Episode 16 - The hardest part about learning a foreign language

Episode Description: Kevin talks about the hardest part of learning a foreign language, which may be not what you expect.

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#shadowing #studyingaforeignlanguage #shadowenglish #foreignlanguage #english #level up

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Outro music - by Lundstroem - "Great podcast intro" (Short version and Long version)

Hi everyone. Another language learning focused episode today. I was wondering the other day what the hardest part about learning a language is. As I’ve said in the past, in essence, learning a language is mastering the vocabulary, meaning recognizing language input and getting good at the output….Again, much like I mentioned in episodes 6 and 10.

However, to me…I think the hardest part about studying a language is that you’re not at the level of what you’re interested in. 

So, what I mean by this is that the things that I currently watch or listen to in English are too difficult for me if I were to try and do the same in Japanese. I couldn’t do it passively. It would be an active and effortful endeavor that would require a lot of concentration…and a lot of me looking up words. So what do I do..I listen to Japanese podcasts or YouTubers that target Japanese learners that speak and teach to my level…more for the intermediate crowd. The problem here is that usually what those teachers talk about is not so interesting to me. I mean, they try to be interesting…and they often are from an objective point of view. But I guess….what they talk about just isn’t interesting to me in that moment. 

But I have hope for the future of foreign language input. With more and more regular teachers putting out free content on the internet in various languages…the scope and range of content continues to increase.  Many foreign language teachers recognize this hole…the hole that there is a lot of content that could be communicated in an easier way…for beginners and for intermediate learners alike.

And we are just at the beginning of this new age of language learning, in my opinion. I guess then the issue becomes how to find the best match. That is, how to find input that is at your level and of your interest in that moment that you want to study a foreign language. Perhaps AI will be able to help with that.

Anyways, just some thoughts.

Have a great week!