Seven Questions Any Language Learner Needs To Answer

Before taking on a new language learning project, these questions will help you focus on a realistic, positive way to bring language into your life and stay motivated so you can become an expert speaker.

Who are the meaningful people in your life?

People in your life are relevant to your results in language learning, because they will influence your thoughts through conversation and behaviour.

Beyond that, it's also important to bear in mind who you are dedicating time and attention to, and how much time and attention you'd want to dedicate to other people.

What's been your contact with other languages so far?

Most people who want to learn a language as an adult have actually learnt a language in their life before. This means you're bringing some experience which can contribute to your success. But it can also mean baggage in terms of past negative experiences.

Have you ever taught someone something?

Every learning or teaching experience you've had in the past has helped you to prepare for learning a language right now. Consider what you did before that worked, and how you felt when you were able to share your knowledge.

What does your week look like?

Even before you start off with your new project, make yourself aware of how much time you have available.

Beware: If you have a lot of things on your plate, this question may make you nervous and doubtful. You do not need to dedicate many hours every single day to learning a language. You can be successful in many ways, but accept that you will be slower.

The purpose of examining your available time is to help you think about what is realistic. If you have a full-time job, coach the local sports team, and spend 2 hours in church every Sunday, you may not currently allow enough time to get fluent in 6 months. If you tried, you'd likely burn out or feel like a failure.

Is it possible to achieve a high language level in few months? Yes. But is it possible unless you put in 20+ hours every week? Nah. So instead, work with who you are and what you've got, and look forward to the progress you will make.

Who can help you learn a language?

Pull in your support team as early as possible! If you have friends who speak different languages, work in the field of languages, or perhaps kids who are studying a language in school, this can make all the difference.

Ask yourself "Who benefits when I learn this language?".

Beyond your circle of IRL friends, consider also where on social media you can build your language circle. If you watch YouTube or spend a few hours a week on Instagram, then make sure you learn with social media. Follow people who post in your target language, get involved by posting something yourself, and share your goals with communities like #studygram on Instagram or the Fluent Language Learners group over on Facebook.

Click Here for 17 Tips for Language Learning on Social Media.

Is there anything that you think might be a stumbling block?

If you talk to an insurance person, they'll tell you that insurance is all about knowing risks. And while I cannot sell you an insurance for failed fluency, I do recommend that you consider what's risky for your own success.

Here are a few common language learning threats:

• You may commit a lot of time but find it hard to maintain that energy.
• You may be scared of practicing your language because you don't want to look foolish.
• If you're motivated by one life event like a trip to the target country, your motivation could fade away after you return home.
• You may overestimate how fast you can learn, and feel demotivated when you progress is slower than expected.
• You may tell yourself "I can't learn languages" and self-sabotage yourself right from the start.

A language coach will help you handle each one of those risks, and many more. It's worth talking to them about it!

Learn more about language coaching

What conditions exist for making you a success?

Imagine you are NOT going to move to the country tomorrow and you won't win the lottery either. How could you still make language learning a success?

Making The Plan

Take the questions listed above to a friend, a supportive group, or book a few language coaching sessions. The coach will help you

• Think positively and discover your strengths.
• Look for opportunities to build a language learning habit so you can speak a language automatically without having to study so much.
• Value the advantages that you have right now, and show you how to use them to stay motivated for many years.

If you want a little more support on how to improve your routine in practical steps after these questions, check out the Language Habit Toolkit. It is a collection of guidance notes and worksheets that will help you set goals and become more productive as you learn languages. The toolkit is designed to be your little self-guided coach in a box.

What About You?

How would you answer the questions I listed above? Who helps you learn languages?

Share in the comments below - I'm excited to hear from you.

#clearthelist May 2019: Learning 2 Languages at Once (Plus: Lots of Resources for Chinese and Welsh!)

Hello and welcome to Clear The List, the monthly language learning round-up about language learning goals and progress. This blog round-up is hosted by my friends Lindsay Williams and Shannon Kennedy, and April marks a full year of my language goal-setting using this process.

Andiamo!

What Happened in April 2019?

The month of April started off very intense and ended a lot more relaxed. That’s how I like it!

In the first week, I was finally lifting the curtain on my new German course, German Uncovered. It’s an incredible feeling when that first student enrols and all the work translates into their language progress. I held a welcome call with co-creator Olly Richards for our first gang.

This month, I was also busy preparing for the next German retreat. These retreats are an amazing opportunity for intermediate and advanced students to visit another country, discover more about culture, and practice their language through immersion. The June edition is now fully booked for German, and you can get on that waiting list for the next event if you like.

Sign up here for news about the next German retreat.

The Fluent Show

What a month! I was so proud to release my interview with one of my favourite language authors, Dr Roger Kreuz who wrote Becoming Fluent. Roger is a psychology professor and associate dean at the University of Memphis, and our conversation about language learning was wonderful and inspiring.

If you follow the Fluent Show, you’ll know that I have a soft spot for the psychology of the language learner, so this interview was definitely a highlight of the year.

