Feeling stuck in your language learning journey? We’ll help you out!
When it comes to learning foreign languages, it’s not so unusual that you get stuck and you don't know which way to go. In fact, it happens more often than you think. Almost every language learner finds themself lacking commitment at one point.
How to overcome this obstacle? What to do to stay committed to learning a language? That's why we're here, to find out. Let's get started.
Here are 7 tips that can help you stay motivated and committed to learning your target language.
Don't Forget Your Goals
Every person has a particular reason for learning a language. Some of you want a better job and hope to get promoted once you finally learn the language. Others want to be able to communicate with the locals while visiting the speaking country and find out things that typical tourists don't know. And some learn to impress their partners and communicate with his relatives to get to know their own heritage and family traditions.
No matter the reason, if you want some 'force' to 'push you forward' it would be useful once in a while to refresh your memory of why you've started to learn that language in the first place.
When you are concentrating on learning grammar rules, conjugating verbs, or practicing your pronunciation, you can easily forget the reason you've started learning the language.
Studies show that remembering that feeling, reason, and excitement when you decided and started studying the language helps your brain visualize it and move forward.
So, go ahead, refresh your memory of the reasons, and dreaming just a little bit.
What Are Your Distractions?
What distracts you from learning the language?
It's not only in being concentrated on finding the right method and learning style that can help you with your learning goals.
One more thing that can be very helpful is finding what precisely distracts you from moving forward.
Is it staying up too late at night and then you don’t have enough concentration for studying?
Or is it using your phone and social networks too much?
Whatever the reason is, the important thing is to find that tiny worm that keeps you from moving forward to your fluency path.
Stop With Excuses
In every language learner’s life there comes the time when he thinks he can’t do it anymore.
For that, many blame their incapability to understand the language. In other words, many would say that they are ‘bad at learning languages’ especially when seeing people around them learn and make progress.
Even if it can be quite hard, you have to realize that making explanations and excuses as this one won’t help you with learning a language.
Instead, positive thinking is like a blessing.
So, before you start pitying yourself how you are bad at languages or you simply don’t know how to study the language effectively, think positively. Keep in mind that there’s no magic formula that will give you all the knowledge in the world. It takes a lot of time, effort, and dedication to achieve the desired level.
Find a Learning Method That Works For You
Learning a foreign language with classic textbooks that contain even more boring texts and dialogues is a long-time passé.
Today, luckily, you have so many different learning styles that not only help you improve your language skills but make you want to use them over and over again.
If you want to improve your listening skills in French, podcasts are an ideal solution.
Should you, for example, want to practice speaking and simulate conversations, professional tutors are available.
And if you want to finally understand grammar, give a chance to entertaining grammar games for adults.
As you see, there are many entertaining ways and amusing ideas that keep you wanting to learn and practice the language every day.
Make Mistakes And Learn From Them
Anyone who says that he has never made a mistake while learning a foreign language, lies.
Making mistakes is perfectly normal and usual.
So, don't let mistakes overwhelm you.
Make good fun and experience all that.
Did you use an inappropriate word? Or perhaps didn't conjugate the verb as it was supposed to?
No problem! You'll learn the correct and appropriate word and verb conjugation and you will keep walking.
Was all that the end of the world?
No, it wasn't.
You have to understand that making mistakes actually helps you get the language better and not to make the same mistake the next time.
Even if you make a dozen mistakes in only one sentence, don't be devastated. So what? You've made mistakes and now you'll slowly correct every one of them.
And don't forget to laugh at yourself in the meantime because laughing will keep you positive and positive thinking leads to success.
Consider Participating in a Language Learning Challenge
Do you know what the language learning challenge is?
It is an amazing and entertaining way that helps and reminds you of studying and practicing the language.
It is, usually a large group of language learners who gather to succeed in their language learning goals.
Today, you can find many of these groups online.
Add1Challenge, for example, is one of them where, within three months, you have different kinds of challenges such as 15 minutes speaking challenge with native speakers you have to do. You also have some progress trackers, like recording at least three videos, learning specific phrases, etc.
Perhaps this way can be a little challenging but it makes you want to progress, especially when you have specific goals to achieve and compare to the others
Track Your Progress
Learning a foreign language isn't easy, especially when you look ahead and see that even if you are giving your best efforts to progress and move forward, there is so much work to be done.
We won't lie. You can feel overwhelmed.
But before you start feeling that way and looking ahead, stop for a moment and take a look back. See how far you've come. Take a look at the things you've learned so far.
For example, you can do this by writing some short story in your target language or record yourself talking about one casual day in your life.
Besides it can be a good practice, it can be an ideal proof of how far you've actually come.
We all are aware of the fact that we have other jobs to do, families to take care or other important places to go to.
In all those commitments it can be hard to find not only time but also a motivation to learn the language, and, more importantly, to stay motivated.
That's why these 7 tips are here to help you every time your enthusiasm goes away somewhere in the clouds.
There will always be things that are more important than learning a language. But with these paths, you won't lose your way anymore.
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