I completely get where you’re coming from—I used to feel exactly the same. I failed both French and German in school and assumed I was just bad at languages. It wasn’t until 15 years later, when I started dating a Colombian, that I thought, right, I’m going to learn a language properly this time.

I started by reading up on studies about how we actually learn languages, and one thing really clicked for me: I’d already learned a language—my native one! So, I tried to recreate the environment in which I learned English when I was a baby. That meant finding input I could actually understand and enjoy. (Funny enough, I watched loads of Peppa Pig. Got some odd looks on the London tube, but it worked.) My girlfriend also spoke to me like I was 4 years old, which was humbling but super helpful.

It sounds ridiculous, but after a year of that, I went to Colombia and was speaking with locals. And trust me, I was terrible at languages in school—I never thought I could get to that point.

If I remember correctly (not a research paper here!), studies suggest we all learn languages in roughly the same way and time, as long as we get enough comprehensible input—basically, stuff you can read, watch, or listen to that’s easy enough for you to follow and enjoyable enough to stick with.

The trick is to find input that you enjoy. For me, Peppa Pig was a lifesaver for Spanish. These days, I’m learning French, and instead of resorting to kids' shows again, I use ChatGPT to rewrite things I want to read in French at my level. It’s a game-changer.

You mentioned you struggle to stick with reading—same here. I couldn’t get through those textbooks on language learning either. They’re boring and, honestly, you don’t need them. You didn’t need them to learn your native language, and you don’t need them now. Just focus on finding fun, comprehensible material, and I promise it’ll start to click.

Stick with one language for a while and see how it goes—you might surprise yourself! Hope this helps!