Do I need to perfect the langauges I currently have before moving onto the next?

Our take

Navigating the labyrinth of language acquisition can feel overwhelming, particularly when you’re already juggling Arabic, French, and Turkish while diving into the demands of med school. The tension between perfectionism and exploration is palpable. Your desire to grasp philosophy in its original language is admirable, but perfection isn’t a prerequisite for progress. Instead of feeling guilty for wanting to learn German or Mandarin, consider that language learning is a tapestry woven from experience, curiosity, and engagement. Embrace the fact that every new language adds a layer to your understanding, even if your current skills aren’t flawless. Rather than fixating on perfection, allow yourself the freedom to explore while still nurturing your existing languages. Balance is key: deepen your understanding of French and Turkish while also sowing the seeds for new linguistic adventures. Stay spooty!

I am 19, I'm in my first year of med school, my native language is arabic and I also place myself around B2 in french and B1 in turkish.

I am never satisfied with my level in either of those langauges, I'm interested in philosophy but I cant comfortably read books in french, even short ones like 'Le petit prince' require a little more effort than reading anything in english.

In turkish it's even worse, words always escape me and I can't express myself in a manner that feels "mine" if that makes sense, I am confined to the few words that I have.

Tbh, I probably don't make much progress in either langauge because I mainly listen to podcasts and speak to myself, mainly because I've been busy for the past 2 years.

But now I have more free time on my hand, I wanted to learn german but I decided not to since I'll have to learn it eventually before I finish med school, and so I've been thinking about learning mandarin chinese. But I feel so guilty because I still have 2 langauges that I did not yet perfect. And it's supporting the idea that I'm impulsive and that I can't follow through with the goals I intend to achieve.

Should I not listen to these thoughts and just do what I feel like doing? Or should I introduce more discipline to my langauge learning journey by reaching a high level in these languages?

I guess my goal is to be able to read almost everything I come across in both languages and to communicate effortlessly in the most intentional way. But I'm starting to lose hope on being able to do so, as my progress feels like it's slowing down exponentially.

I don't view myself as a polyglot, in my mind a polyglot is someone who has perfect communication in multiple languages (not just 2 in my case)
What do you guys think I should do?

submitted by /u/Sudden-Ad2948
[link] [comments]

Tagged with

#placeholder words#philosophy of language#language evolution#communication#humor in language#non-verbal communication#creative language use#languages#Arabic#language learning#med school#polyglot#progress#native language#B2 in French#B1 in Turkish#Mandarin Chinese#goals#French literature#Turkish language