How to Speak Many Different Languages (Without Losing Your Mind)

How to Speak Many Different Languages (Without Losing Your Mind) How to Speak Different Languages Without Getting Confused Learning languages is just half the battle.The real challenge can be maintaining the linguistic arsenal youve worked so hard to amass.One second language might be a small time commitment, but as you add a third, fourth and more, the game will change.Sometimes you have the sensation that your Arabic has totally devoured the French you used to speak, or that your Czech grammar was turned upside-down when you learned German.  Other times you might feel like you dont know how to form a reasonable sentence in any language at all.Learning languages is one thing, but living a multilingual life and speaking different languages on a regular basis is a whole other matter entirely.It changes your brain and your personality. It opens you to different social networks. It makes you better at learning languages in general, and helps you improve your native language. It can also sometimes leave you confused, frustrated and worn out.If you want to turn your life into a linguistic juggling act, youll be glad to know  that not only is your  brain designed to keep learning languages at any age  but that multilingualism is  super common  throughout the world.While your brain does most of your linguistic maintenance behind the scenes, building a few simple good habits can ensure that you enjoy all the benefits of a life full of languages down the road. How Your Brain Handles Different LanguagesHave you ever heard the myth about how only kids can really learn languages well? In case  you missed it, that ones been debunked for a while now.The human brain is almost magically capable of adapting to new languages at any point in life, and theres a lot of evidence to suggest that a new tongue is  the best brain food there is.We  know this from looking at some of the differences between the brains of monolinguals and people who speak multiple languages. For example, multilingual brains are usually bigger and have more gray matter. Theyre also a lot more resilient to strokes  and theyre c hampions at keeping dementia at bay. Part of how your brain accommodates playing host to several different live-in languages at the same time is by physically adapting itself. As you might imagine, remodeling your brain has a lot of side effects, but you should think of them all as  upgrades.Speaking different languages literally remolds your brainLearning and speaking new languages physically reshapes your brain by building new neural pathways and adding new synapses. The more different languages you learn and use, the more new pathways are created. This is actually literally  growing your brain  and making it more efficient in the process.It makes sense that your brain grows when you use multiple languages, since studies show that different languages are stored in physically different parts of the brain.It seems like storing languages in different physical compartments of the brain is efficient for more than just neural functioning, but also for living your life.  Its thought to b e the cause of polyglots increased affinity for multitasking and filtering important information out of  less important distractions and background noise.Its these skills of filtering out certain kinds of information and dividing your attention between tasks that allow people who speak multiple languages to not only switch between them when they need to but also be able to subconsciously recognize social cues that tell when its appropriate to switch languages, otherwise known as code-switching.Code-switching: The polyglots Olympic sportCode-switching is when you switch between languages or language varieties, andâ€"as you might have already guessedâ€"its a feature thats included in the standard subscription to all human brains.This is the impressive feat  the Northern European linguistic Olympians perform so casually that makes them look cool and worldly in hostels. In the middle of a conversation in their native language with their friend from home, they smoothly throw an English h ey, how are you doing your way and then proceed  to strike up a new conversation with someone else in Spanish, all without breaking a sweat.Sounds exhausting, right? Not so much. Here are a few things  most people dont understand  about switching between different languages:You already do it, even if youre monolingual.  When you speak to your university professor and suddenly find yourself clearly pronouncing your -ings at the ends of words and switching your  yeahs for  yess  thats a kind of code-switching too, only between sociolects or particular ways of speaking that relate to class, education or group identity.Its mostly a subconscious reaction  environmental factors.  When you speak different languages, social  cues will prompt you to code-switch.  Hearing or reading a familiar language can easily evoke a momentary mental switch to it, and seeing the face of a friend with whom you speak it will almost certainly do so. Having this ability to subconsciously analyze and respond t o your linguistic environment is one of the things that makes multilingual brains so efficient and saves them a lot of mental energy.Youve got linguistic veto power.  When youre back home enjoying an authentic Mexican taco with your English-speaking family, ay, qué rico! may try to climb out of your throat, but youve generally got the final say on whether you release a Spanish exclamation into the world or an English one.  