No one quits a language because it got hard. This is the real reason.
At the beginning of a language journey, learners typically have a lot of enthusiasm. They imagine their idealized self speaking the language and the benefits that come with fluency. Every little break-through reinforces this future self as their vision becomes closer to reality.
The gap widens
Over time, the gap between the obligatory self and idealized self widens. The obligatory self is the version of yourself that has to show up and do the work consistently. The idealized self is the fantasy you have in your head of becoming fluent. For many language learners, their process is just a means to an end. They’ll scour the Internet for that perfect “polyglot approved” process and follow it like a recipe. The longer the obligatory learner goes without being conversational, the more frustrated they get. It won’t be enough enough anymore to reach a higher level of understanding. They need the end goal to validate the huge time sink.
When your “polyglot approved” process hits a wall
One very common language learning difficulty is understanding fast spoken speech between multiple speakers. In real life, people mumble, crack jokes, and interrupt each other. This is where your “polyglot approved” recipe book runs into…
