When people decide they want to learn a new language, one of the questions they ask is: “what is the easiest language for an English speaker to learn?”

If you’ve never learned a language before then it can be quite a task to try and learn Russian, Arabic or Mandarin.

With this in mind, it’s worth finding a language that is relatively easy for an english speaker to learn in order to get started.

Then once you’ve learned how to learn languages you can move onto the more difficult ones.

So let’s take a look at the easiest languages for a native English speaker to learn.

Romantic Languages

The romantic languages are very easy for English speakers to learn. This is because:

They use the same alphabet
Many of the phonemes aren’t too different from ours
We share many words from latin
We use many French words from when the Normans invaded England

Although English is technically a Germanic language, it can be easier for a native English speaker to learn a romantic language rather than a Germanic one.

So which romantic language is easiest to learn?

We would have to say:

Spanish

Spanish is a very easy language for native English speakers to learn.

The best thing about Spanish is that it has pretty strict pronunciation rules. Once you’ve learned the alphabet and a couple of rules, you can have Spanish pronunciation down.

It’s not like English with though, through and thought. Spanish pronunciation is relatively consistent.

The other romantic languages that you might want to learn include:

French, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian

These are all relatively easy for a native English speaker to learn with varying degrees of success.

Germanic Languages

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Although we believe that the romantic languages are easier for a native English speaker to learn, the Germanic languages are also relatively accessible for an English speaker.

This is because:

English is also a Germanic language
Grammar rules are more consistent than for romantic languages
Pronunciation is relatively intuitive for an English speaker
We share the same alphabet

Recommended Germanic language to learn:

German

After English German is the most spoken of the Germanic languages and it shares many words and roots with English, making it the natural choice.

German may be a bit trickier to learn than some of the romantic languages but it’s definitely achievable.

Surprising Languages

One language that is easy for English speakers to learn that may surprise you is:

Bahasa

Bahasa is spoken in Malaysia and Indonesia and is probably the easiest of the Asian languages to learn.

If you’re considering learning an Asian language but Mandarin just seems like too great a challenge, then Bahasa may be the language for you.

So there you have it, our list of the easiest languages for a native English speaker to learn.

Of course, you may not be choosing your language based on ease, but if you are then we hope this list has helped you.