Is there anything more motivating than deciding to learn a new living language? Being able to communicate with others and discovering a new culture are joys that more than make up for the effort and challenges involved in learning. With over 7,000 languages spoken worldwide, it’s hard to choose! But objectively speaking, are some languages easier to learn than others, or does it all depend on the student's native language and cultural background? Can languages be grouped into families or categories based on similarities? What makes us say one language is harder than another?
On one hand, we have the Romance languages like French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Occitan, and Catalan. Then come the Germanic languages such as German, English, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, and Norwegian. The Slavic languages (Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Slovenian, Serbian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Czech...) form another major family. Alongside these dominant languages, Celtic languages (Welsh, Breton, Gaelic...), Baltic languages (Latvian, Lithuanian), Uralic languages (Finnish, Estonian...), Greek and Albanian complete the inventory of European language families.
It’s important for everyone to be able to practice one or more foreign languages. Well-known programs like Erasmus+ facilitate mobility and exchanges between countries. But does a language’s difficulty mainly depend on its alphabet, its pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary? Danish, for instance, has five different ways to pronounce the sound [o], making it difficult for beginners. Similarly, Swedish uses unique letters (ö, ä, å). In some languages, word order, declensions, and the existence of three grammatical genders can complicate things. That’s why inflected languages are often hard for many learners. Just ask any French person studying German!
For Swedes, distinguishing between [b] and [v], [p] and [b], or [f] and [v], as well as linking vowels, is not easy. Romance languages tend to be easier to learn for those within that language group. Experts use the term “lexical distance” to explain this. For a French speaker, learning Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish is far easier than tackling Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, or Arabic. While it's relative, linguists estimate that an English speaker needs at least 48 weeks to manage basic Japanese! Using a different alphabet is obviously another complicating factor. Greek, Korean, Armenian, Hindi, and Thai can be frustrating in this regard, but persistence pays off. And as for languages using ideograms, that's a whole different story. Finally, sentence word order is also important. Subject/verb/object is the most common structure, especially in French. But for some speakers, like Japanese, the standard order is subject/object/verb. The predicate, or “jutsugo,” comes at the end of the sentence. Considering these structural differences, it's crucial to offer young learners an environment that’s well adapted: the junior program helps them get familiar with French in a fun and gradual way.
English learners benefit from not having to deal with grammatical gender. Also, it lacks declensions, and its sentence structure isn’t very different from that of many other languages. There's also no formal/informal “you” distinction. People often say English is easy to learn—but is it really? Reading Shakespeare’s tragedies isn’t quite the same as chatting about the weather. It’s true we’re surrounded by English vocabulary—more than 30% of the world’s population uses English. We're constantly exposed to English terms, especially in business, IT, and media.
It’s important to note that English has 46 distinct phonemes, while French has only 35. Additionally, stress is not placed on the last syllable in English, unlike in French. The language of Molière also contains many grammatical exceptions compared to other languages. You might have learned that words ending in -ence or -ance are feminine (une science, une chance...), but what about le silence? There are many such exceptions. To address these challenges—especially at beginner levels—French courses for adults provide a structured progression that helps learners grasp complex rules in an intuitive way. Finally, pronunciation is no trivial matter, particularly for beginners. In French, not all letters are pronounced. For example, in the word oiseau, not a single letter is pronounced as expected. Strange, isn’t it?
A language immersion stay can boost motivation or help consolidate your skills. A language feels easier when we realize how useful it is in everyday life, or when it allows us to communicate with others. We remember what interests us, what moves us, and what feels useful. In immersion, students interact with native speakers and use the target language as a real-life tool. It’s not about memorizing grammar rules—it’s about applying your skills to real-world tasks (buying a train ticket, asking for directions, borrowing a library book...). A monolingual environment is ideal, allowing you to use the target language both in and outside of class. And that’s exactly what you'll experience if you choose the Centre International d’Antibes for your next language stay in France! After class, you’ll explore French radio, films, magazines, and French songs. This immersive environment, combined with your personal efforts, will significantly enhance your progress.
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