[Agingcoder]

Not really - I’d say he just really wants to. Just like when you meet someone and want to spend time with them, are binge watching a show, playing a video game, reading a book, writing code : you want to do that thing again, here learn mandarin.

I’m a lot more familiar with Japanese than with mandarin (and use srs), and it’s worth noting than srs essentially turns anything into an extremely satisfying game : you learn quickly, you really wonder how far you can go, so you keep playing.

I believe that’s the killer combo : really wanting to do something, and having that something turned into a game to avoid giving up.