What's everyone's experience with burnout?

[80Percent]

Has it ever happened to you? What were the circumstances? How did you recover? What do you do now to prevent?

Just curious how long term language learners have fared here.

[NoManches]

I think I have always avoided burnout because once I was able to watch TV and read in my L2, learning my L2 was no longer learning. It was just living my normal life, but mostly in a different language.

I do however, think there are times I kept going when other people would have been burnt out and wanted to throw in the flag. Once I get into something, that "thing" becomes something I obsess over and won't leave until I perfect it. And even then, it becomes part of my life. I have been obsessed with Spanish for many years and anybody who knows me will tell you it's a big part of my life.


So I guess to answer your question: study hard but make it fun. Once you can do fun things in your L2, start doing them. In the end, the person who treats language learning as a fun hobby and ultimately a fun part of their life will have better results than the person who wants results *now* and isn't in it for the long run.

[iguanamon]

Like NoManches, I don't get burned-out, because I'm not "studying". I enjoy what I do with my languages daily. You have two languages at low beginner levels and one of them is Mandarin. I couldn't handle that, even now as an experienced learner. No wonder you're asking about burnout! In my years on the forum, here and at HTLAL, I haven't seen any people in a similar situation make progress to a high level in any of their languages. Perhaps it's time to pause one of the languages and come back to it later after devoting some more time to the other one... rather than getting burnt out and dropping languages altogether. Good luck.

[80Percent]

Like NoManches, I don't get burned-out, because I'm not "studying". I enjoy what I do with my languages daily. You have two languages at low beginner levels and one of them is Mandarin. I couldn't handle that, even now as an experienced learner. No wonder you're asking about burnout! In my years on the forum, here and at HTLAL, I haven't seen any people in a similar situation make progress to a high level in any of their languages. Perhaps it's time to pause one of the languages and come back to it later after devoting some more time to the other one... rather than getting burnt out and dropping languages altogether. Good luck.

oh, i quit Spanish about 5 years ago. so done. . Only doing Mandarin, so far still super pleasurable.

[AndyMeg]

Do activities that you enjoy. Stop doing the activities that become boring or stressful to you. Sometimes, after a break, you can resume some activities and find them enjoyable again.

Be honest with yourself: when you need a break, you need a break. When something becomes boring or stressful, recognize it and make a new plan.

[iguanamon]

We never get enough information here. I thought you were studying both at once because your profile doesn't state that you're not studying Spanish. In that case, switch up your routine from time to time and try not to do too much. Many people find it better to study in chunks of 10-15 minutes rather than long, continuous sessions.

[80Percent]

We never get enough information here. I thought you were studying both at once because your profile doesn't state that you're not studying Spanish. In that case, switch up your routine from time to time and try not to do too much. Many people find it better to study in chunks of 10-15 minutes rather than long, continuous sessions.

. Just changed profile to reflect. thanks. I do 1-2 hours a night and hoping to for 12 weeks, not even sure if that's burnout territory or not. My plan is to watch for negative signs and adjust accordingly. So far so good. Only 3 weeks on this program so far but i'm still in the stage of total pleasure every time i sit down with my textbook. Then after Sept i'll be reducing learning time 1 b/c i'm not sure i can sustain the pace of this long term, and also b/c have to study for a statistics class that i never finished in 1996! lol.

[brilliantyears]

I've got experience with burn out. Happened a few times. Listen to what everyone here is saying because they are right! The times I got burned out was when I was very seriously studying for language related exams (the JLPT a few times, and TOPIK). Not only was I stressed out (because I was on a very, very tight studying schedule), but I also wasn't enjoying the learning experience at all. As a side note, the times I got burned out I was also stressed out in the rest of my life, so that wasn't helping.

I've given up on (extreme) language exams now. I like challenging myself, and I'm not saying I'll never do it again, but I also can't say it's worth it. As long as I don't need the exams for employment, I'm probably not going to stress myself out like that again.
(I'm still on a schedule for one of my languages, Russian, but that's for class and hugely enjoyable.)

The best way to avoid burn out is to make sure whatever you're doing is enjoyable. The moment it stops being enjoyable and you start feeling stressed out and/or tired, take a break. The language will still be there when you come back.

[philomath]

I have experienced burnout before; in fact, I'm feeling a little bit burnt out with my Spanish studies right now. I agree with what other people have already said, which is that burnout comes from trying to do too much "studying" and not having enough fun with the language. My burnouts have happened because I told myself to stop watching so much TV in Spanish and start reviewing grammar, studying tons of new words, etc. Trying to force the learning process can have bad side effects.

[MamaPata]

Extensive.