{"id":3817,"date":"2015-05-22T10:45:08","date_gmt":"2015-05-22T09:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eurotalk.com\/blog\/?p=3817"},"modified":"2026-08-20T20:29:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T19:29:16","slug":"the-emotional-journey-of-a-language-learner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/utalk.com\/en\/news\/the-emotional-journey-of-a-language-learner","title":{"rendered":"The emotional journey of a language learner"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">So.\u00a0You&#8217;ve decided\u00a0you want to speak another language. But as we all know, learning and knowing are two very different things, so brace yourself for\u00a0the bumpy road ahead&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>1. The optimistic early days<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Hurrah! You&#8217;re going to learn a language, and\u00a0it&#8217;s going to be easy, and fun, and you&#8217;re going to be fluent before you know it. Bring it on!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/3ea61c2ItHAwU?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"258\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>2. The study hours<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">So, with great enthusiasm, you buy books, download apps, spend days learning verb endings&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/VlY6jebqhigEg?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"182\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>3. The reality check<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Oh. Turns out this might not be as easy as you thought.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/uc7zHBmb5SshO?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"248\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>4. The tough days<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Sometimes\u00a0it&#8217;ll feel like nothing&#8217;s sinking in&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/GgR19HJYuoXMk?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"246\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>5. The lazy days<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">The sun&#8217;s out. Who wants to sit around studying? Let&#8217;s go to the beach!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/uVz35sX4G5Dnq?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>6. The doubts<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">What if you make a mistake and embarrass yourself?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/KEPQfFa3CtzCE?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>7.\u00a0The panic<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Or join in a conversation and then don&#8217;t understand a word?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/ODy29v7YAJrck?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"269\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>8. The despair<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">You may even feel like giving up altogether.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/Rhkq4ehWqVX56?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"268\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">But don&#8217;t &#8211; because it&#8217;s about to get good!<\/p>\n<h3>9. The\u00a0first successful conversation<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">When you ask someone for an ice cream &#8211; and actually get what you asked for. The right flavour and everything&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/efXLCAcmhBwGI?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"201\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>10. The quiet satisfaction<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">When you impress\u00a0people by telling them you speak another language.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/c2JlWAS3WFuBq?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"311\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>11. That smug feeling<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">When you see a\u00a0tourist struggling, and you can be the mysterious stranger who steps in and\u00a0helps them out.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/mbZshK2Svz89q?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"269\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>12. The sense of achievement<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">When you talk to someone in their language and they don&#8217;t immediately realise you&#8217;re from a different country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/WLUK2CuAdX9IY?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"216\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">And let&#8217;s not forget&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>13.\u00a0The new places you\u00a0can\u00a0discover<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/hNU4HmhtpMPTO?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>14.\u00a0The new friends you&#8217;ll make<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/hKrpeqRJowwi4?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>15. It even makes you smarter.<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/FMZvZ3Cw0pZZe\" width=\"480\" height=\"268\" frameBorder=\"0\" class=\"giphy-embed\" allowFullScreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">So what are you waiting for?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/GLKhlVJdX6s8?html5=true\" width=\"480\" height=\"413\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So.\u00a0You&#8217;ve decided\u00a0you want to speak another language. But as we all know, learning and knowing are two very different things,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,3],"tags":[1137,1138,1139,528,467,1140,1141,333,1012,1142,1143],"class_list":["post-3817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fun-stuff","category-languagelearning","tag-big-bang-theory","tag-doctor-who","tag-emotions","tag-friends","tag-game-of-thrones","tag-gifs","tag-himym","tag-language-learning","tag-lion-king","tag-mad-men","tag-minions"],"acf":[],"lang":"en","translations":{"en":3817},"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":24,"label":"Fun 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