Why Language Schools Move Too Fast

What happens when adults are pushed up levels before they’re ready — and why only a few learners truly benefit from fast pacing

“I’m not ready yet!”

 This is the sentiment I’ve heard from nearly every adult learner I’ve spoken to who’s being pushed from B1 to B2. I’ve now been in two different schools in Spain, and both have tried to move me up far faster than feels natural. The focus is heavy on grammar and on getting you to pass the B1 test or move into the next class.

I keep wondering why. After all, it isn’t natural to move from B1 to B2 in two to four weeks. When schools try to force this jump, it feels less about real learning and more about “showing results,” even if the results aren’t accurate. Maybe it looks impressive on paper when a student “moves up” a level after one or two weeks. But inside the classroom, it doesn’t feel impressive. It feels rushed. It feels like the pace is too fast to truly grasp and use the language beyond the test.

What I keep noticing is this: 

No one is asking what adult learners actually want. 

When I talk to adult learners, most of them say the same thing. They want to speak and understand others. Very few care deeply about writing and reading. They already have tools that help them with those. They want connection — the ability to listen and respond in real time.

Yet the curriculum is overwhelmingly driven by grammar, writing, and then reading, because those are the center of the test. Yes, reading and writing can support communication, but when those become the priority, speaking gets squeezed to the edges. “Passing” doesn’t mean actually being able to say the words when your mind is trying to pull language out in real time.

So why are language schools not aligning with what learners actually want? I’m not saying there’s no speaking time — 5 out of 6 of my teachers gave us time to talk. But the priority wasn’t on communication. It was on the book. The best teacher I had built wonderful communication activities that matched the topic, but even he had to cram in grammar so we could pass the test and move up.

When I went back and actually paid attention, it surprised me that only about 3 out of 20 learners were truly ready to move up. Everyone else needed more time. More repetition. More space to grow into the level.

Watching this play out as a student has made me rethink how often this same pattern happens in other learning environments, especially in the U.S. classroom. When people are pushed forward before they’re ready, it doesn’t create fluency. It creates gaps. And those gaps eventually shape confidence, participation, and the way learners see themselves.

In the next post, I want to explore what happens when those gaps are ignored — and how the affective filter rises long before schools ever notice it happening.