On the other hand, if that spark never arrives, don’t be afraid to change course. Sometimes we don’t know whether we like things until we’ve properly tried them. If you don’t quite know what your reasons for learning a language are yet, don’t be discouraged! I actually did choose Spanish because it happened to be available, but I fell in love with it over time as I let it become a part of me. A language can unlock new levels of cultural understanding and appreciation, but that only matters if it matters to you. There are plenty of people watching anime and making French bread that didn’t need to learn anything (other than baking).

Of these three examples, cultural immersion may be the strongest, but even that doesn’t require a language. If you’re hoping to impress someone, what happens if they’re no longer in the picture? Could you impress them with something less time-consuming? If you only need to get through a vacation or two, you can learn a little and forget it later. Why do you want to learn a language in the first place, let alone the one you’ve got in mind? Travel? Culture? Impressing attractive humans? Any reason you come up with will have its own requirements and ability to keep you invested. So take a few moments to write out the purposes that brought you here. Who’s to say you ever had any more motivation than trying not to tank your GPA? Unless you wanted to learn Spanish, you likely didn’t have much choice if you went to school in the U.S. On top of that, if you don’t want to feel your new language slip from your grasp, you have to maintain it to some degree, forever.Īmong other reasons, this explains how someone can take four years of language classes and come out remembering nothing. I won’t lie to you - it takes a lot of effort just to reach a basic level of fluency. Find Your Motivationīefore you commit to studying a language, you should know why you’re doing it. Some of this may still be helpful for you, but I have little experience signing and can make no promises. To any sign-language learners out there, please note that this is written with spoken languages in mind. Here are some of the things I’ve learned over the last decade as I’ve dabbled in Spanish, French, Japanese, German, and Mandarin Chinese. Even the students who ace every test rarely go on to speak the language to any useful degree. Who could have blamed me? Language classes, particularly in high school, have a bit of a reputation for being difficult and ineffective. Language has fascinated me for many years, but it wasn’t always that way. Start Your Language Learning Journey Today.Master the 4 Basic Language Learning Skills.

How Long Does It Take to Learn a Language?.

I cnat read my language