feel a little (actually, very) FOMO because I’m not learning French I’ve explored a little French culture (I love the few songs I’ve listened to). I don’t care that everyone is learning French apart from me- that’s besides the point. For me, the interest is there- just that, in the quest to be near-perfect in all 3 of my current languages, it’s difficult to fit in another language (imagine remembering 20+ words from 4 languages everyday+ media immersion). This is not a question of goals either (I am learning languages for the sole purpose of learning the language- anything else is a result of that).
The Francophone world also seems so huge- I’m missing out on so much culture, media, literature. It sucks. I thumbed through Le Figaro (France’s national newspaper) and I see all this content that I’m never going to be able to access.
My routine (so you understand why I feel this way- it’s hard to squeeze in another language this way, isn’t it? ): I go all-out to study and try my very best at all 3 languages. I read multiple newspapers from 4-5 different countries EVERYDAY, listen to podcasts in each language, write at least a 200-word essay EVERY SINGLE DAY ( in BOTH Italian and Portuguese, the weaker languages), and try to squeeze in a couple of hours of speaking practise, if time and energy level permits. I’ve essentially transformed my routine into one reminiscent of a military base/camp, no frills with a lot of drills- at least for now.
*I don’t learn languages to stop halfway- that is to say, I’m not willing to learn any language just to learn basic phrases, words and grammar- If I’m learning, I’m learning all the way and for life.
** If you say- why not just watch X movie with subs or read X book in English- my response is: I treat this like a game- that is to say, everything is locked and I can’t access it until I LEARN the language. Besides, dubbing and subs and translations suck.
*Follow-up to previous post*- But no need to see it.
Source: reddit.com/r/eroticliterature/comments/prtchw/i_made_a_mistake_learning_portuguese_instead_of