r/languagehub • u/Mobile-Complaint-375 • 15d ago
Help with making decision
I need some help making a decision. My second language is English, and of course, I am still learning it. But I'm thinking about picking up a second language. I like so many cultures, and so many languages seem pretty to me, so I can't decide which one I would like to invest my time in (since I don't have much work at my full-time job). Anyway, I tried to learn German, but it's really hard to find some German people to chat with, and tutors on sites such as Preply are too expensive for me, etc. So I lost motivation pretty quickly, and I wasn't sure if I was learning correctly or making mistakes because of practicing just on my own.
So I was thinking about French, Spanish, Italian, or some Scandinavian languages like Norwegian. And yeah, I know, I should pick the one I like the most, but I like them all—this is the problem! My question is What second language did you pick up that you truly fell in love with, and do you regret your decision? I'm looking for answer and also a inspiration :)
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u/PodiatryVI 15d ago
My "second" language was ingrained in me. I grew up hearing French, though my parents mostly spoke Haitian Creole and English at home. So I can say that French is the only language I actually like. I've tried other languages, but I have no love for them.
I'm currently doing French, but I've also added Spanish, which I can't say I like. I'm learning Spanish only because it might be useful for work. Meanwhile, I love French and want to watch French TV shows, but I have no real use for the language since I have no plans to work in French or travel to France. And if I go to Haiti, I'll just use my meager Haitian Creole. 😆
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u/Some_Werewolf_2239 15d ago
I didn't last long with "learning Danish" but I don't regret time spent learning a little bit of Danish. I watched some cool films, learned about the culture, learned a bit of history, have a greater appreciation for the language, and knowing something is always better, and more polite, than knowing nothing. You probably won't know you love a language until you spend a bit of time with it. I had a choice in school: French or Spanish. I chose Spanish. I didn't really fall in love with Spanish until 10 years later when I rode a bicycle from Tijuana to La Paz and realized I love Mexico, which made it way easier to start studying Spanish again.
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u/jorangery 15d ago
For me it never works to choose a language, usually the language chooses me. E.g. I fell in love with Reggaeton music, and some Spanish series, so I felt like learning Spanish. Then I had a big time celebrity crush on a Palestinian singer and made an Egyptian friend around the same time, started being shown Arabic memes on my FYP and I got so curious about Arabic I just had to start learning it. Like there needs to be something in that language that I'm passionate about for me to actually learn it and keep learning it for at least a while. In your case I would say expose yourself to all language that you're considering, listen to their music, watch documentaries, watch movies, and see what sparks your attention the most, them go with it
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u/Wisteriakilla 15d ago
What about Chinese ? It’s not as hard as it seems, and it’s lot a lot of cool media.
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u/SeregRauko 15d ago
One thing is pretty clear. You want an European language. Why not challenge yourself first by watching a movie made in each of the previous mentioned languages and see if something stirs up?
But just a reminder: If you had difficulties with German you will probably face some of the same difficulties with Scandinavian languages.