Analysis paralysis and learning Chinese: When thinking too much holds you back

From xkcd: https://xkcd.com/1445/

You learn Chinese faster if you use a good method compared to a bad one.

However, improving the way you learn also takes time and doesn’t directly contribute to your learning.

If you spend too much time tweaking your method, you will learn less!

This is a good example of an opportunity cost: While it might seem like improving your method is always good (who doesn’t want to use the best method), this fails to take into account what you could have done with that time instead.

When finding the best approach is not the best approach

Instead of comparing different approaches and agonising over which is the best for you, you could have just picked one and been halfway to your goal already.

If the time spent thinking or worrying about how to learn exceeds the time you gain from using a better method, you have a problem. Essentially, don’t forget that how much time you spend is also part of the equation: The three factors that determine how much Chinese you learn.

The three factors that determine how much Chinese you learn

Many students get stuck when trying to choose the right method, the best resources and the perfect app. This problem is called “analysis paralysis” and is common in many areas, language learning being no exception.

Analysis paralysis and learning Chinese

A basic definition of analysis paralysis is when you are unable to take action because you get stuck analysing your options. There are also several problems related to language learning, so let’s have a look at what we’re dealing with here.

1. Method paralysis: Spending too much time choosing the best way to learn instead of finding something that works and using it. You could have learnt a lot of Chinese by just getting started. You can learn a lot with an okay method in the time it takes you to figure out a slightly better one. Don’t forget that how much time you spend is often more important than the method you use.
2. Resource paralysis: Overthinking the importance of learning resources, such as spending hours choosing the right textbook instead of just diving in. The process of comparing textbooks doesn’t teach you Chinese, but reading and listening to beginner-friendly content will. Few textbooks are really bad, and you can always get more than one.
3. Vocabulary paralysis: Perfecting your flashcard setup or finding the best frequency list rather than learning and using vocabulary. No flashcard system is perfect, and even if you find one you think is perfect now, it won’t be perfect for you in six months. For more about how to use flashcards, see How to best use flashcards to learn Chinese.
4. Reading paralysis: Over-analysing every character, word and sentence, making sure you understand everything before moving on. This might not qualify as traditional analysis paralysis, but it’s still a common problem. It’s not only painfully slow, but it’s unlikely to be helpful. Just read. As long as you understand enough to find the text interesting or the experience enjoyable, you’re okay. Understanding every single detail is not necessary. You could have read ten texts in the time it took you to analyse every detail, and after doing that and returning to this text, you’d find that everything is clearer.
5. Listening paralysis: Getting hung up on minor details you don’t understand, thus blocking your ability to focus on the rest of what’s being said. Analysing each sound, tone, syllable or word is too slow. Instead, aim for the gist and find out what the details mean later by listening more than once. The only way to learn to recall meaning instantly is to hear words over and over in meaningful contexts.
6. Speaking paralysis: Avoiding conversations due to fear of making mistakes. Striving for perfection is an obstacle to progress. You won’t produce perfect Mandarin, or even understandable Mandarin, without practising, so just dive in. Focus mostly on meaning, but also focus on form sometimes (e.g. pronunciation) occasionally. If you’re an introverted student like me and find it hard to get started, check 8 tips for learning Chinese as an introverted student.
7. Writing paralysis: Getting stuck trying to craft flawless sentences or avoid all errors, which hinders actual writing practice. Or staring at a blank page because you can’t come up with a good title or don’t know how to write the first sentence. If it helps, keep in mind that anything you write is better than writing nothing. Skip the title and the first sentence. Write an outline first. Start from the end. For more, check 20 tips and tricks to improve your Chinese writing ability.

In mild cases, these paralyses waste time you could have spent engaging more with the language or block your ability to function in the language. In severe cases, they stop you from doing anything at all.

The worst case of analysis paralysis is putting off getting started with learning Chinese because you are not sure how to begin. If that sounds like you, check out my course Unlocking Chinese.

Next, let’s see what we can do to cure analysis paralysis!

