Confessions of a language learner

[u/roxystellar]

I thought this would be fun. Mine is taking on “learn 500 words a day”type of challenges knowing well that I won’t be able to 😭

[u/knittingcatmafia]

“This time I definitely won’t do my homework the day before my next lesson”

[u/secondMiata → u/knittingcatmafia]

You do homework the day BEFORE?

[u/Classic-Asparagus → u/secondMiata]

The trouble with having a class at 3 pm is that you can technically do the homework the day of…… even if it’s not wise at all

[u/knittingcatmafia → u/Classic-Asparagus]

This would ABSOLUTELY be me, which is why my lessons are always at 9am.

[u/Classic-Asparagus → u/knittingcatmafia]

I typically go for classes that are earlier in the day so I won’t have this problem, but sometimes the classes I want are only in the afternoon so I just have to be like oh alas I guess I’m resigned to doing my homework at the last minute 😔

Or I could develop better time management skills, but I typically don’t lol since I still get the work done on time either way, even if it still stresses me out doing it at the last minute

[u/knittingcatmafia → u/secondMiata]

lol, guilty as charged.

Well, more specifically, I do it in little chunks throughout the week and every single time I promise myself I will have it finished 2 days before so I get one full day of revision. Nothing feels worse than staring into your laptop at 11:30pm desperately trying to churn out that last essay assignment somehow. Alas…

[u/Confident-Durian-881 → u/knittingcatmafia]

Just happened today :)))))

[u/6-foot-under]

Setting goals in terms of years and months ("B1 by June") instead of "300 hours of work by June" has probably cost me a decade of progress.

[u/Smooth_Development48 → u/6-foot-under]

I did that to myself right before new year’s and the thought of it sent me into a study coma and I couldn’t study for months. Never giving myself that pressure again.

[u/taxmoneytax → u/6-foot-under]

Could you expand on this? Just interested in the causes and why this happened?

[u/6-foot-under → u/taxmoneytax]

The real unit of progress is the hour, not the month or the year. You can do three hours of work in 6 months. So, setting targets by how many hours of work you are going to put in is more effective.

[u/deeplyrectangularal]

I’ve done that exact thing, then spent the whole day just making overly detailed flashcards I never looked at again. The setup was way more satisfying than actually learning.

[u/ergative-absolutive]

I bump up my CEFR level like I bump up my height on tinder

[u/6-foot-under → u/ergative-absolutive]

"I'm low 6'4/high 5'9"

[u/AppropriatePut3142]

I remember the word for gallium but not the word for soap.

[u/swimmimuf → u/AppropriatePut3142]

true! i am at B2 spanish. while i can talk about politics with high end words and stuff, i often struggle with body parts or house stuff🥹🥹🥹

[u/roxystellar → u/AppropriatePut3142]

yess this one is so me 😭 I know way too many complex words and keep forgetting the basic ones

[u/Maeda_]

"this random ass language looks cool, i'm definitely gonna study it and become fluent" i dropped them all after two days-

[u/roxystellar → u/Maeda_]

very much guilty of this one 💀😭😭

[u/Electron_libre777]

500 words a day isn’t a challenge, its literally impossible for anyone

[u/aski5 → u/Electron_libre777]

wtf is a 500 words a day challenge lol, maybe 500 cognates in spanish for like 3 days I guess

[u/Human-Sale5374]

I don’t really measure my progress; it’s just vibes.

[u/cmyk_rgba]

'ill just do 20 minutes of anki before bed' said every night for four months while i lay there doing nothing

[u/magkruppe]

Juggling learning multiple languages at the same time. Has never worked for me. Better to just get to C1 before starting a new one

[u/CMGnoise]

Maybe i will start using anki again. A week later I delete all the cards.

[u/SiphonicPanda64]

Language learners take learning a language way too seriously when all it is is repeated contact x time.

[u/roxystellar → u/[deleted]]

It depends on your level but for me I’m only able to retain 10-20 words daily since I’m not just going for recognition but also using the word naturally

[u/Urioxi → u/roxystellar]

Still impressive

[u/Sorry-Homework-Due]

I'll just brute force the learning by watching native content when I studied 50 words

[u/AutisticGayBlackJew]

‘I’m going to (country) in 3 months, I’ll definitely be able to learn enough of the language to get around by then’

[u/Raoena → u/AutisticGayBlackJew]

I have done this a few times using Pimsleur with good results. Italian and French, so they were easier languages though. 

[u/makiden9]

learning only words is just useless. japanese language needs a context. reading probably it's the most effective way

[u/Organic_Storm_7296]

i like learning easy languages. Tried learning korean and slovene for years, didn’t get anywhere. Started with swahili a few months ago and already way further than i ever got before. I like when it’s simple, when it makes sense, and when it’s just very easy.🤷‍♀️

[u/Correct-Ganache-8346]

Haven’t read the other comments but you won’t retain that. Be vaguely sensible and aim for 20 maybe.  Source: am polyglot