People often say “once you’re past 25, nothing sticks anymore.” Reality: adults have plenty of advantages—we simply spend fewer hours practising.
Why adults still learn fast
- You’ve already mastered one language. Vietnamese gives you templates for structure, logic, and connecting ideas quickly.
- A mature brain helps. Self-study skills, discipline, and time management are stronger than a child’s.
Why it feels slow
- Sky-high expectations: hoping to sound native after a few months.
- Misaligned methods: lots of reading/listening, little speaking or writing output.
- Limited time: work and family squeeze your schedule—10 focused hours a week is already a win.
- Mental load: bills, health, emotions; all the adult worries that interrupt learning.
How to leverage adult strengths
- Treat learning like a serious project: fixed study blocks, track practice hours, review progress.
- Protect deep practice time: aim for 10 hours per week; if you can only do less, accept slower progress to stay sane.
- Pick methods that demand output: real conversations, active recall, spaced repetition, and assignments tied to your actual work.
From Tea’s own experience, maintaining ~10 hours of English practice each week for 2–3 years gets you to roughly IELTS 6.5, lets you watch shows without subtitles, and collaborate in English at work. Nothing mythical—just disciplined effort in the right direction.