I’m starting to understand why adults hate learning new things. I’ve been embarking on a journey to learn new languages: French and Italian.
It is hands down one of the most frustrating experiences. Yes. It’s hard. But, while I’m using a variety of tools from YouTube to flashcards to DuoLingo, it’s DuoLingo (and other learning platforms like it) that highlights my frustration. The number of swear words that come out of my mouth during my sessions on that platform should count as credit towards another language.
There is an intense focus on grammar and the rules of the language which runs counter-intuitive to how most of us learned language. As a kid, we focused on picking up basic vocabulary; simple words and phrases. Once we had some basics…we then began learning the ‘rules.’ DuoLingo attempts to teach you both. At the same time. With an emphasis on the “rules.”
To underscore my frustration, there was one, rather lengthy sentence with multiple conjugations and applied gender rules that I thought I had constructed correctly. I hit submit.
*WRONG*
I parse through the corrected sentence over and over. Everything looks right until I realize…I missed a hyphen. Yes. A hyphen. There were 15 words in the sentence. Multiple conjugations. And I missed a hyphen and got the entire thing wrong.
^*^(%^*$, $%*$%*%, and, @#^$#$&*U!
What Not To Do
So, here’s step one of what not to do: do not, ever…like ever…go on the comment boards and complain. Why? Well, you get Keyboard-Warrior-Willy chiming in and responding with “well, did you forget the hyphen? If you did, then you’re wrong.” This will quickly lead to more creative four-letter words escaping your mouth.
I digress. Was the sentence technically wrong? Sure. But the result of this hyper-focus on rules has caused me to develop a (bad) habit. When I get something like this wrong on the platform, i.e. missing a hyphen, I tend to “copy/paste” those sentences that I got technically wrong. The next time that sentence comes along? I paste it. Totally bypass it. Do not pass go. Thank you, next.
Look, apologies to all the purists, but…missing a hyphen? I don’t care. Truly. I give exactly zero #&Y#. Not only does it not encourage learning…it’s punitive, pedantic and dumb (sorry, I got a little lazy with that last insult). Further, it's not where I am in my learning. I'm still in my infancy.
This bad habit has, unfortunately, expanded for me. On those sentences I get truly wrong…guess what I do? Copy/paste. Why? Well, the platform is so damn nit-picky and I get so many red-herrings that it’s just easier for me to just completely bypass my mistakes. All of them.
What the platform should really be doing is pointing out where my actual gaps in understanding are so I can focus on them. But I’m so tired of the inconsequential mistakes being marked wrong and having to correct them that when I make a real mistake? It gets ignored as well. I'm just too tired to care because the platform has focused on irrelevant mistakes.
And that’s a universal flaw in how we teach adults today. We expect the learner to achieve perfection out of the gate…we minimize the goal of progress…and eventually, we drive the learner to failure. They give up. Why continue to try and learning the nuances of a new language when all the learner really wants to do is go to a cafe in Paris and order a coffee in French? That progress, that success will drive a learner to work on nuances...later. Much later.
What To Do
All learning should be focused on progress, not perfection. All learning should be focused on creating base-line fundamentals and building blocks versus the enforcement of tick-tack rules (like where to put a hyphen) that should only be presented during higher levels of learning when those base-lines are considered “mastered.”
As an example: we teach kindergartners that 2-2 = 0. We don’t teach them 2 + (-2) = 0; is this second equation technically valid? Yes. And in fact, mathematics “purists” would say the second equation is more right than the first.
But the question is this: Is it important to teach a kindergartner this complexity now? Absolutely not. Would they understand it? Nope. Do they still gain a fundamental understanding in math that they can later build on? Yep.
So, why do we abandon this approach when adults are involved?
Leveraging Technology
Learning is fluid. We as a people know that there is an ebb and flow to learning; some days we’ve “got it” some days we don’t. Some subjects we pick up faster, others…we struggle with.
We’ve recognized this within the educational community for years but have never had the right technology available to assist us. Creating individual learning plans that ebb and flow with students was virtually impossible with one teacher in the classroom helping 30 students.
But now we have AI (artificial intelligence), machine learning and the application of these technologies within the EDU space could be transformational. AI can ebb and flow with the student, presenting harder material for when they are excelling and backing down + identifying weaknesses in understanding when they struggle. We know learning isn’t linear and we’re almost to the point of having tools at our disposal that will solve this problem.
But AI can only do what it’s programmed to do. It will need to be programmed with a new paradigm. The strategy of learning must be brought into the 21st century first before dealing with the application of tactics like AI and Machine Learning. Until we learn that progress over perfection is a better approach, no tools…AI or other…will improve learning. We must tackle and address the root-cause of educational-failure at the adult level. And step one…enough with driving towards perfection. Progress is the goal.
Until then, to those of you that want to learn new things but are afraid of the “perfection over progress” approach found virtually everywhere…don’t give up. Find a platform, a teacher…some piece of technology that allows for progress over perfection. Don’t settle and don’t give up.
And never, ever post your complaints about a hyphen on a comment board.
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