Curing analysis paralysis for Chinese: Think, but not too much

The most obvious way of curing analysis paralysis is to cap the time spent analysing and accept that perfection isn’t even good for you.

Also, few decisions are permanent, and there’s nothing that stops you from adjusting or changing your method later if you find it inadequate.

Another reason you should never postpone learning because you’re not sure about which method to use is that you’re unlikely to be able to draw any conclusions about what works best for you without actually spending time using the method.

Even if there is such a thing as the perfect method (which I doubt), you won’t find it without some trial and error.

When it comes to paralysis while engaging with the language (not getting started writing, getting stuck when reading, etc.), introducing a time limit can be surprisingly helpful. For example, this word game works really well for students who find it hard to get started with speaking.

Finally, embrace a “good enough” mindset. Strive for progress, not perfection. It might be a good idea to spend one hour finding a method that is 80% “good”, but it’s probably not worth spending ten hours to increase it to 90% or a hundred hours to 100%.

Why it’s worth spending some time on how to learn Chinese

So far in this post, I’ve been fairly sceptical when it comes to investing time in finding a better method, but since I do, after al,l run a website dedicated to how to learn Chinese, it follows that I think that it’s worth spending time on improving your method.

More from xkcd: https://xkcd.com/974/

The reason is that, unlike the comic above, learning Chinese to any kind of advanced level takes many thousands of hours, so there’s a lot of time to be saved.

If you spend a few hours here and there reading up on how to solve specific problems, you will save yourself a ton of time in the end.

Even increasing your efficiency by one per cent makes it worthwhile in the long run.

Avoiding methods for learning Chinese that just don’t work

For the sake of completeness, it should also be mentioned that not all methods differ in efficiency, or how much closer to your goal you move for each hour you invest. They often also differ in what the end result looks like. In other words, the method you use is not only a quantitative issue but also a qualitative one.

For example, if you use a really bad method for learning the tones (such as ignoring them or never getting feedback), it’s not just that you learn more slowly, but that the end result will be worse. To avoid this, make sure you follow the advice I offer here: How to learn Chinese pronunciation as a beginner, which is actually equally applicable to non-beginners.

Some decisions really do require a lot of analysis

Some decisions really are worth spending considerable time on. These are typically decisions that are difficult or impossible to reverse and have a large impact on your learning journey.

For example, deciding whether or not to go to China to study, when to go, which university or language centre to attend, or even which class to enrol in, are all decisions that deserve careful consideration.

These are not things you can easily change later, and they can affect not only how much you learn, but also your overall experience and motivation.

Compare this with decisions such as which graded reader to start with or which YouTube channels to subscribe to. While these can also affect your learning, they are easy to adjust if they don’t suit you.

Is Hacking Chinese making your analysis paralysis worse?

On Hacking Chinese, my goal is to help you find a better way of learning Mandarin. My hope is that by writing about how to learn in a clear and approachable way, you’ll be able to find an approach that suits you without having to go the long way around and do all the research yourself.

However, as you have noticed if you’ve read this far, my articles are seldom short and rarely just tell you what to do. The reason is that learning a language is a complex activity, and it’s different for every person in every context. While it would be nice if I could give clear and brief advice on how to learn, this requires me to know things about you that I don’t.

Avoid analysis paralysis, balance your learning

If you want a concrete way to make sure you invest time in a somewhat balanced manner, I suggest checking out Paul Nation’s four strands. It divides learning into four categories, or strands: meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, language-focused learning and fluency development.

For the purpose of our discussion here, it doesn’t matter exactly what the other strands are about (check the article if you want to know more), but if you include anything not done in Chinese in the language-focused strand and still don’t let it exceed one-fourth of your study time, I think you’re okay.

A friendly reminder, though: That strand also includes studying vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and anything else where you directly study the language itself (as opposed to trying to understand what people say or write, and conveying your own ideas and opinions in speaking and writing)

Good luck!

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I've been learning and teaching Chinese for more than 15 years. My goal is to help you avoid making the mistakes I made and those I have seen other students make. Sign up for my weekly newsletter and get a 7-day crash course on how to learn Chinese!

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