Getting over the intermediate plateau in language learning
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 15. 06. 2024
- Hi friends! Here are some ways you can progress from intermediate to advanced when you're feeling stuck in a language learning plateau.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:28 The intermediate plateau
01:20 Speak more to natives, learn collocations
02:50 Chunking
03:20 Lingoda
05:38 Content & advanced words
06:27 Level check
07:24 Synonyms
07:55 Daily effort & immersion
09:51 Change your method
Lingoda Sprint entries have closed.
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![Take the quiz: Are you on the intermediate plateau? [+ what to do about it]](/img/n.gif)
Intermediate level is a secret curse honestly. The majority of language content is too easy, but real life is too hard. It's absolutely maddening but I'm so glad you're out here explaining it so clearly. As always, thanks for the tips! You motivate me to study more.
Intermediate level is like an ocean where there is so much stuff to learn and you see virtually no progress. đđ I remember it happening to me when I was learning German and now that I am totally fluent and learning Mandarin, It has hit me again. đđ
Oh man, I so so feel you.
Leaholea you put it into words!
Tony Woks yes!!
@@AfroLinguo I am learning both
In english: you take medicine
In korean: you eat medicine
...
In portuguese: you drink medicine
In Russian: you take, drink, eat medicine
Vietnam: you drink medicine
Turkish : use your medicine
Macedonian too!
Iâm Brazilian and I say âtakeâ medicine
I know it's slightly off topic, but I adore your hairstyle in this video. That length really suits you^^
đđ đ
This was so helpful! English is my second language. I reached a very comfortable level of fluency a couple years ago and stopped actively studying. Recently I started a course for medical English because of work. It made me realize that I got too confident with my English, thinking I'm almost fluent, while in reality my abilities to speak and write got extremely rusty over the years. I'll try to return to a more active approach to studying now.
Monika Nowak Best of luck to you!
Your english is very good!
Sameeee, I think it's perhaps because we are not surrounded by the language
I'm having an upper beginner plateau, but this is still helpful at my level! Lol
Same, like I just can't distinguish what's low intermediate or high intermediate. What's within my reach (Comprehention Level) Or not within my reach.
Kartaila í믞 sameeeee
Lol. Same!
me tooo
@@roxaslover1693 ikr. How do you know your level?
Thanks for the useful tips. I'm a male adult who is currently at a B1 level in my target language. I've never learnt a second language before so there is a 'self-belief barrier' that I am constantly pushing myself through. The target language is also my heritage language, so I feel a strong spiritual & emotional connection to the language. I remember having a powerful dream two years ago, just prior to my language journey, where my older relatives were calling out to me in my heritage language. I remember waking up and wanting to dive back into my dream. My motivation is currently strong, and I now dedicate an average of 1 hour a day to language learning. This may sound very weak to admit, but I'm probably going to cry if / when I reach conversational fluency (i.e B2 level).
How do you get to know your CEFR level? Did you take a test?
I think that learning to learn a language is crucial. I learnt the hard way that translating isn't always the best tool, for example. Especially when you want to get to an intermediate level. My native language is Spanish and there are many many things that you can't just translate to English or to Japanese.
I don't like translating.
The intermediate plateau is hard to surpass, at least for me. hehe
Right now, I am in that "zone" I don't know, but I used to take some break, and not think too much about the language, I stop learning and start to acquire things. But since the progress is slower, I don't feel overwhelmed and from time to time I try to pick up and learn some words/phrases from different topics.
English learner: âI ate my medicineâ
English Speaker: âI took my medicine.â
English Professor: âIâve had my medication.â
I would say: I took my medication.
English is my first language and i would say âi had my medicationâ
I am now sufficiently medicated.
@@stephenrochester6309 successfully
The medicine: "They ate me".
Do you think you could make a video on what to do when you lose interest in a language? I know some people who they reached their desired level of fluency, but now they're not as interested in it anymore. Does that mean it's time to move on to another language or is it something else?
