I’ve written an article before about the best strategies for learning a language, but there is another important factor in learning a language. Your mindset and motivation.
Your reasons for learning a language are important and can help you to stay motivated or properly focus your language learning.
For example, I have been studying Irish Gaelic for several years, but my motivation to study the language dropped off after a while. A big part of this had to do with being in college. I had a lot of schoolwork to focus on which took away from my energy and motivation to study anything else for fun.
What did I do about this? Well, not a lot, admittedly. I stopped doing anything in my language workbook because it took too much effort to keep track of. Duolingo was my best friend at this time because it kept me continually engaged with Irish Gaelic on a daily basis. Don’t get me wrong, though, Duolingo isn’t going to fully teach you a language. (More on that in my other post linked above.) If you’re going to use it, check what other people say about its program for your target language. Some of their courses are not done well.
Staying Motivated with Language Learning
Like I said above, a big part of what kept me engaging with Irish Gaelic was Duolingo. My drive to maintain my 1100+ day streak kept me going through college.
After college, I suddenly had much more time. I stopped using Duolingo entirely and started working out of my language book again. I now work out of it almost every day and am making noticeable progress in my language learning. That constant drive to keep my streak going led to a continued motivation to practice daily, even after I stopped keeping track.
Pace Yourself
When I initially started trying to do work out of the workbook, I tried to do an entire lesson in a day. The lessons in this book start out pretty long and only get longer. This was a disaster for my motivation. Even trying to do it only once or twice a week, I found it difficult to set aside several hours to do a single lesson.
Now, I am splitting each lesson up across several days. I spend one day on new vocab and grammar, and work my way through the exercises little by little. Instead of doing all of the work in one day, it takes me about a week to get through a single lesson. But, by spreading out the work, it is far easier to put in the time and effort to finish them.
Learning a language takes time. It’s a lifelong process. There is no quick-fix that will get you speaking a language in a week, a month, or even a year. But knowing how to speak a language isn’t simply yes or no, either. Your skill improves over time. You might recognize words or phrases that you didn’t before, or be able to form a tense you struggled with. That’s language learning. You’re still making progress.
Don’t be Afraid to Be Wrong
This is something I still struggle with myself. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, but pushing past it will amplify your learning. Being corrected doesn’t mean you’re being made fun of. Of course, with certain groups of people, that will happen.
Stay away from those people.
Surround yourself with native speakers or proficient learners who want to help you. It is easy to see the difference between constructive criticism and elitism or mocking. When people want to help you succeed, it is easier to ask for help. When their corrections come from a place of sincerity, it makes it easier to be wrong.
Keep Track of your Work
I do all of the work from my language book in a single document. Every day when I start my language practice, the first thing I do is correct my work from the day before. This does several things:
- Lets me know what to work on
- Shows me the progress I’ve made
- Reveals details I may have missed in a sentence or grammar topic
Studying language when it’s required for a class can often be demotivating. You’re struggling with a certain topic, and nothing seems to help you wrap your head around it. Then, you take a test on that topic and get a bad grade.
Correcting your own mistakes, though, actually enriches your learning. For one, you won’t be getting a percentage grade or letter grade. But finding the mistakes yourself immediately teaches you what you did wrong. If you misinterpret something, you’ll know what led to that mistake. You’ll remember it later and have an easier time correcting it.
When you correct your own learning, it also helps you see your progress. You’ll notice things you previously struggled with that you’re now getting right on your own.
This helps you to keep yourself on the right path for your goals, whatever those might be.
Tailor your Language Learning to your Goals
Your goal with the language you’re learning is just as important as your motivation. Knowing what to focus on to reach your goal keeps you from going off course.
There are many reasons why you could be learning a language:
- Reading
- Simple curiosity or interest
- Travel
- Moving to a new country
- School
- Business
- Studying abroad
Let’s delve briefly into just a few of the above examples:
Reading/Writing and Classes
If your goal is just to read in the language, then there’s little reason for you to focus on listening or speaking practice.
I took an Old English class when I was in college. It was amazing to learn what my native language used to be like. We did practice and pronounce the Old English words, but that was more to place them in context than anything. Nobody speaks Old English now, so the most important part was our ability to translate and understand the written word. This was the primary focus of the class.
Of course, in school, you’re usually required to take a language class. The hard work of focusing your study is often done for you. If you want to branch out from this, though, discuss it with your teacher. I’m sure they’ll be excited to recommend extra resources! I would personally recommend shows or movies to advance listening proficiency.
Many teachers focus solely on vocabulary or grammar, with little focus on student input or speaking practice. If you are in such a class and want to actually learn the language, try employing my strategies.
Curiosity
If you’re learning out of curiosity, then your focus can really be whatever you want, and you can freely take your time with the language. If you want full speaking proficiency, it will take time and effort, but you can get there if you know where to look. Work at a pace that you can maintain consistently. That’ll take some experimentation, but once you find it, keep it consistent.
As a traveler, it can be a lot of work to learn a whole language just to spend a week or so in another country. Focusing on travel phrases and basic grammar can get you far. Body language and gestures (also called paralinguistics) can handle the rest. If this is what you’re looking for, I make travel guides for languages!
Necessity
For many of the other situations I mention above (business, study, and moving), you’ll need to learn as much as you can. Grammar and vocabulary alike can help you converse. You’ll need to read, write, speak, and listen in the language to understand people. It’ll take a lot more work. Here’s my advice, though: start with the basics. The best way to learn to speak a language is immersion, and you will be doing just that once you arrive. The more you know beforehand, the easier it’ll be, but you’re not going to be an expert until you start talking.
For business, you’ll need a more firm grasp on certain terminology and grammar, but try to cast a wide net. Business often involves more than just business. Socializing is just as important as deal-making.
Conclusion
There is no perfect method or mindset that will work for everyone. I’ve given insight here into what I do for language learning, but that doesn’t mean you should do what I do. Use my advice to find what works for you.
Whatever you’re doing with language, let it come from a willingness to learn and a love for the process. Sometimes you have no choice in learning a language, but if you can find the right mindset (be it an interest in the culture, a love of learning, or something else from within), you’ll make it easier on yourself.
I personally love language and learning anything I can about it. Each and every one provides a new worldview, a new way of explaining reality, or just some exciting new thing that can be done with language!
Questions, comments, concerns, or something you want more detail on? Let me know below!