A lot of intermediate and advanced-beginner Japanese language learners fall into what I call “the pre-fluency trap.” The pre-fluency trap is a state of artificial progress that language learning apps create to placate eager students so they don’t realize they can learn independently and at a faster rate.
If you find yourself using an app where you are more excited about achieving the “next level” instead of looking forward to the next content you will be engaging with, you might be in a pre-fluency trap.
The pre-fluecy trap exists because language apps ultimately need to make money, and is especially common when apps use a subscription or other time-based payment model. When you pay to use the app over time, the app makes more money the longer you use it. As a language learner, you don’t care how long you use the app, what you want is progress. But the app does not make money when you progress, so there is no incentive for these apps to make you fluent.
And in fact, these apps would like to keep you pre-fluent for as long as possible.
That’s because the sooner you become fluent, the sooner you will no longer need their help. And if you stop using the app sooner, the app loses revenue. Because the life-time value of language app customers is inversely related to how quickly they become fluent, language apps are incentivized to actually drag out a language learner’s progress, not speed it along.
And if an app can keep you pre-fluent forever, that’s the best.
Of course, most app creators aren’t intentional or malicious about this, and many genuinely care about helping others learn a language. But the incentive structure often drives the reality instead of good intentions.
Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome.
— Charlie Munger
This means that as a language learner, you should be aware that apps are frequently structured to make your language learning progress slow and inefficient.
You’d think that you would see through such structures designed to slow your actual progress, but they are often artfully hidden by other features designed to keep you engaged. Some apps use beautiful graphics and exquisite user interface, so your “new” goal becomes leveling up so you can see and interact with new aesthetics. Others will motivate you with addictive, gamified prizes, such as maintaining study streaks, winning competitions, and collecting badges.
While each app may have its own formula to keep you interested, all pre-fluency traps share the same red flag: an arbitrary and artificial progress program, usually decked out with levels or stages. Artificial progress programs are essential to locking you in for subscription payments because external feedback that you are “progressing” fills the expectation you have of actually getting better for the money you pay.
But only real progress will move you towards your goal. What do you think matters more: The number of badges you attain in a language app? Or the number of chapters you have read of a manga written in Japanese?
If you are using an app with an artificial progress program, ask yourself if the program leads to your self-sufficiency at a clear point. If not, pay attention to your actual progress toward your goals. If you stop moving towards your goals in a meaningful way, it’s time to chart a different course before you fall into the pre-fluency trap.