I opened a thick book filled with numbered lists and felt my chest tighten I highlighted the first fifty words, closed the cover, and told myself I would review them tomorrow. When tomorrow came, I stared at the same page and recognized almost nothing. I kept pushing forward, convinced I just needed more discipline. The … Read more
I used to walk with headphones on, listening to business dialogues in a language I wanted to learn I told myself the words would sink in. They didn’t I heard meetings, negotiations, polite phrases but my mind treated them like background music. I’d finish a walk and realize I couldn’t repeat a single sentence. The … Read more
There are two ways to begin learning a language. The first is to set a purpose before taking a single step. A person decides exactly why they are doing this, what they are moving toward, and what the destination looks like. Every morning, every lesson, every difficult stretch then becomes just a part of the … Read more
I have a friend who has started learning English over a hundred times. A hundred fresh starts. A hundred moments of excitement. A hundred decisions that this time would be different. And what does he have to show for it? The same few words he had on day one. “Hello. How are you? I am … Read more
When I want to quit learning a language, I don’t make a quick decision. Instead, I follow a set of steps I built a long time ago, on a morning when I almost let go of everything I had been working toward. It starts with something very simple: I think and ask myself whether the … Read more