Some advice for those that are feeling discouraged and defeated with learning a new language.

I think it would be hard for anyone to imagine in this day and age but growing up when I was a child we didn't have the internet of today, no Google, no YouTube, no apps like Duolingo, no sentence builders, no reverse translation and all of the other tools that are available to anyone to learn a second language, in fact no one even heard of a personal computer. <br><br>So how did we learn languages back then? We bought a textbook, maybe had a tutor and whatever else we could think of. No one had the opportunity you have and to be honest most people back then did not learn a second language. I was in contact with a lot of people my age who tried and failed. <br><br>This brings me to the reason I am posting this. I was far from a good student and I can honestly say that I never understood or knew anything about grammar when I was in school, but I was able to learn 4 foreign languages and I still use them today in one way or another. <br><br>A couple of things just to keep in mind when your feeling frustrated, if I can do it, then it's possible that you can as well. Also consider this, you are here reading this and still trying after years of effort so you are not a failure by far. I once read a quote "the only way to guarantee failure is to stop trying". Not sure if anyone here has ever heard that, but it's right. <br><br>Also just want to say that I don't have the time nor desire to learn another language, I am not the brightest person but I am not the dumbest either, I simply don't care about learning anymore, but I respect the people that are trying. <br><br>Lastly, I once read a post on Chambers from someone who said they were at C1 level, but they couldn't speak a word. Maybe if I was as smart as some here I could have gotten to that level and possibly even been able to speak as well, but I don't care about levels, no one I know cares about levels, what counts is being able to converse in a foreign language, anything less is nothing and will never be anything. <br><br>I also have to say that 90% or more of the people I know who are fluent, and I use that term very loosely, are not interested in learning another language, I doubt they even care about level. The best advice I ever heard was from a Mexican who told me "don't worry about learning grammar, there is no one here who will care about if you make a mistake, just go to a class and try to talk." That's not what I did, but it worked for me because I was able to speak, even though I don't know anything about the grammar of any of the languages I learned. <br><br>For those that are still trying, keep trying, don't defeat yourself and for those who have already defeated themselves, get off of your ass and take a class, it's the only way to learn.<br><br>I just wanted to say that if I could do it, then anyone can, nothing special about me, I'm just a guy from Brooklyn who grew up in an Italian-American neighborhood and learned to speak Italian from the older immigrants, I could already speak a little because my grandparents were Italian. <br><br>I am not active on this sub. I just wanted to post this and I may never see it again but it's the truth, you are not a failure if you are still trying.