Language learning plateau, demotivation, and loss of ability

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poru
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Language learning plateau, demotivation, and loss of ability

Postby poru » Sun Nov 05, 2017 5:03 am

Hi everyone,

I have been studying for the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) pretty hard for the past month or so, but lately I have hit kind of a slump and feel like my language ability is really not improving. In fact, I feel like it has gotten worse. I feel like I understand less, can't speak as well as I would like, and am struggling to find the motivation to study. This has never happened before and it is happening at a pretty bad time, considering the test is a month away. Part of me feels overwhelmed by the whole process of everything that I am just really lacking any desire to study right now.

Has anyone experienced anything like that or have any suggestions how this can be overcome?

Thanks in advance.
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Re: Language learning plateau, demotivation, and loss of ability

Postby LinguaPony » Sun Nov 05, 2017 5:22 am

For loss of motivation I have only one prescription: whenever I feel that approaching, I go to YouTube and watch polyglot videos (multilingual conversations and interviews work better than one-person videos). It's the "I want to be like these guys" effect that works every time. I don't know if it will work for you, but you lose nothing by trying.

Also, make sure whatever you do with your target language is pleasant - for example, try listening to beautiful Japanese songs. The plateau is a normal thing - people talk about it all the time - and setbacks are normal too, but there is no such thing as loss of ability. Probably, you are just tired and need a rest for a day or two.
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Re: Language learning plateau, demotivation, and loss of ability

Postby Jim » Sun Nov 05, 2017 8:11 am

I think many of us on the forum will sympathise with this. You are not alone! Get some rest and do some exercise and try to remember why it was you started learning. Focus on that and never forget that many people have learnt languages to a very high level under all sorts of conditions. Start up again when you feel ready and do something that you enjoy.

Regarding your feeling of getting worse, this may just be part of the daily fluctuations that you get when learning, although I have read reports of people getting this feeling just before a significant improvement. If you feel burnt out you may find a break helpful - have a read here about the “bow wave” effect.

Don’t give up, but don’t feel guilty about taking a break either.
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Re: Language learning plateau, demotivation, and loss of ability

Postby tarvos » Sun Nov 05, 2017 11:39 am

The third thing you can do is try another angle. Sometimes we don't feel like we're making progress because we're doing the same shit over and over again. At some point you need to take plunges and do different things that stretch you outside of your comfort zone. I'm not in favour of sitting around with some happy times all the time, because that's only good for staving off some demotivation, but not for beating plateaus. Long-term solutions work better.
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Re: Language learning plateau, demotivation, and loss of ability

Postby gsbod » Sun Nov 05, 2017 12:37 pm

I agree with tarvos, it sounds like you need to do something different. What activities are you doing at the moment? When it comes to comprehension, are you spending too much time on memorising individual words to the detriment of practicing following the thread of a complete text?

Also, don't panic about your speaking, it isn't tested on the JLPT!
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Re: Language learning plateau, demotivation, and loss of ability

Postby leosmith » Sun Nov 05, 2017 4:33 pm

Maybe just take a week off.
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Re: Language learning plateau, demotivation, and loss of ability

Postby lavengro » Sun Nov 05, 2017 8:58 pm

Apparently you have failed to notice the contractual terms on the signup page for this site:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfOC-Z6wG8w - the "now you's can't leave" clause

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBaDcOBoHFk - the "don't even think about trying to escape" binder

Despite that, I'm hopping on board the "take a break" advice train (just don't make it a three year break - I speak from experience here). I'd pick a specific period and commit to not doing any language study; psychologically it is more restful to be able mentally to say I have committed not to study again until the end of the week (ie. giving yourself a guilt-free break) than to assess each day and beat yourself up that you really should be climbing back up on the horse. Even with a test a month away, committing to taking a week off may not be overly harmful as you will come back to it refreshed and will have given the little grey cells a chance to have processed whatever you have studied up till now.
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Re: Language learning plateau, demotivation, and loss of ability

Postby Sayonaroo » Fri Nov 10, 2017 9:32 pm

as a fellow japanese reader I recommend reading the AJATT blog. there's a lot of great motivating articles on there.
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