On Language Courses

In the U.S., if I mention any of my foreign languages to someone, almost without fail they will mention how they spent years learning a language in high school and don't remember a lick of it. I don't say so, but in my head I think, Well, of course. 

Even if the curriculum is decent and the teacher is good, a class in school will simply never be sufficient for getting someone to fluency in a new language. If you can let that go, then you can approach learning a new language in adulthood with fresh eyes. 

I do think I got some value out of my language classes in school, but I took from them age 11 to age 19 or so without making much tangible progress in the language I was learning at the time, Chinese. It was only once I made friends with Chinese exchange students in college, and starting having lunch every day with a good friend, only ever speaking Chinese together. 

My proficiency skyrocketed, and I realized that maybe a dream of mine—to be someone who was good at learning languages—might actually achievable after all. 

Once I got a taste of success, I discovered a wide-eyed, stay-up-until-5am passion for language-learning. I went all in learning Chinese, still taking classes and having conversations every weekday at lunch, but I also started filling my free time with character practice and consuming any relevant YouTube video I could find. 

At some point I decided to add Korean in the mix as well, but my college didn't have courses, so I studied totally on my own, visiting my communications professor's office hours whenever I had any questions—she didn't teach courses, but she spoke native Korean and was thrilled to have someone to speak it with. 

I then studied abroad several times in a row, in both China and Korea. In China I specifically chose an incredibly intensive program, with a 24-hour language pledge and a curriculum that added 30-50 new characters each day. 

In Korea, I was starting from a much lower level, but tested into the level just above the very lowest, after spending only 4 months self-studying. However, when I came back again later that year, I was placed once again in the level just above the very lowest. But there were less students in the winter term, so my class ended up being a bit higher level than my summer course, just by chance. 

The thing was, in the summer course I was so proud of myself for making into a level higher than the lowest. But I really struggled to keep up. I could never catch when the teacher said we were taking a break—all of a sudden everyone would just be standing up and leaving the room, to my surprise. 

And of course, it hurt my pride to be placed in the same level in the winter term. But I realized I could follow along so much better than before. I realized it wasn't actually a practical goal to just shoot for the highest level you could test your way into—attending a class that's slightly below your level was actually incredibly beneficial. 

After college, I kept up my language-learning here and there, but I didn't take another language course until I moved to Germany last year. I was starting from barely above scratch, so I started with an introductory, intensive, in-person course. A few months later I decided to look for an in-person Swedish course as well, and managed to find one in Berlin. I had a bit more Swedish than I had German, but I was still just a beginner, so again I chose an introductory, intensive, in-person course–that ended up being taught in a mix of German and Swedish, as the rest of my classmates were German.

Just a few weeks ago, I started my current language course. We travel a lot, so I decided to choose an online course this time. And only once a week, but for a longer period, so I'd keep consistent. And below my level, because I still insisted that was beneficial. 

However, I think this time I may have undershot too far. The class is too far below my level to really be helpful. I thought it would be good for me, because I understand a lot and read a lot but have barely any practice speaking—but most of my classmates have barely any experience with the language at all, in a way that isn't conducive to those of us who are more advanced-beginner. 

And actually, all the choices I made with this course seem to be working against me. I didn't choose an "intensive" course this time, because I thought it was merely describing the course frequency not the language of instruction. I've taken exclusively classes-taught-in-the-target-language for so long, I actually forgot that there are any that don't do it that way. So now, it's being taught in more German than Swedish, which is I guess good for my German, but not really for my Swedish. 

On top of that, the online part means there's basically no opportunity to accommodate mixed-level activities. With in-person courses, you can pair people off according to level, or give worksheets out and then give extra worksheets to those that work fast. Online, if you don't utilize breakout rooms...then we're all just stuck doing the same thing with each other; we can't even all practice simultaneously, only one person can ever speak at once! So we're going at a snail's pace, and not even getting the depth that would make a snail's pace worth it. 

So, what have I learned in the process about choosing an effective language course? 

First of all, it should be part of a balanced language diet: you need as much exposure to the language outside of class as you can manage—don't expect the class itself to "make" you fluent without you putting in effort. 

Sidebar: people always think you can only learn a language if you started young. But adult learning is great! You know how to learn, and you can put in as much effort as you want, which is what will get you the results you're looking for. Pre-adult learning tends to take it for granted that learning is something that teachers do to students or do for students. As an adult, you can take control. 

Second, optimize for a course that's taught primarily, if not exclusively, in the target language. This way, even if you take a course that's slightly below your level, you're getting great exposure to the language, and getting used to operating in it as much as you can. 

Third, if at all possible, take an in-person course. Online courses are fine, but if the other features of the class are not a great fit for your needs, then online will just exacerbate those issues. 

Fourth, do some experimenting to find out which level works for you. This may even be different at different points along the way: when you feel overwhelmed, try a level lower than where you thought you were. When you feel bored or under-stimulated, try a level higher than where you thought you were. That may sound obvious, but I really do think it's helpful to think about, especially because no course will be catered to exactly what your "objective level" is, if there even is such a thing. Language learning is asymmetric and chaotic! 

Fifth, and this is incredibly important, you must actually give a shit. If you want to learn a language, then put in the effort to learn the language. If you try a language course and you find it lacking, then try again! Try differently! Keep going! Even a shitty language course, done consistently, will get you further than never working on your language skills at all.