Published on 12, July, 2020
I'm not multilingual myself. I wanted to study German in secondary school, but for some reason was forced into French instead. Found that a bit off-putting so I gave it the bare minimum effort. I tried learning Gaelic on DuoLingo for a few weeks, but I realised I'd been treating it like a memory game and wasn't actually understanding what I was learning. Which is part of why I ask the above question. Are there autists among us who have learned other languages? If so, how did you find your experience of learning a new language? Do you have any advice for autistic people in particular, looking to learn a new language?
English native. German second. French third. Danish fourth (rudimentary via Duolingo). Small smattering of Dutch, Russian, Spanish.
There's nothing wrong with the memory games that Duolingo provides. I wouldn't rule that out as a way in, but maybe supplement it by, for example:
1) Trying to decipher written material.Online news is usually available in the language you are studying and sometimes there is content tailored to language learners. Or look for other material that interests you (Wikipedia articles in the foreign language?)
2) When you reach a certain level try to see if you can get to grips with audio material. You won't pick up every word, obviously. But that is how we learn a language to begin with. Simply being exposed to the different sounds of the language is useful, and you may find that you can start to pick out individual words in the verbal stream, then groups of words, and it will grow. You may find that your web browser will be able to read written material to you, in which case you could have it read more slowly.
I guess I treat these things like a puzzle that has to be solved or a code to crack. It's great fun for me.
It sounds like learning other languages is certainly on the table, then. The irony of DuoLingo's memory games for me was that I became too driven by the points and score to rush through lessons to get those colourful little dopamine rewards. The rushing eventually caught up to me as I realised I was remembering words, but not grammar or structure. I needed to slow down and take time to appreciate the material, rather than chase the badges of progress. But I think I will try again, and your input has been valuable, so thank you.