Not sure what to write about when you're practicing writing in a new language? Here's a comprehensive, 16-page PDF with prompts and tips that will set you on the right track to start writing. Get it from my store here: www.buymeacoffee.com/lindiebotes/e/78666 Regardless of which level you are in the language(s) you're learning, this guide will be useful as it's packed with 112 writing prompts and activities, writing tips, a 7-step guide to success, and resources that will help you get the most out of your writing. What you'll get - Background information on the importance of writing in a foreign language - Tips for writing if you're not just ready yet - A 7-step guide to writing long-form pieces in a new language - 112 writing activities and writing prompts for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners of any language - Information on the relationship between writing and other language skills - Resources and ideas on where to get corrections on your writing - A discount code to book a personalized language coaching call with me to discuss your writing or general language learning methods

When people tell me I’m “talented” I remind them that anyone can do it. It’s a process, and I know the people I admire like you didn’t learn these languages overnight. Persistence is key. I also find I learn most from my mistakes. Dare to be brave and make a mistake 💜

Ma’am you have been guiding my Korean language journey. Although I have been going at it for 4-5 years, my Korean is still young. I still thank you for your inspiration.

in brief: In this video, Lindy shares five common mistakes that language learners make and offers a bonus tip for success. The mistakes she discusses are: 1. Giving up too soon: Lindy emphasizes that language learning requires time, effort, and motivation, and it is not just about talent. She encourages viewers to be realistic about the process. 2. Too many resources: She advises against getting overwhelmed by the abundance of resources and instead suggests using what's available and starting small. 3. Being scared of making mistakes: Lindy recommends getting over the fear of making mistakes and finding safe spaces, like online tutoring or language exchange groups, to practice speaking. 4. Being tied to a method that you cannot change: She suggests being flexible with study plans and adopting an agile approach, allowing for reflection and improvement. 5. Learning vocabulary without context: Lindy warns against studying vocabulary without understanding its usage in context and encourages engagement with language materials at the learner's level. Bonus Tip: Consistency is key. Lindy emphasizes that small, consistent steps will lead to success in language learning.

Nadie habla de lo importante que es darle tiempo a tu cerebro para incorporar toda la información que aprendes. Puedes estudiar y aprender pero necesitas tiempo para realmente internalizar lo aprendido.

This is SPOT on. Some of the best advice I've heard for people who want to learn a new language. I've been learning French and Swedish for 15 years and, while I'm "fluent" in both, I still see many areas where I could improve. However, I also tell people to not feel overwhelmed by the time commitment because you will start seeing improvements quickly and 15 years of practice and study does not mean 15 years of classes and vocabulary lists. It's travel and movies and books and making friends that all count as practice

Resource overload is REAL! I spend way too much time worrying about if what I'm using is optimal. It's a waste of time and energy. And strict schedules are a tough for me too because as soon as one day doesn't go exactly as planned it feels like I haven't done enough.

Welcome back! :)

I'm totally guilty of the vocabulary list thing sometimes! I find that I tend to do it when I'm overwhelmed because it gives an immediate reward loop when I memorize a word. It feels more like measurable progress, which is comforting when it feels like I'm stuck in my progress at a certain point. I have found this more useful when I get the word list from a book I'm reading or a movie I watched or something though -- which goes straight back to your point about context. Context is everything.

Wow this was so motivating. I’m currently trying to learn Japanese and often feel overwhelmed. But stuff like this makes me feel like I’m more capable than I think 💛

In most videos, people talk about “Immersion” like moving to a new country but they are forgetting that not everyone can just pack their things and move to a new country in order to immerse themselves in a language they are learning. Sooo, would talking to a pet help? Because you are using the language. And pets do not judge you! 😊😊

One of the most useful videos about language learning I've seen in a long time!

As someone who has quit two languages because of making all these mistakes, trust her advice!! I am trying yet again with Mandarin Chinese and I hope I can get to intermediate level in a language for once!

This video went over so many things that I've figured out over time. I'm glad others can watch this early on and not have to figure it out the hard way

Still trying to learn Spanish on my own. I found I comprehend the language better when I learn small phrases instead of a word list. Took me a long time to figure that out but I'm glad something is "clicking "...finally.

