i want to learn mandarin. i know 3 other languages, german (b1), spanish (b1), and english as my first language. i love learning languages, and i really want to learn how to conversationally speak mandarin (but not read/write). but i also don’t want my german or spanish to atrophy. i’m definitely not fluent in either, and especially with german, i feel like i’m already forgetting a lot. i read on the wiki and faq pages that it’s better to get to b1 at least but ideally b2 before starting a new language, but is trying to manage 4 languages too much realistically (or does this count as 4 bc english is my first language...idk if ppl count their first language when they say 4)? i also learned spanish before i was 18 and german from 19-21 so i learned them both very young and now i am 22 but my life is actually a bit more free w grad courses and being a ta so i def have extra time).
i really want to learn mandarin mostly because a lot of my friends speak it and i can’t really understand them. it would be nice to be able to communicate with them more and gossip with them. that’s my main reason (and i think it would be cool to know for applying to jobs but it's not the biggest consideration for me). but i also know that since it’s a tonal language, it brings extra challenges.
so i’m stuck...should i focus on getting german and spanish to b2/c1 first, or just try to maintain them while learning conversational mandarin? (and am i overthinking this if i only want to look into speaking and hearing mandarin vs not reading/writing). i love the thrill of learning a new language during a2/b1 stage (if that makes sense), so i do feel the itch to learn a new language. i’m not sure what’s best, and i’d love advice from people who have tried something similar or who know more than i do about the science of language learning.
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