Why is learning a language so difficult?
There are so many possible answers to this question, but from the perspective of a student and teacher of languages - native, secondary, and tertiary - I can say that it’s not the language itself that’s challenging; it’s the act of learning, which is why we must instead ask ourselves: why is learning so difficult?
Motivation
Let’s first address the most common response to this question: motivation. So many times I hear people say: “I just don’t have the motivation to get it done.”
This is so important, even more than the language itself.
When we find that we don’t have “the motivation” to keep going, we need to really assess what it is we’re doing. We need to reflect on our goals and desires. We need to make sure they are aligned with what we are practicing because the motivation, real motivation, doesn’t come from the subject itself; it comes from within; it comes from a desire to learn, and from that desire to learn comes not only motivation, but true progress because when we learn because we want to, we want to learn.
So rather than looking for motivation, ask yourself:
What is it that I really, truly want to learn about?
What do I feel inclined to work on right now?
If it’s language that I want to practice, what’s a way I can practice it doing what I enjoy?
I love to learn because I like the result; it gives me satisfaction to know that my time has gone into something productive, something that will last - like this post🥰.
For example, I want to practice my Spanish and my French, but I also want and need to focus on growing my business, so how can I do both?
Simple: I can write in Spanish and French (coming soon to this blog😊).
Even though it’s not perfect, even though I’m not entirely comfortable in these languages.
Especially because it’s not perfect and because I lack the full confidence I desire in these languages because that in which we are imperfect, for which we feel we need motivation, is what we need to practice.
And motivation?
Well, for me, I’m motivated because I love to learn in a way also contributes to my profession and my business. I’ve integrated the two because it gives me a reason to justify learning forever - everything I learn improves my ability to teach and learn and makes me and my business more valuable because I’m more knowledgeable about not only language, but the world around me. It allows me - and inspires me - to keep going and share everything I know with those around me.
My motivation is my progress, my growth, my life, and business which are so deeply integrated into who I am and what I do.
So I challenge you to ask yourself:
What is my motivation?
Why am I doing this?
What do I really want in life, in education, in work - what do I desire within this lifetime?
And if you’re feeling really courageous, share it with at the end of this post 😉
Technique
It’s not about what you do; it’s about how you do it. Learning a language is no different than learning anything else - it requires persistence, practice, correction, and improvement.
It’s a life-long process, and like anything else, it can always be improved, and it can always worsen with a lack of maintenance.
It’s a skill that you hone through application: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. It’s one that can be applied and practiced through absolutely any subject, or really anything.
After we learn how to use language, we use language to learn.
Just like in elementary school, we learn how to read and write; then we learn how to use our reading and writing skills to learn other subjects.
Learning a language is no different than learning anything else because everything we learn requires us to refine a unique skill set, and everything we learn can be applied in some way to anything else we learn.
We use the reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills we already have in our native language to learn another language, and we improve those skills through practicing the new language, which in turn, improves our native language and our overall ability to learn.
Effort
We don’t learn because we are intelligent; we are intelligent because we learn.
While learning is ultimately what expands our minds, it’s also important here to distinguish being intelligent from being educated; while these are not mutually exclusive, they do not always exist concurrently.
Intelligence
Essentially, this is how you think; it’s who you are at your very core, whether you’ve had a formal education or not. Many intelligent people are educated because it’s that education that brings out the intelligence; it fuels the intelligence, prompting us to learn more and think more. It’s an endless cycle of the inquisitive mind seeking new information, then becoming educated and thinking analytically about what you learned which inspires more learning.
Education
And education, well, you’re likely familiar with formal education, but not all education comes from a classroom. In fact, the most valuable education doesn’t - it comes from experience, from practice, from application of the skills we learn in the classroom.
Education is what we learn; intelligence is what we do with what we’ve learned.
So why is learning a language so difficult?
Well ultimately, that depends on your unique circumstances, your relationship with education, and your motivation to learn. If you’d like to learn more about this topic, you can find some more insight on the challenges of language learning in this video 😊.