Jacqueline Sadberry I think one should find out what is the cause of the lost interest . Do you actually not care about the language anymore ? Or is the loss of interest caused by intermediate plateau or the amount of work required to get to the next level of the language. I notice many people get discouraged after reaping the benefits of quickly learning so much of the languageâs basics that when they realize just how much it takes to become advanced they âlose interest .â This exists in most foreign languages you will learn (unless it is incredibly close to your native ) and Iâve seen people go from language to language thinking they are losing interest when in fact theyâve just hit a plateau and are moving on to a new language so they can get that rush of everything being new again.(many people donât realize this . ) In this case I would say to stick to the language and change your strategy. Try to mix things up and try new learning techniques to see if it sparks your passion again. For me the intermediate plateau can totally destroy my love for a language but by recognizing the plateau as the root of the lost interest I push through; thus coming out on the other side loving the language more than I would have though possible . However after honest self deliberation if you discover that youâve sincerely lost interest in the language and this isnât based on any of the above Iâd advise you to move on. No need in forcing yourself to do something you donât care about anymore .
Also you said you know people who reached their desired level of fluency. I feel like that often changes as you get better at a language. Language learning can be endless if you want it to be and you can always improve something . However if you know the language to a certain level and are no longer interested in improving it, (because it fits your needs ,) then Iâd personally move on to maintaining and start another language . This is a loss of interest different from the one I talked about in my first reply. In this instance you havenât really lost interest in the language itself but have achieved the goals you set and donât have any interest growing in the language. The reason why I advise maintaining at this point is because in the future something might happen to make you want to go back and improve that language and you donât want to have to start several levels back (which can be discouraging and take up much more time than maintaining will )
I think thereâs a difference between losing interest in a language and losing interest in studying a language. I have lost interest in studying Japanese because I can read books and watch anime and get the gist of everything. I continue doing those activities but Iâm not really trying to improve which would involve studying.
Exactly why should people be interested in further learning a language if they reached the level of fluency they wanted? They literally accomplished their goal. Now they can focus on something else. It's a healthy way of handling things. If you don't need it and aren't interested anymore, you should move on and don't waste time on something now useless to you. Perfectionism is not your friend.
Yes that was me with Spanish. I was at advanced level and decided to learn Mandarin Chinese and German. I found Spanish to be very ugly and super easy language and had no idea what I was doing learning it so I gave it up. Know I don't even know Spanish anymore.
I learn by chunking too even as a beginner... I think that learning words just by themselves is like having the tools but not knowing how to use them. Love these tips I do all of these things, intermediate to advance just takes time and a lot of exposure! â€ïžâ€ïžđ
Great advice about collocations. I did this for my Spanish to learn that something doesn't 'take effect' but rather they 'supply' or 'provide' effect, making the proper way to say it 'surtir efecto'. Great video!
One thing I think is important when learning languages, especially set phrases, is not to think too much into it. Learn the phrase, the meaning and how to use it but don't think too much etc, makes everything even more confusing. xD
That's absolutely true! My younger brother learnt Japanese quickly through set phrases whereas my dad struggled a lot because he tried to analyze every single word.
Shanna have been a source of inspiration to me! I've been a reader of her blog since she started it.
This is EXACTLY what I needed thank you sooo much!
Thank you!! It starts feeling so slow at the intermediate level. I appreciate the video and your encouragement.
Gut gemacht ich drĂŒcke dir die Daumen du bist einfach ein tolles MĂ€dchen!
Thank you, Lindie. I always enjoy and benefit from your videos.
Lindie youâre such an inspiration! Greetings from Brazil!
Lovin the Fukuoka polyglot card! It was great seeing you talk about your experiences in your language journey. I have been hitting the Japanese language plateau and this helps! Thank you! ăăăăšăăăăăŸăïŒ
I love the way you explain and you are an inspiration!
