Language learning

Is language learning hard? Yes

Do I suck at languages? Absolutely

Am I lazy? Yes

Should I be more proactive with my learning? 100%

Will I ever be fluent in any language? I hope so, but not today.

I’ve tried hundreds of apps, courses and watched a ton of videos. I’ve lived in Spanish speaking countries for close to 4 years and yet still I struggle.

The first big breakthrough in my language learning came when I took the Add1 Challenge. 90 days of intense tasks and habit building helped me go from zero Portuguese to holding a very shaky 15-minute conversation. Not bad for 3 months!

That was 2 and a half years ago and my Portuguese is not much better. That’s mostly my fault due to laziness, but also bouncing from a Portuguese speaking country to Spanish and having to relearn words, phrases and pronunciation really hit me hard.

Language learning is a constant process. You need to work at it day in, day out until you summit that mythical mountaintop and it eventually sinks into your subconscious.

Once you reach this promised land you’ll start thinking in the language, joking and dreaming in it. That’s when you know you’ve made it.

I’m still at basecamp.

But not for long! in 2020 I’m making a positive decision to change my ways, create better language learning habits and finally climb that mountain. Hopefully then everything will fall into place. Once I master Portuguese it will help with my Spanish, Italian, French etc

It’s not going to be easy, but I’m determined and I’ll be sharing the journey with you… every painful step of the way.