Getting scared off learning a language

[nooj]

I have many languages I have 'dabbled' in, but only a few where I have put serious effort in, and the results are obvious. The thing is, I get intimidated when I just start, because I get a sense of just how much time and effort I have to put in, and it's enormous. It's literally months and months, years and years of effort.

I've just started learning Basque and although it doesn't seem impossible by any means, the temptation to just say screw it is always present because I'll want to do something that gives me rewards quicker or that has more immediate relevance to my life like Catalan or Russian.

Have you had this kind of experience and how do you overcome it?

[mihaivancea]

It helps when you have a practical motive to learn. I learn French because I live in France and I learn German because I know I will next move to a German speaking country. Also, it's important for me to learn languages which are truly international. I'm sure Basque is a beautiful language, but I bet you can manage without it just fine even in the Basque country (btw, are there any monolingual Basque speakers left?).

[Ogrim]

Have you had this kind of experience and how do you overcome it?

I know the feeling, and I've had it more than once lately with regard to Arabic, which I started learning seriously a few months back. The way I deal with it is to remind myself why I wanted to learn Arabic in the first place. If those reasons don't hold up, then I would drop it, but as long as my long-term motivation is still there, I see a reason to continue.

For me the hardest part of learning a new languge is the beginner phase, even more so when it is a non-transparent language like Arabic (and for Basque it must be the same). However, when I look back at my experience with Russian, I realise that the beginner phase only lasts a few months and certainly not more than a year (depending on how much study time you have every day and week), and at one point things start to come together, you begin to understand a little bit of the spoken language, you can make sense of a short article in a newspaper or get the gist of the lyrics of a song. For me that is the first goal post, and that is where I am currently heading with Arabic. From there it is more about consolidating grammar knoweldge and expanding vocabulary.

So I won't say I've been scared off learning a language because it is difficult, but I have had to make choices, and that is where the motivation factor is essential. So I think it really comes down to what motivates you to learn Basque. Only you can know if the investment will be worthwhile for you personally.

[AndyMeg]

From reading your log, I think one of the triggers of your current fears may be that you are moving to another city in which you are not sure if you'll be able to find Basque people.

As others have said, you are the only one who can decide if it's worth the effort and if now is the right time for it (you could decide to postpone it for now and tackle it in the future. There's no shame in that ). Maybe you could wait until you have moved to the other city? (maybe, if you find Basque people there, you could feel more reassured that your efforts will have a more immediate use and reward?)