What to do when hitting a brick wall with your language learning

You’ve been learning English for a period of time and you feel like you have hit a brick wall, that you have stopped progressing and you are tempted to give up! Whatever you do, don’t! Know that this feeling is normal and it is very possible to learn to speak English fluently (about 1.1 billion people in the world can attest to this, and you can become the 1,000,000,001 person to speak English as a second language !) But what to do when we feel like this and how to vanquish this feeling?

1. Take a break – Sometimes when we have been studying something for a long time, it simply gets too much for us. We start to forget the most basic rules and when we hear it, we can no longer make out the most simple of sentences. Our brain is unable to compute because it is too focused on understanding that we stop hearing it naturally. When this happens, we need to take a break. When coming back to it, without feeling frustrated, everything will start to make sense again!
2. Shake up your learning – You may hit a brick rule in one particular element of language learning, and feel that you have achieved the maximum possible. If that’s the case, it’s time to switch up your learning! If you have mastered listening, change to speaking or reading! If you’re an expert on understanding formal English, but struggle to make out slang or casual speech, focus on that! Know that Language learning can never be exhausted, news words are constantly invented and even native speakers are discovering new words. 
3. Look back on your learning  – If you feel like you have hit a brick rule, and you are no longer improving, know that’s not true. When we are learning on a daily or weekly basis, we often cannot perceive our progress ourselves, just like how as a child, we do not notice our own growth, but a distant relative is always prompt to point out how we have grown. It’s important to look back on your learning, and realise that you have actually not hit a brick wall, and you have come a long way from where you started. 
4. Inspire yourself! You may feel like you have hit a brick wall because English has started to bore you and you have forgotten the reasons which pushed you to learn English in the first place. In this case, find some inspiration!! Realise that you will be able to earn more money speaking English, or even watch Netflix without having to look at subtitles. Whatever it may be, find a way to give a new impetus to your English learning!