Slow Language Learning

An Experiment

The Attention Problem

In January, I taught an intensive Business English course to a group of 30 university students. I had taught the course for the previous two years and received great feedback from both the students and the university, so I was feeling confident. I was prepared to keep them motivated and engaged, both as a group and as individuals. I knew I would need to be strict about phone use and encourage them to speak English as much as possible, but that has been part of my job for most of my career.

This year was different.

They were physically present in the classroom but mentally checked out. Some students really made an effort, but struggled to focus for more than a few minutes at a time. I employed techniques I normally reserve for primary school students to give instructions. Even the TikTok-style tutorial videos I played as input didn’t hold their attention.

A pattern emerged. Every time they faced a moment of discomfort, whether boredom, effort, or the embarrassment of speaking a foreign language, they reached for their phones. This was especially true for weaker students, but not only them.

I was frustrated and angry, but I also felt like a bit of a hypocrite.

Not just Gen Z

A few years ago, I took the Spanish DELE exam. The hardest part? Concentrating for 5 hours.

During the reading section, which was not especially difficult but required attention to detail, I caught myself instinctively reaching for my phone even though it was in another room. By the time I got to the writing section, I was so mentally exhausted I rushed through the last task. I could not wait to get out of there.

Of course, my Business English students and I are not alone in this. The fact that many people, including Ivy League students, don’t “know how to” read a book cover to cover has been widely reported. It seems we have lost the ability to sustain attention for long periods.

A Slow Learning Experiment

This week, I am going to try something different with my language learning routine: Slow Language Learning. I was inspired by an article by

dead language autodidact

to experiment with a more focused, deliberate approach to language study.

This article lays out a clear, actionable process for squeezing all of the learning out of a single text source.

Digging Deeper: Finding Layers of Meaning in Translation

My plan will be a little different. I won’t rely on translation much, but I am borrowing some of the techniques. Here is what I will be doing:

Sunday: Find a Good Text

The key is to find a text at the right length and interest level. I thought about using a literary essay or short story, but in the end, I settled on a news article because it is the right length for this type of work.

I chose an article on academic failure (L’échec scolaire : histoire et invention d’une notion).

After skimming the text, I am confident I understand over 90% of the vocabulary, so it should be in the “sweet spot” of challenging but not overwhelming.

Monday: First Read and Vocabulary Mining

1. Read for General Meaning
   I will read the article like I would in English, focusing on the meaning rather than looking up unfamiliar words.

2. Vocabulary Mining
   Once I understand the general meaning, it’s time to underline new words and phrases, along with any expressions I like, even if they are not completely new. Here’s a short post on how to do vocabulary mining if this is new for you.

I prefer recording vocabulary in a dedicated section of my notebook. If I just translate words on the page, they stay there. Writing them down helps me remember and gives me something to review later using my mom’s study method.

Tuesday: Pronunciation and Language Log

1. Read Aloud or Shadow Read
   If the article had a “listen to this article” feature, I would shadow read along with it. Since it does not, I will read it aloud to myself, focusing on pronunciation and rhythm.

2. Language Log
   After reading, I will write a summary and a reflection. The goal is to actively use some of the vocabulary and language I have absorbed. Sometimes I reflect on the topic itself; other times, I write about how I felt reading the article.

3. Ben Franklin Technique
   I will select a short passage, copy it down, and take notes on the structure and meaning so I can try to reconstruct it from memory later. If you haven’t heard of this technique before, check out this post I wrote about it with some examples.

Thursday: Reconstruction and Journal Entry

1. Ben Franklin Reconstruction
   I will try to reconstruct the passage from my notes, then check for accuracy and note any differences.

2. Journal Entry on the Topic
   I will write for 15 minutes on the article’s topic. Sometimes I will free write; other times, I will follow a loose structure. My goal is to challenge myself without burning out. We’ll see how I feel about this on Thursday.

Friday: Feedback and Speaking Practice

1. Get Corrections
   I will upload a photo of my journal entry to ChatGPT for feedback and note any corrections. I will add them to my notebook for future reference.

2. Speaking Summary
   I will prepare a few bullet points and give a spoken summary to ChatGPT, asking for feedback. This will help me practice speaking more clearly and concisely.

I might add some listening practice in by looking for a podcast episode related to the topic, but we’ll see how it goes.

What About You?

That is my Slow Learning plan for this week. Next Sunday, I will share my experience and reflections. If you decide to try something similar, I would love to hear how it goes. Let’s compare notes.

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One more favor…

Please give me recommendations of Substacks in French! Especially any authors who write literary essays or fiction stories. I’d like to engage with a wide range of genres and texts, and not always stick to current events articles.

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