The Linguist On Language

Malayo-Indonesian with 160 mil ion or more speakers may be in the same situation as Arabic with regard to regional variations. I do not know.

Bengali with over 200 mil ion native speakers is part of the Hin di group, and I may or may not go after that one. On the other hand Japanese at 125 mil ion is already in my pocket.

This is not intended to be a complete list. There are many other languages to learn, and I know languages that are not on this list, and they give me great pleasure. So in the final analysis, what real y matters is your own interest.

The most popular languages in Europe

I have just read a very interesting European Union Report regarding the knowledge of foreign languages in Europe.

 47% of Europeans can only speak their mother tongue and are, therefore, monolingual.

 41% of Europeans have a knowledge of English as a foreign language

 19% of Europeans have a knowledge of French as a foreign language

 10% of Europeans have a knowledge of German as a foreign language

 7% of Europeans have a knowledge of Spanish as a foreign language

 3% of Europeans have a knowledge of Italian as foreign language

 1% of Europeans have a knowledge of Swedish as a foreign language

 1% of Europeans have a knowledge of Dutch as a foreign language

 2% of the people of Luxembourg’s do not know a foreign language.

 13% of the people of Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands do not know a foreign language

 33% of the people of Finland and Belgium do not know a foreign language

 40/50% of the people of other European countries do not know a foreign language

 66% of the people of Great Britain do not know a foreign language.

According to Europeans the most useful languages would be:

1. English: 75%

2. French: 40%

3. German: 23%

3. Spanish: 18%

5. Italian: 3%

6. Dutch: 1%

7. Chinese: 1%

Here are some more interesting results from a survey of recent participants at Expolingua Berlin (2006), mostly students and largely from Germany I assume. Their interest in learning foreign languages was as fol ows;

 English 64%

 Spanish 52%

 French 32%

 Italian 14%

 German 13%

 Russian 13%

 Japanese 7%

 Portuguese 6%

 Arabic 5%

 Polish 5%

 Chinese 3%

 Turkish 2%

 Other 14%

I suspect that in different parts of the world the choice of languages to learn would change.

How long does it take?

People always ask me how quickly they can "learn" a second language, like English for example. I always answer that it depends on your level, and whether the language you are learning shares a lot of vocabulary with a language you already know (Italian-Spanish-even English; Korean-Japanese-Chinese etc.).

Most of al it depends on how much effort you put in. Along with motivation, intensity is one of the most important principles of language learning. If you spend at least 90 minutes per day , for six days out of seven every week, you wil make a significant breakthrough in three months.

If you study 3 hours a week you wil achieve very little.

A breakthrough might mean getting to basic conversation ability starting from zero. It might mean going from basic conversation to the ability to express more complex thoughts and read comfortably. You wil know when you have made a breakthrough and it feels good.

Of course your activity must be intense. Sitting in language class may not be intense, especial y if there are 15 other students in the class. Personal study is intense. I am talking about reading, listening, learning words and phrases and using them in writing and speaking.

You can do that with a minimum amount of tutoring.

Language learning is an ongoing process. You are always less than perfect but you should be constantly improving if you do it right. It is a long road of gradual y getting more and more comfortable in the language. It should always be enjoyable but it does require deliberate effort.

Three phases of language learning

Looking at my experience in various languages including Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, German and now Russian, to name a few, I would say that learning is divided into three phases.

Phase 1.

You go from zero to the ability to understand simple words and phrases. You can distinguish sounds, words and phrases. You are amazed that you can make out some elements of the language.

This takes 3 months of daily listening and reading and word study. Minimum one hour a day.

Phase 2.

You listen to and read simple short articles and work towards a level where you can begin to read material intended for the native speaker. This takes another 3 months of listening, reading and word study. You start to write. You start to speak but only a little. Minimum one hour a day.

Phase 3.

You are now into authentic content. You are interested. You are motivated by your new ability to function in a new language. You stil do not speak wel but you can read and listen.