September 13, 2025 | Ademola Adeyemi

Last week, I shared the 10 principles that transformed my Korean learning journey from years of frustration to fluency in 24 months.

Over the past few months, many of you replied sharing your own language learning struggles.

The same patterns kept appearing: people doing “everything right” but still hitting walls. Studying consistently but never reaching that breakthrough moment where the language feels natural.

Here’s what I’ve learned after coaching dozens of language learners and tracking over 10,000 hours of my own immersion:

Knowing what to do is only half the battle.

The other half – the part that separates those who reach fluency from those who quit at the intermediate plateau – is knowing what never to do.

These aren’t just mistakes. They’re traps that feel productive while secretly sabotaging your progress. They’re the reasons why 95% of language learners never reach that magical moment when their target language stops feeling foreign.

I’ve made every single one of these mistakes. Some of them cost me months of progress. Others nearly made me quit Korean entirely.

Today, I’m sharing the 10 Commandments – the critical mistakes that will kill your progress no matter how perfectly you apply the right principles.

These commandments aren’t suggestions. They’re non-negotiables if you’re serious about reaching true fluency.

Because here’s the truth: you can do everything right and still fail if you’re secretly doing these things wrong.

The 10 Commandments: What Never to Do

1. Never Rely on Translation as Your Primary Learning Method

Translation creates a dependency that cripples natural language processing. When you constantly convert everything back to English, you’re building a bridge instead of a new road.

I deleted translation fields from all my Anki cards because I wanted my brain to connect Korean concepts directly to meaning, not to English words.

Here’s the problem with translation: it trains your brain to think in your native language first, then translate. But fluency means thinking directly in your target language. When you rely on translation, you’re literally wiring your brain to be inefficient.

Real fluency means bypassing your native language entirely.

The moment I stopped asking “How do I say this in Korean?” and started asking “How do Korean speakers express this idea?” – that’s when everything changed. Translation is a crutch that prevents you from thinking in your target language.

2. Never Study Grammar in Isolation from Context

Grammar rules without context are like learning to drive by memorizing the manual without ever sitting in a car.

I learned Korean grammar through thousands of example sentences, not through textbook explanations. When you encounter grammar in real situations – like understanding why a character in a drama uses a particular ending when they’re angry – it sticks because it’s meaningful.

Abstract grammar study creates knowledge you can’t actually use in conversation.

Your brain doesn’t naturally compartmentalize language into “grammar” and “vocabulary.” These artificial divisions exist only in textbooks. In real language, everything works together as a system.

I’ve seen students who can recite every grammar rule but freeze up in actual conversation because they never learned how these rules feel in context.

3. Never Compare Your Timeline to Others

Everyone’s language learning journey is different based on their goals, available time, and starting point. Comparing yourself to someone learning their third Romance language when you’re tackling your first Asian language is destructive and pointless.

I learned Korean in about two years of intensive study, but that doesn’t mean everyone should expect the same timeline.

Here’s what matters: your progress compared to where you started. Not your progress compared to some YouTuber who learned Spanish in 3 months.

The comparison trap is especially dangerous because it makes you doubt methods that are actually working. You’ll abandon effective strategies because someone else seems to be progressing faster with a different approach.

Focus on being better than you were yesterday, not better than someone else today.

4. Never Sacrifice Your Current Life for Future Language Goals

The immersion community sometimes promotes extreme lifestyle changes that aren’t sustainable for most people. You don’t need to lose friendships or miss out on life to learn a language.

I was able to immerse heavily during COVID because of unique circumstances, but that’s not a requirement.

The “all-or-nothing” mentality kills more language learning journeys than any other single factor. People think they need to move abroad, quit their jobs, or become hermits to learn a language properly.

Find ways to integrate your target language into your existing interests and social life rather than replacing everything you enjoy.

Sustainable progress beats intensive burnout every single time.

5. Never Use Subtitles as a Permanent Crutch

Subtitles in any language – even your target language – train your eyes, not your ears. Reading and listening are different skills, and subtitles prevent you from developing true listening comprehension.

I committed to watching my first Korean drama with zero subtitles specifically to force my brain to process audio. It was difficult initially, but it built the auditory foundation that made everything else possible.

Here’s what most people don’t realize: when you read subtitles, you’re not actually listening to the language. You’re reading translated text while Korean audio plays in the background.

Your brain takes the path of least resistance. If subtitles are available, it will rely on them instead of doing the harder work of processing audio.

