{"id":4341,"date":"2026-03-09T14:44:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T13:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/impaqt.net\/?p=4341"},"modified":"2026-03-09T14:44:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T13:44:32","slug":"are-our-learning-efforts-the-right-ones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/impaqt.net\/en\/are-our-learning-efforts-the-right-ones\/","title":{"rendered":"Are our learning efforts the right ones?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start fusion-flex-content-wrap\" style=\"max-width:1289.6px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-width-large:100%;--awb-margin-top-large:30px;--awb-spacing-right-large:1.92%;--awb-margin-bottom-large:30px;--awb-spacing-left-large:1.92%;--awb-width-medium:100%;--awb-order-medium:0;--awb-spacing-right-medium:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-medium:1.92%;--awb-width-small:100%;--awb-order-small:0;--awb-spacing-right-small:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-small:1.92%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-column-has-shadow fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\"><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-1 fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-six\" style=\"--awb-margin-top-small:10px;--awb-margin-right-small:0px;--awb-margin-bottom-small:10px;--awb-margin-left-small:0px;--awb-sep-color:#c6c6c6;--awb-font-size:1em;\"><div class=\"title-sep-container title-sep-container-left fusion-no-large-visibility fusion-no-medium-visibility fusion-no-small-visibility\"><div class=\"title-sep sep-single sep-solid\" style=\"border-color:#c6c6c6;\"><\/div><\/div><span class=\"awb-title-spacer fusion-no-large-visibility fusion-no-medium-visibility fusion-no-small-visibility\"><\/span><h6 class=\"fusion-title-heading title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated\" style=\"margin:0;font-size:1em;--fontSize:24;line-height:1.5;\">Food for Thought<\/h6><span class=\"awb-title-spacer\"><\/span><div class=\"title-sep-container title-sep-container-right\"><div class=\"title-sep sep-single sep-solid\" style=\"border-color:#c6c6c6;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-2 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-four\" style=\"--awb-text-color:var(--awb-custom_color_18);--awb-margin-top-small:10px;--awb-margin-right-small:0px;--awb-margin-bottom-small:10px;--awb-margin-left-small:0px;\"><h4 class=\"fusion-title-heading title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated\" style=\"margin:0;--fontSize:43.2;line-height:1.2;\"><strong>Are our learning efforts the right ones?<\/strong><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-width-large:100%;--awb-margin-top-large:0px;--awb-spacing-right-large:1.92%;--awb-margin-bottom-large:20px;--awb-spacing-left-large:1.92%;--awb-width-medium:100%;--awb-order-medium:0;--awb-spacing-right-medium:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-medium:1.92%;--awb-width-small:100%;--awb-order-small:0;--awb-spacing-right-small:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-small:1.92%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-column-has-shadow fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\" style=\"--awb-content-alignment:justify;\"><p>This is a situation I observe often among language learners. They complete a 56- or 84-hour training program, listen to English audio, watch films in the original version\u2026 and yet, sometimes, a frustration appears:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m making the effort, but I don\u2019t really see any progress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">This frustration is understandable. When we invest time and energy in learning a language, we want to see the results of our efforts. But in some cases, an essential element is missing from the equation.<\/p>\n<p>Today, we have access to extraordinary tools:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>automatic translators to write emails<\/li>\n<li>subtitles for watching films<\/li>\n<li>apps that provide answers immediately<\/li>\n<li>digital assistants that rephrase our sentences<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These technologies are useful. They make our daily lives easier.<\/p>\n<p>But when it comes to language learning, they can sometimes create the illusion of progress.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take two very common situations.<\/p>\n<p>A learner:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>uses a translator to write an email in English<\/li>\n<li>watches a film with subtitles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In both cases, the task is completed. But the brain itself has not really learned.<\/p>\n<p>Because the cognitive effort \u2014 the effort of searching for a word, reformulating an idea, tolerating a degree of uncertainty \u2014 has been bypassed.<\/p>\n<p>Research in cognitive psychology shows that durable learning follows a simple principle: the brain consolidates what costs effort. Researcher Robert A. Bjork refers to this as \u201cdesirable difficulties\u201d: certain difficulties in the learning process strengthen long-term memory.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, when we have to guess the meaning of a sentence or rephrase an idea using limited vocabulary, the brain creates much stronger neural connections.<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, when the answer appears immediately through a translator, a subtitle \u2014 or is given by the facilitator \ud83d\ude09 \u2014 the information passes through\u2026 but it does not stick.<\/p>\n<p>This phenomenon does not concern language learning alone.<\/p>\n<p>After decades of rising IQ scores \u2014 a phenomenon known as the Flynn effect, identified by James R. Flynn \u2014 some studies now show a stagnation, and even a decline, in cognitive performance in several Western countries.<\/p>\n<p>The causes are multiple, but some researchers point to the impact of an environment where answers are always instantly available.<\/p>\n<p>We have more information than ever before.<\/p>\n<p>But we engage our capacity for deep thinking less and less.<\/p>\n<p>The good news is that progress always appears once the balance is restored.<\/p>\n<p>Learning then becomes what it has always been: a process that can sometimes be demanding, but profoundly transformative.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\" style=\"--awb-text-color:var(--awb-custom_color_18);\" id=\"AuthorName\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/hana-bowcott-a9b93112a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hana Bowcott<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[72],"class_list":["post-4341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food-for-thought-en","tag-newsletter-2026-mars"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Are our learning efforts the right ones? 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