Presenting Difficulties in Language Learning (my own experience)
English

Presenting Difficulties in Language Learning (my own experience)

by

education
language learning
memory

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.

3