Language Learning Plateau 8 Ways to Get Unstuck and Back in the Game

Language Learning Plateau 8 Ways to Get Unstuck and Back in the Game 8 Ways to Get Unstuck and Back in the Game Youve already come so far with your language learning.In theory, having learned even  some of a language is pretty great.The view from the intermediate level should be beautiful.But its hard to enjoy the view when youve hit an unexpected slump on your way to language fluency.Its an experience many have faced before you, but that doesnt make it any less daunting.Were talking about the dreaded language learning plateau.Yep, your language education was moving along smoothly, and then it suddenly seemed to halt or slow down drastically, right?Youre not alone.Moving Beyond the Intermediate EFL Learning Plateau  by Qing Xu points out that this plateau is unavoidable but can be overcome.In  Moving Beyond the Plateau: From Intermediate to Advanced Levels in Language Learning,  Professor Jack Richards also describes this unique challenge and related issues.So its time to get past whats keeping you from fluency.But before you can move forward, you need to understand what exactly that is. Wha ts a Language Learning Plateau?A language learning plateau occurs when you stop learning as much as quickly. Its easy to make quick progress early on, but as you learn more, you naturally slow down. Because of this, a language learning plateau frequently occurs when learners reach an intermediate level of language proficiency.Why Do Language Learning Plateaus Occur?There are a few reasons why you may be experiencing a language learning plateau.Youve met your goals.  A lot of learners set goals that are reached by the time they reach an intermediate level. For instance, you might want to be able to hold a basic conversation or be able to read a newspaper or book in your target language. If youve met all your learning goals, your learning will naturally pause.You dont have goals. Whether you never had any goals to begin with or you just havent set new ones since you achieved your previous objectives, not having goals can halt language learning progress. Without a clear idea of what yo u hope to achieve, you dont have a clear direction for focused study.Youre stuck on a loop, doing the same thing all the time.  If you keep doing the same thing, youre likely to keep getting the same results. However, once youve milked one particular method for all its worth, youll see your learning plateau.You lack confidence. As an intermediate learner, youve come a long way, but you also know enough to realize theres a lot you dont know. This can diminish confidence and make you feel like you cant possibly become fluent or communicate as clearly as youd like.Theres a natural slowdown. Even if you do everything right, language learning plateaus can naturally occur. Its not a fun truth, but at the same time, at least you arent solely responsible for your current rut!8 Ways to Get Unstuck and Back in the Game1. Set clear goals.Once youve plateaued, not knowing what to do next can be a big part of the problem. If you dont know what to do next, your studying will be less focused, so y our learning will slow down.Clear goals will alleviate this by providing you with the focus you need to surge ahead. Its important to base these goals on your current language level and make them realistic. Setting a specific timeline for your goal is also a good way to keep yourself on the right track.Overly ambitious goals, like becoming fluent in a week, can demotivate you by setting you up for failure. Set realistic goals that are somewhat challenging but that you know you can achieve.For instance, you might resolve to learn a new set of vocabulary words or memorize irregular verb conjugations in the next week.Regardless of what your goals are, having these clear benchmarks will help keep you moving in the right direction.2. Use authentic material.Most students will have focused on resources for learners up until they plateau. While this is a helpful way to understand the underlying structure and rules of a language, youll need to start consuming more authentic material to make your push towards fluency.FluentU is a fun, easy tool that lets you take in more authentic material without being overwhelmed by words you dont know. FluentU collects authentic videos like movie trailers, music videos, news and more. However, thanks to captioning and careful annotation of each word, youll never be in over your head. Word definitions, example sentences and associated images are at the tips of your fingers. If you want to see how a word is used in other contexts, you can even click it to see other videos that contain that word.Plus, FluentU is convenient. You can use it online or download the app on iTunes  or Google Play.3. Try new methods.Since your language learning has slowed down, now is the perfect opportunity to change up whatever youve been doing. Its possible that youre just stuck in a rut with that method. Trying something new could reinvigorate your language education.Trying  creative language learning methods  is a fun way to approach this new phase in you r learning process. But regardless of what approach you take, the main goal is to do something different.One method you may not have tried is double translation. In double translation, you translate a text from one language to another and then back again. Conventionally, you use a dictionary for all of this. However, since you already have language skills, you can skip this with the exception of any words you dont know. This is a helpful way to build vocabulary and practice your reading and writing skills.Other approaches may vary based on how youve studied in the past. For instance, if youve been taking a class or studying a textbook, you might try immersion, language learning software or language learning apps.Or, you could even continue by taking a course. But instead of taking a course about your target language, you could take a course in your target language. Here are some platforms that can help you with that:Coursera offers courses on a variety of subjects, and in addition t o courses taught in English, you can find some taught in French, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese and other languages. Finding what youre looking for is easy. Just type a subject that interests you in the search box (like art, math, etc.), and then filter using Course Languages on the left-hand side of the screen.Udemy offers self-paced courses accessible on any device that cover many topics. Once again, you can just search by subject and use a drop-down menu to browse courses for a particular language.If you want to try the challenge of taking a real university-level course in your target language, edX has courses from schools like Harvard and MIT. Search for what youre looking for and then scroll down to the bottom of the page. On the left-hand side, youll see the courses broken down by language.If youve relied on immersion, on the other hand, now would be a good time to crack a textbook to get a more thorough understanding of underlying grammar rules.Regardless of what youve been doing, changing things up is an easy way to get out of your rut and see the language from a new angle.4. Focus on problem areas.At the plateau level, bad habits or mistakes start to become more ingrained, so its time to correct them.Taking proficiency tests and