I think,
idea of motivation is extremely tricky when it comes to language learning. When
you apply for a job, you write a motivation letter, but then your motivations
are much more exact us they deal with you at a present moment and in a clear
setting (e.g. applying for a job on 29 May). Language learning is much more
complicated – you never know how long certain language will be actively present
in your life, and neither you know, what spheres of life it will extend to.
Moreover, you may start fearing that
language skill may become “useless” just because of certain change in your life
(change in location, career, meeting new people, and so on).
Instead of
trying to forecast what will happen to you & your target language
relationship later, focus on present and habit-based small goals that focus on the study process, not end goals of language learnings.
Examples of
such process-oriented goals can be:
- being able to discuss your weekend plans with your language partner on Tandem;
- being able to read receipts in your target language (and most important, using these receipts to make grocery lists in your own language/other language);
- being able to understand memes in target language;
- attending language club or language cafe at least every second week (check meetup.com for language-related events at your location).
The next
stage would be to think how much time you can realistically devote to this
goal. I usually split self-study time into three types:
- out-of-home study time: studying when queuing or commuting.
- lazy/passive study time at home: studying in form of watching movies in target language or reading magazines. No taking notes, just relaxation!
- active study time at home: time to revise grammar and learn vocabulary. Active time includes note-taking.
Then, intuitively estimate how much time you have for a daily active mode language learning. 20
minutes per day is a realistic minimum for a weekday. Then you can note down your goals for
active learning – for example, minimum 1.5 hours per week. Then you can start testing how
you can use “lazy time” for learning and how much time you can study in more relaxed mode (it can be even half an hour or hour more per day!).
Next, I
will write about tracking your language learning habits. Stay updated!