The good, the bad, and the ugly of language learning

My past experience with languages and learning in general doesn’t make good reading, I lose focus very quickly, I struggle to take things on board, and generally lose interest and get bored very quickly. My mind races at a million miles an hour and to really focus I have to find something very engaging and exciting. This is where I fail with languages, always at the first hurdle when that text book opens, that shit cartoon picture of a boy holding an apple, the ‘find the correct word’ exercise..

I also struggle with confidence when trying to speak German. Yeah, I can ask for ein bier bitte, I can speak ‘restaurant German’, but what next? What if someone throws a curveball and asks for directions when I leave the restaurant, how many stops on the u-bahn to Hauptbahnhof, when does Deutsche Postbank close? I’m in trouble now.

This is where LG comes to the rescue. I’m really looking forward to the two week pilot, feel I’m going to make something good out of this. The idea of learning what WE want to learn, at our own pace, coupled with face to face interactive sessions and online videos makes for something pretty special. One thing Peter said that has stuck with me from yesterdays meet is, “if it’s boring, don’t bother learning it”. “Learn what YOU want to learn”.

Taking that advice on board, I think this might just work.