Many people plan ahead for business goals, upcoming deadlines, events, meetings at work, fitness or meals. But did you know that making a language learning plan can actually help you learn a language faster?
In this article, you'll learn 5 steps to help you get the ball rolling.
Read moreHave you ever heard of a phenomenon called "Priming"? Priming is what psychologists call it when your brain adapts to the environment around it without you realising. For example, you might automatically walk slower in a nursing home than you do in a gym. The brain helps your body to adjust, and this also affects your memory and even your confidence and the whole way you interpret situations.
Priming is largely unconscious, but now that you’re aware of it you can also use it to your advantage when learning languages. The idea is to switch your brain into “language mode” and use cues from your environment to help you get into the right zone.
Want to learn more about how to be a productive language learner?
©morethanmaths on Flickr
When I was a German tutor, I’d teach many people in their lunch hour. They would stay in the office at their English-speaking workplace, close the door and open up Skype to start chatting German with me.
In those situations, I’d commonly noticed that it took them a lot of time to warm up, relax, and start chatting away. Having thought about the learning environment and what it means for your performance, I came to the conclusion that these students need to make a brain switch from work mode to learning mode.
In this article on Wired, the author describes how a mere glance at the native speaker will prompt them to blurt out native words.
And there’s more at play than just the language you’re speaking.
Many people who work in management or office-based roles are in an environment that looks a bit like school, but demands a completely different behaviour. “Professionals” don't just go out and try things. They are expected to control their creativity and maintain a professional image at all times.
When you think about the good mindset for language learners, it's a contrast: You'll do well if you can combine curiosity, discipline and a complete disregard for embarrassment!
Switching up a part of your environment can help you become a better learner, with simple prompts that take seconds to implement.
Try out some ideas that learners and teachers can use to make priming work in the right way:
I will not promise you that watching an awful lot of films in a foreign language will magically beam fluency into your mind.
The real benefit of surrounding yourself with the target language is that you stay engaged with it and develop knowledge of the country. In terms of the priming benefit, it will work magic. Plus, you get to do it while putting your feet up or driving.
Schedule your learning sessions for the right times. For example, I like doing my chatting in Spanish on the drive back from Zumba - partly because the Spanish lady is captive in my car, partly because we've just spent an hour having fun and dancing around. Others also swear by having a nice glass of wine to relax or using breathing exercises.
Another great tip is to create a learning corner in your home - somewhere quiet, free from distractions and full of positive associations.
School classroom teachers have known for a long time that putting up posters and displays around the classroom can get pupils in the right state of mind for learning. They don't have to be written in the foreign language, but just reminders of what's great about the country you're learning about.
Take a tip from this and create your own language learning displays full of things that interest you about your language. They could be recipes, tickets from old trips, tourist brochures or printouts from the internet. I particularly love vintage posters.
You can find more inspiration on my Pinterest boards for German, French and Russian.
In my teaching role, I try to start my lessons off easily with some smaller warm-up activities like asking students how they are or offering them a drink.
Recently, I received the great tip that using the same warm-up activity every time for regular students is actually helpful - here I was worrying people would get bored, but the learner's perspective was that knowing "what's coming" allowed them to prepare and feel confident at the start of the lesson. That puts every learner in the right state of mind for success.
Click here for my article on learning a language at Christmas (even if you don’t celebrate it)
First published July 2013. Last updated December 2021.
I'm a super passionate teacher and love to teach people about what I tried and loved in my life, and one of those passions is podcasting.
For me, starting the Fluent Show was life-changing. I got to interview amazing people and learn something amazing every episode, from neuroscience to language creation.
You can read more about how podcasting made me a better language learner over here.
Most people think of podcasts as a marketing tool for their business but in reality they are so much more!!
Podcasting is perfect for people just like you: language lovers with a passion for learning.
you could record a regular podcast in your target language practicing new topics and vocab you've just learnt
you could exchange podcast episodes as a joint show with a learning buddy
you could record interviews with native speakers as practice for your conversation skills
you could record a podcast about the resources you used and review and what you learnt - in your target language, of course
you could bring together friends and start a bilingual podcast book club, or film club, or music club
you could get together with your fellow students and record a study club show together, talking about what you are learning
you could interview your fellow students to learn their motivations and learning methods
you could make your own accountability show, checking in every week to share what you've been learning
Let's get back to talking about business for a minute.
you could share some of your lessons with the world and build a huge following of eager students
you could interview successful students as super powerful testimonials
you could share your teaching philosophy so the perfect students get to know you
you could share homework assignments and tips directly to your students' phones through a simple podcast feed
you could upgrade your content and open a new income stream by going deeper in a podcast discussion
And by the way, if you're a woman or non-binary, we need you even more because right now 75% of podcast hosts are men.