Love your videos Lindie! You're an inspiration đ
Thank you so much for all these tips! They are very helpful đ
thank you for this video! i really needed this.
iâm kind of lost right now because iâm stuck at upper-intermediate in my (now forgotten) mother tongue. i have less difficulty learning and advancing in new languages than i have trying to get better and maintaining a language that i grew up with. honestly, i havenât been able to find out why i couldnât advance at all in the last 7 years but it might be because iâm too comfortable just passively listening to really hone my speaking and iâll definitely try chunking! iâve noticed that phrases can be life savers before but didnât think to incorporate them into my learning process. so thanks again
Thanks for the advices as always, you inspired me to create my own channel to track my progress of learning a new language, so merci beacoup !!
This is the video I needed today! Thank you!
I find your videos very helpful ,I look forward to seeing more in the future
Thank you so much! I got to the point that I can speak and say anything I want but I really but I need to push myself to the next level. thanks for this video!!!!
This video is super helpful! I'm in this state right now with my French and honestly it seems super hard to overpass it! I'll put these tips in practice. thank you!!
you popped up on my recomendeds and i donât regret
Lindie - you learn about 6 month , you know probably nothing
Me - learns language 6 motnh
Me- i m ready for 4êž
Thank you very much for this video, Lindie! I am on the upper intermediate plateau in English and I am looking forward to getting to the next English level (C1), as I have been stuck at this level for a while.
You know youâre progressing in a language more and more when google translate fails you more and more :)
Thanks for the video! I always worry about online tutoring because I'm uncomfortable meeting strangers on the internet, but I like the sound of the group-style Lingoda lessons. Thanks for the recommendation! Also, your hair looks super cute in this video!
thank you so much, i find your videos really motivating :) i'm going to try and improve my german and english using your tips :)
Oh wow, just discovered your channel... I'm going to binge watch all your content đ
This was really helpful, I've been at this plateau in German for months but I never thought of learning set phrases, I always assumed that was more for a beginner but I'll definitely give this a go!
Das ist cool!! Warum lernst du Deutsch?
Te adoro Lindie, todos tus videos son muy entretenidos y Ăștiles! graciasâ€
You are the best,this is what I needed
Thanks
Just the advice i needed. Thank you.
Thanks so much Lindie!!! This's all i need right now :D
omg thanks! I really needed this video because I am in this plateau for so much time and I was kind of lost. I want to study other languages but I'm still struggling with my intermediate English.
Well , as far as im concerned as an intermediate english learner , is that i feel like i became more proud and much pretty confident while speaking or reading any material in english .as also this reaching this stage really helped alot to listen and watch things without subtitles đâšđ
Im proud of me though
I am this way in Hungarian right now after 2 years at school, going to my third year now
God Bless You Lindie!!đđ
thank you for this amazing content for us learners!!!
Esta es un video excelente! Tu siempre hace buen videos! Muchas gracias por todos Sus videos son muy Ăștil! Estoy aprendiendo español ahora.
ëčì ì ì§ì í ìžìŽ ìČìŹì ëë€...ìì í©ëë€..
Thank you for these tips!
Hi Lindie! Thank you very much for the lingoda code, I used it! I will be doing the super sprint marathon in german. In may I am doing a final exam so I really have to improve my speaking skills:)
God yes this is exactly what I need for m Norwegian, my motivation for improving is so much lower now! Thanks for the vid :)
i love your language book collection
Great video! Just what I need as I've been plateauing in Welsh for the longest time. My reading and aural comprehension are fine, but my speaking... yikes. I'll definitely give "chunking" a go! And hopefully next year I'll be able to afford talking to a tutor, I think practice practice practice really is the key here. Thanks for another useful video!
Thx Lindie. I love your videos. You are such an amazing woman. I am currently learning Croatian. Oh dear. That is hard (for me). But I feel motivated and especially after watching your videos đđ
thank you so much for answering my question!!
Iâve just been in the middle of rewatching your old videos before the JPLT)
I think I'm going to register for the Sprint...sounds funđ
Thanks for this information Really usefull for me
Yes thank you I needed this đ«đ«
Te amo đ de verdad cuando pierdo motivaciĂłn y veo un vĂdeo tuyo la recupero
Eres adorable
I really needed this!
