Why Are You Struggling To Learn A Language?

Learning a language is probably one of the most difficult things you can do, but a lot of people are able to do it and if you are struggling to see any progress you may be wondering how they can do it and you cannot.

While natural ability will play a part, this does not mean it is impossible for you. You are probably doing something wrong and its affecting your progress.

I will go through some of the main reasons that could be causing you to struggle which will hopefully help you identify your issue and allow you to get back on track and see the results you want to see. 

Lack Of Consistency

Probably the biggest reason that people have issues with learning a language is that they are not consistent enough.

Your brain needs repeated exposure to make sense of the language, which means you have to consistently study. The more regularly you study, the more likely you will see results.

 A lack of consistency really is your worst enemy, so do not allow this to happen.

You Are Not Putting In Enough Time

Consistency is only half the issue, you can study every day, but if you only spend 5 minutes a day, you are going to struggle.

5 minutes a day only 35 minutes a week, that’s nothing. You can’t expect to only study for this amount of time and see results. It’s not going to happen.

You have to put the time in. The more time you spend with the language, the less you will struggle with it. Language really is like any other skill you can learn in life, it does get easier with practice.

You Are Putting in Too Much Time 

While putting time in is important, you need to do this correctly. This means slow and steady.

It is very easy to just overload yourself and do too much in one go. This is a guaranteed way to struggle with a language.   

Your brain can only take in so much information at once, so if you push too hard, you will just confuse yourself.

You can see this most clearly if you try to learn too many new words at once, they all sort of melt into one word and you will end up having everything mixed up, or half the words will not stick in your brain.

You need to find the balance. You want to spend enough time with your new language, but you also need to make sure that you do not overwhelm yourself. 

You Are Using A Method That Doesn’t Suit Your Style Of Learning

If you are really struggling with the language then it could be because you are studying in a really ineffective way and this is slowing you down.

This is always difficult for a new language learner to identify, so you kind of need to work out how you learn best, which may not always be the same way other people.

You need to try some different methods and see what clicks. The problem is that you need to give each method a long enough period to see if it is working. I would try an approach for about 3 months, if you feel you are getting nowhere, then you can try a different approach for another 3 months and see how that goes.

It really is a slow process of trial and error, but when you find a method of learning that you enjoy and is effective, it will be worth it.

(You can read more about – Language Learning Methods That Are A Waste Of Time)

You Are Studying Material Beyond Your Level

One reason why you may be struggling is because you studying material that is above your level. This is easily done as a beginner as everything is above your level, but it is important to try and find something you can partially comprehend.

If you can’t understand anything, you are really going to struggle to make progress.

You Are Not Pushing Past Your Current Level

It is also easy to go in the other direction and study things that are too easy. While going far beyond your level is going to cause you to struggle, so is staying comfortable.

If you just focus on what you already know, you are never going to grow, so you will need to go outside of your comfort zone.

The ideal technique is to just go beyond your level slightly, you will still mostly understand what is going on, but will still be challenged and forced to improve.  

You Are Not Enjoying What You Are Studying

What you are studying will also play a huge role in how much you struggle. If you are studying something really boring, you are just not going to be engaged with it and everything is going to be twice as difficult.

It really can make a difference to studying something interesting that you enjoy.    

You Lack Goals

Having a goal in language learning is extremely important. If you do not have something to aim at, then how do you know what you are doing?

You are not going to make any progress if you do not have a goal, you are just going to dabble a bit and struggle to see results.

You need a plan and some goals and you need to work towards them in a timely fashion, this will get you results.

You Are Not Thinking In Your New Language

As a beginner you will be translating in your head, going back and forth between both languages. This is okay for a while, but it is not sustainable long term.

As you progress, this back and forth will slow you down and cause you to struggle; you really need to start thinking in your new language as soon as possible.

(You can read more about – How To Think In Another Language)

You Haven’t Got The Right Motivation

Language learning is tough and you really need a good reason for starting. It’s a guarantee that you will struggle at some point and if you don’t have the right mindset you will easily give up and not put your full effort in.

Having the right motivation is not going to make the struggle any easier, but it will make sure you push through and keep going until things get a little easier.

(You can read more about – How To Stay Motivated In Language Learning)

You Have A Lack Of Confidence

Your confidence can have a huge influence on how much you struggle with a language. This is quite tough as we are all different, but you need to believe that you can do this. You just have to trust the process.

It’s okay to feel nervous and scared about speaking your language, but you really you have to overcome this and understand that it’s okay to make some mistakes. A lot of people put unnecessary pressure on themselves, which just makes the whole process more of a struggle.

If you are feeling like you are struggling, take a step back and go over some things you have already learned. You should find these things easy now, which shows you can and have made progress. Use that to give you some confidence to keep going.

Conclusion

As you can see there are a lot of different reasons that could be causing you to struggle. The main thing to take away is that all of these are temporary; there is nothing here that you cannot easily change.

If you are struggling, you can turn things around and start seeing progress again, just keep working on your language and try and identify what might be slowing you down and try and change it, you will not struggle forever!

(You can read more about – Does Language Learning Get Easier)