Why Do Some People Struggle To Learn New Languages, While Others Don’t?

When you start learning a new language you will very quickly find that it is very difficult and you can start to think that you are maybe not made for it. This feeling is made worse when you see other people seemingly learn with real ease.

The reality is that most people do struggle with learning languages, of course there will be a few who don’t, but in general most people find it tough and it requires a lot of effort to get good.

Really you shouldn’t compare yourself to anyone else, as the comparison is never going to be fair. I will go through some reasons why you may think some people find learning languages easy, and you will see that they say is not always true. 

Some People Have A Natural Ability For Languages

While anyone can learn a language, some people are just more naturally gifted in this area.

Just think of anything else in life, why are some people better at some things than others. Why are some people better at painting, why are some better at singing and why are some people better at physics?

We all have a natural biased towards certain things and languages can be one of these. However, it doesn’t matter what you do in life, you will still need to work on that thing to get good at it.

Just look at all the world class athletes, of course they have a natural ability, but they still spend all day every day working on their skills.

This is the exact same with languages, being naturally gifted with them is only half the battle; you still need to put the work in. However, this does mean that you can get to a similar level, you might just have to put in even more work, but the truth is that you can learn languages to a high level.

So long as you put the work in, anything is possible. 

The Method You Are Using Can Make A Difference

The method you are using to learn can make a huge difference in your success and if you are struggling, you may be using a method that is not ideal for you.

We each learn in slightly different ways and the method I find successful, may not work as well for you.

If you feel like everyone is learning a language really easily, but you are not, then you should change the method and see if that makes a difference.

I would always recommend the immersion method as this gets you learning on a subconscious level, so it’s more likely that you will respond well to this.

You need to be experimental with your studies in the beginning, so that you can find what works best for you. Eventually you will find a method that will get you results.

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

The Amount Of Effort Can Make A Difference To How Much Success You See In A Language

Another thing that may make it seem like you are struggling to learn a language compared to others is how much effort you are putting in.

You really need to put a lot of effort in and I think some people underestimate this, while others just lie about it.

I am sure you had some nerds in your class at school who said “I didn’t study” before a test …but they got 99%.

The truth is that they totally spent every waking minute studying for that test and for some reason wouldn’t admit that they did this. If you where more like me, and said “I didn’t study” … you probably didn’t and you failed, which proved it.

This attitude still seems to exist in language learning and you will hear people say things like they did a few hours a week studying with a textbook and they got fluent after a few months of this …but they kind of forget to mention that they where sat for 5 hours a day reading in the language and then spent another 5 hours a day learning vocabulary.

Basically don’t trust what anyone else says. They are probably putting in a lot more effort than you realise.

So don’t compare your progress from a 10 minute a day Duolingo lesson with their “little bit of study” as it won’t be the same. 

Motivation Can Make A Difference When Learning A Language 

Your level of motivation can also play a huge role in how easy you find things in language learning.

Some people will be super motivated and will just study like their life depends on it. It is almost like every waking second they will be thinking about their new language.

If your motivation isn’t as strong as this, you are going to struggle in comparison. If it is just “something you kind of want to do” …you will struggle, as you will also kind of not want to do it.

I learn languages for fun, and I know my motivation isn’t as great as some people. I have met people who where wanting to move to a certain country, and this motivation really fired them up, their progress was incredible and totally blew my efforts out of the water.

I am also sure you are sitting there now saying you are motivated, and I believe that …it’s just that the people learning with real ease are even more motivated.

You Need To Trust The Process

You will find that if you can trust the process, you will see results.

Learning a language is a pretty strange experience as you can do a lot of work and not really see anything in return for a long time, which can be extremely frustrating, but you just need to trust the process.

Anyone who is struggling with their language probably doesn’t trust they can do it. They may still be studying, but they are still doubtful and this will hold them up and generally slow them down. It can really be a self fulfilling prophecy.

This will be the complete opposite in any one who seems to find it easy. They know if they do x, y and z, then they will get fluent, so they just do it and they really lean in to it.

There are no doubts getting in their way and when you study like this, you will see results.

Your Previous Experiences Can Make A Difference

You also need to consider your past experiences when it comes to language learning, especially if you have already studied a different language.

Let’s say you are studying Spanish and you feel like you are struggling, especially compared to your friend who is finding it pretty easy …but then you find out your friend has already learned French. This is going to give them a massive advantage over you.

So, if you see someone finding languages rather easy, chances are they have some previous experience with different languages in some way.  

I’ve even seen YouTube videos where people are claiming they have learned a language in a very short time …only to find out they had previously studied this language in the past for a number of years, so it is no wonder it was “easy”.

They Might Be Learning A Different Language To You

I think it is also important to remember that different languages can be harder than others.

I know I often see people learning certain languages and I think “How are they learning that so quickly and easily?”

The truth is they are learning a totally different language to me, so the experience they are getting is totally different. I am sure if I decided to learn the same language as them, I might actually find it just as easy, and likewise, if they learned the same language as me, they may struggle.

I have a good friend who speaks Korean and they seemed to pick it up really easily, where as I am learning Japanese and while its maybe not a struggle, it’s certainly not “easy”…but I think it’s manageable.

Anyway, I always felt that they just found learning languages much easier than I did, until one day they told me they had actually originally tried to learn Japanese …but they found it too difficult, so they stopped and changed to Korean.

This just shows that learning different languages can make a difference in the results. I do wonder how I would find Korean, maybe I would struggle with it, or maybe I would also find it easy.    

(You can read more about – What Are the Easiest Languages To Learn?)

They May Have Been Learning For A Long Time

I think one of the biggest mistakes we make when comparing ourselves to anyone else is forgetting about how long they might have spent on that language.

You are probably very early on in your language learning journey, where as they could have been doing it for years.

I remember early on in my French journey I was struggling, I found it so hard. I would be speaking to French natives, in English, and they would be perfect. I always used to get annoyed that they could learn English so easily and I had to struggle so much to learn French  …but I was always forgetting how long they had been doing it for.

I had been learning French for less than a year, and I sucked …they had been learning English for over 10 years, so of course they were excellent.

I imagine that when I reach the 10 year mark, I will be equally as fluent in French as they were in English. 

Languages Get Easier With Time

You have to remember that languages get easier with time, both for you and everyone else.

If you are just starting out then even really simple things like saying how old you are is going to be a real struggle.

You have to remember that you are starting from zero, so even small things are going to be tricky, but as time goes on, these small things …become small things.

Just think about your own language, when you where little you probably struggled to say simple words. Look at how babies say muma and dada, and as they grow they learn to say the words properly.

This is what you are doing in your new language now, so while it seems like a struggle, it’s just because you are a baby in the language, as time goes on you will find it easier and easier.

Everyone’s Language Journey Is Different

Really at the end of the day every ones experience with languages is different. No one is going to have the same journey.

We are all going to find certain things easy and others hard, we also may have different goals and just generally different approaches to how we are learning.

It makes no sense to compare yourself to anyone else, as it will not be a fair comparison. You should just compare yourself to yourself. You can look at your own studies and see if you are growing and developing how you would like to.

Just keep putting in the work and you will see the results. Even if it is a struggle now, it will not always be like this.

You also need to remember that anyone who is finding it easy, has probably already been through this stage themselves and struggled, even if they will not admit it.

(You can read more about – Can Anyone Learn A New Language?)