![]() Perhaps they know a few odd greetings or salutations in Chinese and Cherokee, but can’t yet string a sentence together.įor these people, the enthusiasm is there, but the true learning has yet to begin. Maybe they know how to count to ten in Farsi, Fijian, French, and Faroese, but otherwise cannot use those languages. Like the idea of languages or language learning, but have yet to take So, in effect, the true language enthusiasts are people who Very small percentage of sports fans actually play those sports There are a lot of sports fans in the world, but a Just because someone has an interest in something doesn’t mean they actually do it themselves. The important differentiator between a language enthusiast and any of the learners in the other categories is that a language enthusiast is not necessarily a language learner. So that meansĮveryone, from the kid who thinks languages are kinda cool, to the veteran hyperpolyglot with a linguistic repertoire forty languages deep, is a language enthusiast. Having some kind of focused interest in it, after all. Quite literally all types of language learners, byĭefinition, are language enthusiasts. Since our subject of choice is language learning, that gives us this definition:Ī person who is highly interested in learning a language. Bilingual (also Monolingual, Trilingual, Quadrilingual, etc.)Īccording to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English, an enthusiast is “a person who is highly interested in a particular activity or subject”.The 6 types of language learner we will discuss here are as follows: Once you understand these terms, you’ll be able to orient yourselfĪnd know exactly which group (or groups) you currently fit into within Going from least amount of language learning experience to most (at In this two-part series, we’re going to take a look at each type, ![]() Luckily, all of the terms above can fit neatly into six types of language learners. It’s about time that we sort out all the terminology for types of foreign language learners once and for all. Speaking to and the context in which they are being used. Words have meanings that can change drastically depending on who you are Others haveĬompletely different meanings. Some of these words share the exact same meaning. Language learner, language nerd, language lover, language enthusiast, language fanatic, language nut, language hacker, language buff, linguaphile, polyglot, polyNot, superpolyglot, hyperglot, hyperpolyglot, monolingual, bilingual, trilingual, quadrilingual, pentalingual, (etc.) multilingual, and linguist. On any given language blog, course, or YouTube channel, you’ll see terms like these: If you’re new to the language learning community, sorting out exactly who’s who and what’s what with regard to these types of “language people” can be a bit of a headache. With more language learners, have come moreĭistinctions between those same learners, with a wider range of skill Learning as both a hobby and a professional pursuit is more widespread Or rather, what kind of language learner are you?
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