What is the worst advice you've been given?

[rdearman]

When you first started learning languages what was the worst advice that you got from people?

[Iversen]

Listen to your teacher

[luke]

Rewrite your ksh script in perl.

[tommus]

Learn grammar, not vocabulary.

[Wayfarer]

'Quit. Just give up.'

Thankfully I ignored the advice.

[Raconteur]

You can be fluent in 3 months. As long as you buy my book, seminar, and/or magic beans.

[german2k01]

In order to learn a foreign language fast, move to your target language country and as if by some magic you can learn the language. That is not true at all. You still have to learn the language on your own and bring your level upto B2 level in Listening and probably C1 in Reading level in order to derive benefits from the immersion enviornment below that level native speakers sound like bees are talking with each other and language sounds like a pain in the ass. In reality, natives do not have the patience to correct each and every mkistake of yours.

[rdearman]

You can be fluent in 3 months. As long as you buy my book, seminar, and/or magic beans.

Do be fair the magic beans might have worked if you hadn't ground them up for coffee and drank them.

[jeff_lindqvist]

I once mentioned that I was studying Russian, at which point someone said: "The best thing would be to go there." (As they did, no doubt.)

Not that it's automatically a bad idea to go to a country where the language is spoken, but it won't automatically lead to a success either.

[badger]

me coming back to language learning after 30 years & interested in learning Spanish. I was advised that since I'd done French at school that I should do that first, that I'd knock it out in six months & then I could do Spanish afterwards.

I really shouldn't listen to my own advice.