I asked on social and our newsletter, and you said you were very interested in reasons for dropping out of the Armenian, Georgian and Azerbaijani courses. So today we’ll talk about what are the 3 most common reasons for dropping out! And some remedies as well.
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I’ve collected data from the last three years of Jezyki Kaukazu courses – both group and individual – and we’ll discuss the three most common reasons. We’re fortunate enough to know why people drop out in over 90% of cases, so I’ll share the perspective of our students.
But I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t add to these reasons for dropping out a remedy, how to prevent them – wherever possible. I think that when you sign up for a course and have to drop out, it’s a rather sad situation, so I’ll try to help you eliminate it.
We recently discussed the fact that Georgian is completely possible to learn and no more difficult than other languages (at least those I can compare, and I know a total of 8, and I’ve studied over 15 in my life, including Chinese and Japanese).
We won’t be talking about self-study today, as that’s a separate category – we’ll do a separate episode about it later.
I should also add that today we’re talking about the reasons for dropping out and stopping to learn Georgian, Armenian, or Azerbaijani, not about situations where you decide you know enough for now and end/suspend your studies.
#1 of Reasons for Dropping out a Course Because You’re Falling Behind
Alternatively, you could say that you’re stopping your studies because the language seems too difficult and you can’t keep up with the group. I closely monitor the data about this factor in our courses, so I know that in group courses, this is most often due to irregular attendance, especially at the beginning.
We know that things can change during the week, even on the day of a class. That’s why our students have access to a course journal, where we note everything in detail what was studied during lesson and what is for homework, so you can go back and review it yourself. Additionally, we review information from previous lessons during subsequent classes, so you don’t miss a single topic entirely.
Group courses are good for people who can actually attend classes for at least 70-80% of the time. For courses from alphabet, it’s best to attend the first few classes, as that’s when we work a lot on pronunciation and remembering new alphabet. All our classes are online, so you can attend classes anywhere. Our students connect from work, vacation, other continents, or even from their car or airport. As long as there’s internet access.
If you know you’ll be attending less often, then individual study or our self-study materials are better. Simply put, if you miss 2-3 classes, let’s be honest, it’s hard to catch up before the next one. And then it may become one of your reasons for dropping out.
Strategy #1 for learning Georgian, Armenian, or Azerbaijani
If you’re in a group course, come to class even if you don’t have homework and haven’t reviewed words or topics from the last lesson. The worst thing you can do is think: “I won’t go today because I didn’t review, and I’ll learn it next week and then I’ll go.”
In over 15 years of teaching adults, I’ve never seen this approach to work. It almost always leads to giving up. And learning Armenian, Georgian, or Azerbaijani isn’t a sprint or a quick run, it’s more of a well-paced marathon. This month, you’ll go slowly, then faster, then maybe a bit slower, but you’ll keep learning more and more. Even if it’s not as fast as you think it should be.
Even if you haven’t reviewed something before the lesson, you’ll memorize it through listening, doing exercises in class, reading, and speaking. And that’s what effective learning is all about.
And I assure you, we also have our own methods for helping busy adults learn a language, for example, by designing the curriculum so that old topics are also reviewed in an enjoyable way. If you come to class, of course.
In summary, if you’re taking a group course, don’t worry about being unprepared and come to class. We’ll help you revise.
If your schedule changes and you can’t connect with the class, some of our students switch to individual classes and continue learning at their chosen times.
Financial Situations Change
When they sign up, our students know the course duration, the price, and the total cost of the course. We don’t have any additional costs, such as textbooks, other books, licenses, or applications. Everything you need is included in the price.
But unplanned life situations also happen. Life happens – you have to change jobs, maybe you lose your job, or your life situation changes. This is the second among the reasons for dropping out. We can’t help with finances, but if you let us know you have to drop out from the course, we can support you from language perspective.
If you let me know that you have to withdraw from the course for these reasons, I always advise you on how to maintain your current language level and how to review it with the materials that you’ve already covered in the course.