My problem is how to prioritise both languages
Because I'm high intermediate in Korean and I'm beginner in french so I focus more on french but how can I also keep up with Korean so I don't end up TOTALLY neglecting it
ì늏ìčŽErika Im the opposite of you, I speak French at an intermediate level but I am a complete beginner in Korean, it would be cool if we could do some sort of favour and exchange our knowledge ahah
@@jonnyr5049 yeah that'd be great
ì늏ìčŽErika thatâs awesome !
Maybe a good way to improve your french without lose your korean is try learning the new language (french in your case) using the another language (korean), instead of using english-french materials. Try to use korean-french materials, and combine it with a "total inmersion experience" in your everyday (set the smart phone, pc, etc to french); my native language is spanish and I have an intermediate level (B1, I suppose) in English achieved as a self-taught person. Now iÂŽm starting to learn portuguese so i use english-portuguese materials and try to be focus in portuguese without lose my english skills and trying to use the spanish as little as possible because i know about my english limitations and I don't want to lose what I have achieved. I hope iÂŽve helped you
It's hard to take time for language you are not familiar with that much. I take time on high level one and try to get the extremity. That might make some money.
It's literally where I am right now with Korean. Its been months I'm in that phase.
Great video, thanks!
Your korean accent is suberb ... i can not believe that you are not native korean speaker . I saw number of korean speaking foreigners having this kind of like hard accent and western expresions but you change the way you are acting... itâs so korean i think i am not able to describe it properly but hopefully you understand. It made my day . Äakujem ! ( that means thank you in my native language) have a nice day
Thank you Lindie. đž
Thank you for the pieces of advice I'm stuck in intermidiate level some times I feel like not doing anything but I have to push myself thanks Lindie
You're so welcome! Good luck!!
I did a full marathon (now called sprints) with Lingoda this past summer because of Lindie. While the rules for the refund are strict I enjoyed the experience and it really helped improve my French fast. I am still taking lessons with them.
Great video, thanks
Great tips, especially about asking for corrections. People understand and want to be encouraging so they don't correct. So, my big take away here, because I am struggling to learn from target language conversations, is to find people who will correct and, ideally, type the corrections. Also, for myself, be more open to pausing to take a note or asking to record the conversation for my study.
Omg,I need this video so much
Thank you so much! I know I'm really behind everyone else in watching this video. I've been meaning to do so for a long time. I couldn't agree more with all the points you've made, especially when you mentioned watching media in the foreign language, which is super helpful.
Writing a diary is something you've mentioned before, and I feel like it would be a great idea for me, but I only had time to do it once before (when I was trying to learn too many languages).
Due to the coronavirus isolation that is currently taking place, I've decided to scrap my current learning programme, where I was learning too many languages and found that language learning had become a bit of a chore.
I've taken up Polish instead, and am not learning any other languages at the moment. Having taken advantage of various free trials and existing accounts that I have (I took advantage of the free 3 months of Rosetta Stone; it's normally ÂŁ83/year) I've started learning Polish online at no cost. Also, I have Polish friends who I talk to regularly, and I've found Polish TV programmes on Netflix which look interesting to me. Finally, I've decided to start a diary, although I'm not sure how many times a week I'll do it.
Sorry for the lecture, and thanks for the super helpful and interesting video; even though I'm just starting Polish, I'm sure you tips will come in super handy very soon!!! :)
This what I needed, because I often go from intermediate to basic
Ătimo vĂdeo âșïž
Hey Lindie, how it going? I started watch your videos and now I can't stop! Congrats for the job. :D
great video! Heped me a lot s2
Hey LindieBotes, I really enjoyed this video and your insights! Could you give similar, expert-based advice about how to progress through the "advanced" stages of a language (C1/C2)?
It's interesting how polyglots have their own "routine linguistique" (I don't know if there is a phrase for tha in a English đ ). I'd like to know if you have one, please.
Bil C Câest quoi un routine linguistique ? Est-ce que câest comme les trucs on fait pour apprendre et maintenir ses langues ?
