I’ve vouched for the importance of staying consistent for as long as I can remember. After all, this is the most common aspect of all successful learners.
Every great learner has their own method but the one thing they have in common is their consistency.
Does it mean they keep working when they get bored? Kinda. Not always.
You see, nothing’s black or white.
Anybody looking at my overall lifestyle would consider me a consistent learner. You could ask me at pretty much any time and I’d still have studied somewhat recently.
The keyword here is somewhat.
Sometimes, it’s okay to drop it all for some good ol’ fun.
Consistency bores the hell out of brain cells
Any longtime user of Duolingo or Anki has the same facial expression when talking about these tools: indifference.
Nobody’s ever excited to turn to them because they become part of a daily routine that’s just there. It’s just something they do. Like putting shoes on before going outside.
Does it help? Sure. It’s better than not wearing any shoes. But don’t you prefer wearing some special shoes for occasions? You know the ones. Those that raise your confidence and make you feel today’s gonna be a good day.1
And, while Duolingo is probably the most efficient way to convince yourself both that you are learning a language and that you’re bad at it2, Anki and other Spaced-Repetition Systems (SRS) actually do work.
They’re even extremely efficient ways to improve and remember new vocabulary faster.
But they transform your target language into another chore you have to tackle each day. Like how you brush your teeth or drink water because you have to and not because you enjoy these actions.
What happens after a while?
Your brain realizes these tasks actually aren’t as crucial for your survival as the others and you drop them.3
Your brain craves novelty
One of the most surprising discoveries I made when I began my self-improvement journey 5 years ago was the importance of novelty for our brains.
I always thought my mind was a mess. That I was curious about too many things and should instead concentrate on one. I thought I was weird.4 In reality, everybody’s like that.
Or, at least, everybody’s brain craves new stuff.
New discoveries. New experiences.
Novelty.
Now. Does this mean we should give up whatever we’re on to follow our novelty cravings? Not exactly. It’s important to be the one in control after all.
But even without turning to something completely different, you can add some novelty, some spices, to that recipe that is your study routine.
This can take countless forms.
In the context of language learning, you could stop working from a textbook and turn to a TV show. Or switch from a TV show to a movie or documentary, or play with ChatGPT in your target language.
Or even turn back to old stuff you used to do and enjoy seeing how easy it’s become!
Final thoughts
Here are just a few things I’ve been doing nowadays to spice things up:
Using ChatGPT to translate and study lyrics of lesser-known Chinese pop songs5
Studying and debating with ChatGPT about Toki Pona texts.
Try to pronounce some lines from characters of Honkai Impact in Chinese.
Create my own Assimil course with ChatGPT
As you can see ChatGPT is in the center of many of those. And that’s because trying to push it is a game to me. It’s novel. It’s fun.
It keeps me coming back.
And that’s what matters most.
Cheers for reading all the way down!
Please let me know if you’re enjoying this rather new, free-form format of The Average Polyglot. In a way, this feels novel to me too so that’s good for my brain too!
Mathias
An Average Polyglot
I couldn’t help myself but hear singing in my head “’cause tonight’s gonna be a good night…” ♪
Even though you could easily disprove this belief in no time if Duolingo stopped being your main study resource.
Or, maybe even worse, you continue doing them but your mind is elsewhere. At least when you stop, you realize it. When you continue with your mind elsewhere, you miss the chance to make any positive change.
Which, let’s be honest for a moment, I clearly am. But not in the way I thought at least.
This is one of the most debatable topics for me. While I love your idea of brain craving novelty and I am not cruising happily through SRS and Anki, but I think, getting things continuously through your attention is necessary towards learning. But if you are creating, you can wait and let it sit, and let the idea marinate within you.
I also agree that consistency is key! I wouldn't have made any progress in Mandarin if I didn't remain consistent for years