Have you some advise for learners with adhd?

[u/Kyuuuchi]

Hi, as the title says I have adhd (with medication) and some problems with learning a language. I cant do flashcards bc I just cant remember anything from that and its just a chore to do them. Now I do immersing with reading some stories in the target language (TL), but it feels like that I do learn a lot through that. It is just how it is and its a lot harder or longer for me than for others? Do you have specific advises wich I can use (and maybe try)? The TL is japanese but it the tips can be general to every language.

Sorry if my grammar is a bit off, I am insanly tired bc of bad sleep but have a full day of work to begin now (Germany)

[u/dojibear]

I have ADHD. I don't use flashcards/SRS/Anki because I hate rote memorization (RM). Also, I took school courses in 4 languages, and no teacher ever suggested that students use RM (flashcards/SRS/Anki/wordlists) of large numbers of words. For me, RM is not part of language learning.

I learn langages by understanding TL sentences (and explanations by the teacher). For me, that works very well. Part of that is learning (not memorizing) new words: seeing them in sentences, and understanding how they are used.

I know that everyone learns differently, and many people like rote memorization and benefit from using it. I don't understand this, but that doesn't matter. One nice thing about language learning is that there are multiple methods to do anything.

My advice is this: don't force yourself to do things you dislike doing, because you (falsely) beleive they must be done in order to learn a language. They don't.

I've also learned that "forcing yourself to do things you don't want to do" works very poorly for ADHD people.

[u/sbrt → u/dojibear]

I use Anki to help me learn words in context. I learn new words in a chapter of an audiobook and then listen repeatedly until I understand all of hit. Understanding the words in context repeatedly seems to be what works for me. Anki is a shortcut for understanding them in context.

As you said, we all learn different - I’m not saying you should try this, just that it works for me.

[u/Raoena]

I have adhd and my favorite way to study languages is with the Pimsleur audio courses. 

[u/shablul7]

This is gonna sound weird but using AI, BUT not for content. Rather gather learning content of different kinds and use AI to advice you how to manage it and what should your schedule be like.

If you tell the AI your approx free time schedule, your resources, and the fact that you have ADHD, it does a pretty good job coming up with solutions and suggestions to staying organized and even explains step by step procedures of learning when you ask for it.

For staying motivated I suggest a combo of a "notebook" and content instead of doing just one thing. For example, if you're reading a manga, then write down on anki or a notebook the first 10 words you don't know and then continue reading freely without bothering with writing things down.

It makes remembering words better and when you do anki afterwards you remember the context and it helps A TON.

I also recommend to use as many different genres and multimedia as you can (especially with japanese). If you're fixated on a specific game genre/novel genre/manga genre/anime genre/hobby genre/etc juice it as much as you can. Then you can look for another genre with these medias. Doing this buys you a whole bunch of time going through content and with Japanese it is quite literally neverending!

Don't hesitate to take creaks, forcing it never works in my experience, and will make you burnout faster.

LMK if you want more specific suggestions since I'm the same as you 😀 (ADHD + japanese TL)

[u/Global_Quit_8778]

you can do flashcards. Yes its a chore but you kinda need to get through that if you wanna learn. Your retention is going to be a bit lower but you'll still learn if you do it every day and it does get a lot easier when you have some experience. Learn to make mnemonics, draw pictures for any words or characters that don't go into your head straight away, and focus on consistency.
Especially if the TL is japanese you have no shot at learning it if you're not studying vocab.

[u/dojibear → u/Global_Quit_8778]

Yes its a chore but you kinda need to get through that if you wanna learn.

That just isn't true, Everyone does NOT need to use flashcards (or Anki) in order to learn languages well. Just because it helped YOU doesn't mean everyone else must do it. There is not just one way (YOUR way) to learn a language.

Especially if the TL is japanese you have no shot at learning it if you're not studying vocab.

Nonsense. I'm B1 in Japanese. I study the language. I don't study vocab.

[u/Smooth_Development48 → u/dojibear]

Agreed. I'm learning my 3rd language now and I've never had to use flashcards. There are many other ways to absorb vocabulary and grammar without having the endlessly flip through cards. The winner for me is simply reading material around my level. Words repeat and sink in. You learn while listening too.

[u/Kyuuuchi → u/Smooth_Development48]

Do you also read a story again after some time was passed to look if its easier/better the second time?

[u/Smooth_Development48 → u/Kyuuuchi]

With graded readers they will repeat words so I don’t feel I needed to do multiples reads especially with serial books as they will bring words back as you go to the next book. With regular books I will go back and read passages especially where I highlighted words or sentences that wouldn’t stick or I didn’t know the first time around as a review. Most times I don’t need to as I find these words organically in other books. The beginner graded readers I use for Korean have the Korean and English side by side in the first half of the book and the second half are the same stories in Korean only which is very helpful in testing what words you remember.

[u/Global_Quit_8778 → u/Smooth_Development48]

how do I absorb vocab and grammar when I can understand nothing? Including the alphabet.

[u/Smooth_Development48 → u/Global_Quit_8778]

Even if you are using anki you need to have already done the basics as learn the alphabet and some words.

[u/Global_Quit_8778 → u/Smooth_Development48]

japanese uses chinese characters. So you need to learn a new symbol for almost each word.