One thing that’s sometimes missing from the conversation about how long it takes to learn a language is language learning intensity.

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Language Learning Intensity: What & How To Do It

What is Intensive Language Learning?

Intensive language learning is when you do as much of something that works in your language learning as you can, typically for a set period of time.

Think about those immersive short courses with 8 hours of lessons a day or intensive military language training like the DLI.

For most people, these sorts of time commitments aren’t an option. We work, we study, we have families to raise, we have lots of other things that we need to do as well.

“Drop everything now” and “just go and do it!” requires an amount of privilege of time, money and flexibility that not everyone has.

But does that mean intensive language learning is a write off for people who can’t quit their job and spend some months solely learning a language? Not at all.

How Everyone Can Do Intensive Language Learning

No one specifies the level of intensity other than you. The time period, the amount of daily hours, the language…you get to decide all of it. You get to define what intensive looks like for you.

Sure, it might not be “as intensive” as someone else, but that’s ok. I assure you, there’s always gonna be someone out there with more time and energy that they can devote to language learning than you.

Repeat after me: that’s ok.

Because it’s not just about the time (and energy!) you have, it’s about what you do within that time.

When you’re in a phase of Steady Growth, you have room to play and explore and enjoy.

There’s time to kick back a little and watch a film in the language without needing to translate every word.

There’s space to go down an etymological rabbit hole when you discover that there’s an unexpected connection between two seemingly unrelated words.

However, with intensive language learning (and phases of Speedy Gains) you will want to be more intentional about what you do.

How to Make Intensive Language Learning Work

Pick resources wisely

When you’re increasing your language learning intensity, you don’t want to waste time on the wrong resources for your purpose.

The key message regarding resources when we’re in a phase of Speedy Gains is that we don’t have to finish them. Shock horror!

I know for some of us, the idea of completing a resource ends up being THE goal. This can be detrimental as it means we’re more focused on turning the page or marking that online lesson as complete than we are on our actual progress with the language itself.

Another key resource trap is the need to follow everything in a resource in order. In intense language learning phases, that’s not always the best use of our time.

So, when intensity is the focus, we need to pick resources wisely. Oh, and not get sucked into thinking we have to finish them or do them in order.

So how do we know what we want to learn from our resources to enable us to use them effectively?…

Set up a training plan

Just like if you were training for a sporting event, you’ll want a training plan in place to give you a guide of what to learn and when.

This won’t always be something that gets followed down to the letter, but it will help us avoid those meandering “what next?” study sessions.

You don’t have to explicitly specify exactly which resource or lesson or page number you’ll use for each step.

It’s more likely that you’ll instead want to focus on your training plan giving you a guide of what to learn.

The better you get at language learning, the more you’ll know how to select the ‘how’ in the moment as necessary.

For example, when I’m training for a running race, I set myself a training plan with distances but don’t plan my routes.

That way, there’s always some fun involved along the way in planning my routes to match the distances as each week passes.

Don’t go too difficult (or too long or too intense)

Again with the sport comparison, it’s all too easy to injure yourself if you don’t take appropriate breaks or workout at the right level & for the right duration.

Same with intensive language learning.

To avoid burning out, you need to ensure that you’ve got breaks planned into that training plan.

This may be intensive language learning now, but if we want longer lasting impacts then we need to include breaks in the intensity.

Join me for Grace & Space

Learning a language intensively for a period doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your self-compassion with your language learning.

If you’re curious how, we’ll cover how to do this in much more detail at this year’s Grace & Space online retreat.

Grace & Space is a virtual retreat that I’ve hosted annually since 2021 and it’s always a joy to connect for the day with like-minded language learners like you!

This year, it’s happening 18th October 2023.

There’ll be taught sessions, live Q&A and (brand new for 2023!) an interactive Learn A New Language session!

We’ll put everything we learn from the taught sessions into practice with that interactive session, so you’ll get a real taste of how it all works.

Tickets for Grace & Space include live access on the day & recording access too. They cost just $25.