The Language Learner's Paradox of Choice

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The language learning landscape has been changing. For many of us there is now an immense amount of choice and so many options to choose from when it comes to resources and information - but is this as good a thing as it seems? Psychologist, Barry Schwartz, would caution us to be wary of a powerful paradox that lies within all the newfound choice in the developed world, and I'd like to discuss how this awareness can help us all become happier and more fulfilled language learners :)
Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
0:49 - 1: The Paradox
2:51 - 2: How The Affects Language Learners
5:45 - 3: How Can We Counter This?
9:42 - ❤️
10:44 - 4: Conclusion
// == LINKS ==//
📖 Check out Barry Schwartz's book, The Paradox of Choice (affiliate link): amzn.to/2ZynVzf
❤️ Join my wonderful Patreon community: / robinmacpherson
❤️ Follow me on Instagram @_robinmacpherson
📖 Check out my book, How To Maintain Languages: www.robinmacpherson.co/shop
📱 If you're learning Chinese or Japanese, the awesome app you saw me using in the video is Skritter, which you can save 10% on any subscription with:
My Affiliate link: skritter.com?ref=robinmacpherson
My Coupon: ROBIN10
✨ You may have seen the channels of my dear friends ‪@LindieBotes‬ & ‪@SpeakingFluently‬ featured in the conclusion of this video - you should totally check out their content and support them!

Опубликовано:

11 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 76

@LindieBotes 2 года назад

Robin! This was fantastic. I really appreciate all the effort you put into your documentaries and videos, like the background sounds, B-roll, and the way you structure your content. I loved this and you made some great points, overall how important it is to enjoy the process with what we have. 💕

@user-zb3kg1ng5v 2 года назад

@PH Gillon Afrikaans is lekker!

@sheeliekittie9298 Год назад

@@user-zb3kg1ng5v these are two of my favourite polyglots =) and i derive so much inspiration from you both. question friends...how many languages IS too much? Is there such a thing? how do we let go of a language minus that or IN SPITE of that guilt.

@emilyhinz8315 2 года назад

Excellent video! I think this is an issue with language learning that isn't talked about enough. I remember when I first started learning languages, I was actually much more productive than I am nowadays. I was so excited to learn Dutch just for learning new words and understanding more and more every day. But then, I hit the intermediate plateau and I felt like I wasn't learning enough or as quickly as I was in my first year of language learning. I think I "wasted" a few months trying to find the right resources plus, I started university and had a lot less time than I did in high school. Now, I really enjoy keeping a list of books that I want to read, app content that I want to complete and grammar books that I want to study to help keep me on track. Overall, to help keep my vision of "choice" wide enough to feel inspired, but narrowed down enough to not feel overwhelmed. Thanks for the inspiration through all of your videos!

@RobinMacPhersonFilms 2 года назад

Hi everybody! I really hope you loved the videooooo, I had so much fun making this 🎈 I'd love to know your own thoughts and experiences with The Paradox of Choice or if you had any cool/helpful learnings from this video. As always, all links found in the description and a *HUGE MASSIVE thanks to all of my Patreon supporters - I love you all* ❤️ HAPPY LANGUAGE LEARNING!

@KirbyLinkACW 2 года назад

I'm actually really glad you brought this up. As a Japanese learner, I picked up the Remembering the Kanji books after all my research told me it was a great way of learning Kanji. After I picked them up (keep in mind, they actually have helped me learn Kana), I suddenly have everyone telling me how bad of a source the books are. It's had me concerned about my choice for a while.

@uamdbro 2 года назад

It is a bad source though lol

@SpeakingFluently 2 года назад

Great video! Love the topic and how you discussed it!

@merulingo 2 года назад

“And this can also lead to further dissatisfaction and it can make videos like this just infuriating to watch… I’m sorry.” That “I’m sorry” made me laugh so hard that my cat turned his head and just looked at me like “What the heck hooman, I was about to fall asleep”. lol Amazing video, I could relate to this on such a deep level, it is fascinating. 💙✨

@vzrxn 2 года назад

I really admire the way you make, edit, or present your videos. It feels like it's not a mere video, it's a documentary. Most of your videos are very ASMR-ish, kinda like mental therapy to me haha

@InquirywithHelena 2 года назад

Ack - try being a visual artist - the range of options of media, paints, surfaces, tools, is mind boggling - oils, watercolours, gouache, ink, pastels (oil, chalk, wax) pencils etc, etc, and the ranges of colours in each of these media can be between maybe 60 to 300 gorgeous choices. So what I do, at least once a year is cut down to just working in black and white on paper in acrylic for a few weeks/months. And this is when I have the biggest breakthroughs in the development of my work. My creativity gets contained and funnelled and focused in a way it never does otherwise. It’s like going on a diet. Less is more!

@languagesandrobots6224 2 года назад

I completely agree with this. I am, by nature, a magpie and always attracted to the next shiny thing. The challenge is definitely balancing sticking with something that is just no good vs assuming that the next thing chosen is potentially the missing ingredient. My approach now is to choose a resource of each "type" - an app, book etc and sticking with it for a reasonable enough time to figure out if it works for me.

