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Is
English
the
easiest
language
to
learn?

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So many people know English. So the English language must be
the easiest language to learn, right? Not really. Easiness is
mostly subjective and different influences shape your personal
opinion.
There many articles, blog posts, rankings and so on that deal with this
question. But is there really something like the easiest language on earth? The
English language is certainly an easy language to learn, but is it really the
easiest one? I think the answer is “maybe”. Here are my personal reasons.
The easiest language is subjective.
In my opinion, it is not possible to give an answer to that question which is true
for everybody in the world. Do you want to know why?
1. It depends on what your mother tongue is
Is your first language German? In this case you may think that Dutch or
Swedish is the easiest language to learn. A foreign language that shows many
similarities with your mother tongue is, certainly, easier to learn for you.
Japanese is probably that most difficult language to learn, if your mother
tongue is Italian, however, it might be the easiest one, if your first language is
Chinese. It is often much easier to learn another language of the same
language group than one of different group. Italian, Spanish and French are for
example seen as similar languages. So are the languages of Bosnia, Croatia,
Serbia and Russia.

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2. It depends on what other languages you know
As explained in the previous point, it is essential which language group your
mother tongue accounts to. But also your other language knowledge is of
importance. Languages often have similar structures. If you know Italian, you
might find it very easy to learn Spanish. Sentence structure as well as
pronunciation are very similar. Even if you try to learn a foreign language
from a totally different language group, it is always of advantage to know any
other language.
3. It depends on the culture you were raised in
Did you grow up in Finland? If you were, you are very open to other cultures
and languages. TV series and movies are mostly not translated into Finnish
and that is why most Fins are able to speak almost perfect English. In contrast,
if you were raised in French, you may find it hard to learn any other language,
since many visitors and people around the world know French and most things
are translated into French. French people even create French names for
American actors, for instance.
4. It depends on the geography of your country of
residence
Do you live in a rather small country, which is in additional land locked and
surrounded by many other countries? In this case it is probably of more
economic interest to speak other languages than if you live in a big and
economically important country. Think about America. It is a huge country, it
has economic power and almost everybody can speak at least some English.
People there do not really need to learn another language. But if you are from
Armenia, you have to speak another language, if you want to have
international success or go for a vacation abroad or even want to search for a
specific piece of information on the Internet which is only available in English.

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5. It depends on your surroundings: Family
Are your parents interested in other languages? Do they have some
dictionaries at home or maybe literature in foreign languages? Parents and
other family members have huge influence on children and can influence they
way they think and what they do in the future.
6. It depends on your surroundings: School
Also educational staff has influence. My Italian teacher was mean and her
teaching style was not at all suitable (according to my opinion). I loved to learn
Italian before, but as soon as she was my teacher, I hated Italian and never
really learned it.
7. It depends on your (family´s) financial situation
If your parents have the financial ability to finance a private language teacher
it is probably easier for a child to learn a foreign language than when he or she
has to learn the language by his or her own. Probably your parents could
finance an international high school with different native speakers. In this
case, you get familiar with other languages at an early stage and might find it
easy to learn additional languages at a later stage.
8. It depends on the language learning method you
use
Do you learn a language by pure vocabulary learning or by speaking with
native speakers or by listening to foreign radio and TV shows? It is crucial how
you learn a foreign language. The easiest way to learn a language is often
subjective, but there is a trend that a lot of listening makes a language much

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easier to learn than studying vocabulary lists. One language learning method
that is worth mentioning is the Birkenbihl Approach. This learning approach
focuses on active and passive listening as a means to learn a foreign language
perfectly.
9. It depends on the learning material you use
Thousands of language learning books and programs and software exist.
Many of them are good, but many are also not at all brain-friendly. Be careful
when choosing.
10. It depends on your attitude
Do you really want to learn the foreign language? Or is it simply required by
your parents, your school or work place? Passion for a language makes it far
easier to learn.
As you can see from these points mentioned above, the easiest language to
learn is always subjective. Therefore, English might not always be the easiest
language to learn. Every language can be quite easy, if you assure the right
environment, learning method and surroundings.
What is the easiest language to learn? This
question can only be answered subjectively.
Learning foreign languages can be easy, but also
difficult – depending on different influences.