This topic was posted on the “Other Languages” part of the Forum and is worth a peak if you too are balancing keeping multiple languages in play - or are aiming at learning an additional language.
Learners who speak two foreign languages and more - how do you divide your time and energy between them?
We would love to hear your views. Apologies in advance if my own comments were rather lengthy!!
See “Other Languages” Forum page,
Justin
I’ll make things easier for you …
The topic which discussion about learning more then one language and keeping them all alive is in progress already is exactly here: Language maintenance
In order to “crowd” Other languages category too, it would be lovely you’d head there rather then spread the word here, but the choice is yours of course.
For all those who learn only Cymraeg (Welsh): you shouldn’t think that if you learn only Cymraeg that it means you are not allowed or wanted to go to “other side” of the forum and participate in the discussion about other languages if you’re interested in something. The more of us there the merrier and better.
Diolch yn fawr iawn ei ddarllen. 
If you arent already aeare of it , it might be worth looking at the forum forum.language-learners.org, which is full of polyglots and would be polyglots.
I have now found its possible to mix a bit of Welsh, a bit of German, and even a bit of Spanish on the same day without getting too confused. Not sure if I’d attempt adding any more in the same day, but others seem to be able to.
I think that once you have got over the initial major learning hump, it only needs a little each day to keep it fresh.
I started doing Spanish as well as the Welsh, I do one in my works van and I do the other in my own car, which serves to keep it reasonably separate. I’m only as far as lesson 13 in the Spanish and Welsh jumps into my mouth SO often, which I take as a good omen for Welsh. So far, the Spanish rarely tries to invade my Welsh.
That’s a great idea. The two languages where I need a natural separation like that are Spanish and Italian. There is so much similarity between the two it’s easy to start speaking Italispan or Spanitalian!
Justin
The brain is an interesting thing - you would think that as you pop an additional thing in it it would throw something out to make room - but it seems to be an almost infinite sponge,
Justin
Thanks for raising this. Before I started learning Welsh I was a fluent French speaker. Now I’m a fluent French understander, but barely able to speak a sentence of it! We’ve got a week in France booked in May, so I’m hoping that I can jump back in and get the words flowing again after a day or two…
Oh, how I sympathize. I did French for three years at school, that was ten years ago now. I was fluent then (I generally pick up languages rather quickly), but over these ten years I have had only translating (and very specific things, like veterinary research books), reading and listening practice. So now I am a fluent understander but I can’t say or write a sentence quickly, without having to check grammar and find words in the dictionary. I want to pick up some communicative course, like Taxi or Vite en bien, elementary level, and just do all the speaking exercises from there, either on my own or with someone who’s trying to reanimate his/her French too.
I have never tried Spanish, as I’ve never been there and am most unlikely to go now!! But when I was going to France every other year for the Rugby (still 5 Nations in those days) and Italy for pleasure and 2 conferences, I was trying to learn Italian and I know I spoke Italench!! My French was much better, so I don’t think I ever spoke Fretalian!!! I actually fell into the naughty British habit, in Italy, of not remembering a word and using the French one with ‘a’ after it!!!
Mae’n ddrwg gen i!
That just made my day:) The Romanic languages are quite predictable, aren’t they)
Bonjour Sara,
If you have access to any French books or can watch a French film or two, just try reading out loud for ten minutes. Then one sentence at a time,try memorising it and then say it out loud. Just ten minutes a day. Or similarly with a film - talk back to it for 10 or 15 minutes at most. Reward yourself afterwards with a glass or two of Petrus - well a glass or two of something good that won’t break the bank!
My bet is you will soon be the fluent French speaker that you used to be.
I don’t know why but we can be at a very high level in our understanding of a language and in reading and writing but if we don’t practice with our voices we may as well be mute.
Aran can probably explain to us why,
Justin
Pleasure being one of the secrets to successful language learning - here is an alternative remedy:
Take a bottle of your favourite French wine - oh and a glass too, I suppose. Sit in a very comfortable chair with a French book. Choose the first sentence that looks easy to read and read it out loud. Take a good sip of the wine.
Repeat the process as many times as you wish.
If I remember some of the “psychobabbel” from Pavlov, after several days of this the next time you see a bottle of wine you will automatically burst into fluent French,
Justin
I’m not Aran (though I’m very interested in his opinion), but all language skills are divided into receptive (reading and listening) and productive (speaking and reading). There is a connection between them, but they all need to be worked on in order to improve them. Which is why even when I do grammar exercises I turn them into mini speaking activities, asking and answering which films I like watching, which music I like listening to, whether I like gardening or not, and so on. The most boring and repetitive grammar exercises can be used to improve speaking.
What lovely suggestions! Thank you. I think my problem is that at the moment my life is pretty full with things and if I have any spare time I feel I ought to give it to Welsh, as it is such a priority for me.
I think also, in retrospect, it was a mistake to deliberately push the French to one side when I started learning Welsh. I thought I was doing the right thing (as the French kept interfering) but although I’m pretty sure I would have been a little slower picking up the Welsh in the long run I would have been a better polyglot.
Ond 'sdim ots - I do feel it’s there waiting to be reactivated (and now I have some rather fun exercises to help me do that). I have ‘L’élégance du hérisson’ on the shelf waiting for me to finish it (which I will do in May) … and the complete Rougon Macquart series on my Kobo, which I’m slowly working my way through. So I’ll start annoying the wife by reading them out loud 
This is exactly the reason why I started the whole topic about language maintenance. I love Welsh, I have put a lot of time and effort and love into it, but I now need to learn a new language, and I don’t know how to balance the time between English, Italian, French, Welsh and the new language that I absolutely have to learn, when my heart wants to give priority to Welsh (and normally convinces me to do it), English and Italian are the two languages I teach so they have to be ship-shape, and French would be a great addition to my CV.
It’s such a lovely book. I read it in Russian.
What is the new language that you have to learn Stella?
Sara, I wonder if any Welsh books have been translated into French or French books into Welsh? If one could find books like that, reading them in parallel might help balance out the language effort. An alternative of course could be an English book that has been translated into both Welsh and French.
I think you’ll be able to romp through SSiFrench when it’s ready, and then used the advanced listening exercises (plus a late stage lesson or two) to jump back up to speed any time you want… 
This is an area in which I’m very interested - I don’t have enough material for the tests that I’d like to do yet, but I’m currently quietly confident that about 30 minutes of ‘cover all the stuff you’ve done’ speaking material plus 30 minutes of accelerated listening would re-activate most languages pretty quickly.
I’m looking forward to testing this with the 12 in 12 team in 2017…
Helo Aran - you are definitely preaching to the converted. I really believe this creation will become the standard for re-activating languages - so that one can converse confidently.
And 12 courtiers - Wales has been missing a native Welsh prince for quite a while. Someone should put the Palace on notice!
Ymlaen with SSiFrancais,
Justin
Modern Greek.