@TheESMAT07 2 года назад

I believe it's a matter of time before get over this paradox, with all those thousands and thousands of learners who are trying all this kind of choices, documenting their experiences, we will get to the point where we don't have to try every thing, it's like having an informative reviews for each product in amazon!

@TheESMAT07 2 года назад

@@sinayams Then people like Robin can make some profit from pateron all the time 😂 This is why we need to focus on understanding the principles, then we could find the appropriate tool..

@solea59 2 года назад

Hello Robin. Great set of examples. Do you think that it's maybe that old chestnut " impatience with oneself ? " If it helps any of your subscribers. I am close to the ripe old age of 70 years. If anybody of my age needs more time it's certainly me / our problem. But what good would it do to worry ? I am happy to chug along learning what I can until I drop. I advise anybody of a lighter amount of years...just slow down, take it easy. There should be no rush to prove yourself. Enjoy the process of learning and LIVE the language !

@zeramonde7283 2 года назад

@Emersonpm75 2 года назад

Thanks for sharing your life experience.

@Eliel10268 2 года назад

❤️👌

@azman6568 2 года назад

Thank you for this comment it helped me allot in the way I think 🙏

@CharlieDouglas 2 года назад

loved this video and loved the podcast, can't wait for episode 2! you've been killing it lately

@zeramonde7283 2 года назад

Wow Robin! I'm well impressed! :) IMHO this was your absolute best video ever! The quality, the footage, the music, the enthusiasm, the message!

@marinam8262 2 года назад

Loved the style of the video!!!! Amazing job :)

@miloslavastepanova9398 2 года назад

Thank you for your videos! This channel helps me a lot not only in learning languages, but also in an everyday life - so many inspirational thoughts...

@beyondthebasicsinpolish 2 года назад

Excellent… just superb. I will definitely be mentioning this paradox briefly in my upcoming video. It’s important to be aware of. Decision are a glorious thing… as long as we have the the guts to decide and take on what we can honestly handle.

@shadowqueen8042 2 года назад

I needed this. I felt like my head was going to EXPLODE now I have a sense of direction. Vielen Dank Robin! God bless you.

@jonathanp___________3606 Год назад

Sticking with an acceptable option is often faster than searching for an optimal one and then using it.

@remc4315 2 года назад

That's so true, nice to highlight it ! I think that more you know your way of learning, the less you are likely to disperse yourself. Obviously this is a continuous process therefore errors are allowed.

@richardhartung1576 Год назад

Your video & audio quality is insane !

@EFoxVN 2 года назад

What a meaningful topic to discuss, thank you Robin.

@MidlandsJJ Год назад

Wow this video hit me hard. Be learning Portuguese for almost a year and felt like I was the only person having this issue.

@CJ_Walks 2 года назад

I love this stellar deviation from your usual content!

@MitsuyukiTakaki 2 года назад

God tier video I have been through these process so many times watching different methods e.ct. This really does shine a bright light on the hell hole that is sharing opinionated methods that may work for some but not others thanks for the video look forward to seeing more

@theuruguayanpolyglot8706 Год назад

Excellent video Robin, it is a very original topic! Keep it up!

@rodrigocalixto470 2 года назад

This video is extremely well made and narrated, keep going :)

@stephaniejerusalem8192 2 года назад

fantastic video Robin! So relevant to so many people and I just loved it. Thanks so much for so much valuable info 😊

@ocaminhodoingles Год назад

Robin, thank you so much for your contribution to the language learning community, maybe one day I'll reach to talk to you, that would be fun, have a wonderful life.

@simonwoolley2122 10 месяцев назад

Everything I needed to hear thank you 👍

@aline_09 Год назад

Hi! I just found your channel and it’s so good. Your videos are indeed inspiring. Keep up the good work 👍🏻

@Heidelbuam 2 года назад

Not surprisingly there is a saying in German ""die Qual der Wahl" aka. the torture of choice :)

@bunnycow3043 2 года назад

This is so helpful!!! Thank you!

@kofimcc5794 2 года назад

Absolutely brilliant video!

@alwayslearning7672 2 года назад

Very important video ,especially if you're a newbie and don't know what will work or won't. You don't want to waste a ton of time using a method that you are not quite sure will work or not.

@alobo_78 2 года назад

muy interesante! me pasa todo el tiempo... many resources, web sites.... it is not easy ... happy weekend Robin...!

@raiseyou 2 года назад

Lovely video, mate!

@bzylarisa 2 года назад

Indeed, having too many options can easily overwhelm us. It's great that technology has advanced so much that we have easier access to all the materials, but making decisions on what to choose is quite nerve-racking and time-consuming. I guess it will get easier as you get more and more experience in learning languages. One of the difficult parts of language acquisition is to figure out what works best for you. It could be a long journey to find out just that. It's a constant process of try and error, especially at the beginning. When you have a solid base of how to learn, what materials to use, then there will be less self-doubting.

