11 Unmistakable Characteristics Of A Damn Good Language

Learner - Mezzofanti. Guild

Written by Donovan Nagel | September 12, 2014 12:27 am
What makes a person a damn good language learner?
Why do they seem to do really well at picking up foreign languages while other people dont?
Here youll find 11 unmistakable characteristics that define a damn good language learner and
which determine the success or failure of any language learning endeavor.
Just as there are certain characteristics of people who succeed in business and other areas of life,
you can spot a pattern when you look at successful language learners as well.
Nobody is born better at languages.
The following characteristics of damn good language learners are simply patterns of attitude and
behavior that anyone can learn to do and put into practice.

1. He knows he doesnt look like a fool when he tries and

even if he does he doesnt care
A damn good language learner first of all isnt afraid to take risks and look stupid.
One of the biggest challenges for people wanting to learn another language is the fear of looking
or sounding ridiculous when making mistakes or having poor pronunciation.
The damn good language learner doesnt care what other people think and is determined to
give it his best no matter how he may look.
Because of this he improves rapidly, builds more relationships and comes away with plenty of
unforgettable cultural experiences.

2. She pays attention to the difference between good

resources, bad resources and outright scams
Heres a general rule of thumb:
If you have to try to make sense of it, its probably shit.
Damn good language learners know this and see it as a waste of time having to make sense of
something that should be clear and straight to the point.

There are two more general rules of thumb:

1) Old does not equal less quality (some of the best language books Ive seen were written as far
back as the 19th century!).
2) High price does not equal high quality (some of the worst books on the market also happen to
be the most expensive).
The damn good language learner also knows better than to hand over her money and trust to
people who say things like, You can be fluent in [insert outrageous nonsense here] or
anything that uses the word master in its advertising.

3. Hes able to take a boring thing and make it a totally

not boring thing
After the honeymoon period of language learning is over (the beginner stage when everythings
new and your motivations high) youll hit plateaus that can be dreadfully boring.
This is when you feel like youre not learning much.
The damn good language learner is always finding creative ways to keep it all fun and
interesting.
If you feel bored with language learning then youre doing it wrong!

4. She gives lack of sociability a kick in the arse and

practices no matter what
This is closely related to the previous point but its important enough to be a point of its own.
There are days and weeks when the last thing you feel like doing is practicing with people.
Resting is important but long periods of doing nothing or avoiding people are detrimental and a
complete waste of time.
A simple 5 minute chat is all it takes to be making progress.
A damn good language learner pushes through not feeling like it by reminding herself how
important it is to keep going even when shes not in the mood for it.

5. He knows that language learning takes a long time

and hes cool with that
Learning a language properly is a long term thing.

The damn good language learner knows this and doesnt get himself down or become a quitter if
he doesnt see fast results.
He just takes it one day at a time and enjoys the process without rushing himself.

6. Shes awesome but shes on a constant mission to be

even more awesome
One vital characteristic of the damn good language learner is her ability to assess her own
strengths and weaknesses, and to constructively criticize her own approach to always be
improving.
If her learning method isnt working then she does something about it.
Ive picked up a lot of good personal strategies over the years which work well for me but Im
always open to listening to and learning from other people for different ideas too.
The damn good language learner welcomes feedback and ideas from others, and she knows
which of her skills need the most improvement.

7. He takes a stab at it rather than shrugging his

shoulders
Listening is the one skill you cant bullshit in foreign language learning.
It takes time to be able to understand what people are saying. Serious time.
Every language learner has at some point had to be able to predict what people are saying or what
a piece of writing is about from the context and with the limited vocab he knows. You probably
wont ever know everything thats being said and youd be surprised at just how capable you are
at taking a stab at it most times.
A damn good language learner can put two and two together (and is not afraid to ask for
clarification when he cant).

8. She knows what matters most and doesnt waste

valuable seconds on shit she doesnt need
The problem with a lot of materials and courses is that a lot of what they teach is irrelevant or
unnecessary for most people.
The damn good language learner can discern what she needs and whats a waste of her precious
time.
She focuses on stuff thats totally relevant and important to her.

If all you care about is improving your speaking skills then spending half a course on literacy
skills might be a pointless waste of time. The same thing would be true for a person only
interested in reading.
A damn good language learner devotes time to the areas of skill development that matter to her
not what the one-size-fits-all course says she should.

9. He invents ways where there are none to put his

language skills to use
The damn good language learner seeks out creative ways to test out the stuff hes learned.
For example, learn all the language you need to get a haircut then go out and get a haircut straight
away so you can use it all while its fresh in your memory.
If youre not in a foreign country and cant do this sort of thing, find a Skype language exchange
partner, teach yourself all the vocab and expressions you need to discuss a particular topic and
then chat to them straight away and use it.
Practice your reading and writing creatively by writing a story or reading some interesting
articles online. I use to practice my Arabic writing skills by writing love letters to an Egyptian
girl I almost married.

10. She sees mistakes as small victories rather than big

failures
The damn good language learner knows that every mistake and every failure is just a stepping
stone on the path to success.
So you tried to talk to someone, forgot the words, screwed up the grammar, couldnt understand
what was being said to you and felt like crap.
But guess what you moved forward, not backward.
That failed attempt at conversing in another language moved you closer and closer toward not
failing the next time. You learned more about what you need to focus on to improve and you
learned more about yourself.
You gave social anxiety an arse-kicking and actually tried which is more than you can say for
most people. Good on you. Pat yourself on the back every time.
Damn good language learners know this and even look forward to making mistakes because they
know how important they are.

11. She makes sure that other people will call her out if
she tries to be a quitter
Dont underestimate how important accountability is.
The damn good language learner makes sure that if she decides to be a quitter people are going to
notice.
Heres a quote I shared a while back:
Once you make a public commitment, theres no turning back.
Essentially, you dont want to let yourself or other people down. By committing publicly, youre
far more likely to follow through on your promises.
As Ive said before, one of the main reasons I started this blog was so that I could publicly
announce that Im learning a language and let my readers hold me accountable to sticking with it
and finishing what I started. Its made such a huge difference to me.
Damn good language learners know that letting people around them know that theyve just
started something important and plan to see it through is a hugely powerful motivator.