Learning a language isn't easy every day, and it's even harder when you put obstacles in your own way! We're going to talk about the 5 habits that prevent you from speaking French fluently. I'm sure that 2 or even 3 of them will concern you.
High expectations
OK, so you've mastered your mother tongue, that's normal. You started as a child, you use it every day and you've been practising it for decades. But the process of acquiring a second language is not the same. Because we've mastered our mother tongue, we think we can acquire another language very quickly or express complicated ideas right from the start. These expectations are unrealistic. I repeat, these expectations are unrealistic. It's going to cause a lot of frustration.
So accept that you will be "limited" in the beginning. If you're a beginner, you're not going to use the conditional immediately, that's logical. Instead, you're going to talk about yourself, your family or your weekend in the past tense. Concepts in line with your level.
My advice: measure your expectations, in other words, be realistic. On the other hand, you can have long-term expectations, which I encourage you to do, and that brings us straight to the second point!
Forgot your why
If you're learning French, it's because you've found a good reason to do it and you should try to keep it in mind, but really "why are you learning French?" If you don't know how to answer this question, you're going to get into trouble because you don't have any clear objectives to achieve and therefore no direction to follow.
If you say to me, "I'm learning French so that I can visit Paris next year", you have a course with micro objectives and validating them will give you the energy you need to achieve the final objective. If we take the example of French for tourism. You need to be able to reach an intermediate level that will enable you to ask for information, follow a guided tour, get by in a restaurant, etc.
The micro objectives will enable you to reach the final objective. You then understand the importance of knowing the final objective so that you have a direction to follow with micro objectives to complete.
Scared of making mistakes
Yes, I know, it's no fun making mistakes. And yet ... mistakes are at the root of learning, and I'd even go so far as to say that they're the key to success - isn't that crazy? Errors are originally part of a cognitive process intrinsic to your mother tongue.
So if you make mistakes, it's because you're a logical person! Everything's fine! And making mistakes makes you aware of the differences between languages. You'll then be able to differentiate and categorise the specific features of each language so that you don't make the same mistakes again. So, if you don't make mistakes, how will you be able to identify the points of friction between the different languages and correct them?
Make mistakes to progress! I'm sure this is the first time you've been asked to make mistakes, but really, make lots of them, correct them and make progress, it's as simple as that!
Short-term thinking
You may not like it, but unless you're in total immersion and speaking French non-stop, you're not going to learn it in 3 or 6 months. Let's face it, it's virtually impossible. So prepare yourself mentally and be consistent over the long term.
There's often a tendency to start off very strong because you're so motivated, but you quickly give up as soon as the first difficulties arise. Why not adopt a different strategy... start slowly, like 10-15 minutes every day. It's easier to stick with over the long term. Remember that small efforts make big successes. You don't need to work miracles, but you do need to set up a kind of routine that will enable you to work even when you're not motivated. Here, there's a mental factor and an emotional factor. It's 50/50.
When you have doubts, focus on your final goal and remember the micro-successes you've had. Ah, I'm not ready for my trip to France yet, but I can already order something in a restaurant! In fact, it's all a question of mindset. You have to see the glass as half full and not half empty.
Worst of all
It's perhaps the worst mistake I've ever made and it happens to me too when I look at other YouTube channels. I don't understand, I'm doing a good job, why don't I have the same figures as the others? Well, that's the way it is at the moment. I have to accept that. You have to understand that everyone follows their own path. My YouTube journey won't be the same as other French Youtubers, just as your language journey won't be the same as that of another learner. So why compare them?
In fact, you can learn from the successes and mistakes of others and avoid a number of pitfalls. In the end, everyone has their own way of learning. The most important thing is not how long it takes, but what you achieve. If you want to be able to discuss cinema with your friends, it doesn't matter whether it takes you 6 months or a year to get there. The main thing is to get there.
So, comparing yourself to others, no, but comparing yourself to others to avoid making mistakes, I say yes! Then learn the lessons and focus on the results. That's how you'll move forward and make progress!
Let's work together on this so you can make quick progress!
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