The making mistakes one is my biggest fear bc I have been harassed super badly to the point of panic attacks and depression worsening for any grammatical mistake I'd make in languages. It's something I still have a hard time about and am trying to fix it bc I miss how much I loved learning languages so passionately only for so many bullies to take that away from me.

The biggest issue in my Korean journey for the last 2 years is that I have no patience and I want to be fluent right away. I get upset cause I can't understand Korean speakers but only understand them if they write it down. So I was lucky and found a Korean church and I have been going once a week and after service which is in Korean btw the members hang out together and speak in Korean and they have been incredibly nice and are willing to help me learning Korean. I am hoping the increased listening exposure helps me to understand Korean speakers better.

Hey Lindie~ Just wanted to drop by and say how glad I am that you're back again!! You had/have such a huge impact on my language journey and your tips inspire me everytime😊 Hope you're doing a bit better and don't push yourself too hard^^ We will always be patient and wait for you, so take it slowly- one step at a time💖 Have a nice day!!

Lindie's back! Thanks for the tips. I hope you are doing alright. With the burnout and all

I’m so happy to see a new video from you! But I’m also happy you took time of when you needed it :)

Good to see you well Lindie! Thank you for all of the quick sneak-peeks into your notebooks! I am a huge fan of journalling, but have found it a chore recently. Your idea of 2-week sprints sounds refreshing-I can't wait to see how it goes. Cheers, and God bless you!

So great to see you back, Lindie. I watch all your videos.

hope you doing good Lindie, nice to see you post again 💕

Thanks so much for this video Lindie! I think another thing people should keep in mind is that language learning takes time so practicing patience is also important

Excellent video Lindie! I’m about to start learning Turkish (my 5th foreign language) and I will definitely keep these tips in mind!!

Super happy that you're back!!😆

We love you Lindie, dont burnout but we love having videos. Maybe do some vlogs types, something easy to do???

Oh my goodness, Lindie these things hit me hard. Thank you for being an inspiration to me. I always thought that I lack privilege to study but the reality is that I give up too soon without giving a try. Thanks a lot!

I missed you Lindie

It's so hard not to get hung up on mistakes in language learning. Knowing mistakes are perfectly natural, I still get frustrated by them. And I'm probably not alone in this. By the way, I love your new hair color and the matching profile picture!

A fellow polyglot, yay~! Thank you for the useful video!

It's so nice to see you back! I missed your videos!

Thank you Lindie. I've made some of these mistakes but videos like these help me to keep moving forward and see it's ok

Thanks so much for all your advice. I love how you help us while taking us with you in your learning languages journey. You're amazing and not afraid to change your perspective in a topic and tell us your views!

Welcome back! I missed your videos so much, but I’m glad you took a break for yourself and came back when you were ready. :)

I have been subscribed to your channel for about a year and I’ve been learning Korean for about that same amount of time and I express how thankful I am for your channel and your content. It’s so helpful! When I first started my Korean language learning journey I made the mistake of having way too many resources and ended up scaling back to the main 2 that I use being Talk To Me In Korean and Memrise. I have some of the TTMIK textbooks because like you I love having something I can hold, write in and highlight too. Keep up the great work and I look forward to your next video.

Great advice as always! I agree with the comment you made about adapting your study style as needed. When I have adapted and been consistent that’s when I have seen the most noticeable growth in my second language (Korean)

Los mensajes que transmites siempre me parecen honestos, coherentes y llenos de la sabiduría que aporta la experiencia real. Tu camino con el coreano me ha inspirado a mí con el francés, gracias Lindie :)

Good to see you back Lindie. All the best from New Zealand.

Learning a bunch of words without context is so how we learn in school. That was the hardest habit to break for me 😔 every since though, I could learn so much easier and faster!

I loved the video and identified a lot with the errors 1,2,4 and 5. Thank you so much for the advice!

Excellent tips as usual! Good to see you again. 🙌🏻 😊

Loved this! So practical. And definitely loved the agile/scrum example. You were “speaking language”. Made total sense to me.

