To stay motivated, we need to realize the importance of why we are doing something but also to find the process engaging and to feel that we progress along the way. Below, we list a few tips to keep your motivation alive while pursuing proficiency in a language.
Recommendations for Motivated Language Learning
1. Immerse yourself in the environment where this language feels at home
The most effective, pleasant, and memorable way of achieving this is to travel to countries that speak these languages. Living in a foreign country comes with complete immersion on all levels – one keeps learning non-stop, even when not intended. But this is obviously not the only way to get “exposed” to native speakers. You could opt for anything from listening to local radio stations broadcasting in the respective language to chatting with people from across the globe. If you have friends that happen to know this language well, ask them to use it when communicating with you. By creating yourself an appropriate environment, you’ll be paving the way towards efficient, multilateral, and regular learning.
2. Bring diversity to your learning process
Boredom is the path to inefficient learning or even a good nap. To avoid it, it is important to introduce diversity in your learning, which could be done by alternating several aspects:
- Form of learning: formal courses, self-learning, live communication.
- Sources – use audio, video, or printed materials, specialized software for language learning, memorization apps such as Anki (free) or SuperMemo with ready or newly assembled databases of flashcards, etc.
- Practiced components of the language – one could learn grammar in certain circumstances (or on certain days), vocabulary – on others, etc.
- Location – one could learn at home, while driving, while working out.
- Social aspect – learning alone, with a partner, or in a group.
3. Remind yourself occasionally why you need this language
Remind yourself from time to time why you need to keep learning it and what advantages it comes with. This article lists a few good reasons besides traveling that still make it worth learning a foreign language. This includes being able to form new contacts, developing a unique understanding/ perspective as a multilingual and multicultural person, training your brain and memory, becoming more open to the world, etc.
4. Reflect on the career prospects opened by knowing a language
Knowing a language could lead to a career on its own. Becoming a translator obviously requires language skills comparable to those of a native speaker, but there are many jobs that are less demanding: travel or customer support agent, marketing jobs, etc.
As for the level of remuneration, one way to get insight into this is to find the best translation agencies and to look at the rates they charge for translations. Obviously, this is the final price that includes many other expenses, but it can still be useful in estimating how much a translator is paid. Given that translators can often work as freelancers for foreign markets, such jobs can prove fairly profitable.
5. Contemplate your progress regularly
Looking back at the steps we’ve taken, the things we’ve mastered, and what they enable us to do feeds our requirement to feel competent after having invested time and effort. Feeling competent about something creates a positive feedback loop for motivation – the more competent we feel, the more we praise this quality of ours and the more time and effort we will be ready to invest. We can get this positive confirmation by reviewing our past progress, for instance, some older essays, our pronunciation, sentence structure, vocabulary back then.
Conclusion
While we hope that you find our tips useful, learning a language is obviously an individual journey and depends on the learners themselves. Some people learn better with either auditory or visual input, many prefer to be taught by humans, etc. People need to identify and exploit the forms of learning that work best for them.
Bio:
Merissa worked for several content writing platforms and has written both creative essays and documented research for a variety of purposes. Another important domain of her expertise is content marketing. Having written different types of content, Merissa acquired good insight and experience that she now gladly shares with others.
Positive Words Research – 5 Tips to Stay Motivated While Learning a New Language
