We all learn languages for different reasons. But whether we’re learning a language out of choice or not, it’s always easy to lose motivation. How can you keep motivated when you’re learning a language?

set yourself goals

If you’re a regular reader you’ll know I do love me a bit of goal setting. I share mine each month here on the blog with Clear The List and I’ve written a lot about it here in general too.

And if you’ve come to this post after struggling with a teacher at school then you’re probably bored of being told to set goals. When I was at school they called it “target setting”, and I remember specifically asking one day why we had to do it. It was a pointless waste of an hour on our first day back each term in my mind.

However, now I’m the complete opposite. I get it. Goals are good. If you want to set yourself some killer goals to keep motivated learning a language then try my onion and ladder goals to get you started.

get involved with the culture

It’s often said that language is culture, and it’s not just something that sounds good on a magnet. It’s actually kinda true.

When you learn a new language, one of the best ways to stay motivated is to get involved with the culture. This could be anything from going to a local restaurant and trying something new to finding a new band to fall in love with.

Whatever it is, the language will help you understand the culture and the culture will help you understand the language.

find a study buddy

My degree was part-time distance learning. By definition, I wasn’t really surrounded by study buddies to keep me motivated. And this was ok.

I got very used to studying on my own and I’ve been learning languages solo for the most part since then, which is exactly why I have a course called Successful Self-Study.

However, learning Korean recently alongside my buddy Shannon from Eurolinguiste taught me that sometimes having regular check-ins with someone can be a good thing – and an enjoyable thing too.

In fact, one of the big things I teach in Successful Self-Study is that the worst thing you can do is stay completely alone.

hold yourself accountable

Whether it’s something as simple as telling people what you’re doing and therefore feeling like people are rooting for you and not wanting to answer the question “How’s that language going, Jim?” with an “Err…err”, sweaty palms and a quick disappearance to avoid answering it.

Or whether it’s a chart or an app to track when you study, accountability is awesome.

Try an app such as Momentum to get started or join something like the Add1Challenge if you’re ready for a bigger commitment.

document your study

As well as holding yourself accountable, it’s very valuable to document your study too. What does this even mean? Well you definitely don’t need to get David Attenborough involved. Although that would be nice.

It could be video, it could be writing, it could be audio. Whatever you feel comfortable with and whatever fits best with your goals for a language is how you should be documenting your study.

For me it’s video. I share regular mistake sessions on Snapchat and save them to my phone. I share monthly progress videos of my progress with Indonesian. And I’ve done this too with Portuguese and Japanese in the past. It works so well because I can go back to my old videos and cringe and say “Woah! Wait what?! I made that mistake?!”

Another thing you could add to this to make sure you do actually go back and see how much you’ve progressed is to email yourself in the future using something like FutureMe.

turn envy to inspiration

Ok. So this is a worthwhile one. When we want something, we often look to people who have already got that thing and think “Hey now. That’s not fair. I bet Jim didn’t have to work for that. How can he do it and I can’t? Why is Jim so good at this? I bet Jim has more time to do it than I do. I bet Jim has never struggled with it in his life. I’ll never be as good as Jim.”

Can you relate? Me too. And that’s ok. Envy isn’t a bad thing. We can make it a good thing. Turn your envy into inspiration.

Yes, some people were born into different circumstances than you that may have made something easier for them, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t had to work for it too.

When you find yourself thinking these thoughts, stop. Stop and tell yourself this instead:

“Hey now. That’s awesome. I bet Jim had to work for that. How does he do it and how can I? I can’t wait ’til I’m as good at this as Jim. I bet Jim has the same amount of time to do it as I do. I bet Jim has struggled with it in his life. I’ll be as good as Jim.”

Easier said than done but if you can do it, this will be one of the most powerful motivations on this list.

book a trip to a country that speaks the language if possible

This one may not be possible. I get that. But if you’re got yourself involved with the culture and you’re looking for a way to take that further to keep the inspiration, consider booking a trip to a country that speaks the language you’re learning.

The closer to the present the better in terms of a kick up the butt of motivation! Passport please?

look for something local if not

If going to another country isn’t possible, think local. Are there any local groups on MeetUp.com? Any restaurants or shops or communities of people who speak the language you’re learning?

I was surprised to find French, German, Spanish and other groups in my local community!

remember only 5% of the world speaks english as a native language

It may seem that everyone speaks English. But actually, it’s just 5% of the world. Well, 5.52% to be precise.

Now, we’re talking about native speakers only here. But think about that quote from Nelson Mandela – speak to a man in a language he understands and you talk to his head. Speak to him in his own language and you talk to his heart. So true.

In a motivation rut? This will help.

Do you feel like you’re just not getting anywhere with your language learning?

Get overwhelmed by all the things that you could be doing, but don’t know where to start?

Do you wish there was a way to make your language learning fun and productive at the same time?

You’re not alone. This is exactly why I created 100 Creative Ideas for Solo Language Learners as a way to help new language learners get started and feel empowered, help smart independent learners get moving in their second language, and give polyglots who fit languages into their routine but get bored easily some fun new ideas.

I’ve packed this book full of over 100 Creative Ideas to make your independent language learning fun and productive, all core areas covered—speaking, listening, writing, reading vocabulary and grammar—and added videos, templates and examples to help you get started with lots of the ideas. You’ll also have access to all future updates and lifetime access!

What’s more: it will refresh your motivation now and any time you need it down the line. It will give you a whole toolbox of creative ideas to choose from whenever you need a boost in any area of progress.

Learn more and get your copy right here.