Hello fellow language learners, let's face it it is so hard
When there are 7,000 plus languages in the world to decide which one to learn
We just get excited and we dabble in all these languages and then you branch out from a language family
And then you hear this one and you want to learn that one and I know the struggle the struggle is real I want to
Learn everything. There's no time help
But let me help you
There is a little guide a series of questions that you can ask yourself to decide which language you should learn
So let's go
One of the hardest questions for me to answer is when somebody asks me which language should I learn which is why I'm making this
Video so why it's hard for me to answer is because language learning is a very personal journey
I cannot make a choice for you because it's a lifelong journey and language learning really does change your life
I have a video called how learning Korean changed my life if you want to check that out and you can just see how in-depth my
You know relationship with a Korean language is for example
So I feel like there's a lot of pressure on me if I have to tell you "Okay, you should learn Finnish,
You should learn Japanese, You should learn whatever" so I cannot choose for you
but I hope that you can use this guide to
Help shape your thinking around making a decision
The first thing you should look at is which languages do you currently speak. If you want to learn a new language
without a lot of trouble you should probably learn one which is similar to the ones that you
Understand currently because it will make it a lot easier. If you're looking for a challenge
Skip this point, that's okay.
What I mean is I
learned Korean long before I even
started with Japanese and it made learning Japanese a lot easier because the grammar and vocabulary of Korean is very
Similar to Japanese. If you speak French, it'll be very easy to learn Spanish and Portuguese and Italian
But be careful not to just learn a language because it is similar to one
You know when you're not genuinely passionate about it
You will need motivation and drive to take you through the difficult months of language learning
So make sure it's really some that you're interested in. Some people ask me
Should I learn Chinese because it's really being spoken a lot or should I learn French because it's such an international language?
I don't see any heartfelt reasons in there to start those languages apart from numbers or you know
Business opportunities in future. If that's what drives you great
Learn it, but if you're just learning something because I think it would be good maybe beneficial
You're gonna get bored and it's not gonna be fun and it's gonna be really hard
So really think about your reasons to learn a language, okay, that brings me to point number two
Are you excited when you hear the language?
There are two languages specifically for me that make me so excited when I hear it. I'm like, oh my goodness
This is the most beautiful language. That is Hungarian and Vietnamese. I don't know what it is about those languages
But when I hear Hungarian being spoken or in music, I'm just like this is so beautiful
I and I feel this motivation to keep learning the language even though I've been very slow in my progress
I know that this is language that even though I took a long pause
Will continue to interest and excite me
So sometimes really just the sound of a language is enough to get you excited about it
A lot of people say French is the sexiest language in the world
I don't know if you agree if that's what makes you really excited and interested to learn French. There you go
That might be a reason to learn a language above another language for instance. Point number three is can you see yourself using the language
Actively in the future? It doesn't have to be a language that a ton of people speak, right?
however
if there are
Opportunities for you to speak it if there are a lot of native speakers around you it is gonna be easier to learn it
What I mean by can you see yourself using this language in the future is are you ready to make a long-term
commitment with this language? For me I was
Dabbling with Japanese in high school, so I learned hiragana and katakana
I knew a few words here and there but there was really no drive or motivation to continue
Just fine. Until my parents moved to Japan and I was like [ Japanese ]
Like I really need to learn Japanese from now. So there I got a drive
I was like, well, I'm definitely gonna use this language in the next four years
So I knew there was a reason for me to use it and that helped me build motivation to continue learning
Maybe you can think of a reason in future if you're planning to move to a french-speaking country, if you are
Absolutely obsessed with anime. And that is your drive that you want to watch anime without subtitles. Great
It's a personal reason that'll keep you going
So if you're the list of languages try and look at the ones that you can see yourself using in the immediate future and
Study those first. In terms of studying, this leads me to the next point. Resources and availability of native speakers
Luckily with the internet and language learning apps you are not going to be short on finding native speakers online
I have lots of blog posts and articles on that
So just Google like Lindy language learning apps or Lindy native speakers and you'll you'll find my list somewhere on the Internet
but what I'm saying is you need to see if
Language a in language B, which one has the most resources that you can get access to right now?
So ask yourself are there tutors online?
Are there any courses you can take? Are there people near you who speak the language or are there language exchange groups?
Ask yourself those questions and see if you can learn
The language that has the most resources
Available right now. That being said if there is a language that tugs at your heartstrings
But there aren't a lot of resources available
Do it any way! You can help play your part in creating resources for this. If you meet a native speaker online. If
There's someone's tiny blog on the corner of the internet. What can you do to help promote this language?
Every language is valid, useful, and will definitely open doors
No language is more or less important than another one when it comes to your personal
Language learning journey. Do what makes you happy and do what is gonna be most exciting for you. Okay
I hope this video gives you a little bit of insight into how you can make a decision for which language to choose
Thank you so much for watching and I will see you in the next video. Buh-bye