Yup, I know the feeling.
More motivation: I remember so clearly reading the original ぐりとぐら and similar Japanese books to to my eldest kids at bedtime every night.
I also remember when, just a few years (more like the blink of an eye) later, I realized that my kid’s Japanese had far surpassed my own.
Honestly, it was a pretty profound realization. Kids, even bilingual kids, learn languages almost effortlessly and astonishingly quickly. It’s only adults who struggle. Ever since, I’ve striven to be more kid-like in my learning.
Doubtless there are many reasons kids learn languages more easily, but I believe these are the most important (in order of importance):
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Kids don’t care at all about grammar, or spelling, or word-choice, or any other mistakes. They only care about communicating. They simply don’t stress over mistakes.
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Kids learn languages almost entirely by imitation and repetition, not by applying rules and conscious thought and effort. Mistakes are just something you correct next time.
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Kids do not translate in their heads. They communicate in whichever language is more convenient at that particular moment. If you listen to completely bilingual people speak to each other, they will pick one language as primary at the beginning of the conversation (it may change midway!) and occasionally sprinkle in words from the other language when the concept is easier to express in that language. It’s purely modal: they are either in Japanese mode or English mode at any particular instant in time.
In other words, they think in a sort of ur-language and express those thoughts in one language or the other. Translating is a different thing altogether, and much more difficult as it is a two-step process: A → ur-language → B. Bilingual people aren’t natural born translators! Bilingualism is a pre-requisite, but doesn’t suffice.
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Kids usually don’t care or even notice when other kids progress more quickly or slowly as they learn a language (though heaven knows kids can be cruel). They only care about communicating.
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Kids minds are still developing. They are literally re-wiring the neural networks in their brains daily. Adult brains already have extensive, somewhat congealed “wiring”, especially with respect to language. While I think this is the least important issue, it’s somewhat undeniable: kids do learn anything more easily. My over-simplification: initial wiring is easier than re-wiring.
The “cure” for congealed adult brains is to find your inner child, to ignore mistakes, to ignore levels and comparisons, and to constantly strive to learn new things. Learn languages. Learn to play an instrument. Learn crafts. Play games like chess or go. Audit online college courses in the sciences or arts. Never stop learning!
(Man! I thought this was going to be a short reply. I do enjoy a good madeleine.)