Now that I no longer live in a foreign country, it takes a lot more gumption to really stick to language learning. When I could just walk down the street in Madrid and listen in on strangers’ conversations to figure out what they’re talking about, I don’t get that anymore. Of course, lots of folks don’t get the luxury of immersion, something that I mentioned before as the best way to learn a language. So what do you do when you can’t?
Dedicate your time
We all have schedules. That’s how people work. If you tell yourself to study language today, it’s not going to happen. Pick up your calendar, grab a pen, and mark down a time slot. 4-5 PM. After the kids are asleep. During your lunch break. Whatever you can do to make it work, do it. Be specific. Don’t let yourself forget about it or put it off for another 5 minutes. Oh look, it’s 7:00! Time to open the book!
Come up with a goal
To accomplish anything in your life, you need goals. Now, like I said, language learning requires a goal more specific than to just learn a language. For example, my goal is to pass the C2 exam for Spanish when it is available in November. Then, to add to that, create supplemental goals: I want to learn this specific vocabulary by next Friday, for example. Create bite-sized goals. As time goes on, they’ll layer themselves together until you can accomplish your big language learning goal!
Be logical
I’ve mentioned my language learning mistakes in a previous post, and the one I’d like to apply here is about vocabulary. Yeah, we all hate it. There are thousands of words in a language and you’ve got to learn at least a solid chunk of it. My advice to you? Stick to topics. If you need to clean the house, arm yourself with a collection of household vocabulary and narrate your actions to yourself. Sweep the floor and wash the dishes in your target language. See a toothbrush? What do you use that for? If you can’t find other people to talk to in your language learning journey, talk to yourself!
Get involved
The internet is really a wonderful places. There are dozens of language learning communities out there - all you gotta do is find one that you match up with. For example (prepare yourself for shameless self promotion), over on my YouTube channel I vlog about my language learning journey every day. Use my daily updates as motivation and reminders to get yourself into the habit, as well!