3 Mistakes Every Learner Makes

And how to fix them so you can improve again.

I’ve been learning languages for over 15 years. Languages are a part of my life. They’ve brightened my life, helping me discover new people, new cultures, and, well, new worlds in a way.

I absolutely love learning languages but learning for this long also means I’ve gone through my fair share of mistakes too. Some don’t happen to everybody, such as not being able to refrain a need to dig into a new language when I was already working on 4 or 5.

Some others happen to every learner.

I’ve gone through them. Everybody who’s studied languages for a while has too. And you will as well if you haven’t yet.

I hope I can help you recognize them faster and react on time before they impact you too much. Or, who knows, avoid them entirely!

What time is it already?

For most of us, language learning is a hobby. Whether new or old, hobbies are fun but they’re also the first thing to be pushed back when life happens.

The day went longer than predicted? A study session could turn into a Netflix session. Was planning on studying this weekend? Well, now that a friend asked to see you, I guess you’ll study later. You get the gist.

Language learning should be a part of your life if you wish to improve. That means doing small language-related tasks here and there throughout the week. And yet, without a clear time set, you’ll likely end up pushing the “real” study session to later.

When time is scarce—ie. always—it’s all too easy to turn to something less challenging than diving into new vocabulary or grammar patterns, even though it’s crucial to challenge ourselves to improve.

One of the easiest-to-fix mistakes is to set a clear time (and, if possible, place) to study your target language.

For the past few months, I had absolutely no scheduled time to study my languages. Well, I can’t say I improved much.

Here are the times I’ve been setting:

• 1:30 pm = 15~30 minutes conversation in Korean/Japanese

• 2:15 pm = 30 minutes reading novels (Japanese at the moment)

• My evening diary time = Braille writing/reading

Of course, life happens so it’s ok to skip some but the goal is to stick to a rhythm and setting a time helps wonders.

What’s your minimum?

As I said already, hobbies are all too easy to push back. It makes sense and it should stay that way. After all, it’s “extra.” You shouldn’t ignore a visit to the hospital or a crucial client’s call because “it’s my time to study now.”

The problem is that we often feel bad for skipping a study session or doing less than we should have.

What should you have done though? Life matters more than a few new words.

It’s okay to do less on days you simply can’t do what you had planned.

That’s why I think it’s always good to set a minimum requirement. One you’d feel like it was “better than nothing.” Something to keep a streak (if you keep tabs on that) or just to avoid sulking.

These days, my minimum is to read 2-3 pages of a novel in my target languages and do my Anki reps. If this is done, I’m happy with myself.

It’s not much but it’s enough and that’s what matters.

Do you have a minimum set already? What is it?

Keep tabs as you feel

Now, this is a mistake I’ve done in many different forms. I’ve not kept tabs at all and I’ve kept way too many tabs. Neither is good. There’s a balance to find.

Back in the day, some 10-ish years ago, I knew exactly how many hours and minutes I spent on which language-related task daily. I loved it and it helped a lot but I somehow dropped it all as the years passed. In January 2024, inspired by

Victoria

’s incredible stats, I decided to get back into tracking my time properly.

It quickly felt overwhelming. I was trying to separate each task per type, indicating even when I watched a show with native subtitles vs English subtitles vs no subtitles. When I played video games, I’d often count only conversations, which meant keeping the app ready to be turned on and off. Quite the atmosphere killer if you ask me.

I know I overdid it. I was putting more pressure on myself than I was ready for. I didn’t need that much detail. The result? Instead of dialing it back, I ended up dropping tracking altogether. Not a great idea either because I’d often forget I did something language-related and ended up feeling like I didn’t progress.

There are different ways to keep tabs.

The one above, knowing how much time you spend, is the easiest to follow. It works for most people but you have to find the right balance.

Another way is to keep track of the improvements made. It works wonders when used at the start of a language-learning journey but not so much when you’re an intermediate/advanced learner. Progress is more difficult to distinguish as you improve.

Still, here are a few ways I’ve found useful:

• If you’re keeping a notebook (something I recommend): go back a few pages or even to an older notebook to see how much feels easy now, weeks/months after.

• If you’ve taken a proficiency test before, look back at that level a few months later. The further back you look, the more you’ll wonder how you ever had to study for it.

• If you’re using Anki or some other Spaced-Repetition System (SRS), notice the cards coming back months or years later that make you wonder why you even added them in the first place.

• If you have a conversation partner, tutor, or take classes, ask that person to point some errors you used to make or talk about a topic you’d have struggled with in the past.

• If you’re into reading, notice how much faster you’re reading now and/or that you don’t need to look up words as often anymore.

These days, Anki and reading are my main ways to keep track but I’m already writing down the names of topics I’m having audio conversations about with ChatGPT so I can have more conversations about these in the near future.

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You’ll have to go through many more mistakes, just like I did, but these feel like crucial ones to avoid or fix as soon as possible.

In case you’re wondering of others, here are 3 more worth looking into as well if they impact you:

• Not having a clear goal for learning the language — doesn’t impact much at first but not having one will likely make you drop the language at some point

• Not reviewing anything — makes you feel like you’re improving but review is a crucial part of learning

• Feeling ashamed to show your skills — if you’re afraid to practice in front of other people, you’re likely missing opportunities to practice

Are there more you’ve struggled to overcome? Let me know!

Cheers for reading,
Mathias