2026-07-31
6 分钟Today, I want to talk about friction, friction in language learning, which greatly reduces our enjoyment
and therefore reduces the effectiveness and the efficiency of our language learning activity.
You've heard me before mention Lom Kato or Kato Lom's formula for language learning,
where it's a function of the amount of time you put in, our motivation divided by resistance,
friction, inhibition, all of these negative things that reduce the efficiency of our language learning.
Want to talk about is the forms of this friction, the forms of resistance
that many of us, all of us at different times experience, and how we can overcome the friction.
Right off the bat, there are people, maybe a majority of people, who are reluctant to sound or look foolish.
They feel they are intelligent in their own language.
They can express themselves.
Freely in their own language.
And when they speak in a foreign language, of course, they have difficulty.
They think they sound foolish.
They become self-conscious.
In my opinion, it's easy to say, don't feel that way.
Of course, we're going to feel that way.
But if the emphasis is on input and acquiring the language and enjoying the language,
and we gradually improve in our ability to use the language,
then the focus is no longer fear of seeming foolish, rather it becomes enjoying the language.
Now related to that is this idea of perfectionism.