assessing your own skills will help you determine what areas you need to work on. Dialang is a particularly useful free online proficiency test because you can test multiple skills individually to see what skills are your weakest.Another way to assess your own skill without a proficiency test is to think through what youre most comfortable with. If you had to communicate with a native speaker, would you feel more comfortable doing it through speaking or writing? Would you feel more comfortable hearing or reading a native speakers response? Chances are that the skill you prefer is your stronger skill, so focus on the skill you didnt choose.While you may be at an intermediate level overall, chances are that you have some areas that a re stronger and some areas that are weaker. Once you find these areas, all you have left to do is work on improving your weak points!For instance, if you struggle with listening, do more listening exercises. Sure, it may seem obvious, but taking the obvious steps that you may have previously overlooked is important at this point in the process.Similarly, if you struggle with speaking, find opportunities to speak. You might even start a public speaking club in your target language!Additionally, if you struggle with a particular grammar rule, you can dedicate more time and effort to finally nailing it down.Not only will putting time and effort into improving your problem areas improve your language skills, it will also make your confidence skyrocket.5. Learn more vocabulary.Limited vocabulary is one of the main hurdles that keeps intermediate learners stuck in the plateau phase.Fluency in a language requires wordsâ€"a lot of words. While an intermediate learner usually knows the most common words, the depth and breadth of their vocabulary is usually lacking.To push away from the plateau,  learning vocabulary  is essential.You can choose vocabulary sets by considering what words your vocabulary lacks. For instance, many intermediate learners dont have as many verbs as would be desirable, so this is a good place to start. You might also be lacking more academic language, so words related to your academic interests could also be beneficial.Quizlet is a helpful place to find and study thematic vocabulary sets. All you have to do is type in key words (for instance, academic Spanish) and youll find plenty of user-created lists. You can print off the lists to study, you can play games on the site or you can use flashcards on the site.VTrain.net is a free software you can use to create and review your own flashcards, allowing you to choose the vocabulary that you find most important. Flashcard apps like Cram  (available for iOS and Android) are also useful learning tool s that allow you to build your vocabulary in whatever minutes you have to spare.Building your vocabulary wont only help you keep your learning on track, it will also help you communicate more clearly and concisely.6. Interact with native speakers.Most language students focus on a generic form of their target language early in their educations. Once youve plateaued, the next logical step is to learn to speak more like a native. Interacting with native speakers is terrific for speaking practice, listening practice, vocabulary building and pronunciation improvement.It can definitely be intimidating to try to speak your target language with a native speaker. Luckily, conversation exchange is an awesome tool for this. Conversation exchange is when you partner with a speaker of your target language. You get practice in your target language, and you give your partner practice in your native language. This is ideal because theres a strong chance that your partner has also encountered a lang uage learning plateau that theyre trying to escape from.If you cant find a native speaker near you, there are plenty of online solutions. Skype language exchange  is a popular way to connect with native speakers all over the world.  Finding a language exchange partner  doesnt even need to be difficult since there are a wide variety of online resources that will help. Plus, many conversation exchange sites even offer estimated skill levels for participants. If you find someone at an intermediate skill level in your native language, they, too, are probably around the language learning plateau stage.For instance, Conversation Exchange can help you find a native speaker near you or arrange a penpal correspondence. TalkAbroad can also help you schedule online video conversations with a native speaker.Once you start speaking your target language with native speakers, your skill and confidence will propel you past the plateau.7. Build confidence with other learners.Weve mentioned confidenc e a few times before, but it really is that important.Working on your skills in general will help improve your confidence, but the best way to improve your confidence is to use your target language and use it often.If you dont speak, listen to, read and write in your target language often, you wont have the time to build the confidence you need to continue forward towards fluency. When youre learning, native-level skills seem impossible. This is why its important to use your skills in a supportive context. Get together with or make friends who are at a similar stage in their learning progress. If youre not sure how to do this, check out some language learning communities.Together, you can commiserate about the difficulties youre facing and get some valuable practice in. Even if you make friends with someone learning a different language, theres nothing to stop you from speaking to them in your target language (and it might even be less daunting this way)! Similarly, if youre reading or writing alongside a friend, theres someone there to push you forward if you ever feel like quitting.As long as you use the language more often, your confidence will grow until full fluency is within reach.8. Nip discouragement in the bud.Once your learning slows down, it can be easy to become discouraged. You may even stop trying to improve your language skills. But dont let discouragement weigh you down! Learning a language is like a marathon. When you start, its easy to move quickly. However, the farther you go, the more your pace is likely to slow. When things seem impossible, its important to remember that youve come a long way.Sure, it was more fun to move faster, but quitting now that the finish line of fluency is in sight is a mistake you may regret. Youve already put this much work in. Dont let discouragement stop you from finishing the race!The road to language fluency may not be a continual rise.There will definitely be some flat ground along the way.But if you follow these tips, you can overcome your language learning plateau and continue along your way to fluency with confidence! And One More ThingIf FluentU doesnt nip your discouragement in the bud, nothing will. (But dont worry, FluentU will!)FluentU makes it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way real people speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos like movie trailers, funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse ScreenFluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view definitions.FluentU Interactive TranscriptsYou can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs quiz mode. Swipe left or right t o see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.