Above average

Doing what others will not so you can have what others cannot

Welcome, aspiring polyglot! Duolingo has done quite the number on what people expect of themselves when it comes to language acquisition. Though it may not have been intentional, this change has resulted in many people underestimating what is possible. After all, if you really spent 1000 days on Duolingo and can’t speak fluently, will you ever be able to communicate in a new language? Of course you will, but only once you break free of the limitations you’ve placed on yourself and your education.

Breaking your limiting beliefs

Language learning is difficult and the fact that it can take anywhere from months to decades to hit different goals makes it even worse. Comparing yourself to others, especially when you are working on furthering your education as an adult, can actually be quite helpful. Like most things, there are ways to do it right and ways to do it wrong. The right way is observing and taking the things you like most from each person with whom you are making comparisons.

Sometimes all you really need is to see what is possible. I know that has helped students of mine. Seeing that someone is accomplishing goals similar to yours on a timeline that you would like to follow is powerful, if you can view it as inspiring, that is. Things can go wrong when seeing what is possible leads to no action. The negative feedback loop that follows the lack of action will cause problems that are much more difficult to overcome than a simple lack of motivation or lack of an idea of where to start.

Seeing what is possible is not enough. Once you have seen it, you must attempt to replicate it. I have seen far too many people take themselves out of things through the belief that they are not capable of replicating what they have seen others accomplish. Whether it be because of age, time restraints, or some other third thing, feeling inadequate is not uncommon and usually stems from prior experiences learning languages within a system that is not conducive for success.

This time, when it comes to education, you have the reigns and you get to control where you go and at what speed. Taking your self seriously, even if it may be the first time, will change the outcome. Often we are too lax with ourselves in school. Growing older it is easy to see why school is so important to parents even when it can be difficult to grasp as a child. Now, though, you have the opportunity to take it seriously, while also having fun. Here is more on that:

Said who?

As mentioned above, many people have a misperception of what is possible not by their own fault, but rather due to their experience. When I tell people they could be having conversations and enjoying a new language in 3-6 months many of them find it almost laughable because even at the university level 2-3 years is assumed necessary. How can someone outpace a university? Well, pretty easily, as it turns out. The goals may be different, taking and passing tests versus using the new language with native speakers, but the results speak for themselves.

Everyone needs different things in their education. Some people struggle to learn using audio stimulus. Others struggle with production. Unfortunately, everyone has to master all of these when learning a new language. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is crucial when building a language learning framework, especially if it is one that is based on what you have seen others do.

Impossible is a funny word. I’ve heard that many things are impossible. This is especially true when it comes to athletic achievements. In fact, I’ve believed things impossible before more times than I can count. However, in my experience, impossible seems to be more accurately defined as “not yet accomplished”. Once you do something that many believe to be impossible, all things will begin to feel possible.

Do not settle

The other day I was speaking to a student and he was telling me that someone in his life thought he was overdoing it with our lessons. She couldn’t believe that we had started Lord of the Rings, in Spanish, after only two weeks of class. Add to that that I was already having him working to immerse himself in Spanish audio for 4-6 hours per day and she was flabbergasted. This is probably one of the most common conversations that are had about my classes.

Whether it was a teacher from the past or unique solo learning experiences, most people drastically underestimate what they are capable of and this is largely due to the fact that most people are afraid to fail, even when there are no consequences for failing. The other portion of people who can’t believe this type of acceleration is possible is those who have been working on the same language for years on end. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to see others succeeding at things at which we fail.

Between this occasional negative wish casting from people around us in our daily lives and the fear of failure, complacency feels not only the safest, but the most acceptable. This complacency will ensure that years down the line you have the opportunity to say, “Well, I can understand the language, but I don’t really speak it.” Of course, if that is something that doesn’t sound appealing to you then it would behoove you to raise your individual education standards.

The brain atrophy being brought on by AI is happening faster than many expected. As with every tool, there are good and bad ways to use it. Those who are becoming dependent on it are going to struggle in ways that humans have not struggled in decades. Literacy is quickly becoming a privilege again. By raising your own individual education standards you may see the reverberations of that play out in those around you as well. Being above average is not only worth it, it is the only way forward, at least in the education sphere.

Conclusion

Limiting beliefs are powerful. No one has as much influence in your life as you do and when you place these limits on yourself you will necessarily believe them. Fortunately, this works in reverse as well. If you can limit beliefs, you can remove the limits as well. Limitless beliefs will take you much further in your language learning journey than just about anything else. Seeing a difficult task and thinking “I can do that” even without any prior experience having done it, can change how you approach everything in your life.

Many of these changes don’t happen instantaneously, but they do have ripple effects throughout everything else. Learning to filter out feedback you get to keep the constructive and remove the destructive is a skill that takes time to develop, but the sooner you start the sooner you will master the ability. Most importantly, do not settle. It is difficult, but you can do difficult things and be great. So get out and do some difficult things and become great. I am rooting for you.

Requests

If you have anything you would like covered you can reach out to me on ​X​, ​Instagram​, or at odin@secondlanguagestrategies.com.

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