I’m not supposed to tell you this.
I’m supposed to tell you to do the right thing. To encourage you to do the hard thing and keep at it no matter what.
But that doesn’t work. At least not for me.
As a teacher, I give plenty of advice I don’t follow myself. Hey wait, don’t go yet! It’s not that my advice is bad. Most of it’s good. Probably.
But I’m not a model language learner. Actually, I lowkey suck at it. I’m too busy, tired, lazy, and bored to do things the hard way.
I cheat. A lot.
So here’s a list of advice I give along with the dirty little secrets about my own habits, i.e. practical options.
PER SUBTITLES
*The advice* Turn off the subtitles! You’ll develop better listening skills.
*The truth* Keep on the subtitles! If you don’t understand what’s happening, you’re not enjoying yourself and you’ll stop watching. Ease trumps effort, especially during free time.
PER LANGUAGE FLEXIBILITY
*The advice* When you forget a word, don’t look it up in a dictionary! Just describe what you mean. Practice language flexibility and reinforce your active vocabulary.
*The truth* Look it up! When you’ve frustrated, you don’t want to use three sentences to describe something you’re sure has a single equivalent word. Why practice getting frustrated?
PER HEADPHONES & SPEAKERS
*The advice* Use speakers! Simulate real-world listening conditions and practice asking for clarification when you can’t hear clearly.
*The truth* Use headphones! Take all the help you can get. Clarity is always preferred.
PER JOURNALING
*The advice* Journal in your target language! Reinforce vocabulary and develop writing skills.
*The truth* Talk to yourself instead! You write in a different voice than you speak, right? Why practice a skill you’re not actively using?
Hopefully you’ve got more tools in your language learning toolbox now. They may not be as sharp or as specialized, but, in the real world, they get the job done.
Remember, some practice — even bad practice — is better than no practice at all.
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