adjusting language goals to grief? | midyear Japanese goals review + chat | 2021

[@LeaflingLearns]

What goals did you set for your language learning this year? How are they going??

[@niewymagane]

I've been struggling with motivation and focus recently so my goal for the rest of the year is to get more Japanese input and to stop putting too much pressure on myself to speak because it just makes me too anxious at this point. I just want to enjoy learning Japanese through media for the next couple of months 🤗

[@LeaflingLearns]

@@niewymagane Yesssss excellent!! If there's no real reason for you to speak right now and it's just stressing you out, don't do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really happy to hear you're shaping your Japanese time the way you want it to look!

[@LindieBotes]

This was a great video - I love these chatty ones. I am so sorry about your cats. 💙 Also, your voice is sooo calming!

[@LeaflingLearns]

Thank you so much, Lindie!!! I appreciate you taking the time to watch, and I appreciate your kind words! (though I'm surprised to hear this about my voice hahaha)

[@SayHelloToOblivion]

I teared up listening to you talk about your kitties and their medical issues. I've gone through that with my sweet Susie that passed away many years ago. I still cry for her every now and then. Anyone that cares for their animals as you have has a huge heart. I am so sorry for your loss. I'm sure you babies knew you loved them dearly. And your grandpa probably thought the world of you and was so proud of his granddaughter.

[@LeaflingLearns]

This is an incredibly kind comment and I appreciate you taking the time to leave it for me so so much. It really means the world to me. I'm sorry you've had to experience the same - those feelings of love never go away, which is both good and difficult.

[@niewymagane]

I really like how honest you are about your journey this year and how everything in your life impacted your goals. I feel like not many people in study community talk about how sometimes life gets in the way of being our most productive self and that adjusting expectations and taking time is soooo important.

[@LeaflingLearns]

I agree!! I can't help but feel like because languages are often learned in an academic setting, where progress is presented linearly and in levels and grades and whatnot, that kind of mindset seeps into the study community whether or not the people participating are learning in school or on their own. If we don't slow down and adjust, we're definitely at risk of running ourselves into the ground which is distinctly NOT productive haha. Thank you so much for your kind words and for watching!

[@niewymagane]

@@LeaflingLearns @Leafling Learns that's so true, I feel like this mindset and toxic positivity culture has a big impact on how people see their progress. especially those who are just starting with languages - theh go online and see people studying for hours everyday and posting videos like 'how I learned x langauge in x months'. I remember feeling frustrated with myself when I couldn't make progress as fast. Your video is a great reminder that mental health is a priority and that learning a language should be fun, not stressful 💗

[@LeaflingLearns]

Yesssss I completely agree. There's so much of a weight on everyone to constantly be making the most of their time, to be productive, and yes that's what society wants from us but that's not reasonable nor is it very humane. Those learning x language in x months are so damaging.

[@literarilylaura8144]

I love your positive and gentle vibes

[@LeaflingLearns]

Thank you so so much for the kind words! Wishing you the best on your journey!!

[@PolyglotProgress]

Ooof you perfectly summed up that feeling of shame when it comes to having lower output compared to input and as a result avoiding speaking practice. I found writing has helped me a lot (though I also still catch myself falling into that trap of feeling shame and avoiding the way to improve as a result which creates such a bad cycle), so I hope it helps you too! I loved listening to how your year is going so far

[@LeaflingLearns]

Thank you so much for watching!! You and Lindie both definitely inspired me to put myself a bit out of my comfort zone and try writing. I definitely feel like it's time to try to approach this shame and see what I can do to make myself feel better and interact with the language in this new way!!

[@hannahhodges3296]

Love the chatty format!

[@LeaflingLearns]

Thank you for letting me know, I'm happy to hear that because they're fun to make!!

[@MelissaJetzt]

I feel 7:15… I realized don’t know how to say increase/decrease either haha! With German I started and stopped a few times so it’s a mess sometimes. I’ll know complex words but forget easy ones. 😅

[@LeaflingLearns]

Yes exactly!! Because I've had so many starts and stops I feel like I know the most arbitrary words hahaha. I found it really helpful to go back to basics to try to solidify more of those foundational words.

[@danksama7368]

Beautiful content 🥰 loved it

[@LeaflingLearns]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!

[@matt7754]

cool to hear what goes into your language learning process, and how it fits in with and is impacted by the rest of your life

[@LeaflingLearns]

hehe thank you Matt!!

[@mirodemorte]

I think I am still in the phase of .. try to learn and drop it. My goals always fall through, or I forget what they are. I also don't ever set concrete deadlines for myself, perhaps doing it quarterly like you do could help. If you have any resources on goal making, I would love to know! Also, Sorry to hear your kitty crossed the rainbow bridge

[@LeaflingLearns]

I feel you, that was my state of being for years and it doesn't feel very good!! On my Instagram I actually have a post running through my goal making system - I can DM it to you. But yes this is a topic I hope to cover in some videos in the future as well! And thank you for your kind words

[@mirodemorte]

@@LeaflingLearns Thank you so much! Ill keep an eye out for vids on it, but the post should be very helpful in the mean time

[@rodrigoribeiro2569]

It was surely enjoyable for me Julianne! I got a question for you right ^^ have you ever considered that your grief is asking and taking a part of your necessary emotions to see things differently?and the more you adapt to it the more you will gonna be able to develop your language skills? - what I mean is that your emotional intelligence and maturity naturally takes you to a new way to approach such goals inside the nature of your life that is bigger than that, and as you are a self-compassionate language learner you can feel like you will gonna get there if you manage to keep receiving the input while your learn how to dedicate more effective time to your different kind of studies during de proccess of all that is life for you. Btw: I love to hear you speaking, the way you articulate what is going on smooths us somehow. I feel that you are really humble. Keep it up like princess Nausicaä

[@LeaflingLearns]

Thank you Rodrigo for your really thoughtful comment!!! That's a really lovely point and I appreciate you bringing it to my attention. I definitely have only just now kind of started thinking about how my experience with loss from childhood to now has caused me some problems in language learning that maybe others didn't experience. But I haven't really started to think about what strengths it has given me as well. I mean I have in general, like I know that I'm fairly resilient and adaptable now, but I haven't thought about it in terms as language learning. It has definitely shaped my perspective toward life. So yes anyway, I appreciate you!! Thank you for your kind words!