Take it one language at a time
When I start to think about learning languages, I usually focus mainly on learning as many languages as I can. As soon as I have some time to give to my language studies, I think about all the languages I can learn and what I can do with them. I dream of being able to go from English, to French, to Japanese and so on.
Right now, I can’t do that. I only speak one language fluently. Before I decide to jump right in, I have to make a decision. One language or every language?
Of course, it will be way too hard to achieve any sort of fluency by studying 10 languages at once, but what about learning 3 or 4 languages at once?
When you are first starting out with studying foreign languages, I recommend you start with just one language. I am starting with Spanish and I am going to concentrate on just that language.
One problem with studying more than one language at once is that you might start to mix them up. This will be even more likely if they are very similar languages.
Another problem is that you won’t be able to learn either of the languages as quickly as you would if you learned just one at a time. If you are trying to study French and Italian at the same time, you won’t know either one as well as if you just devoted the same amount of time to one.
You might get frustrated and give up on both even if just one language is giving you a hard time.
After you’ve learned one or two languages very well, I think it would be okay to work on more than one at a time. After you’ve learned one, you will know what type of grammar you need to know and will know more about the ins and outs of “learning languages”.
As beginner, start small and then work your way up to the polyglot status you long for.
If all you are looking for is to be able to say a few phrases in 20 or 30 languages, then go ahead and study them all. If you really want to be fluent, take your time and learn them right.
If you find learning 5 languages at once works for you, then of course, do what works for you, but if you are struggling, try my suggestions and see what happens.