You're making language learning difficult

Hello everybody, and welcome back to another blog post! Today, we're going to talk about three things you're probably doing that are making language learning a lot more difficult than it actually is. Now, don't get me wrong. Learning a language is inherently difficult, but there are certain habits that most language learners do that make the process even harder.

No. 1: You're using the wrong strategy. Many language learners try to just memorize random lists of vocabulary. Why is this not a good strategy? You're not learning the vocabulary in context. Instead of just looking up a list, such as, "Food vocabulary in French", you should be watching videos or listening to podcasts in your target language and learning vocabulary through that. When you learn words in context, you remember them better. Not only that, but you can also see how the word is actually used properly. Often times, when learners just memorize lists randomly, they don't even know how to use the word, especially if it's not something as simple as a noun.

Personally, when it comes to building vocabulary, I love to read books and watch TV shows in my target language. There's a lot of content you can watch on platforms such as YouTube and Netflix. If listening comprehension is something that you still need to work on, then it is advisable for you to turn on the subtitles at first. As you get better, challenge yourself to watch the videos without subtitles, and see how much you can understand.

While we're on this subject, I also want to introduce an app that is basically like the Netflix of language learning. It's called Lingopie TV, and I've actually used it personally to help my Italian vocabulary. What I like about this app is that there are many shows from you to choose from. If the speed of the video is too fast, you can adjust it and make it slower. When there are words that you don't know, you can hover over them to see what they mean. If you click on them, they get automatically added to your word bank. You can then later practice these vocabulary words with different games within the app. So, not only are you learning new vocabulary in context, but you also get a chance to practice and repeat them later on with the various games.

No. 2: You're making language learning too boring and tedious. Many language learners usually just repeat grammatical drills and practice writing over and over again. Even though I really enjoy grammar and do enjoy writing things out, that is not the only way, and should not be the only way in which you learn a language. Unfortunately, whether you like it or not, in order to actually learn to speak a language, you have to speak the language. You don't always have to make your entire study session just sitting at a desk and writing things out and practicing grammar exercises. Instead, you could practice recording yourself speaking that language. You don't have to show that recording to anyone, but you can then listen back to it later on, and evaluate and learn from your mistakes. As I just mentioned in my previous point, you can also watch TV shows in your target language and learn vocabulary from there. With Lingopie TV, you can watch and then repeat/practice the vocabulary as well.

Another fun thing you can do is learn songs from your target language. By learning how to sing in the language, you are also practicing the rhythm and cadence of the language. The point I'm trying to make is: learning a language does not mean just sitting down at your desk every day, and doing grammatical exercises over and over again. There are a lot of different things that you can incorporate into your language learning routine so that it doesn't feel boring or tedious. When you can keep things interesting, you are going to be much more motivated to stay consisent with your language learning.

No. 3: You are focusing way too much on perfection. I want you to understand that being fluent in a language does not mean that you will be perfect in that language. Even native speakers make mistakes all the time without even realizing it. What you should be focusing on is communication. The most important thing for you, as a language learner, is being able to communicate effectively in that language. So what does being able to communicate effectively mean? It means that you're able to understand what the person is saying back to you, so that you can actually maintain a conversation. It means that you can express your ideas clearly without too much hesitation or too much stuttering. Obviously, the other person has to understand you, too. It's okay and completely normal to make mistakes in the language that you are learning. As long as it does not severely affect the flow of your speech and the conversation, you speak the language!

So, did any of these things resonate with you? If you identified with any of these points and realized that there are certain "mistakes", you're making, it's okay, because now you know what you can do to change those habits! Thank you so much for reading until the end, and I really hope you took something of value from this post. If you have any other suggestions on what you might want me to write about, please let me know in the comments.