Language learning advice I should give myself more often
- I did not start speaking a single word of my NATIVE language until after 1 year.
- Language learning is not a race, it is a new way of life.
- Some times I will feel like I’ve made lots of progress, other times I will feel like I’ve gone 10 steps back. It’s all relative.
- Stop expecting to make leaps and bounds in a day’s work.
- I still encounter words in my native language, after 20 years, which I do not know.
- BEING UNDERSTOOD IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN BEING GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT.
- I would not think someone struggling to speak my native language is stupid, so native speakers of my target language would not think the same either.
- I know you say “I’ll never need to know this word” but honestly if you’re aiming for a high level of “”“”fluency“”“”, please learn it.
- “Fluency” is too broad a term and not a clear goal to aim for.
- Even native speakers make mistakes.
- If the content I am learning is too simple, I am not challenging myself.
- “If you do the same thing you’ve always done, you’ll always get the same results.”
- Don’t be ashamed for having an accent.
- I will one day in the distant future look back and think how amazing the journey to learn my language was.
- The journey is always more exciting than the destination.
- Speech between 2 native speakers is one of, if not the, hardest things to understand. Do not be disheartened.