Some tips on staying motivated when learning a language

Today is a lucky chance to learn smth new. Someone has decided to learn a language after a sudden burst of inspiration, and now you need a push to stay motivated.

1. Be disciplined, but flexible.

Don’t feel frustrated if you don’t feel like studying one day, or if you’re busy and don’t have the time or energy. This happens. Try planning your week ahead so that you make sure you factor in your study time. If you miss a session, keep yourself motivated by reminding yourself that you can always fit it in another day.

2. Divide and rule. Set yourself some challenging, yet achievable goals. By doing this, you’ll feel that you’re progressing, which will, in turn, motivate you to continue learning your language of choice. So it’s a win-win situation!

3. Develop your own motivations

Now this is something I’m very good at! Think about something you love doing, and then mix it up with something more challenging. Let’s say you’d like to do your next French lesson today, but you don’t feel like it because it’s beautiful and sunny outside. Well, you could go to a park, grab yourself a coffee and some biscuits and study whilst lying on the grass sunbathing! Being consistent is essential. It usually takes around a month to form a habit, so don’t give up! Language learning will eventually become part of your daily life if you organise yourself properly. You don’t need a lot of time: regularity is key.

4. Celebrate success

Rewards are great motivators! Don’t forget to treat yourself when you achieve your goals. If you have one really productive day of studying, why not take a break the next day as a reward? Or set yourself a goal for the day. If you achieve it, go and treat yourself to that slice of cake you’ve been craving!

5. Mix it up!

Learning should be as fun as possible, and I find that changing the resources you use to learn will make it more interesting.

• Read a book or blogs
• Watch a movie or listen to the radio in the language you’re learning
• Have a conversation with a language partner
• Write down what you did yesterday (that way you can also write a personal diary in a different language)

6. Remember why you started

Try and bring that first burst of motivation back to life! There are plenty of benefits of learning a foreign language. Did you start learning to go travelling? Or was it so you could listen to other people’s conversations on the train?

Whatever it was, remembering why you started will give you a little boost of energy and remind you why it’s all worth it!