Why I failed (twice) learning a foreign language

Although I am a big fan of total inmersion when it comes to learn a language, I love the fact that there are many unexpensive and even free ways to learn.

I tried different language learning methods myself and I realised that not all the techniques work the same way.

In 2008 packed my stuff and moved to Sydney to learn English. Alright that was easy, I lived in a shared apartment with other students and atended English lessons every morning during 3 months. I was permanently in touch with the language, my flatmates didn´t speak any Spanish so it was very easy to learn and improve my English.

A few years later, I moved to Germany, before that, I had regularly German language lessons with a private tutor in Spain, but once I got to Hamburg, I realised that there was still a long way to go :/

I built a good base thanks to my tutor, but I wasn't ready for real life situations, I felt very confident in my bubble during my one on one lessons, taylored to my beginner knowledge and at a slow pace. But I realized that it was very hard for me to understand the native speakers. But again, in Hamburg, like in Sydney I was surrounded all the time with native speakers, I spent the mornings at Goethe Institut learning with other students and I lived with a local family that helped me a lot by talking to me only in German (I could never thank them enough for their time and patience). At some point I was very satisfied with my level of German, passed the B2 exam in only 3 months and felt very confident when speaking.

My next challenge was to move to Senegal to learn French, which didn't work at all... and I will tell you why.

I followed the same technique, I did an intensive course at Instutute Francais in Dakar, but after my classes I socialized only in English. And what did I learnt? Absolutely nothing! I learnt some new words, but I never was able to have a basic conversation in French.

You can get used to a new language passively, by understanding what they are saying in the radio, or understanding the meaning of the news in the newspaper, but you really have to make an effort if you want to awaken your active language and be able to have an (even a basic) conversation.

In 2015 I failed again, this time with Arabic language, I attended a 2 month intensive Arabic course in Dubai, I learnt the basics yes, but I never practised after the course. So today, after 3 years, I only remember the greetings, how to introduce myself and the alphabet (at least I can read the Arabic alphabet, jokes apart, that's pretty cool!)

Why did I succeed in English and German, but I failed in French and Arabic? in all these 4 situations I did intensive courses of the native language of the country. But what it really made a difference is what I did after leaving the classroom. In Australia and Germany I spoke English and German and it was a total success, but in Senegal and Dubai, I kept on talking in English after my lessons, and I ended up forgetting way faster what I had learnt.

Which means that YOU HAVE THE KEY! We can't blame it on the teachers and institutions, YOUR SUCCESS WILL ONLY DEPEND ON YOU!

My advice is BE PERSISTENTENT, no matter if you are attending a course, or you are learning by yourself using apps or books for language learning. The key here is, PRACTISE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT. Let the situation GET REAL and get involved with native speakers, or join meet ups of the language that you are learning in your city.

Some of you might have a partner or in laws who speak the language, or maybe your colleagues can help you, but if you are not that lucky and you are not that "in touch" with the language that you learn, I highly encourage you to make an effort, try something new, and PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE!