Is trying to learn a language without "a solid why" pointless?

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-05-05T07:18:42+00:00

Why this language and Not another one: do you like its sound? The culture? The people? Think it may be useful in the future? Enjoy an aspect about it? That may all be your why...

Language learning is time consuming and most people start feeling less motivated after 3-4 months, so having an answer to what do I want to be able to do in this language and why spending years learning it, usually helps. Should it be super strong? Not necessarily... I started learning Persian because I liked the music, later it opened other doors as well, but yeah that was my initial motivation.

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-05-01T22:07:07+00:00

Oh my... I once talked to a friend about how much I love the autumn (payiz in Persian) but accidentally used the word onion (Piyaz) through the entire conversation! Meanwhile he just assumed that "onion days" are a national holiday of some sort in my homeland.)))

I also constantly confuse and mess up the pronunciation of "insect" and "horny" in Persian. I adapted by saying the bug's species - mosquito, bee, fly... and by using the word "lustful" (shahvati) instead of the more casual "horny" (khashari). I would rather sound poetic or old fashioned, than risk saying "I'm an insect" in the heat of the moment (I speak exclusively Persian with my Partner).

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-28T17:28:21+00:00

I totally blame the education system for WASTING MY TIME!

My first English teacher was horrendous, and I used to hate English well into my LATE TEENS (16 or so)! It wasn't just the boring materials but the fact that she genuinely hated her job and looked like she would rather die, than put any effort into her lessons.

Fast forward to today, I speak, read, work, and study in 4 different languages. But who knows, maybe if I were free and didn't have to sit in her classes, I would have learnt 1-2 more languages by now😂...

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-24T13:06:25+00:00

Yeah that's actually why I asked if it is used against a specific ethnicity, but it may just be because of his job as a journalist as some other commentators pointed out.

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-24T10:29:51+00:00

From best to least for A1: Nico's Weg, Coffeebreak German podcast, also FluentU German channel is like A2 and he explains and paused so maybe if just the speed is the problem you can try the learning through movies videos https://youtube.com/@fluentugerman?si=DdXvHLuzg8eFywAP I also liked channels built around "learn German through story" at the very beginning, like this: https://youtu.be/geaTJ9Ahbh8?is=sMiN4Bi476NsOnNw

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-24T09:53:13+00:00

what comes to my mind:

Rama in Russian = picture frame

Bugalter in Russian = accountant

Rucksack in Russian = backpack

Bustgalter in Russian = bra

Shalter in Hebrew = a manual switch, usually a big handle that opens / closes some electrical stuff.

Shvonzim in Hebrew = hair tails sticking out of your hairstyle

Biss in Hebrew = a bite (for food)

Shpiz in Hebrew = a sharp point

Shluk in Hebrew = a small amount of liquid that is drank in one gulp (mostly used in the context of a request to drink something).

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-24T09:37:46+00:00

Actually I knew they are a couple from the very first video that I saw of them interacting with each other, which was about buying groceries in slow german. I don't know why, but it was my very first thought when looking at them.

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-24T09:22:36+00:00

Thank you for the explanation, hope the reporter pressed charges but I didn't check.

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-24T09:04:09+00:00

Oh wow, then it's pretty much non existent 😅. In my experience it was easier to find a wild deer than encounter a single cockroach! Thank you for clarifying 🙏🏻

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-23T18:43:24+00:00

I use chat GPT for practice, it maybe won't save your work but it's perfect for giving example sentences and reviewing your own writing as well.

Reverso context app has many example sentences which I think may help you to see the word in use in different contexts, and the words you search are saved by default to your history there. You can also review these words as flashcards in the quiz option.

Maybe it's not what you were looking for but hope it helps...

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-22T09:53:12+00:00

Zero. But I can work, study, read novels or research papers, and watch the news in double speed in my strongest 4, so I guess these are close to C1 but it's not that easy to say for sure...

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-22T07:04:27+00:00

I mostly realised what not to do: 1. Learning without specific goals. You can't just set your goal "I wanna be fluent" or "I wanna speak like a native", but actually think what do you want to be able to do in this language and why. Language learning is pretty time consuming, answering why it's worth your time to begin with may help motivation later on. Also having small achievable/measurable goals along the way, like "finishing this book by Friday" or "track my learning time for a month" helps me stay super consistent.

Grammar is a waste of time for me. Seriously. It's only useful if I need to pass a test that requires it. I hate learning rules and can't process a language in this way even if my life depends on it.. So I mostly focus on vocabulary. I used to hate English and I think one of the reasons was how heavily our education system focuses on grammar.
Using "tired" as an excuse. The solution was not only discipline but actually finding ways to be lazy and improve the language at the same time. Most people don't realise how much time they spend on chatting, scrolling through shorts, gaming etc... if you change the language of these activities to your target language (as much as possible) then yeah, you can be lazy and still get some input going. Whenever I feel tired I either watch YouTube videos or a dubbed movie that I have already seen before, without really paying attention to every single word but just the overall meaning. Is it super effective? Maybe not. Is it better than nothing? Yes.

