The learning stages When we learn something new, there are times when we advance quickly and times when we advance more slowly. Typically, the intermediate level is a period when we make less progress than we did at earlier levels. This is true for learning anything, a language, a sport, or a new job. At the intermediate level, progress is usually slower because we are focusing on more complex details than we did at earlier levels. Because progress slows down, learners often feel that they are staying at the same level, and not increasing their skills or knowledge. We often refer to this stage as the "intermediate plateau" and it is a time when many learners become frustrated and give up. Stage 1: Beginner- Unconscious incompetence Stage 2: Lower intermediate- Conscious incompetence Stage 3: Upper intermediate- Conscious competence Stage 4: Advanced- Unconscious competence This stages presents the stages of learning. The theory behind the model is that, in order to learn something new, we first have to be conscious of what we know and what we do not know. Then we can develop competence, or the abilities we need to do something. In the first stage on the ladder "unconscious incompetence", we don't know how much we need to learn. Everything is new and we are excited about learning, so we advance quickly. In the second stage, "conscious incompetence, we know how much we don't know! This can be a very frustrating period because we are aware of how much there is to learn. In the third stage, "Conscious competence", we are more competent, but we still have to work hard to maintain our competence. Sometimes this stage can seem like too much work! However, if we don't give up, we finally reach the final stage "unconscious competence". At this stage, our new skills have become automatic. We don't have to think about everything before we do it.