These past few weeks I have been reading quite a lot of blogs regarding language learning. Recently, I stumbled upon this amazing blog and it got me thinking, how does this happen? Where did it go wrong? More importantly, why did I let it happen?
Earlier this year, I was working diligently on Spanish grammar and I set my goal to finish learning the basics before June. But then, I got distracted with lots of things.
Finished one and there were more lining up. As a result, I have not been able to achieve it and it’s August already!
I knew and saw the sign, but the reality didn’t hit me until I read the above blog. So, below are the 3 signs of me slowly developing bad habits.
Once I finish my daily tasks, I’ve some free time before moving to the next one. The thought of continuing where I left off did come through my head, but I ignored it and did something else instead.
The phrase there’s always tomorrow has become the biggest influence.
Isn’t it similar to the first one? Not in my dictionary. This is the phase after the first one. I continued the next day, but I lost my interest.
I studied it, but my mind was rejecting it so I stopped. It’s like listening to a lecture where it "goes in one ear and out the other”.
When I continue again the next day, it’s still the same. I practically forced myself and my brain was screaming “Take a break for god sake!” to me. So yeah, I took a break.. a really long one.
I’m guessing the reason my brain was acting like that is because I had started to develop a bad habit and my brain was slowly picking up the pattern. What started as a small habit turned into a big messy one.
The worst of all, I allowed myself to be controlled by it!
No. In fact, I started to learn another language. The funny thing is I enjoyed learning it because I was using a whole different method.
I was supposed to find out how to make the Spanish grammar lesson more enjoyable but I rather took a different route. By the time I finished basic German, I had completely forgotten about it.
I should not have given up too soon and given myself a second try within the same day, at a different time rather than waiting for tomorrow. I wasn’t strict enough and I certainly wasn't disciplined enough either.
People say morning is the best time to study because our mind is fresh and it’s easy to absorb new information. That’s indeed true and I have experienced it myself when revising for exams.
Since morning is when I do my daily routine, I study either in the afternoon or sometimes at night after dinner. The thing is studying at times like this sometimes works but not always. What I should do is
I was self-teaching myself using an app called Spanish Grammar. I admit there were times I struggled because I couldn’t understand what was being written.
I should have reached out to fellow language learners when things got tough and asked for clarification. Instead, I kept it to myself and that was why my brain couldn’t handle it anymore.
I was hard on myself and that’s just who I am. I won’t ask for help until I figure out and compile all the problems so, I don’t have to ask repeatedly.
I did the same with English, so I thought why would Spanish be any different? I was wrong! That’s a lesson to learn.
I should have solved the problem one by one and not saved them all up. I should not have moved to the next one until the current one is crystal clear.
After learning a few languages I should have known better that rushing into things won’t work.
A few months ago, I just happened to chat with a Spanish native speaker and it came across my mind to ask him about the grammar stuff. He explained them in really simple English.
The method I used to learn grammar (an app called Gramática Española) took me a few days to understand while with this method, I easily understood within a few minutes.
The reason I chose to stick to one method is because I’m afraid I will get more confused if I add a different one. I started learning Spanish using Duolingo and they also explain the grammar stuff a bit.
At that time, I focused more on just learning and adding more vocabulary. So, when I started to dig deeper into the grammar using the app after almost 7 months of using Duolingo, I noticed they explain it differently.
Getting out of my comfort zone isn’t always easy, but with language learning, I should have braved myself, taken the risk and experimented with various methods. That’s the only way to succeed.
I did mention I learned a couple of languages and you may be thinking why don’t use the method you’re already using? Have you ever heard of what works for one might not work well for the other? Well… this is it.
I’m sure there are a lot of language learners out there who can relate to all of the above situations. People are sharing their success stories and here I am sharing with you the ugly process of learning a language.
But hey, I just want you to know it’s perfectly normal because this is part of the learning process. No one is perfect from day 1. You should embrace your mistakes and have faith that your hard work will pay off.
If I can find the right word that best describes my situation, it would be “work smart, not hard”
So, what is your worst situation and how do you handle it? Feel free to share them below.
©2024 Together We Learn More
©2024 Together We Learn More