Learning a language is the result of many small efforts repeated consistently over time. If you don’t yet have daily habits to support your learning, I invite you to start building some.
Even if it’s just 10 minutes a day, these routines contribute to your progress, and they really add up after a while.
Let’s go through some fun ideas to get you motivated to practice your new language once a day.
Listen to music in the language you’re trying to learn
If it wasn’t for music I’d find learning languages to be a much harder task. When you listen to a song in a foreign language for the first time it might sound like gibberish, but if you keep hitting the replay button you start to make a little more sense of the language used.
The best thing is that it doesn’t feel like homework, it’s a good way to get familiarised with the language structure and vocabulary without barely noticing. Plus, if you sing the lyrics outloud, your pronunciation can be greatly improved.
Change your phone's language settings
If you have some basic understanding of the language you’re learning, you can take the step of changing your phone’s language settings to that language. This can be a big help with vocabulary.
If you’re a complete beginner, however, I advise you not to do this just yet. I actually once found myself having to use Google Translate to bring me back to the settings section after getting lost in a beautiful but impossible maze of Swedish words :)
Check out today’s ‘word of the day’
Old, but gold. The word of the day method is a nice way to expand your vocabulary. They won’t make a huge difference, but you will learn some new words without realising. You can include this habit together with checking social media or your email in the morning.
There are many resources for this, for example Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com, or Wordsmith.org.
Practice self-talk in your target language
This is a convenient and autonomous way to practice your language skills. You can narrate your day outloud, or talk about your favourite hobby, as if you were practicing a speech. You might come across concepts you don’t know how to express or grammatical structures you’re not sure about. If you do, you can check an online dictionary, and that way you will learn something new that is also useful, as it’s the kind of thing you would say in a real conversation.
Try timed micro-challenges
The micro-challenge is about setting a timer, getting some resources ready, and trying to learn as much as possible in that limited time frame. You can choose the time span where you think you can be completely focused without a break. This usually ranges from 5 to 20 minutes.
The point is to make the session as intense as possible, so that it’s fun and it feels like an actual challenge. Once the time is over you can take inventory of the things you have learned during that time.
Follow a YouTube channel in your target language
The days of boring prerecorded audios for language learning are long gone. Now you can head to your favourite streaming platform, and select content that you actually enjoy.
YouTube is usually my platform of preference for this activity, because it combines audio and video, and because you can find all sorts of topics there. The key is to find videos that you would watch in your native language, as that means you’re actually interested in the content.
Write a few lines of text every day
Writing a little every day is a great habit, because it can help you solidify what you’ve learnt during the day. You can make use of different prompts, for example ‘What did you do today?’, ‘Where would you like to go on holidays?’, or ‘What’s your favourite book and why?’. Adjust the difficulty depending on your level.
Conclusion
Feel free to choose the habits that work best for you, and try to not overwhelm yourself with many different routines. It’s a lot more effective to select a couple and stick to them every day, remember that consistency is what’s going to help you succeed.
Trust the process and enjoy the journey! ✨