Strategy #2 for Learning Armenian, Georgian, or Azerbaijani
It’s important to maintain contact with the language, even if only briefly. One way to revise is to subscribe to our newsletter, “The Caucasian Mail,” where once a week I send out a quick 5-minute revision tip for busy people. We often see students return to the courses after their situation stabilizes, even after several years. We then choose the best groups for them, and they continue learning.
Therefore, if your reasons for discontinuing the course are similar, I’ll always suggest alternatives. This is one of the reasons we publish Georgian textbooks in self-study format. Of course, this is a different form of learning than directly with a teacher, but it’s also a more budget-friendly option if you’re comfortable learning on your own.
You’re surprised by how much free time you have for learning
This is somewhat related to the first reason, but let’s break it down separately. I’m talking about a situation where you realize you currently have time to attend classes. But after a few weeks or a few months, it turns out that other personal or professional matters come up and you don’t find the time for a Georgian, Armenian, or Azerbaijani course.
As I mentioned earlier, attending classes whenever you can is crucial. For some of you it may be difficult to calculate the time needed for learning, so let’s look at how to calculate this time realistically (or at a minimum).
Strategy No. 3 for Learning Azerbaijani, Armenian, or Georgian
First, we calculate the time spent in classes – let’s say in a group course – once a week for 1.5 hours without being completely tired, so your brain can still absorb the information.
Fun fact: I don’t know if you know, but I also know Korean – roughly at an pre-intermediate level. My wonderful teacher, who got me into this level, lived in Korea for most of our time, which is about 8 hours apart. I really wanted to study with her, so I had classes at 10:00 PM for a while so she could get up for our lessons.
And let me tell you, after a full day (I was still working as a manager and coach in a corporation at the time), my understanding and cognitive efficiency during classes was very low. Then we changed the hours, and my learning immediately improved. That’s why I mention you need to take into consideration you will have brainpower for studying.
The second block is time for revision. If you’re a busy adult, I recommend spending at least 15 minutes between classes 2-3 times a week. If you have more time, that’s great – can spend more. A fifteen-minute quick review, reviewing the alphabet, or reviewing with our quick interactive exercises is time better spent than searching for (and usually not finding) a whole hour to study.
Our students get homework, yes.
Of course, it’s not mandatory, we don’t grade it, and it often includes additional revision exercises, interactive puzzles, crosswords, etc., or exercises in a book or listening sessions that help you remember a new topic.
Therefore, it’s worth considering finding at least twice or 3 times a week 15-minute study slots between classes to review. The methods I share in our newsletter, “Caucasian Mail,” also help with this.
Finally, I have a bonus for you :
Our statistics on which topics are the hardest to catch up on if you’re absent from class
In Armenian and Georgian, this is the alphabet level, when you one are present on one lesson, then you’re not, then you’re back and in between don’t have time to practice writing and recognizing letters with our workbooks and exercises. Each student receives additional materials from us to practice writing and learning the Georgian and Armenian alphabets so that you can learn faster. But you need some time at home to do this.
In Azerbaijani, the alphabet is easier because most letters are the same as in English – it’s using Latin alphabet. However, the harder part of catching up after a longer absence is introducing the concept harmony and various suffixes, for example, to form the present tense. The concept itself is very logical, just different from what we know in Polish or English. That’s why it’s especially important not to skip these classes.
In Georgian, this is also the moment when the concepts of verb conjugation and the third case and cases as such are introduced, which is the basis of Georgian sentences in virtually all tenses.
If you’re thinking about learning Azerbaijani, Armenian, or Georgian and are looking for group or individual lessons with a teacher, I hope today’s episode helped you determine whether such a course is right for you and help you avoid the most common pitfalls and the most common reasons for dropping out during the course.
Now you know the reasons for dropping out of a course, and if you’re interested in choosing a course for you, I invite you to a 15-minute conversation with me. I’ll advise you and help you choose the best learning method.