Most English learners begin by starting with good intentions and enthusiasm. They plan out how they’ll study, they sign up for courses, they download apps, they watch hundreds of videos, they try to find time to study each day and so on. Then motivation fades away, they get tired and exhausted, they eventually give up.
And the reason for this is very simple: Burnout.
In order to stop burning out on the path to English proficiency, first you have to know what exactly causes burnout in the first place. What I think is that burnout occurs not because you learn too much, but because you learn too intensely: Many learners try to do too much all at once and end up mentally overloaded, which in turn causes them to give up.
A better solution might be a more relaxed study strategy. You don’t have to learn everything at once. Just learning one or two skills for a week or two might be better in the long run. For example, spend two weeks focusing on speaking and listening, then two weeks reading, or two weeks writing.
Furthermore, learn at an appropriate intensity. Learning longer doesn’t always translate to learning more. In fact, you can learn more when you learn less. Learning intensively might make you feel like you’ve done a lot, but you can also learn a lot when learning for only 20 to 30 minutes a day. The important thing is to learn well, not necessarily learn for a long time.
Also, burnout can be caused by a disconnect from real life. Learning can be fun until it doesn’t feel like a real-world language learning. As a result, we burn out. So start learning the way English is spoken and how the grammar and the vocabulary is used in real life.
Additionally, the reason some learners get bored is because they rely on motivation to keep learning. However, motivation is not consistent and it will soon burn out when it comes to learning. So instead of relying on motivation, learn from routine. Learning becomes a normal activity like brushing your teeth and it’ll be much easier to keep up the language learning.
Also, tracking your progress can help you feel encouraged and can also help you avoid getting frustrated with yourself. It may seem like you can learn a lot, yet it’s not the same thing as actually learning a lot. You could learn more, yet not necessarily learn more because it’s so gradual that you don’t even see it, unless you actively keep track of the changes you experience when learning.
Moreover, make sure to give yourself enough rest. It’s not about being consistent and not giving in to the temptation of giving up; it’s about learning the way English works, not trying to push your brain too hard and learn as much as possible. Resting does not stop you from learning; you will still continue to learn even if you take a break, but your brain will still have time to digest what you’ve learned so you won’t necessarily get burnt out with stress.
Finally, when learning is balanced with a good rest, you’ll eventually not burn out when learning and you’ll be able to learn at a sustainable rate. And this is the key to not burn out: you learn less but more steadily, so you have more time to learn and the pressure of trying to learn everything at once goes away.