I wonder whether, in the learning-language field (or perhaps the teaching-language field), you don’t run into some of the problems that Thomas Gilbert saw as part of “the great cult of behavior.” (He vigorously urged focusing first on accomplishment, rather than on how people behaved [acted].)

I can easily imagine an overemphasis on work for its own sake, or on piles of information (memorization of rules, say), or on motivation as the key to success.

(I mentioned another aspect of Gilbert’s work when I talked about his model for creating incompetence.

I think many people here in the U.S. have had unfortunate experiences with other languages — like the forced marches through grammar or the absence of any models or application outside of language class. (That’s not to detract from many dedicated and creative language teachers.)

Not all work is the same, though. In his book, Levitin talks about having wanted to learn the guitar as a child but being made to learn piano.

So banging your head against conjugations or declensions might not be as beneficial in terms of effort as, say, having to ask someone out for coffee.