@liubovvasilyeva3239 2 года назад

Is it a reference to 'Dark' in the thumbnail? :)

@stephtab922 2 года назад

This hit home! I found with the more popular languages there are a lot of resources. You only need to pick a few and work your way through them. I wish there were more options for more obscure/unpopular languages and dialects. I struggled so hard to find resources in the US for Shanghainese and Mongolian.

@lhoufr 2 года назад

Excellent video ✨✨

@EarthlyJoys 2 года назад

Before passing to choosing the right resource we need to choose the language first. And that could be worse. Which language course to buy this year? Japanese? Spanish? French? Continue with German? I finally settled for Spanish, but what a struggle that was!

@levipatrickdiaz 2 года назад

This reminds me a lot of a Matt D’Avella video! (Especially since in a sense it touches on minimalism, haha). I’m glad(?) I’m a bit limited in access now so it’s a lot harder to second guess myself, haha. Probably helping with my overall long term commitment to Russian!

@RankkaApina 2 года назад

Thank you! I've definitely encountered this in Japanese. I've finally found the few to use and I'm advancing so much. On the other hand, I didn't have so many things for Basque and it's been so much easier. Also, I'm kinda picky on my materials, so I'm starting to learn to see what I will use and what I won't. I have a hard time finding the initial resource (if I don't already have something, like the Story learning Uncovered course in mind), but once I find it and just follow it, I will learn... But I'm also starting to have ideas how to make non-perfect resource to work for me. And after the initial easy material, I fairly soon move to native material and yes, it's slow and it's hard, but it works for me :)

@teamjipper2495 2 года назад

Great video for a great topic. I definitely went through a phase of trying ridiculous resources. But now I have a much better idea of what is hype and what is productive. Maybe a phase that most everyone starting with language learning has to go through.

@idraote 2 года назад

This hit very close to home. The paradox of choice has definitely spoilt the fun of learning Japanese. I've wasted tons of money and I'm still wondering whether I made the right decisions. And in the meantime my Japanese advances so very slowly because I keep on questioning myself.

@michaelshort2388 2 года назад

This is sooooooooo relatable.

@gabysadowyj1251 2 года назад

Hi there Robin. How you doing, it’s been a while since I’ve seen, you okay? Loved this video btw, good advise as always. Take care my friend x

@jansojele289 Год назад

5:40 I want to learn finnish and this video was great to watch

@nendoakuma7451 2 года назад

Up until recently I had mainly studied languages with relatively few resources, but lately I’ve been studying Spanish and it’s hard to get used to the wide range of choices I have.

@MetalBere 2 года назад

Interesting video. Having so many choices makes the decision process very difficult. I always choose the one that resonates more with me, for example, i don't like flash cards, i prefer to write lists of vocabulary and helpful phrases.

@cartweel 2 года назад

Nice!

@suleymankaya1073 2 года назад

Ich sehe dass, du hast ein sehr schönes video gemacht

@jahayrac8636 2 года назад

I was nodding my head so much I almost gave myself whiplash. 😅

@patchy642 Год назад

Tenerife, Spain, Africa. Great video, so insightful! Your videos make me want to first go get a big black coffee to then knuckle down to study a language. I'm currently teetering on a decision to study Siamese. 'Any thoughts? Can you please also do a similar video about coffee?

@jonathangamble 2 года назад

love the piano at the end… that you?

@itsrx870 2 года назад

Jonas Kahnwald!!! Clever thumbnail

@kirstenmuller4536 2 года назад

You forgot about how the paradox of choice affects our ability to choose what language to learn in the first place!

@14xx07 2 года назад

Same to be said for choosing a degree or a partner.

@arubafanatic 2 года назад

A Dark fan!!!!

@karma4free106 2 года назад

Until some time ago I only studied languages for fun as a hobby. Like English, French, Spanish Turkish and Dutch and Romanian. The last two years I needed to get my French up to a B1 level for work and after two years really got fed up of French and wantet to go back at just learning languahes for fun. But soon after 3 month of Romanian I thought it is somehow better to learn Italian, because at work sometimes it is necessary. And instead of passing the Italian phone calls to my collègue if I just can lear the language.... Well I had to realise that my French in the meantime worsened again, couldn't talk that fluent anymore on the phonecalls with my clients. Then, when I wantet to talk to someone in Spanish on Tandem I suddenly realised that my A2/B1 wasn't there anymore after neglecting Spanisch for 4 years. Even worse I startet to mix Italian and Spanish. Then I got setup that I can't even understand a bit of a Turkish conversation although I almost spent 2 years learning it once but never got to a good level and realised that my Dutch only after 3 month of learning was way better than Turkish... So for a month now I try to find a learning routine, where I can fix all these issues.

@rhyspas6014 2 года назад

RIP BRO

@Shibby27ify Год назад

Yo se, para mi, no se caul idioma siguiente. I'm outputting Spanish now but there's so many options of other languages that I obsess about having to learn another but I just can't predict which other one would impact my life. So I just let my life let the next language come to me if I even need another.