CommonCola Juste une routine mais pour les langues comme une skin care routine qui est une routine pour la peau par exemple
A language learning routineâ? Perhaps?
yes you absolutely must as soon as possible and as much as possible use the target language to learn the target language.
i think actually living there and in immersion is a must; with Russian and Chinese I'm really stuck at B1 or B2 / HSK IV. If i were living in either of those places and avoiding the hell out of my other languages i do think i would get to C1 or C2 at least in Russian and certainly to HSK5 in Chinese.
Nice advices, currently my situation :)
I like your background study table đđ
hahaha me too !!
such a beautiful accent!
Iâm like... upper intermediate in only one language but Iâm working on 3 others that Iâll probably plateau in in the next year though. Thanks for this video!
I was REALLY interested in the super sprint in French, because that's exactly what I need, until I heard that you couldn't take more than 1 class a day. That makes it very near impossible for me to actually achieve it (which would make me feel ripped off, missing out on the other 50% off just because I missed one lesson), whereas if I was allowed to take two lessons a day on weekends, I'd easily be able to manage 30 a month.
Hmmm... dunno.
You're simply my idol.
Mine too.
I write a bucket list of things that I want to be able to do in or with a language in my lifetime and arrange the list from easiest to hardest. I get to work on the easiest one, and then on to the next. In this way, I'm always working on something specific, and then I don't feel like I'm at a plateau (so long as I'm actually working on it, and not taking a break or doing something that I already know how to do). My guess is that, if I master a variety of skills one-at-a-time (such as reading the news, listening to CZcams vloggers, learning a skill or school subject through that language, doing formal debates with a tutor, doing presentations and speeches for a tutor, teaching a skill in my target language, etc.), I will eventually reach an advanced level. I also need to do the things that you mentioned (memorizing and using expressions or collocations, for example).
Oregon Polyglot Wow! This is really a great framework. Not only to avoid platoes but to keep motivated. Will copy!
Hello Lindie +Lindie Botes, thanks for this very good video, full of good tips for improving and diversifying its own activities in the language.
HELL YAH, thank you so much for this vid!
Thank you for the helpful tips, especially about chunking. Always a pleasure to watch your videos.
As for other tips to increase one's level, currently I am watching a TV show in my target language with subtitles. I write down unknown vocabulary and expressions. Then I write a summary of the episode applying those expressions (as appropriate). I show it to my tutor and she makes corrections. I also ask how those expressions are used - are they common, too informal, derogatory, or antiquated. So far it has worked really well (going from beginner intermediate to intermediate). Plus, I have someone else with whom I can talk about the show, since I don't know anyone else who is watching that show.
Excellent video btw in Lingoda how long are the classes meaning 30 minutes, 1 hour or more? I want to do the Sprint but I would like to know that first. Thanks đ đđ»
For my Russian I've just started going through a giant list of complex verbs and started learning them through spaced repetition without translations. Working great so far.
ĐĐ°Đș ĐŽĐŸĐ»ĐłĐŸ ŃŃĐžŃŃ ŃŃŃŃĐșĐžĐč?)
Good good đ.that's great
gonna check that website out. lekker dag
Hey there I am learning Chinese, please guide me , I have done hsk 3.
I watched your anesthesia video . That was hilarious đ
thank you for the advice.
Hi Lindie! I have just recently started to learn Arabic(by myself), and am having a very hard time finding resources for extreme beginners. I am particularly struggling in the grammar aspect of it. I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to grammar, and not having a proper foundation has really discouraged me. If you could make a video on how you study Arabic I would really appreciate it.
Thanks for your useful advice! Can you share some tips on learning Hungarian? Is it true that Hungarian one of the most difficult languages?
Beating the intermediate plateau is really difficult and I also liked the video that Luca made. I was trying to beat the intermediate plateau at Japanese but gave up and instead Iâm learning Korean now. Iâm intermediate at German and Japanese and now working to get intermediate at Korean. If youâre not living in a country I donât know if the benefits of beating the intermediate plateau are really worth it considering how hard it is to beat.
Lindie... Tu es la meilleure!
Et ton cheveux est fabuleux!
Moi je parle français aussi.
Tes cheveux sont fabuleux* :)
hello Lndie have you ever used pimsleur mango languages or Glossika