How to Overcome the Language Learning Plateau

Sometimes, studying a second language can be difficult and maintaining motivation can be a struggle, especially if you have reached a plateau. A language learning plateau is when you have been learning steadily and smoothly but then reach a point where you can’t seem to progress any further, this usually happens to intermediate level students! However hard this may seem, remember that you are not alone as this is an inevitable part of the process but one which can be overcome.

Why does the language learning plateau happen?

When students start to learn a new language, they tend to set themselves quite simple goals. For instance, wanting to be able to have a simple conversation in English or being able to read and understand newspaper articles in English. By the time intermediate level has been reached, these goals have already been achieved.

Once this happens, it may be difficult to continue. It might be difficult to come up with new goals and without a distinct idea of what you hope to achieve, you don’t have a clear direction for focused study. Another reason for a lack in progression, could be that you’re not feeling as interested in the learning as you were before, or you’re getting frustrated with a particular aspect of the language, such as writing, vocabulary, or grammar. When your motivation to complete tasks and exercises is reduced, the plateau is reached.

What can I do to get past the plateau?

First of all, you should set yourself fresh, clear goals. Your learning will slow down if you have no idea of what to do next! Your new goals should be realistic and achievable and appropriate for your current language level. For instance, an unrealistic goal for an intermediate level student would be to be able to have an in-depth conversation about philosophy!

Your goals should also be manageable. Although it’s great to have an ambitious goal to aim for, if you spend too much time considering the huge distance between where you are now and where you want to be, there is a good chance that you’ll never get started on it. Ambitious goals can be intimidating and demotivating.

The key to achieving your goals is to break your big goal down into lots of smaller steps which will gradually get you to where you want to be. For example, instead of setting a goal for being able to hold a philosophical conversation within a month, you might decide to learn a new set of vocabulary items related to this area first.

You could also try to incorporate more authentic material into your language learning. Your course books up until now have helped you with understanding the structure and rules of language but in order to become a fluent user of English, you need to be exposed to the language in ‘real life’ contexts.

Authentic materials include films, T.V shows, songs and radio programmes and are intended for native speakers of the language. It is essential to choose authentic materials according to your interests. For instance, there is no point in watching a film about art if you only like action films!

The best thing about authentic materials is that they are challenging as the speakers do not try to speak slower than usual as is the case with audio material used within the classroom! Remember that you do not need to be able to understand everything being said but should enjoy the experience of trying to understand the context regardless of unknown vocabulary.

This will help you to develop your confidence at coping with the unknown which is an important element in your development as an independent learner. If you incorporate authentic materials within your language learning on a regular basis, eventually you will increase your overall understanding of the language.

Building vocabulary is essential to progressing within any language. Reading is an excellent way to learn new words and phrases. You should try and understand new words from the context before reaching for your dictionary but having a good dictionary to hand is very important for the words that you cannot figure out. You should always write down new words in a note book, recording the type of word ( noun, verb, adjective ) as well as the definition and pronunciation.

In addition, you should try to write a sentence of your own using the new word so that the meaning is clearer. You can choose vocabulary sets by considering what words your vocabulary lacks. For instance, many intermediate learners don’t have enough phrasal verbs to use, so this is a good place to start. You might also be lacking more academic language, so words related to your academic interests could also be beneficial.

Building confidence by using the language with native speakers is essential. Learning new vocabulary is great but if you want to master the language, you need to interact with native speakers. Conversing with natives is great for speaking practice, listening practice, vocabulary building and pronunciation improvement.

It is clear that the road to language fluency is not an easy one but if you follow these tips, you can overcome your language learning plateau and continue your journey to fluency with more confidence.