Do you ever just get sick of language learning?

General discussion about learning languages
s_allard
Blue Belt
Posts: 969
Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2015 3:01 pm
Location: Canada
Languages: French (N), English (N), Spanish (C2 Cert.), German (B2 Cert)
x 2305

Re: Do you ever just get sick of language learning?

Postby s_allard » Tue Sep 21, 2021 12:15 pm

No, no, no. I’ve never gotten sick of language-learning. Simply put, I love learning languages, any language that I come into contact with. I’m just fascinated by how languages work. When I’m on the bus and I hear people talking in a language I don’t know, I say to myself that the people are probably talking about the most banal subjects – maybe a mother telling her child to not put their feet on the seat and to sit up, students talking about other students, adults talking about the pandemic. But they are just using sounds in a way that I don’t know.

If it’s a language I do know, I’ll try to discreetly listen in on the conversation. Most of the time, the conversation is very banal but what I find fascinating is to see how people can convey so much with so few and simple words that can be used in so many ways. That is what conversations are about.

I visited some friends in Ukraine a few years ago. Although I had no interest in Ukrainian, couldn’t help myself. Since I always have a little notebook on me, I started to spontaneously pick up words and phrases that I kept hearing around me. I just loved trying out the little I knew in restaurants, markets and with my friends. Of course my language skills were very limited but I was amazed how a little can go a long way.

Now what is also true is that in terms of formal study, there are ups and downs in my various languages according to my current needs and interests. I tend to concentrate on the particular language I may be learning and go into maintenance mode for the others. Sure, I may feel a bit rusty in a certain language but I’ve found that it only takes a little time and review to get back up to speed.
10 x


Return to “General Language Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Khayyam, TimButterfield and 2 guests