Missed you so much Lindie, and glad you're back 🤗❤

Thanks for a wonderful video! Everything you said about fear of making mistakes and sticking to a rigid plan is spot on for me. I've built a habit over the past 8 months of reading Japanese daily through LingQ. And I've moved from beginner material to children/YA novels. But now reading on LingQ is my comfort learning, because I know that I can look up words and figure out everything on the page before moving on. When I try listening practice I always get discouraged by not being able to keep up, and forget about speaking practice 😅 (my goal was to start by June... and here we are). I know I need to graduate to more difficult practice if I really want to make progress. When I learned French as a missionary in France, I was constantly bombarded with the language. At first it was very confusing and discouraging... but, after a few months my brain started to make sense of the noise, and I was able to understand better. Within 6 months I was holding meaningful conversations and following along to almost everything I was hearing. By the end of two years I was very comfortable with the language. So, I think my key mistake (and one you could add to this video) is "learn to be okay with not understanding everything," or "embrace the ambiguity." I've learned it once before, but it's really hard to get yourself to that point when you are self-studying and you can choose not to be uncomfortable. Thanks again for your thoughtful and uplifting content! :)

Thank you so much Lindie!🙂 You are one of the most polyglots and your advice helps me a lot!😘

Awesome video, thanks for the encouragement. It really does feel impossible to me sometimes, and then miraculously, something clicks and I’m like, ok, I am learning! 😁

Great advice Lindsey! I was feeling overwhelmed at first & thought I had to get every book or app for learning Japanese & now realized to narrow my options & with trial & error what works better. I’m touching back to improve on my Spanish & my learning methods are different for those two. Spanish I talk at home with family & hear it more & more easier to grasp now because it was my mother tongue compare & to Japanese where I don’t many people to talk to with this language & use more sources.

Whenever I feel discouraged about my language learning, I watch your videos and I'm back on track

thank you so much for this amazing and important video, lindie!

Wow, this content is so valuable!! Thank you. As a polyglot and philologist, I totally agree with you.

Just dropped to say that I miss you so much! I glad you're back and I hope you're in the best of health. Keep on spreading your wings!

Yay! You're back!!

Some very valid points, specially too many resources. Thanks for the share. Plus, I do believe, some people have a natural talent for languages, for them it is very easy, for others, not so easy.

I am delighted that you are back:)

Thanks for the tips Lindie!

I'm so happy you're here!!!😊

So happy to see your lovely face pop up on our screens again! You’re such a joy! X

I think you should do a whole video on resource overload. It’s very, very real, especially with more commonly-spoken languages.

You're really good! Glad you make these videos. Thank you.

I haven't seen the full video yet but a good tip is to give yourself a break, when it's getting too hard and exhausting stop for a while, maybe a week then come back, don't force yourself, if it's hard, take a break but don't take a break for any minor hard thing, just do it when it get REALLY hard, i do this all the time and it works so good.

It's not all about talent, it's the detication, effort that You put into the learning process.. and of course enjoying what You're doing

This motivated me enough to pick up learning Japanese again. Consistency is key but it gets overwhelming however I will try to start with very baby steps this time.

Omg I'm so happy you're back

Thank you Lindie☀️

kanalımın amacı sizleri cesaretlendirmek dediğinde duygulandım çünkü bunu gerçekten yapıyorsun dedim bizleri cesretlendiriyorsun 😍. seninle youtubeda tanışmak benim için büyük şanslardan biri seni seviyorum lindie 🥰

