Learning a new language is quite a daunting prospect for anybody. Add in a chronic illness, with fun symptoms like brain fog, energy deficiency problems and memory recall issues, and it can seem very overwhelming. I am currently spending a lot of my time learning Dutch, in order to pass exams at the end of the year so I can finally apply for Dutch citizenship. Whilst in the midst of studying, it seems like a good idea to share some of my approaches to language learning with a chronic illness.
Often when you have a chronic illness that affects your ability to get out and about, doing a language learning course is not possible. For me, the free courses offered in Amsterdam are 3 hours in one sitting, which is absolultely impossible for me. At the same time other course that perhaps might be possible as they have shorted more regular sessions cost a lot more than my chronically ill budget can handle. Therefore many of us are left to study and learn languages by ourselves, and without guidance. This is something which I have now been doing for several years, so here are some of the things I have learnt!
Enjoy yourself
Learning a language should be fun. If you aren’t enjoying yourself, it is unlikely that you will retain much, and it will definitely be hard to stick to. So probably the most important thing with language learning is that it should be an enjoyable process. And let’s face it, when you have an illness like ME/CFS you really don’t want to waste energy on something you don’t enjoy!
Now I, like many people, absolutely hate learning grammar. I know it’s useful, but I find it incredibly boring and uninspiring. So when I started learning Dutch (and actually when I learnt Malay), instead of learning grammar, I spent a long time just reading children’s books. My partner and I used to sit on the sofa with a hot chocolate each and read children’s books. We started off with books aimed at very young children, and as my language level improved, we graduated up an age group. When I came across words I didn’t understand, or new grammatical constructs, he would explain them a little, but mostly I was just interacting with, getting comfortable with, and enjoying the language. In most languages you can easily find graded children’s books, that contain the most commonly used verbs, and grammar constructions.
By keeping it fun, I was able to learn the language and get a strong feel for it. That way, subsequently learning the bits I find less exciting, such as grammar, is a lot easier, because I have more of a feel for what I am learning.
If you happen to be learning Dutch, the books I used were Jip en Janneke, and I then graduated up the age groups of the Annie M G Schmidt books, to Pluk van de Petteflet, until I made quite a leap to young adult books, and then just adult level fiction books.
Language learning is a habit
As with everything when it comes to chronic illness, one of the most important things I have learnt is to pace myself. This is something I am still not very good at! When I finally booked the dates for my upcoming Dutch exams, I sat down and made myself a study schedule: at least an hour of studying Dutch a day from a textbook, and then additional time spent on grammar, reading and speaking. Given that, for the last month, I have been bed-bound, I obviously made myself very sick after day one of that schedule and had to take a few days doing nothing.
What I am now aiming for is to pace myself, and make sure I try and do something in Dutch everyday, but if I am tired I will not overdo it. Far better to study 10 minutes of Dutch each day, than two hours every week. Language learning, after all, is about building a consistent habit, as it is very much a long-term project. Language learning with a chronic illness is about pacing that habit to be able to keep the habit. For me, keeping my expectations of myself low and really pacing myself has enabled me to practise more consistently.
For example, last week I was far too exhausted really to spend much time on actively learning Dutch, so my Dutch for the day was to take a copy of a very easy to read book (Harry Potter) and read that instead. That way, I was still taking the language in, but without anything like as much exertion. Sometimes I even go back to the very simple books I read when I was first learning.
Set goals
Now for many with chronic illnesses, I’m sure setting goals sends a shudder down your spine. I for one, over my years of being sick, have set so many unachievable goals, and then been too sick to complete them. So by setting goals I don’t mean pass a certain exam by a certain date (although in reality that is mine right now). What I actually mean is that people learn languages for many different reasons. It is useful to know why you want to learn the language and what you will use it for; this will help you focus on learning the right way for you.
