I just successfully completed my B2.1 German class. ❤️ As I work towards C1 level, I will share my lessons.
This time, I learned the importance of having a class in my calendar to complement self-study.
Every German language learner knows this phase. There are certain days/ weeks when your brain is at capacity, and even simple translations take so much energy from you. You are no longer excited or eager to learn the language, and your fire slowly burns out. Suddenly, you can’t talk and want to translate everything. I had one of these weeks in March. I stopped my German input and got stuck, even though I knew I could do it if I tried. I did not want to read or listen to anything in German.
Everyone I know who is learning German has been here. One of my friends said to me, “Jean, maybe our brains learn in chunks. When at capacity, we need a deload for a few days, and then we can try input again”. That made so much sense.
I battled a lot of language fatigue, but I still had classes to show up to. The in-person evening classes also brought so much fun and joy into the busy and dark winter months. I had such an amazing teacher, Olena Sytnyk, who made me fall in love with the language again and kept me going every week. We all genuinely looked forward to class. Her teaching style is very unique and interesting. We had interactive sessions and spoke and presented in class, which helped. Over time, the support and classes at the Goethe Institute Frankfurt brought back my spark and interest. And now I feel ready to continue B2.2 soon.
I also learned that nothing will feel 100% exciting every time. Life, work, hobbies, all have their highlights, plateaus and dips. However, if we set systems in place, we can avoid falling off. In language learning, booking a class keeps you grounded.
I did a lot of self-study in the past, but had no one to pull me out when I hit those language-fatigue moments. Having physical or online classes with a teacher ensures that you have some help when you are on autopilot. This, coupled with self-study, is the perfect mix. If you are learning German (or any language), keep pushing through the dips.
