How perfectionism Can Ruin Your Language Learning

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How perfectionism Can Ruin Your Language Learning

Thu, 03 May 2018 11:50:00 +0000A perfectionist is someone who demands the highest standard possible, and this can be considered one of the most precious quality someone can have. Of course, a perfectionist won’t settle for anything else and this can be a driving force to push ourselves to achieve great results.

It goes…

A perfectionist is someone who demands the highest standard possible, and this can be considered one of the most precious quality someone can have. Of course, a perfectionist won’t settle for anything else and this can be a driving force to push ourselves to achieve great results.

It goes without saying that he/she can attain excellence in whatever he/she does, but the other side of the coin is still real; in a great deal of tasks and decision making, the wish to have it all perfectly sussed out, and the need to wait for the perfect moment to arrive, can throw a perfectionist into major setbacks because he/she gets lost in the details; and this is not the exception in language learning.

What are the downfalls of a perfectionist?

1- He/she spends much more time on a task than required in a bid to make it better, or grasp fully the meaning of it. Consequently he/she becomes less efficient.

2- Whatever he/she does becomes complicated because he/she can’t move forward.

3- Any project.goal or task becomes so difficult that he/she starts procrastinating due to ” paralysis analysis”.

4- As mentioned before, the perfectionist is unable to see the bigger picture.

If you identify yourself with this description, don’t worry. There are solutions at hand that will help you stop your perfectionism from ruining your language journey.

Here are some tips you can use:

1- Stop obsessing over details

Yes, you need to understand this grammar structure, but if not understood fully, you can always come back to it at a later date. In addition, I’m sure that you will have the opportunity to see it applied along the way, and this will help you grasp it entirely over time. The same applies to this new word you can’t retrieve, you might know a synonym, use it, or change the sentence. The important thing here is to get your message across.

2- Be conscious of the consequences

The more time you spend on mastering a lesson, the slower your progress will be because you’ll be hardly advancing. You are somehow denying yourself the joy of fluency, somewhere down the line.

3- Don’t forget the big picture

Like all of us, you’re started your language journey because you want to reach destination, in this case, being fluent. keep this in mind. You do not need to know every grammar rule to communicate with people. To make sure you do not get off rail, write down your monthly and weekly goals. This will help you remain on schedule. (Download weekly planner here)

4- Make sure you do the activities that count

Your aim is to improve in the four main areas of language: reading, listening, writing,and speaking. Make sure to incorporate one or two of these in your daily activities. Don’t dilute your efforts in tasks that won’t help. Ask yourself if what you’re doing is getting you closer to your goal. if the answer is no, stop doing it.

5- Set a time for every language activity

Try to religiously stick to it or you will start drifting away

6- Mistakes are part of the learning process

Ditch your obsession for perfection. Remember that even native speakers make mistakes. Don’t wait to know all the vocabulary and grammar rules to start speaking in the language you’re studying. At the contrary, start with baby steps, from the beginning. And like a baby, if you stumble and fall, just pick yourself up and carry on. You might want to make a mental note of that mistake to have a look when you can, but don’t let it stop you from communicating with others.

7- Take breaks

Don’t spend too long studying. Short periods of concentration are better because our brain processes and stores better the information given. Plan these breaks ahead and incorporate them in your diary.

Remember, perfectionism will get you nowhere. Be kind to yourself.

DOWNLOAD: 7 steps to ditch perfectionism

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