For adults who are learning new languages, does the research indicate that it is better to focus on one at a time, or to study a bit of each more frequently?
What learning schedule maximises proficiency in several new languages by some point in the future, for adult learners?
I learned Korean and Thai at the same time and I didn't notice it was faster than learning, say, English by itself.
I think it depends on your personal psychology. If you're the type of person who doesn't get disheartened, I would say learn multiple languages at once(But be careful) I'd recommend learning from different language family trees. Say French and Chinese, as opposed to French and Spanish.
If you need to see daily gains to stay motivated then focus on just one language.
In terms of a learning schedule, come at it from different angles. For my Korean, I used Ling as a base because the app holds you accountable for daily learning. After that, I watched a lot of Netflix, read articles, and had a weekly lesson with a Korean-speaking teacher from Preply.
It pretty much depends on how much time you can spend on learning them. In fact, as long as learning other languages do not reduce the amount of time you initially wanted to/could spend on learning one of them, you can learn as many as you want simultaneously without any problems. Conversely, if you do not have enough time you can spend on learning, then it is better to focus on one language as it is better to focus on quality rather than on quantity.
To sum up, whether it is faster to learn new languages at the same time or one after the other depends on each person, their level of motivation and the amount of time they can spend on improving their language skills.
Structured study (instructed) followed by practising the new language by using it around the objects that you use on a daily basis (e.g. translating objects in your desk/your favorite book titles) is a proven way.
However, learning one language at a time mastering it to a certain level and then starting another language from level 0 will be practical for new learning adults.
For revising and strengthening the acquired language levels I would recommend watching presentations,films in the new language which you are already aware in your native language. (For example you can listen to Justin Trudeau speech on a specific topic in English followed French. If you are familiar with English already and trying to learn French).
