No motivation to learn languages, what to do?

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Have you ever encountered this feeling of no motivation to learn your target language, and/or almost gave up? How did you overcome this?

I feel like this is something a lot of students experience, but there is very little conversations about it.

When I was at university Chinese was one of my major, and we would learn very complex things such as writing contracts or essays, and it was SO difficult.

The pressure was really high and I even at some point disliked learning Chinese so much I didn’t want to hear about Chinese language or China at all, and thought every day about changing majors.

Then some life events made me pause my studies and I had to start working, thus not studying Chinese for about a year and a half.

And then interest in the language came back, and I even missed studying! So I started learning again on my own, and on my terms, slowly but steadily.

When I went to university again to finish my Masters the Chinese classes were still difficult but I pushed through, and now I study when I want, what I want and how I want.

It made me reconsider completely HOW to study, and especially made me realise that the university-style of studying was not for everyone.

Now I’m trying to learn Korean, and again: when and how I want to.

I’m sure I’m not the only one, if you feel like sharing your experience, advices and/or suggestions, please feel free to do so here :hugs:

We can do this :muscle:

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Good to discuss stuff like this because we all face it.

I’m very odd! When I have face-to-face conversations in any target language, and notice my flaws, I instantly want to correct them and thus start studying.

For me - getting out and about and talking to people is the best way to keep motivation high. There’s nothing more satisfying than going to someone in their target language and engaging in conversation.

That feeling motivates me to get better in my target languages.

The longer I lock myself away and avoid conversation, the worse it gets.

I’ve started speaking to my wife a lot more in Italian at home and that’s really helping, also listening to podcasts.

MORAL - get out, get chatting and learn as you go. When motivation is low, there’s nothing better than attending an event/language exchange or a class to push you forward.

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This is SO true!

I started face-to-face lessons with a Chinese guy last year because I felt I “had to”, but then I realised how satisfying it was to see my improvement. Even if it was just an hour a week, I felt much more confident to talk about any topic!

So yes, lack of motivation is completely normal and I feel like sometimes we should’t be too hard on ourselves.

But when you feel ready to start again, then finding a good local friend is the best choice!