#No languages I've studied has the same a sound and Japanese and Korean don't have a 'see' sound only 'shi'

[3languagesin3years]

So this is a little off subject for this blog, since it's not quite about languages, but nothing in life is truly solitary anyway so it's fine.

I just wanted to talk a bit on the subject of how it gets easier to learn a language after youve already put in the effort to learn one before. and how that effects other things in your life, as well.

I've mentioned before that I've now taken four semesters of Japanese, and I'm working to test out of the first semester of Korean. As much as I love the idea of completely teaching myself another language, I've already experienced in the past how hard that is to do. There's a lot of factors in that, and for me one of the biggest ones is my ADHD. So I figured I'd take some classes for Japanese and I think that's one of the best decisions I've made.

Having someone who knows what they're doing correct you is important, but of course I can't discount how helpful having concrete deadlines was. Plus, having other students working with you at basically the same level and pace was both a comfort and a motivation. We humans are very social creatures and it helps with learning.

Something I've found interesting is the effects taking structured classes has had on me that I've noticed recently. I noticed because I've been able to compare my current experiences in learning Korean with my experiences in trying to learn it in high school.

Of all things, I noticed I'm not leaning into the perfectionism as much. Instead of making myself learn all the ins and outs of the alphabet and well, basically have it down *perfectly*, it felt easy and logical, even, to review the alphabet, explore a bit of what I missed learning it the first time 10yrs ago, and then just. Moving on.

And part of that is because in Jpn1, we had to learn hiragana and katakana as well as about 20 Kanji in the first semester. There wasn't enough time to *just* study the alphabet and make sure it was perfect before learning grammar and vocabulary and pronunciation, etc. And it of course makes more sense that way anyway, since the brain works best with patterns and recalling info that has other connections. Things don't exist in a vacuum, right?

So that was my first thing, not getting stuck (and then eventually just giving up because I'm bored and frustrated), but realizing that anything I may be struggling with will make MORE sense, if I continue to build in and practice with real-world examples instead of forcing myself to understand something in isolation! And maybe that sounds like common sense to others, but I had to figure it out.

My other big thing also has to do with perfectionism, and with the anxiety of wanting to test out without having that regular feedback from a teacher. But, I realized, I'm testing out of FIRST SEMESTER Korean. Aka all the things I might have worried about before—spelling errors and fumbling over words and omg my accent is terrible— none of that matters? Like yeah, I'd like to spell things correctly if I possibly can, and I definitely want to pronounce things correctly, but the teacher isn't going to fail me for not knowing everything perfectly. If I mix up the wae's or accidentally write 애 intsead of 에, it's not actually a big deal? Because first semester beginners just aren't going to have a perfect handle on that. Neither will second semester beginner's. And that's OK, because it takes time to learn.

Again, like, that's common sense, right? But for me who still struggles with perfectionism in so many areas of life, this is just a huge step for me. I'm really proud of myself for getting to this point! And maybe this is more of a life update than a language update but that's OK too!

I hope my fellow perfectionist language learners out there can maybe benefit from and relate to this. The more you learn the better perspective you get. Each step in learning a language is something to be celebrated! Don't minimize your efforts and how far you've come. Don't discount the life lessons you can learn from it either.

That's all for now. Happy language learning, everyone! ☺💜