All this leaves just one question:
Guess what...I can!!
I'm super excited to announce that starting 20 September, I'm inviting you to join my Podcasting 101 course and get access to a 3-week live round full of support, action and friendly accountability.
Wanna learn more? Ready to do this thing?
Language coaches are the hidden treasure of the language learning world.
An amazing coach can train you up, just like a sports coach, to be an incredible language learner.
But if you don't pick a great match (or don't work with them in the right way), you can end up frustrated and out a lot of money.
In this master post, you’ll find everything you need to figure out exactly what a language coach will do for you and how to get the most out of every session.
By the end of this guide, you will have:
Before we get into the super helpful topics on this list, let’s explain what a language coach is and isn't.
That's because there are a ton of misconceptions about what a language coach's responsibilities are and confusion about the differences between a language coach and language teacher.
Pretend you are an English speaker learning French. You would need a French teacher who also speaks French, right?
Well for a language coach, it doesn't matter if they speak French or not.
You could even be working on a language that that language coach had never even heard of before! That's because a coach isn't going to teach you any specific language skills.
So what are they going to teach you?
To put this into perspective, what sets strong adult language learners apart is their ability to troubleshoot their own problems; come up with unique solutions; and build strong study habits.
A language coach will help you become that strong language learner. Unless you bring up specific problems with grammar, vocabulary, or any language learning skills, those won't be the focus of your sessions.
Sure those rules can be broken, but in general, a teacher will help you catch and fix errors by explicitly telling you the "right" way to do something.
But because we are all individuals with our own personal learning styles, busy lives, language goals, and language anxieties, a language coach will more likely focus on solving your problems with you: but not necessarily telling you the one "right" way to do something.
There's also the question of what makes someone a language coach.
With language teachers, there are large institutes, recognized accreditation programs, and achievable diplomas to show a student that they are qualified to teach a certain language. Not all language teachers have these, but many do.
But with language coaches, there is no universally recognized accreditation or certification program.
So how do students decide if the coach is the best expert for them? All language coaches speak several languages so they know your struggle and have been in your shoes. They usually have blogs, YouTube channels, podcasts, or books on the subject so you can judge their expertise for yourself. Because of all of this, language coaches are a bit harder to qualify. (But don't worry: we'll give you some good tools for how to do so below.)
Finally, neither a language coach nor a language teacher can fix your problems themselves.
Language learning is one of the most egalitarian skills in this world because you cannot buy it from anyone.
Sure, people with more money may also have more time: but it's truly a question of who is willing to put in the effort.
So before you consider going any further, you must ask yourself: if I work with a language expert, am I willing to put in what it takes to train myself into an amazing language learner?
Now that we've cleared that up, follow this roadmap and you are bound to find a language coach that you love.
Follow along and see what your next steps might be:
The most important thing here is that you find the best-fit coach for you yourself.
So outside of a quick Google search, our advice is that you follow potential coaches outside of social media and see what they really have to say.
No matter what, we highly recommend learning more about language learning whether or not you find a coach.
To do so, check out The Fluent Show (a podcast about loving, living, and learning languages) or any other number of linguistics podcasts or linguistics books.
The most important thing you are building with a language coach is your metacognitive and metalinguistic skills - that means knowing more about how language learning works and how to set up the right study systems for yourself.
And while a coach can be an amazing investment along the way, ultimately it's up to the student to truly learn and practice their skills.
Next up, the best tips to help you prepare for a future coaching relationship.
But if you're looking for an alternative to language coaching, you’ll find those in the final section of this article.
If you've never worked with a language coach before, it can feel vulnerable to open up about your problems to a stranger. Here’s what to expect from your first language coach meeting:
Nicole began studying French at university, but after moving to the UK wanted to dedicate more time towards her language studies. Her problem? How to find time and dedication for solo learning after the beginning stages. How do you get really good?
If you're a podcast fan, listen to this Fluent Show episode either in-browser here or where ever you listen to your favourite podcasts. In it, Nicole and I talk more about what working together to solve Nicole's problems was like.
Suzanne (@suzanne.linguist on Instagram) is a self-proclaimed language dabbler, who's hobby has always been trying out little bits of languages here and there.
But as she moves closer to finishing her Master's in Library Science, she wanted to take her linguistic curiosity to the next level and work towards fluency in several languages.
That's when she began working with me as her language coach. Here are some of the tips she laid out for anyone thinking about trying out coaching for the first time.
1. Feeling a little nervous is normal.
Suzanne admits she was excited, "and also feeling a little anxious." Not knowing what to expect is normal, and with time going into sessions will feel more and more natural.
2. When booking your session, leave a note to your coach about what you want to talk about.
When using an online booking platform, most coaches have a place where you can leave a note. If you have an idea of what you want to discuss during your session, you can drop it there for them to glance at before the session.
