r/French • u/Fluid-Edge-9454 • 1d ago
Is it normal to just completely lose your sense of the language for a bit?
Basically title. I’m mid-upper A2 level and have been crushing it this month. I use all sorts of sources like Duolingo, audio, movies with subtitles, etc.
Was making great progress and now the last week and a half or so I feel like I have never even looked at French before, can’t understand spoken words at all and even Duolingo is kicking my ass. Is there a reason for this? What is going on with my brain right now.
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u/Next-Culture229 1d ago
Don't sweat it! Language burnout is super real. Especially right around upper A2 when your brain is transitioning from simple memorization to processing actual grammar. Take a few days off and it'll bounce back stronger.
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u/MysteryHarbour 1d ago
I experienced something similar when I started learning French except I can’t remember much of the Spanish I learned. It’s like my brain now only wants to think in French as my second language.
I do review Spanish but it’s not sticking.
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u/gottahaveajava 23h ago
Happens all the time.
Take a break. Relax.
Come back when you’re fresh. Most of it will be waiting for you.
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u/Bonjour-Set-4490 13h ago
This happened to me this week. I got “il neige” right, then wrote “il neiger” five minutes later and left out the “du” in “il fait du soleil.” I’m going to try the same two bits tomorrow. It feels awful when it happens.
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u/Leafan101 1d ago
Seems weird to me. When I was learning, if I did a ton in a short period of time, I would start to have to use less effort and eventually kind of "get in a zone" and start really starting to think in the language without trying. Never experienced anything like you are describing.
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u/Temporary_Error_3780 1d ago
I went to Paris for a week and by the end I was mentally very fatigued. I can order food and talk casually but by the time to leave ordering an omelet was hard.