Sorry, but…
Language learning takes hard work and guts…
You see:
Learning another language can bring extreme rewards, such as:
- Increased job opportunities
- Enhanced cognitive abilities
- Greater cultural awareness
- Better travel opportunities
- More interesting social life
- All round personal growth
But you didn’t think you were getting all that for nothing, did ya?
Yeah, it takes work…
Mentioning “work” is dangerous nowadays.
The instant-gratification world we live in hates work. Everything must be easy and convenient.
We’ve become unable to focus on anything for longer than a minute or two, and most of the language learning scene has adjusted its marketing to that.
We’ve got to the point where most language apps now have interfaces that resemble the Teletubbies!
Ironically, if you focus on learning a language instead of being entertained, you’ll learn a language faster and better. Focus on results instead of earning coins to “buy” a new hat for your avatar – and watch what happens.
Yeah, I know, “playing games is so much fun!”
But when you’re stranded in a foreign country suffering from diarrhea trying to explain that you need a bathroom, you’ll be happy you listened to me.
At Smart Language Learner, We’re Not About Learning the Tourist Version of a Language
Or should I say the “Tarzan” version you can learn in an afternoon or two?
Many language learning gurus sell you the idea that you can learn a language faster than Usain Bolt with a tailwind.
And that’s precisely what we want because we don’t want to do the work… We just want to learn a language quickly and be done with it!
Reality is different, though…
…learning a language is a lifelong endeavor.
Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t be speaking with natives relatively soon!
But it does mean you’ll be working on your skills (in one way or another, even if it’s just speaking the language) regularly for the rest of your life… Or else, you risk losing them!
Smart Language Learner is all about learning a language up to real fluency.
So…
…if you only want to learn the tourist version of your target language, Smart Language Learner is not for you!
Real talk about language learning…
At Smart Language Learner, we say things as we see them. No sugarcoating allowed!
The modern language learning scene sugarcoats everything for you as if you were a 5-year-old child. It’s almost as if the apps are games first and language learning apps second.
Truth is: that’s exactly what everybody wants. They want to learn a language, but only while having fun. Again… it can’t be work!
Unfortunately, people with that mentality will have a real hard time learning a language. In fact, most give up at the first sign of difficulty!
Learning a language is fun… sometimes… especially when you begin reaping the rewards of it and a new world opens up for you (which is amazing).
But many times…
…language learning is boring, frustrating, and even embarrassing.
And that’s OK. The earlier you realize this, the better prepared you’ll be for it!
The fantastic rewards of learning another language are on the other side of these negative emotions. There’s a price to pay to learn a language.
The negative emotions you feel during language learning are a sign you must persevere; they are NOT excuses to quit.
The good news is that it gets better with time. Once you’ve learned a lot of your target language, you can start learning mostly through real-world sources. This is where the magic happens. But you gotta earn it first, my friend!
You can’t learn a language in two weeks
How disappointing, right?!
Given all the language learning marketing gimmicks, you are excused if you still believe this.
But the false promises of fast language learning are mostly devices to part you from your money.
And if losing a bit of money doesn’t faze you… know that it’s not just about the money:
The false expectations planted in your brain by the marketing will only weaken you mentally when you find you’re not progressing as quickly as you thought.
Then the thoughts come:
- “This language is freakishly complicated!”
- “I’m not made for this; I guess I don’t have the language-learning gene”
- “This method doesn’t work for me; I’m different”
Learn a foreign language is going to take time, and it’s going to be tough.
And that’s all good, brothers and sisters!
Why?
Because you’re learning something valuable, if it were easy, everybody would speak eight languages.
It comes down to this: Every normal person is perfectly capable of learning a foreign language or two. And… you can make good progress in a couple of weeks, but… you will not be fluent. Getting fluent takes more patience and effort than that.
So, get yourself together and get to work!
Join us on the amazing but bumpy ride to fluency in a foreign language!