Lindie, so cool to see you back! I did see your past video on burnout and am glad you got out of that. Merci pour tes conseils superbes! This speaking, Lindie, first of all, a HUGE thank you for your courage and heart to underline that teaching/learning languages MUST be fun and that one cannot burn oneself energy wise, to "perform" in a continuous way, as that only brings people to break. So, ALL is about balance. I shall continue also , via an online translator, for your privacy then in Afrikaans, French and Latin American Spanish for fun. Ek het self meer as die meeste gedoen, as 'n feit en baie verniet gehelp, want geestelik is God my meester. In elk geval, ek het dalk nie rykdom opgebou nie want vir my is geld net 'n hulpmiddel om mense en jou omgewing op te hef as jy kan, maar ek het, met alle nederigheid maar waarheid Siener vermoëns en kragtige holistiese wysheid: jy is 'n wonderlike siel Lindie! En geen man of vrou is 'n eiland nie. Moenie vergeet om tyd te neem om saam met mense te wees wat jou liefhet en waardeer nie. Goed, weereens gaan ALLES oor balans: dit is beter om 'n paar tale goed te praat en dit te geniet, so min as wat dit is, as om te veel te doen en dit het boeie vir die siel geword. Hierdie jaar is, soos ek dit noem, binne die "Nexus" deuropening (tyd / energie gewys). Van 2020 tot 2025 sal wat uitgaan goed of sleg terugkom. So, as jy vir 'n bietjie "TLC" gaan, behoort dit ook terug te kom. I speak French (I am so), am bettering again my Latin American Spanish (Mexican as I lived 12 years in Southern California and Costa Rican as I lived 1 year In Long Island NY (within the Costa Rican diaspora NY and even some Columbian Spanish). Une langue est une manière de penser et de résoudre les problèmes d'une certaine manière ainsi que d'expliquer les spécialités de certains pays de l'artisanat à la sagesse populaire : d'où pourquoi, en 2100, il y aura ENCORE environ 3000 langues et des dizaines de langues internationales (comme souligné scientifiquement en 2020 ). L'anglais est utile et continuera pour ses bienfaits en certaines affaires et de la diplomatie du premier degré, mais pas comme avant ! Ahora, y no estoy hablando política sino diplomáticamente de muchas maneras, sobre el hecho de que Trump fue elegido en los Estados Unidos durante cuatro años y millones de extremistas Trumpistas todavía están aquí, así como el Brexit (aunque entiendo por qué Gran Bretaña lo ha hecho). ) con su confinamiento diplomático, el inglés será reemplazado de ahora en adelante, en algunas transacciones de comercio internacional y cooperación diplomática educativa / cultural por español, ruso, hindi, francés, portugués, ruso, polaco y más. I am now back to Hebrew in addition to being well versed in English, American, French, reviewing and re-editing in español mexicano y español costarricense... As a final choice for a fourth language, to Hebrew, because I love its letters, but more so, not only open doors for careers and education within Diaspora Jewish communities in the world, brave stories through some generations, but its powerful vibrational balancing sounds for the spirit like: I discovered it with Victoria Hanna! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ncmeq7WaldnDdIE.html kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nK2cnLJ3q7vPn4U.html Even the amazing Hebrew teacher Alisa Zingerman: kzfaq.info Moreover, Hebrew is a resurrected language! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rNh0odmfusDbd40.html AND I ADORE the smooth and swift sound of Afrikaans to relax also and shall learn some words/sentences of it, which for relaxing/opening ther first cultural context are cool ...like kzfaq.info/get/bejne/asCVZbqHt8e6d6s.html kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rtR6hsaX2L-0o2g.html MERCI pour m'inspirer Et merci beaucoup de m'avoir inspiré à utiliser, du mieux que je peux, les langues que j'apprends/rafraîchis pour ouvrir encore plus de portes aux contes culturels et folkloriques des pays qui parlent les langues que je connais et aussi pour communiquer avec communautés de diasporas ! A plus! Pascal

I'm really happy to see you!!😄😄

Speaking of making mistakes, I'll never forget the time I said "No vale la pene" to a lady at my taekwondo academy when I was speaking Spanish to her. The horror flashed across her face. Her son giggled. I had no idea what had happened til she was like "Ay, NO! la PENA. La PENA!" I figured out what I had said and then we died laughing for like five minutes. It was embarrassing, then it was hilarious. I'l never mix that word up again.

I really needed this... especially no.1. 감사합니다!

I am going to apply the agile methodology for language lerning. I will use for my whole life during summer cause it makes sense !

Thank you for having spilled the truth 💜 as a language tutor & polyglot, many of my students want to give up immediately because ''you speak more than nine languages and you have such a talent'' and what I always say is that it's just a matter of consistency, discipline, finding a learning method that suits you and not be afraid of making mistakes because they're our best teachers.

Ohh, welcome back!! We missed you☺️

Thanks for your conclusion, I do have noticed these "mistakes", but I didn't summarized them. Now, I can share these tips with my fiends in a clearer way.