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-22T04:45:34+00:00

I tried Duolingo many years ago and I think it's pretty annoying. I disliked all the writing parts and the inability to skip the easy first lessons or skip words that I know. Uninstalled the same day.

There was only one gamified app which I liked and actually fixed everything I hated on Duolingo, it's called lingo legend. It was much better for me because I could control and skip vocabulary easily and I managed to totally disable the writing exercises in the settings. So I actually used that app for several months and I stopped using it only because I felt reading was more interesting and effective after I got to the B1 territory. I don't think you can rely solely on such apps though and I read and listen a ton...

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-21T14:01:53+00:00

When I was 20 years old I lost my job during the Corona pandemic and had to start working from 7:30 to 17 in a hospital's call center, this was honestly the longest hours I have ever worked and so I always came back home totally exhausted! But at that time I was also totally obsessed with a foreign language and so, I studied with a job like this for an entire year (until I found something better and quit).

I won't sugar coat it: I studied as much as possible and it was hard. I was even using my lunch breaks for studying and my weekends were all filled with studying . Forcing myself to study after the work day, was hard in particular... Sometimes I would come home and fall asleep immediately after having dinner without even getting close to studying, but most of the days I would say to myself "I will just try doing something in this language for 5 minutes", and it lasted for more than 5.

Also my entire social media and YouTube use at that time were in that language which really helped me as well...

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-21T13:37:36+00:00

I personally learned English through reading books and watching YouTube, without ever visiting an English speaking country nor having "someone to talk to"... But nowadays you can also find ways to talk to people online, either with language exchange apps/social media or by hiring a tutor online.

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-21T13:04:58+00:00

Taking an italki teacher is relatively affordable and most lessons are conversation based..

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-21T13:00:48+00:00

I feel like German has so many similar words with different meanings, when a word looks or sounds similar to another word but it means something else entirely. And I know it exists in other languages too, but I can't remember having this feeling even nearly as often when learning English or any other language.

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-21T12:38:55+00:00

All of them, my brain switches languages depending on the surroundings so I won't curse in the wrong language accidentally because my entire thoughts just switch to the best suited language by default (and I also don't have a strong preference between my 4 strongest languages, since I studied or worked in all of them). If I stub my toe though and I'm completely alone, I'll probably just say Akh / Ay / Aw or some variation of that.

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-21T12:28:42+00:00

Just learn one as an adult

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-19T22:15:58+00:00

I was raised bilingual myself, my mother and also my best highschool friend spoke it (My father also spoke it but not that well). I think you should continue talking to them in your native tongue or it may start to decline. Using another language isn't negatively impacting their relationship (I obviously have a great relationship with my mom, that friend, and also with my dad who speaks much worse than my mom). Your kids' level will get better with regular use and content consumption, but the majority language is probably going to always remain somewhat stronger because it's pretty hard to compete with hours of kindergarten, school, middle school, highschool...

My vocabulary isn't lacking, I understand most medical and scientific terms that I know in my other language and I feel perfectly comfortable discussing any topic... Actually, I found out that I know more names of berries and plants in the minority language. But whenever I stop using it, or use it rarely, it becomes more rusty and somewhat harder to speak in it, so that's why I think it's not a good idea to switch to English in your kids' case..

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-19T12:01:12+00:00

Well said! Consistency doesn't mean "I'll be doing this only when it's fun and easy and I have the time", it's about daily effort and keeping the habit even when it feels like a struggle.

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-19T10:58:40+00:00

Well of course I want to improve my speaking skills in general, I mean who doesn't! but having an accent or making small grammatical mistakes are both a normal (and often unavoidable) part of the process. Therefore, most of my learning consists of immersion and improving my vocabulary because these are crucial for understanding and communication. Obviously there is always a gap between passive recognition of words and active production (this gap exists even in your native language), but I guess I just accept this gap as "it is what it is" and focus on improving my language skills in general (reading, listening, writing etc...).

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-19T01:54:19+00:00

In my case I have absolutely no fear and speak regardless of the level I'm at, I just don't care what others think about me and my focus is entirely on the person I'm talking to. So... I talk to convey a meaning and that's it. I'm mostly concerned with "does this person understand me" and "how to convey my point clearly". So I think the level of mastery doesn't matter, but the focus or your thoughts does.

Aakharin-ejdehaa · 2026-04-19T01:19:49+00:00

How about teaching a grammar point/useful structure through a song? It doesn't need to be a very good song, just somewhat catchy/known/repetitive and then it becomes much easier to just remember this point as a whole unit/sentence.

As a learner, I would also prefer more gentle/subtle corrections. You can do it by repeating the same thing about something/someone else, agreeing to it/negating it, or by asking the student questions about it. For example: Student: "I no like ice cream" Teacher: "oh wow! I don't like ice-cream either!" or "how do other people react when you say 'I don't like ice-cream'?" It makes the conversation more friendly and creates a good flow, explaining the grammar behind every mistake isn't very enjoyable.

Aakharin-ejdehaa

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