What makes it difficult to learn a second language?

I’m a native English speaker who learned Portuguese in my thirties and now live in Brazil. I will tell you some of the obstacles I have seen my students come up against, and I will also tell you some of the ones I have endured while learning a second language.

Let’s assume you’re an adult learning a foreign language and you’re not immersed in the culture of the language that you are learning; for example, a native Portuguese speaker learning English in Brazil. At the beginning everything seems like an intellectual exercise. You are learning words, sounds, and concepts which might or might not sound familiar to the ones from your native language. The hardest step on learning to speak a new language fluently really depends on the level you are at and the past, what you have learned and what you have not.

This process can take from 6 months to 2 years (depending on how intensive your study schedule is).

So you wan’t to move up a level. You want to interact, make your language ‘a real thing’, something that you use. So, you keep studying and practicing, and eventually reach a Pre-Intermediate/Intermediate level (B1/B2 on the Common European Framework).
You are able to communicate and understand the basics. But, once the conversation gets a bit more advanced, you don´t understand a word. You feel all your hard work was a waste of time.

This is a nightmare I can personally relate to. Yes I was once here, just like you!

I believe this is the most important moment in your language learning process. It is a tough one and can last for a while, but you just have to keep moving, keep studying, keep interacting.

It is the persistence to go through this hurdle that makes the difference. You need to put in around 500 hours in a year to have a real improvment in your skills. OMG!

Yes, you will be making mistakes, you will feel like a person who did not prepare for the meeting, but it is through this process of concioussly paying attention to what the other people are saying while faking understanding that you acquire the language.

This is where you want to get to: the point of acquisition. That is what distinguishes a person who speaks a language fluently from a person who is just learning a language.

If you keep at it you will eventually reach an Upper Intermediate/Advanced level. You are comfortable interacting, feeling relatively at ease, you might have an accent and sometimes you need to emphasize things for people to understand you (or you don’t understand some people who have strong accents,) but in general you feel fluent.

Now some new problems.

The first is that you probably feel you’re not making progress anymore. Fluent, yet not a native. There are times you miss an important idea someone has made, and of course there is the dreaded slang. Leaving this level can take more years than you think. But you are already fluent, interacting, enjoying the benefits (and the pleasures) of speaking a second language.

The second problem is “Perfection”. As as speaker you want to make no mistakes. Zero grammar, vocabulary, spelling or pronunciation errors. Just go with the flow on this one as perfection is the enemy.

You will never be perfect in a language, actually no one is. OKAY?
Even native speakers make mistakes. So, what you should do is to actually embrace those mistakes since they are your best friends. You just have to “Get on with it!” and keep talking.

Learning Tips & Study Plan

Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t learning English fast enough. It’s quite common to experience highs and lows rather than improving at a steady pace. Keep your goal in sight and work towards it!

Practise your English as much as possible in your daily life. Listen to English when you are cooking or doing jobs around the home or read something in English on your way to work or the gym.

After reading a text in detail, try looking for useful phrases that you would like to remember and underline them.
For example, if you have finished reading something to complete some comprehension questions, read it again and underline any new words.

Make sure you read different kinds of text in English. Don’t just stick to one. Read stories, poems, instruction manuals, newspapers, and so on. This will help you widen your vocabulary. Try keeping a listening diary and log occasions when you listen to English. Note down any problems you experience and how you helped yourself to listen better.

Be realistic: You might hope to study at least 5 hours every day. Is that really going to happen? Look at your daily routines realistically and decide when you can find some time to study. It’s better to aim for 30 minutes four times a week and do it than to plan for 2 hours five times a week and give up.

Make a plan and write it down. To help you with your plan, answer these questions:

When are you going to study?
For how long?
Where are you going to study?
What are you going to study?

In the following study plan for a student with 3 lessons a week you can study beetween 30 and 90 minutes a day evey day, that will be 7 hours and thirty minutes a week. WOW!

Study, Listen, Read, Write and Enjoy!

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Preparation for Lesson	Lesson 1hr	Preparation for Lesson	Lesson 1hr	Preparation for Lesson	Lesson 1hr	Watch a Film
	Podcast		Post		Podcast
= 30 Minutes	= 90 Minutes	= 30 Minutes	= 90 Minutes	= 30 Minutes	= 90 Minutes	= 90 Minutes

If you’ve been learning English for a while it can be hard to know whether you are still improving. Some learners lose confidence after a while – they feel they made lots of progress when they first started learning English, but now they are at intermediate level, they find it hard to get better.

The truth is, progress is often gradual (and sometimes slow), but if you are going to English lessons or studying regularly at home, you are almost certainly making progress. Here are some things you can do today to check your progress.

Go back in time: Get out an old notebook or find an email or story you wrote in English a year ago. Read it. Now correct it. Check your spelling and your vocabulary. Are your sentences simple? How would you write them today? You can probably see how much your English has improved over the year. Feel proud of yourself!

Write for the future: Sit down and write something for yourself. A letter to yourself, a story or whatever you like. Put it in an envelope and write the date six months into the future on the envelope. Leave it on your desk or somewhere you can see it every day. Open it in six months’ time (on the date on the envelope) and read it. Your English will be better then.

And remember English is all around you. Learning English can be tricky if you don’t live in an English-speaking country.

Here are a few ideas for how you can bring English into your daily life.

• Be smart with your smartphone:
  Change your smartphone, laptop and tablet settings to English.
• Go to the movies: Watch films in English at the cinema, put on a DVD or stream a movie or TV programme online. Make sure you watch it in English – with or without subtitles.
• Be Social: Use social media in English.

Good luck!

Fonte: Cambridge English. Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash