Hello everyone! It's been a long time since I posted my last text where I talk about my dreams (German: Träume: erster Teil, and English: Nightmare). At the end of "Nightmare", I mention my lack of vocabulary and capability to speak due to the intense anxiety I was going through. Now, I've decided to take this topic into a wider range of experiences, especially when talking about language learning. Why not?
To start with, I'd like to give you some context. First of all, I've been learning English for a long time now and German for 5 years approximately, just to give you a number. You may think that I would have such a good proficiency by now, but I must say that's been the opposite. I didn't learn the languages uninterrupted - and here the German stands out. You can name the possible problems that arouse while learning: economic, motivational, time constraints... Hadn't it been that way, I would probably be at a higher level now.
Second, we all know that learning a language is like acquiring a new ability, you may know a lot of grammar or vocabulary but have a poor performance in any of the four skills. What do we need to prevent and avoid this? A lot of practice, which I didn't have. I saw myself trapped in a routine with barely time to dedicate to active practice.
Third, my English skills improved rapidly and exponentially as I studied my major. However, it's been a year since I graduated, and stopped having all that practice I had during my studies.
I got really into the German language and directed all my efforts to it because I wanted to get the C1 certification, but unfortunately ended up realizing the rapid decrease in my English skills. The further I went in my German studies, the more I forgot words and lost fluency in English. I'm worried about this. I'm quite concerned about this fact since I wanted to take the CAE test ASAP. Now I don't even know if I would be capable of getting back to the level I had before in only 3 or 4 months of exhaustive active learning.
I won't lie. At this point I feel quite disappointed and demotivated, not to mention stressed and nervous due to the pressure I have from my job. It is of paramount importance to solve this and I'm lost, I don't even know where to start.
I would like some advice on how to keep both languages at a high level of proficiency. So far I have kept reading books and listening to music and podcasts, but speaking and writing have been severely affected.
Hi ErikaYubi. I think your Enlgish writing is amazing. Without the corrections, your text is 100% understandable. I am not learning two languages, so I am not in a position to provide advice on how to keep both languages at a high level of proficiency. I wish you luck with your journey though.
Great post! I think it's completely natural that as you learn another language it can impact any (non-native) languages you already know. I think the only way to stop this happening and maintaining your languages is to use them daily. You mentioned that you are already reading and listening to podcasts so that should help. Perhaps try to find someone you could speak regularly with in these languages? Take a look at Luca Lampariello's youtube videos. He talks a lot about how he maintains multiple languages at a high level.
You can do it!