Why are you learning a language?

The biggest hurdle to learning a language is motivation. Anyone can learn anything if they really want to and stick with it, it just might take some longer than others. The point is we want to learn quickly and not make learning a chore we despise.

So in the next article we’re going to talk about getting fast results, but today I want to talk about motivation. It may sound unimportant now as you’re all excited to be learning something new. But when that initial excitement fades, what will be left?

Therefore, the first key to learning a language is asking yourself why you want to do it. The answers will range from work, travel, friends, just for fun, and many more. And no reason is any worse than others. But you have to keep that in mind what your own personal reason is.

If you have to learn for work, you might have added motivation because otherwise you won’t get promoted. But negative motivation will only get you so far. If you’re doing it for travel, you might have to learn quickly and that’s motivation to cram as much into your head as possible.

Whatever your reason, it needs to be strong enough to keep you going when things seem difficult. You need to make a commitment to yourself (or other people) that you’re going to learn your language and have a goal in mind. After all, would you prefer to muck around for 3 months learning a little… or to be able to have a conversation instead?

Perhaps your goal is having a 5 minute conversation in your chosen language, maybe longer. Do you need to read or write as well or do you just want to talk? Your goal should represent why you want to learn in the first place. It’s no good memorising the dictionary if you just want to be able to ask for directions! Also, set milestones on the way to your goal so you can measure your progress.

Once you have your map of where you’re going it’ll be much easier and efficient to reach. Pin it to your wall so you can look at it every day and set deadlines for yourself. This is the way to learn a language as fast as possible while getting the results your want.

But don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you’ll be buried in a book all day. We’re going to talk about fun ways to learn soon!

However, next time we’re going to talk more about making your language learning as fast and efficient as possible.