This creates a false sense of progress. You feel like you’re improving because you’re following the story, but your actual listening comprehension remains weak.

6. Never Neglect the Emotional Aspect of Learning

Language learning isn’t just an intellectual exercise – it’s an emotional journey. If you’re not enjoying the process, you’re doing it wrong.

I chose content that made me laugh, cry, and feel invested because emotional engagement creates stronger neural pathways than mechanical study.

Don’t force yourself through boring textbooks when there’s engaging content available in your target language.

The biggest breakthroughs happen when you’re emotionally invested. The first time I cried watching Korean content was when I knew the language was becoming real for me.

Enjoyment isn’t optional – it’s essential. When you enjoy the process, consistency becomes effortless. When you hate it, every study session becomes a battle of willpower.

7. Never Skip the Foundation-Building Phase

Many learners want to jump straight to advanced content or conversations without building proper foundations. I spent months on basic listening comprehension and vocabulary building before attempting serious output.

Trying to speak before you have sufficient input is like trying to write a song before you’ve heard enough music.

The foundation phase feels slow, but it’s what makes everything else possible.

I see this constantly: intermediate learners who can have basic conversations but plateau because they skipped the deep listening phase. They can communicate, but they can’t understand native-speed speech or nuanced content.

You can’t build a skyscraper on a weak foundation. The same applies to language learning.

8. Never Learn in Isolation from Culture

Language and culture are inseparable. Learning Korean vocabulary without understanding Korean cultural contexts is like learning the notes without the music.

I fell in love with Korean culture through dramas, music, and YouTube creators, which made the language feel alive and relevant.

Don’t treat language as an abstract system – treat it as a gateway to understanding how people think and live.

When you separate language from culture, you end up with technically correct but culturally awkward communication. You might say the right words, but you’ll miss the subtleties that make you sound truly fluent.

Language isn’t just about communication – it’s about connection. And connection requires cultural understanding.

9. Never Expect Linear Progress

Language learning happens in waves, not straight lines. There will be plateaus, breakthroughs, and periods where you feel like you’re getting worse.

I experienced months where progress felt invisible, followed by sudden leaps in comprehension.

Don’t panic during the valleys – they’re part of the process. Trust that consistent input is working even when you can’t see immediate results.

The biggest trap is thinking you’re failing when you hit a plateau. Plateaus aren’t evidence that your method isn’t working – they’re evidence that your brain is consolidating what you’ve learned.

Some of my biggest breakthroughs came right after periods where I felt like I was making no progress at all.

10. Never Stop Before You Reach Emotional Connection

The biggest mistake is quitting before you experience that magical moment when the language stops feeling foreign and starts feeling like part of you.

For me, it was crying during a Korean drama scene – that’s when I knew the language had become emotionally real, not just intellectually understood.

Most people quit in the difficult middle phase, right before the breakthrough.

Push through the discomfort until you feel the language in your heart, not just your head.

This is the difference between academic knowledge and true fluency. Academic knowledge sits in your conscious mind. Emotional connection lives in your subconscious, where real language ability is born.

When Korean stopped feeling foreign and started feeling like home – that’s when I knew I had truly acquired the language, not just learned it.

Why These Commandments Matter More Than The Principles

Here’s something most language learning advice gets wrong: it focuses on what to do without addressing what not to do.

But in language learning, avoiding the wrong thing is often more important than doing the right thing.

You can apply every principle perfectly, but if you’re secretly relying on translation, using subtitles as a crutch, or expecting linear progress, you’ll still struggle.

These commandments aren’t arbitrary rules. They’re guardrails that keep you on the path to fluency when everything else tries to pull you off course.

The language learning industry profits from keeping you in the intermediate trap – comfortable enough to keep paying, but never quite fluent enough to stop needing their products.

These commandments break you free from that trap.

They force you to engage with the language the way native speakers do: emotionally, culturally, and subconsciously.

Most importantly, they protect you from the subtle mistakes that feel productive but kill long-term progress.

Your language learning journey is too important to leave to chance.

Last week’s principles showed you what works. Today’s commandments show you what kills progress.

Together, they form a complete system for reaching true fluency – not just conversational ability, but that deep, emotional connection where your target language feels like home.

The choice is yours: follow the crowd and join the 95% who never reach fluency, or commit to both doing what works and avoiding what doesn’t.

Your future fluent self is counting on you to choose wisely.

Which commandment hit closest to home for you? Hit reply and let me know – I read every response and often turn them into future newsletter topics.