Most of the time, anyways.And thats where things start to  get a little messy.Polyglot problems: The struggles of speaking different languagesLike we said, most of the time your brain will take the lead on languages. But every now and then, all those environmental and internal  signals get crossed. Weird stuff happens.Speaking different languages is natural and good for you in the way that running is natural and good for you: the more the better, but sometimes you get cramps or just wear yourself out.The source of most of those cramps for people who grew up monol ingual will be your mother tongue. Its been around the longest, youve subconsciously made a lot of your assumptions about language in general based on it and its what hard-wired you to learn languages. It will often stick its micromanaging nose in where it doesnt belong. While sometimes your other languages will stand up to it, sometimes it just plows over them.Other polyglot problems arise from lack of practice, personal differences in  learning style and the same imperfection of the learning process that leads you to say something wrong in your native language every now and then. Here are a few  of the most common problems facing polyglots on a daily basis:Interference: This is the collective term for all those times you accidentally used German grammar in Portuguese, or when you tried to say something in Thai but pronounced it like an English word and someone thought you said something rude. When the structures or conventions of one language interfere with another, youre mixing k nowledge of different languages, which normally produces something that doesnt make sense in either tongue. The struggle is real, and most peoples reactions to it will range from patient to amused.Reduced  feeling of nativeness in your first language: This one normally comes in abrupt little bursts, and its often ridiculous and hilarious when it does. You literally translate an idiom from another language, or you cant remember what that thing over there is called in English. Sometimes you may find it momentarily difficult to say whether a particular sentence is correct in your mother tongue while you struggle to think consciously about rules that you normally use subconsciously. Its par for the course, so just learn to laugh at it.Tip of the tongue moments: The more languages you speak, the more tip of the tongue events  you have. This is actually the technical term for it, and its exactly what it sounds like: when youve almost got a word, its on the tip of your tongue, but you just cant remember it. This generally happens pretty evenly across all your languages, including the native one.Getting rusty or forgetting languages: Languages take time and attention, and the more you speak, the more time you need to keep them all alive and well. Many aspiring polyglots make the mistake of taking one step forward and one step back, letting one language languish while they devote all of their attention to the new one. Thankfully, relearning a rusty language is pretty easy.Wanderlust: Call it a benefit or a drawback, but many multilinguals are drawn to use their languages in the countries they come from. Practicing Spanish on your annual vacation to Andalusia is reasonable, but how many language vacations can you fit in a year? The answer might be to just pack up and hit the road permanently!Most of the problems that come from speaking different languages are better called amusing annoyances, and I dont think I ever met a language learner who told me well Im just giving up because Im too confused all the time and travel too much.Still, there are solutions to even the pettiest of polyglot problems!How to Speak Different Languages Without Getting ConfusedHopefully you agree that polyglot problems are more something to put a hashtag on and laugh about on Twitter than something to divert you from learning more languages.You were quite literally built for this, so your brain is quietly doing 90% of the work for you behind the scenes, but there are a couple things you can do in learning, using, and maintaining your languages to deal with the other 10%.What not to do during the language learning processIt seems like there are as many ways to learn a language as there are learners out there, and different approaches work better for different learners. But, if you want to keep different languages neatly arranged inside your head, there are a couple specific approaches that you should be warned against.1. Learning two very similar languages at the same time Learning two closely related or otherwise similar languages at the same time  is generally a no-no for language learners, especially those who want to minimize their polyglot problems down the road.This is because language learning is largely a game of finding patterns of difference. Languages that share a lot of the same or similar words and word parts are different systems with the exact same kinds of rules (rules about word order, how to form a question, how verbs are conjugated) and very similar parts, so figuring out which parts belong to which set of rules is a challenge even for something as efficient at language learning as the human brain.Thats not to say you cant learn more than one language at a timeâ€"some studies suggest the more the merrierâ€"but it means you should be careful in your choice. Japanese and Russian might be okay, but Spanish and Italian maybe not so much.2. Basing words and meanings in one language on those of anotherYou always hear it: dont translate. I nstead, try to think in the language youre speaking. But what does that actually mean, and how do you do it?On the surface, this means dont just think the blue house when you read or hear  la casa azul.  But this also means something deeper: la casa azul shouldnt only not be translated in your mind as you hear it, but in fact it shouldnt have anything at all to do with the English concept of a house or the color called blue.La casa azul should be a construction with walls and a roof and windows, where people live inside and cook and watch football, with blue walls that are blue from somebody having painted it with paint, not a cartoonish color on your computers Paint program. Try as hard as you can to tie the meanings of words in a foreign language to real things in the real world.You should strive to do all your thinking about meanings in a language in that language, to keep it from ever being tied to or dependent upon your understanding of English words. Prepositions, verbs and ev en nouns cover different properties in different languages, and looking at any one from the perspective of another makes it look sideways and upside-down.Maintaining your languagesOne way you can think of languages is like muscles that need to be trained. If you only teach them one repetitive back-and-forth