Why i struggle to get fluent in languages

THE CHALLENGES OF LANGUAGE LEARNING WITH ADHD (AND SOME SOLUTIONS) I love languages, yet I’ve had a consistent struggle to get past the beginner stages into actual fluent speech with almost

every language I’ve tried to learn. I’ve been studying various languages for over ten years at this point, but the best I can say is that I’m okay-ish at speaking Italian and can decode

simple Spanish and French if you give me enough time. Part of what makes this so frustrating is that I desperately _want_ to learn. I enjoy it, and yet my brain seems to sabotage me at every

turn. Why? Once I was diagnosed with ADD (or inattentive ADHD), it all made sense. Language learning takes commitment and consistency — two things I struggle with _a lot_ thanks to the

disordered way my mind works. Here are just a few of the symptoms sabotaging my success. HYPERFIXATION Being hyperfixated sounds, in theory, like it would actually help me to learn. After

all, having all my attention focused on a single thing must make me really efficient and committed to it, right? If only. The problem with hyperfocusing on languages is that I can never stay

fixated on a single language for long enough to reach fluency. I go from being fascinated by French to contemplating Korean for a few weeks. And those periods of focus and commitment only

last around 3–4 months for me. Hardly enough time to become multilingual. After the period passes, most of what I learned during that time gets forgotten, and I’m back to square one. And

when my hyperfixation moves beyond languages to something else entirely, I can go months without speaking or even glancing at my phrasebooks. EXECUTIVE DYSFUNCTION The flip-side of this

troubling coin is my issue with executive functioning, a common problem for those with ADHD and many people without it. Put simply, my brain has a lot of trouble organizing itself to

approach and complete tasks. Knowing I need to study Italian or practice Portuguese isn’t the same as actually being able to make myself do it. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Larry

Silver, describes executive dysfunction as “a brain-based impairment that causes problems with analyzing, planning, organizing, scheduling, and completing tasks at all.” > Knowing I need 

to study Italian or practice Portuguese isn’t the > same as actually being able to make myself do it. Some people will say, “I need to study Spanish,” and then proceed to do that. I’ll

say, “I need to study Spanish.” Then I’ll get caught up in figuring out exactly how I want to study Spanish — textbook, Duolingo, one of those apps where you connect with native speakers —

and become so overwhelmed with the options that by the time I’ve settled on anything plausible there’s no time left to actually study. Needless to say, this doesn’t lend itself well to the

kind of consistency required to learn a language. There’s a reason many language classes, especially beginner courses, schedule themselves 3–5 days a week at the same time every day. Daily

language practice is one of the best ways to accelerate progress. But try telling that to my brain. TOOLS I USE TO OVERCOME THE STRUGGLE: While I’m still working on active learning

strategies that will help me overcome these challenges, I’ve found that incorporating as many _passive_ strategies into my learning can help as well. Although these tools alone will not make

anyone fluent, they can help to build and retain vocabulary when you’re not actively studying. TOUCAN Toucan is a fun little browser extension that randomly translates certain words on your

webpages into your target language. This is a great tool for building vocabulary as a new learner, but also for retaining it for those at a more intermediate level. I studied Italian in

college but don’t often get to use it regularly. Toucan helps me keep my word bank updated. I use the free version on Chrome and have been for several months. SUBTITLES When I’m in diligent

student mode, I watch things in my target language with the occasional English subtitles. But when I don’t have the mental energy to listen that actively, I invert it. Keeping the audio in

English, I turn on subtitles for my target language so I can pick up a few things here and there. It’s a decent way to get exposure to more complete uses of grammar and syntax as well. MUSIC

I often need to listen to something when I’m doing most tasks — driving, exercising, cooking, etc. If my mind is not in a place to really absorb an audiobook or podcast, listening to music

in my target language is always fun and helps me get accustomed to hearing native speech. I’M NOT GIVING UP. Becoming a polyglot can sometimes feel like trying to hit a moving target, but

when real progress is made it’s so encouraging. While I’m sure there will be many other roadblocks to overcome, I’m looking forward to the days when I can speak fluently and freely. Until

then, my ADHD and I will be taking things one vocab word at a time. _WHAT ARE YOUR LANGUAGE LEARNING STRUGGLES?_ 4 FREE WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR LANGUAGE SKILLS WITHOUT APPS DUOLINGO IS NOT THE

ONLY OPTION medium.com