Have I ever told you about the time I experienced language burnout?
It was in 2014, right at the peak of my career as an English teacher in an adult school. Despite being considered one of the "best" teachers in the school, we had just welcomed a new colleague who was a native British English speaker
Rapidly, I found myself comparing my English proficiency with his. I took great pride in my English abilities, but my weakness had always been vocabulary. Feeling the pressure of comparison, I decided to go all-in to develop my skills and expand my vocabulary to the maximum:
I listened to two podcasts every day while walking to the subway.
During my subway commute, I did vocabulary exercises on the Memrise app for 20 minutes.
Between my classes, I had a 30-minute break, during which I read the news in English, hunting for new vocabulary to study.
In the evening, before falling asleep, I reviewed the vocabulary I had learned during the day.
I did this for about 2 months, every day, five days a week.
Read : The Things you Do That Will Lead you to Language Burnout
At first, I was thrilled because the results were immediate. But as time went on, I began to lose my enthusiasm.
I became increasingly tired and, most importantly, stressed because I allowed myself no respite and was trapped in the comparison game.
Of course, it was my ego pushing me, constantly saying: continue, you must, you are obligated, you should, it's like this, it's important...
Of course, I stopped.
Fortunately, by the way. Life is far too short and precious to add such negative constraints, don't you think?
But, you see, that doesn't mean you shouldn't learn a language or strive for excellence.
It simply means we must stop believing that to be effective, we must eliminate joy, fun, and creativity. On the contrary, these elements make our learning journey enjoyable and, therefore, help us achieve our goals more quickly.
This is why I'm excited to share something with you that will help you avoid language burnout and bring joy back into your language learning.
Language FunFest: Languages, Fun, and Celebration
Language FunFest is a free 3-day event designed to reignite your passion for language learning!
It will run from Dec 1-3, 2023 and feature amazing presenters, myself included, ready to show you how to have fun with languages through unique activities in multiple languages.
Here's a quick overview:
- A pop-up Facebook group for connecting with other language learners, asking speakers questions, and more!
- The event is free to attend, but you can choose to grab the Language Fun Pack for bonus resources and an upgraded event experience.
- The Language Fun Pack is currently available at a special price and will disappear for good once the event is over.
Learn more about Language FunFest and grab your free ticket with my affiliate link here.
Une Bulle de Français
The experience I’ll share with you during the event is called Une Bulle de Français : for about 35 minutes, we’ll share a sacred space where French learning merges with Serenity: together, we will breathe, we will move, we will write, we will draw.
We will connect with ourselves and with each other through the language. You’ll leave that space refreshed and inspired, that’s guaranteed!
I’m so looking forward to sharing this with you! My presentation will be both in French & in English so you can also enjoy it if you’re a beginner in French.
Plus don’t miss out on my special bonus contribution in the special Language FunPack, but shh, it’s a surprise :)