Andrei
Community Tutor
There was a time when I left my notebook entries on italki almost daily. Since then the site has changed a lot and I myself have changed either. The funniest memory about those entries that I have is my anger that flared up when editors contradicted each other. But overall, I believe, my entries helped me a lot back then. What if I give it another try? Will I still find it beneficial? I'm not happy with my English at the moment. I feel like I'm stuck in a rut, but I'm not sure that repeating previous exercises and practices might be helpful. I think you're aware of the plateau effect. You do things that you did long before, you habitually read, speak and listen to the same sources... But your confidence has gone, your satisfaction with what you're doing has gone and suddenly you realize that you use the same words and expressions while speaking that you used to say ages ago. This is a pretty dark moment, frustrating and demotivating. So I'm looking for some challenges and practices that could lift my spirit. Be my therapist, first correct this newly born entry, and secondly suggest something I can do to leave the plateau :-) Thank you!
Mar 26, 2025 5:07 PM
Corrections · 3
1
There was a time when I used to post my notebook entries on italki almost daily. Since then, the site has changed a lot, and I myself have changed as well. The funniest memory I have about those entries is how frustrated I got when editors contradicted each other. But overall, I believe my entries helped me a lot back then. What if I give it another try? Will I still find it beneficial? I’m not happy with my English at the moment. I feel like I’m stuck in a rut, but I’m not sure that repeating previous exercises and practices will be helpful. I think you’re aware of the plateau effect: you keep doing the same things you did before—you habitually read, speak, and listen to the same sources—but your confidence has disappeared. Your satisfaction with what you’re doing is gone, and suddenly you realize that you’re using the same words and expressions you used ages ago. This is a pretty dark moment—frustrating and demotivating. So, I’m looking for some challenges and practices that could lift my spirits. Be my therapist! First, correct this newly born entry, and secondly, suggest something I can do to get past this plateau. :-) Thank you!
1. “I myself have changed either” → “I myself have changed as well” • “Either” is used in negative contexts. Since the sentence isn’t negative, “as well” or “too” is more appropriate. 2. “The funniest memory about those entries that I have is my anger that flared up when editors contradicted each other.” → “The funniest memory I have about those entries is how frustrated I got when editors contradicted each other.” • “The funniest memory about those entries that I have” sounds unnatural. “The funniest memory I have about those entries” is smoother. • “My anger that flared up” is wordy. “How frustrated I got” is more natural. 3. “I’m not sure that repeating previous exercises and practices might be helpful.” → “I’m not sure that repeating previous exercises and practices will be helpful.” • “Might” expresses uncertainty, but “not sure that… might” creates an awkward double uncertainty. “Will” makes the sentence clearer. 4. “You do things that you did long before, you habitually read, speak and listen to the same sources…” → “You keep doing the same things you did before—you habitually read, speak, and listen to the same sources…” • “Do things that you did long before” is unnatural. “Keep doing the same things you did before” is clearer. • Used an em dash (—) instead of a comma for better flow. 5. “Your confidence has gone, your satisfaction with what you’re doing has gone” → “Your confidence has disappeared. Your satisfaction with what you’re doing is gone” • Repetitive structure sounds awkward. “Has disappeared” and “is gone” improve clarity. 6. “Suddenly you realize that you use the same words and expressions while speaking that you used to say ages ago.” → “Suddenly you realize that you’re using the same words and expressions you used ages ago.” • “While speaking” isn’t necessary because “expressions” already implies speech. • “That you used to say” → “you used” is smoother. 7. “So I’m looking for some challenges and practices that could lift my spi
Mar 27, 2025 4:43 AM
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