Note before you read this article: Everyone has their own take on effective ways to learn a language. Because of this, last summer I decided to try distilling fundamental truths about language learning that all, or at least most, language learning experts would agree on.
This is the eighth lesson. You can watch the video here, listen on Spotify here, or keep scrolling down to read a summary. You can see all 12 lessons by clicking here.
Feel free to contact me at https://azrenthelanguagenerd.com/contact if you have any questions about language learning or if you’d like to inquire about taking private/small-group lessons
Use the R.R.A Framework when Learning a Language
R.A.A stands for Research, Action, Adjust. Let me elaborate on each one.
Research. Research how to learn a language. Get information from different sources, each with differing opinions. You also want to pay attention to see if there is anything in common between the different methods people use. Pay attention and implement those commonalities.
Action. Take action by picking a method that resonated with you from the research phase. Don’t overthink things. There are countless ways to become fluent. As long as you move forward with confidence, you are highly likely to progress at a consistent pace.
Adjust. You will make mistakes on your language learning journey. Learn from them and try not to repeat them. Adjust. You may need to do more research once you’re at this phase if you find you have a knowledge gap.
Don’t get stuck at any of these three stages.
Those who focus too much on research never even start learning a language. Instead, they just read blog posts, watch videos, and listen to podcasts about language learning.
Those who focus too much on action end up spending hundreds or thousands of hours on a poor strategy, only to wake up one day and realize they’ve been spinning their wheels for months (or often years.)
Those who focus too much on adjusting get overwhelmed and mentally drained. For every hour of study they spend triple that analyzing how they could have been more effective.
Here’s a general guideline you can follow.
Spend 10% of your time on research, 80% of your time on action, and 10% of your time on adjusting. The percentages are flexible, but action should get the lion’s share of your time and energy.
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