For example, I am learning Dutch because I live in the Netherlands. I want to be able to feel comfortable living in Dutch. In which case I need to be able to feel comfortable all round, with reading, writing, speaking and listening – but I don’t necessarily need to be completely correct in everything I do. So it is more useful for me to build confidence and start using the language, than to focus on getting it perfect. On the other hand, when I was learning Malay, I just really wanted it to be able to join in conversations with my Malay friends, and not feel left out. So I only needed to focus on speaking and listening – in which case, I didn’t need to really learn to write properly. But there are other languages that are mostly read and written, for example Latin, in which learning to speak it is probably unnecessary skill – and that may mean you only really have to practise reading and understanding, which involves less active recall.
By knowing why you want to use a language, you can decide how you want to learn, what you want to learn, and even what types of words are useful for you to learn.
Find the language learning method that works for you
Everybody learns things a little differently. I have friends who really enjoy learning grammar rules and can spend hours looking at the linguistic properties of their chosen language. For me, that doesn’t really work. It is important to learn how you learn so that you can do it efficiently and enjoy it. This is especially important when you have a chronic illness and have far less energy to spend on language learning – you want to make the most of the energy you do have, and not waste it on a method that doesn’t help you. What works best for me is a mixture of full immersion in the language, with some structured learning.
I am a bit of a nerd, so I am a big fan of a textbook. Recently, I ordered the next level up of my Dutch text book series, and I honestly had a bit of a thrill when it came in the post! Granted my life hasn’t been all that exciting in the last month, but even so, I find that working through the exercises in a textbook helps me practice all aspects of the language, and often textbooks give you bitesize grammar lessons and then lots of practise on that one point. Sadly my current textbook is somewhat dry because it is preparing for an exam where the content is a little boring, but having looked at the next one, it seems to get a lot more interesting.
The other way I am learning Dutch is to immerse myself in Dutch as much as possible. Now obviously to do this you need to have a certain level of a language, but you’d be surprised how quickly it can come. I went through the different aspects of my life where I use language and tried to see which of them I can do in Dutch. So, at the moment, I am doing a lot of the things I normally do but in Dutch: my morning journal, listening to guided meditations, podcasts, watching Dutch YouTube and TV shows, reading the news in Dutch, following Dutch social media users. I am also trying to speak to as many people as I can in Dutch – something which is obviously only possible because I live here. But, for instance, I used to talk to my physio only in English to save energy, but recently I’ve been getting over my shyness and have started talking in Dutch with her instead. That way, not only do I get my physio session, but I also get half an hour of Dutch practice. I’ve even gone so far as to match with people on dating apps in order to speak Dutch with them!!
With my chronic illness, I don’t get to meet up with people and practice Dutch all that much, because quite frankly I don’t leave the house all that often. This can seem like a bit of a challenge, but the internet is full of people who will happily speak a language with you – and it can be a great way to combat some of the isolation that comes from being chronically ill.
Perfection is pointless
When I speak English – which is my mother tongue – I make grammar mistakes all the time – especially with brain fog! But because I am comfortable with my knowledge of the language, it doesn’t really bother me (well the brain fog mistakes do a bit). When we tell stories, we often start them two or three times to make sure we tell them in the way we want to. And the same rules apply to speaking or using a different language. It’s just we are more conscious of our mistakes.
There is no point in striving for perfection. Trying, making mistakes, and being okay with making mistakes is so useful when you are learning a new language. And the more you are able to put yourself out there, the easier it gets. This is something I find very hard. When you are feeling sick and exhausted, it is very hard to be slightly vulnerable, especially when it often takes more energy to do so. But I am slowly learning that it is really worthwhile, and most of the time people don’t laugh at you – if they do chances are its quite a funny mistake and will make you laugh too!
There is a lot of useful information online about learning languages. YouTube has a huge community of language learning enthusiasts, and there is a lot of great advice to be picked up there. Most of the advice offered for non-disabled language learners is the same as for those of us with chronic illnesses, we just have to adapt it to fit our own pace!
Good luck and, most of all, have fun learning your new languages. If you have any tips and tricks to share, for language learning with a chronic illness, please feel free to share them with me. I really want to pass my exams first time!!
