There are so many possible ways to organise your language learning that just this stage alone can stall you before you’ve even begun to actually learn the language itself. Instead, make things as easy as possible for yourself with The Solo Language Learning Planner. But how? Here’s how to use a language planner.

Why use a language planner?

Before we get into the “how”, you might well be asking “why”. Let’s clear up a few of the benefits of using a language planner before we get into the nitty gritty.

Accountability

Accountability is HUGE in language learning. And it comes in many different forms.

It could be that telling someone is the way to go for you. In which case, using something like social media or joining Clear The List would work wonders for you.

On the other hand, maybe you’re more personal, and telling yourself in one way or another is all you need. In this instance, a language planner is perfect.

Giving yourself the chance to set the right goals in a space that feels comfortable for you without the need to broadcast is exactly where a language planner comes in.

Writing down your goals will help to hold you accountable to yourself. Woop!

Progress

But goal setting alone isn’t enough. Reviewing is really where the magic happens.

If you only set goals and don’t review then you’re doing yourself a disservice.

Reviewing gives you the chance to be honest with yourself about what worked and what didn’t. Because inevitably, some stuff won’t work for you, and that’s totally ok – we’re all different.

Taking a little time regularly to review what you’re learning and how you’re doing it will help to ensure you’re making good progress with your language learning. Yay!

Documenting

All of this goal setting and review has an additional benefit too – you’re documenting your language learning and your progress.

When times get tricky and you feel like you’re on an uphill battle with your language learning (again, inevitable) just take a look back at your previous goals, reviews and notes to make you realise how far you’ve come.

How?

Ok, so you’re all ready to get busy planning with your language planner…but how the heck do you even use it?

The Solo Language Learner Planner comes with 12 different planning pages divided into the following groups: Calendars, Goal Setting, Review, Daily Planner.

You definitely don’t need to use them all at once. In fact, I’d encourage you not to! Instead, take a look through and pick the planning pages that are best for you right now to help you get stuff done. Here’s a closer look at some of them…

Project planner

Sometimes you just want to learn a language for a little bit of time, maybe for a holiday or a work trip.

Sometimes you just need a boost in one area of a language you’re already learning and need a focused project to help you get stuff done.

Either way, the project planner is for you.

This one page planner helps you to figure out the details of your project including the timeline you want to work to; the balance of offline, online, and real contact with people; the resources you’re using and for what areas of development (such as reading, grammar, speaking etc).

There’s also a to do checklist included to map out everything you want to get done in a clear and concise list.

And seeing as it’s just one page, it fits perfectly in the front of your folder or stuck on your wall.

First Impression Goals

Sometimes you just feel inspired and need to get it down on paper (or digital paper – the whole planner is digital-ready too so you can type right into your computer if you prefer).

You see a film in a brand new language to you or meet someone who speaks a language you’ve never heard of. Ooo!

When you’re not looking for fluency but just to learn a few words, this is the perfect simple planning page to keep your inspiration alive.

Onion + Ladder Goals

For the times when the simple First Impression Goal planning pages aren’t enough, The Solo Language Learner Planner includes Onion + Ladder Goals, complete with examples to show you how to best use them.

This is my favourite way to visualise the language learning goals I’m setting myself. You can read more about it here.

As well as the examples and blank templates for the simple version of both Onion + Ladder Goals, you also get examples and templates for the advanced versions of both too. The advanced versions take into account different aspects of language learning that you want to focus on to achieve each goal.

So fetch. My bad, I’ll stop trying to make fetch happen.

Study Session or Project Review

Like I mentioned above, reviewing is as key as the goal setting to make real consistent progress.

The review page in The Solo Language Learner Planner is just that: one page. Ideal for quick and easy review. After all, no one wants to sit for hours and analyse every single nook and cranny of their learning – we want to be learning!

To speed up the process but ensure it’s still useful, the review page has checkboxes and easy to answer questions looking back and forward to make sure you take action and keep progressing.

Lesson Record

Have you ever finished a lesson with a tutor and been way too exhausted to recap what you just studied together and then…never go back to it and forget it by next time?

Yup. Me too.

The Lesson Record helps you to avoid this. By keeping track of the lessons you have for the language you’re learning including the date, lesson focus, new stuff learnt, and a to do list before next time, you’re giving yourself an easy framework to work with to make sure you can go away and do something with what you’ve learnt before your next lesson.

Cue nerd face emoji. Don’t worry, nerd face emoji is totally the coolest one.

The Solo Language Learner Planner

That’s just a few of the planning pages included in The Solo Language Learner Planner. To see the full list, take a look right here.

The planner is what I use regularly to get my language learning goals and plans out of my head and in front of me.

Like I mentioned above, the planner is print-ready but also digital-ready, meaning that if you prefer, you can keep your planner saved on your computer and plan things out there instead of on paper. Oh hey, 21st century! Ha!

The best part about the planner is that it only costs once and it lasts forever. Quite the steal.

If you’re ready to get planning and take your language learning up a level, then click here to learn more + get your copy of The Solo Language Learner Planner.