I love all of your advices bring more please, I've learning a lot with you🌟🌟🌟🌟

I love that you can see the good part about agile. I'm a developer and I never have anything to say in the retros. But in language learning it does work well because it's important to look back and change what doesn't work.

Thank you for this advice. 💕

I lack consistency. Glad I watched this concise video.

Nice simple video with good old fashioned advice. I think motivation is the key to learning a foreign language. If you’re “talented” or not it’s gonna still be a time sink. When people say oh you’re good at languages to me I try to tell them I’m just motivated over long periods of time. It’s painful and slow for me.

Thank you Soo much, now I am reminded not to give up

Muchas gracias por este nuevo vídeo después de unos meses sin verte por aquí :) Unos consejos muy buenos! Drukkies ^_^

For many months I've been consistent with my listening of Chinese videos. I spend 20 mins of my day to listen to the language and it's so true, better build a foundation. I see my knowledge is spreading despite the fact I could do more, I know but I'm scared to get overwhelmed

You are very informative! TYSM

As a former language teacher, I deeply agree with you, Lindie!

Really true the whole video, thanks!

Perseverance is key people!

Vocab list is needed when u have limited time to take an exam or u r learning in a school/actual class. Spelling tests are almost always part of lessons. But I agree with all other pointers.

Lindie, I really appreciate your advice. I have been studying Korean for 8 months now and all I have to show for it was a list of words. I have sinced changed my strategy and now using the same list to form sentences.

You are so right. Too many resources and inconsistency is where I failed with Korean. Being afraid to make mistakes is where I failed with Spanish. But now I am determined to learn Dutch. I just use duolingo for vocab, have 1 thorough grammar book, and am listening to podcasts with transcripts, music, and tv shows. I will probably get a tutor soon to practice speaking, but I have going 3 months strong practicing every day. And the talent points is so true. As a musician, people always through "talent" out since I play multiple instruments. No, I have gained skills in these instruments from years (over a decade) of dedicated practice. I view languages the same way

Nice to see your videos again 😎

Thank you for sharing. They are helpful and great tips😊👍☕🦋

Hi! I like your videos. Very informative and inspirational. Thank you so much 💐

This was actually a good video. I had quite a few takeaways for my type A tendencies. Lol Thank you!

Great points to make!

I am studying Japanese and I use a variety of methods including textbooks. I am also doing an online course with Smile Nihongo academy, I use Duolingo and Memrise if I am at work and on the way to work I listen to podcasts etc. I have been studying for two years now and I still feel like I am getting nowhere but then when I watch a Japanese show on Netflix, I realise I know more than I realise. I work 40 hours a week so I use different methods depending on how tired I am. I just have trouble translating it in my mind and speaking it. Your video has been so helpful - probably one of the best I have seen in a while - thank you.

My favourite KZfaq notification yay 👏🏻🎉✨💖

Love the hair!

I am guilty of being afraid to make mistakes and resource overload. I've tried so many apps even though I have a textbook that I haven't used that much. I feel like I am starting over again with the language because I didn't do it right (for me) the first time. I'm determined though. Thanks for making this video of common mistakes!

Start with small achievable goals. This can go with anything!

I actually disagree with the idea of not using word lists, to some extent, though for me it depends on the language. For French I basically just jumped into reading native content as soon as possible and looked up words and phrases as I went, no word lists needed. But for Chinese it was a different story. I found reading Chinese to be incredibly slow and exhausting due to the thousands of characters, even with graded readers. I think this is because for each word you have to 1) memorize what it looks like, ie how are the characters written, 2) what is the pronunciation, which is not built into the characters, and 3) what does it mean. So instead of slogging my way through that I started doing word lists to simply get exposed to the characters I would see in native content, and it was incredibly helpful. Doing word lists basically removed step 1 from the equation , and step 2 was just a memory game. Step 3 was still best learned in context, though the list helped give a shadow of what the meaning could be. So I guess I find word lists to be a fantastic supplement, though of course not entirely sufficient. Also, and this is Chinese specific, learning words in word lists is basically an act of learning characters "in context", since the same characters are in a variety of words with various meanings. (PS for reference I am a native English speaker, this may not be needed for someone who speaks Japanese for example, since they would be familiar with using characters).