3. During the days before your session, reflect on your problem.
Suzanne's two biggest tips involve preparing yourself for your session.
"First and foremost, come with questions," she says. "Second, have some idea of your topic priorities. My best sessions with Kerstin are when I’m very well prepared."
And how can you go about thinking about those questions?
"I’ve tried different methods [of preparing]," says Suzanne. "I once did a mind map. Usually I brainstorm in a digital note. And always I ask a polyglot friend or two, which is invaluable, as they’ll remind of things I brought up but had forgotten about."
4. Be present and truthful.
There might be a bit of nervousness in the first session or two, Suzanne reflected. But she also joked: "Stay calm... you’re in good hands!"
Remember: language coaches have seen plenty of problems before, so if you openly share your roadblocks or frustrations with them, that's not admitting failure. In fact, it's the first step to fixing the problem!
Straying off-topic a bit of thinking out loud might be a normal part of this process. "I can get off on tangents," admits Suzanne.
But part of working through these problems is also helping you explore different angles while saying on the right path.
5. Have a scrap paper nearby, but don't worry about it.
"I don’t usually take notes," says Suzanne.
The goal is to be present and thoughtful. But jotting something down might be helpful every once in a while.
6. After your session, take time to reflect and plan.
Coaching tends to get your creative juices flowing. For some people, pausing post-session to journal or talk to someone can be a great extension of what you worked on with your coach.
"In the hours following a meeting, I often brief polyglot friends on any new ideas or directions," says Suzanne. "I also put any time-bound items in my task manager, which is where I organize my language hobby."
7. Use your new skills and solutions during the coming weeks
Remember: a language coach can't magically teach you a language. (Teaching you a language isn't even their job!)
So it's important to take ownership of your own learning process. See what works, see what doesn't, and see everything through.
Then, bring in those new experiments and experiences into your next session.
8. Connect with other language learners
Over and over in our interview, Suzanne kept bringing up one thing: the online language community.
First, and most obviously, there are the native speakers of the languages we want to learn.
"I'm motivated to learn modern languages because I'm fascinated by cultures and communities. Interacting with native speakers, I've learned so much about their lives and the way they think."
But outside of just language exchanges or tutoring relationships, there are also huge communities on Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Tumblr of other people who, regardless of language, want to connect with us.
"Language learning for me brings more joy when I can geek out with those who 'get' me," she says. "I love the mutual encouragement [and] the camaraderie."
With this community, you don't necessarily need to speak the same language--just love to talk about struggles, victories, and new experiences.
"Sometimes we're too close to ourselves to see the bigger picture," says Suzanne. "Language friends and coaches inspire and inform us!"
If language coaching is out of your budget, that doesn't mean that you can't benefit from the advice of experts.
Here are the top 3 alternatives to language coaching.
There are plenty of language learning podcasts hosted by experienced language learners and coaches who will fill your feed with awesome educational material.
PROS: My own podcast, the Fluent Show, has a massive back catalogue of over 200 episodes, many of which answer the most common questions you have about language learning. It's inspirational, educational, and will always be free.
CONS: Unlike one-on-one coaching, there's no one to address your specific problems or help with follow-up questions.
Click here to listen to The Fluent Show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or search your favourite podcast platform today.
Plenty of language learning experts have written some amazing linguistics books specifically for language learners.
PROS: Linguistics books are thoroughly researched and edited by professionals, meaning the quality of content and advice is going to be much higher than other platforms like YouTube.
CONS: Since your library is unlikely to stock this niche category of books, you'll likely have to invest a few dollars into buying them.
But as a starting point, check out these in-depth interviews with two awesome book authors who specialise in language learning!
Becoming Fluent by Dr Roger Kreuz
Ultralearning by Scott Young
Find more linguistics book recommendations for language learners here!.
Finally, there's the Language Habit Toolkit.
The Toolkit is designed to help students solve the 10 most common problems they are likely to see a language coach about, and costs less than a first coaching session might. It includes (1) a multimedia training on Teachable.com, (2) printable worksheets and accountability trackers, and (3) plenty of annual goodies like live trainings, study sessions, and pop-up community groups.
PROS: It will help you solve the most common problems language learners have for a price that's better than coaching. It's not only a training, but comes with monthly activities, planners, and trackers.
CONS: It requires more self-discipline than working with a coach since you have no human holding you to using it.
This article was designed to give you the most in-depth understanding possible of what language coaching is and how you could use it.
But ultimately, you won't know if it's a good fit for you until you try it out.
As you leave this article, consider reviewing the above flow chart and picking your next action based on what makes the most sense for you.
Click here to contact me about a trial session, click here for the Language Habit Toolkit, or check out The Fluent Show on your favourite podcasting platform.