motion, like ordering food or asking directions, they might tone up but theyll never grow very much. And no matter how big you get them, enough time in disuse will shrink them back down to their original size.The solution here isnt  new or innovative, but tried and true: use it or lose it!There are a few different approaches to doing this, but here are four  that are easy to incorporate into your life:1. Use each of your languages to accomplish a task every day.This doesnt mean that you need  to have a half-hour Skype session every day to keep on top of your languages. What it does mean is that you should use each language to accomplish a task of some kind daily or as close to it as possible.Accomplishing something can be paying bills or filing residency paperwork in your home abroad, or it can be as simple as using the language to entertain yourself with a couple of funny YouTube videos. Reading the news, catching up with a friend or researching something in a target language instead of your mother tongue can all be easy ways of incorporating your languages into each day.2. Try to develop a special relationship with each of your languages.As you become more and more fluent in a language, think about what you use that language for the most or what it naturally lends itself to. Its easy enough to tie each language to something culturally related to itâ€"maybe you look up recipes in French since you love French cuisine, or maybe you took a semester abroad studying finance in Hong Kong and now your Cantonese is good enough to do all your budgeting and banking in that language.When I lived in the Netherlands, I worked at an NGO where I spent a lot of time readi ng and talking about international affairs and development  in Dutch. Now, with more than a year out of the country, I find it easy and practical to read the days news headlines in Dutch or to watch the Dutch nightly news to catch up on world events.Similarly, Ive most recently lived in Mexico, and all it took was one conscious decision after I left to continue making my grocery lists in Spanish. This way, I keep using both of these languages in my daily life and, rather than stopping in the middle of my day for some artificial practice, I incorporate them both into my life in a natural and unintrusive way.3. Practice code-switching.Even if you use all your languages every day, switching between them can remain challenging and confusing without practice. But practicing rapidly switching between languages doesnt only make continuing to do so easier. Its like a composite exercise that works multiple languages from multiple angles at the same time, and has extra benefits for your brain and overall general language abilities.The best way to do this is to purposely put yourself in multilingual situations. Go to language exchange meetups, hang out in hostel common rooms or, if you live in a big global city, just go for a stroll outside and eavesdrop until you hear something familiar.When you can, practice switching between different combinations of languages, and especially between two languages that arent your mother tongue.  The point is to find ways to practice your ability to switch back and forth between languages, and youll notice it getting easier and more natural the more you do it.If you hit this muscle from all angles, youll be looking like a professional linguistic athlete in no time.Languages for life: Some considerations for a life full of languagesSo weve established that you either are or want to be a high-functioning polyglot, which, by the way, we think is great. But to truly reap the benefits, make sure speaking all these different languages become s a lifestyle rather than just an exciting phase of your adventurous student years!Multilingualism carries benefits throughout your life, so youll want to make sure you continue to nurture your hard-earned languages as the years go by. One way you can do that is by living in a multicultural, multilingual world city. The streets of London and Singapore and Cape Town are absolutely crawling with representatives of that 60% of the population who understand your polyglot struggles.How  would you feel about dating someone who has a different native language than yours? Were not suggesting you swipe left or right based on what languages someone speaks, but it is immensely helpful to have a romantic partner who speaks one or more of your target languages.And dont stop at romantic partnersâ€"its even easier to fill your social circle with speakers of your languages and maintain your speaking skills while maintaining your friendships. Itll be a challenge to lose your Portuguese when your bes t friend is Brazilian, and meeting your German friends for a game of flunkyball every other weekend means youll at least retain the requisite vocabulary for knocking over beer bottles and cheering about it.You dont have to move your whole life around to make it a life full of languages. Whether you live in a great world city or remote countryside, whether your social calendar looks like the agenda at the United Nations or youd rather be on the couch with a book, the key is to speak all of your languages all the time.Enjoy the many benefits they bring to your life, and learn to laugh when they make you a little crazy!Jakob is a full-time traveler, obsessive language learner, and dedicated language teacher. He writes about language, travel, and the many places they meet on the road at his blog Globalect. And One More ThingIf youre serious about maintaining multiple languages in your life, you could use a helping hand from technology.Thats where FluentU comes in.FluentU takes real-wo rld videos like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks, and turns them into language learning experiences. Just a quick look will give you an idea of the range of content available:FluentU App Browse Screen.FluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view definitions.Interactive transcript for Carlos Baute song.You can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs learn mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tabl et  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the iTunes store  or Google Play store.