Listen to the podcast episode with Dr Roger Kreuz here

Language Goals and Progress

I’m currently working on two target languages as a learner: intermediate Welsh and very early beginner’s Chinese.

Welsh Progress

In the Welsh language, my level is now pretty functional as long as I maintain a lot of contact and produce a lot of my target language on a regular basis. And I do mean every day when possible.

In the month of April, I found it most difficult to get speaking opportunities. I didn’t arrange any meet-ups with my local conversation partner, my tutor was busy, and when I spoke to my friend Nicky it was in English because he was a guest on the Fluent Show.

Instagram yn y gymraeg

In the first half of the month, I was also struggling to find time and mental energy to learn Welsh. But once Easter came around and my workload eased up with Fluent, I feel like everything got better! I started by switching on Radio Cymru for a few mornings, then added a bit of S4C.

But the best part was creating my new Instagram account, @kersydysgu. Inspired by some wonderful Fluent Show listeners who have done this, I decided to try out the idea of a fully separate, and ONLY IN WELSH insta account. And my daily contact is through the roof because I’m already spending way too much time on the app. What a fantastic way to get more contact and write in Welsh on a regular basis.

Chinese Progress

My other language is Mandarin Chinese. I had set myself structured goals for this language for the first time last month.

Listening

My goal was to watch a bit of Easy Mandarin on Youtube, but I did nothing. Listening fell flat in April. I don’t enjoy many language instruction podcasts and I’m too low level for any natural input that I know.

Speaking

My very tentative goal of an italki lesson was realised last week. Hooray! My first tutor listened to me counting to 10 and saying “living room” and “desk” at random, then declared my pronunciation very good and my learning “a mess”.

And fair point! I had not even noticed how little I had spoken apart from sounding out the words in my apps, and how little I could say in the way of dialogue. I was incredibly motivated after that and greeted her the next time with a full introduction, including where I live, my age, and my family. Take that, language mess!

I’m very pleased that I got my head around tones and basic pronunciation before the lesson, and I’m now hoping to take some regular classes. Good reminder: It isn’t really ever too early to work with a good tutor. They know what they’re doing!

Reading

Most of my learning is still reading-based, so I kinda met my goal by default.

Writing

I think I did quite well! My notebook is in regular use at the moment, and following up the lessons has made a big difference here.

At the moment my approach is to write in pinyin and also Chinese characters, but I’m not trying to memorize any of the characters. I’m thinking stuff like 我 and 你 will start sinking in automatically.

I’m using Google Translate and the Pleco app a lot for writing at the moment.

Daily Contact Goal

Every month, I log my “daily contact” with the Welsh language. In April, it was difficult to keep anything going during the launch of German Uncovered. But once Easter rolled around and I took some time to rest, Welsh returned to my life. In the last week, my Welsh instagram account made it easier than ever and I’m on a streak.

Total: 17 day out of 30.

I also track how many times I’ve spent 10+ minutes on Chinese, mostly for fun. In April, I checked this box 7 times. Often, this signals way over 10 minutes but it’s not about the minutes. It’s about the habit.

Goals for May 2019

This month is an unusual one. I’m travelling for the first 2 weeks, to Machynlleth in Wales and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. In the last 2 weeks, I’ve got a full-time responsibility away from Fluent, so I’ll have to see how work fits around it.

Welsh Language Goals

Again, I don’t feel I need to actively split my goals into listening, speaking, reading and writing at this intermediate stage. I just want to feel like I’m as good or better, and that will be about contact and speaking.

Spending the first few days of May in Machynlleth is a good start, and in the second half of the month I hope to get started on Say Something in Welsh Level 3 and get back into meeting my speaking partner.

Chinese Language Goals

In this language I’m a total beginner (很高兴认识你) and will benefit from the goal structure. So let’s go!

Listening

Ready to try again with YouTube for Chinese beginners. I’m looking for dialogue-based or story-based input here, rather than someone explaining greetings to me in detail.

If you want to recommend a channel or listening resource, leave me a comment below.

Reading

This is the easy one for any beginner, all my apps and my textbook are reading practice. No specific goals.

Speaking

I’ve already booked one Skype lesson and hope to complete 3 by the end of the month.

(By the way, this month on the blog I have a brand new italki review - check it out if you have not tried out italki before.)

Writing

Three goals:

• to follow up each language lesson with a page or revision notes,
• to write 4 notebook pages about myself or my family (these pages are full really quickly when I write in English + pinyin + characters),
• and to figure out how to type pinyin.

That’s it! Plenty to be getting on with.

Resources

Many people have been asking me to list the resources I use for learning my languages this month. Here they are:

Chinese Resources

• italki for finding a tutor
• Chinese in 10 Minutes a day
• Pleco
• Lingodeer app
• Dropsapp

Welsh Resources

• S4C on player
• Radio Cymru on BBC radio playerapp
• parallel.cymru
• Say Something in Welsh app
• Instagram
• Ap Geiriaduron, the magnificent dictionary app
• a printed dictionary and Modern Welsh Grammar (link goes to a stupidly expensive version but I got mine from someone else who found it in a charity shop, so don’t forget your local 2nd hand resources!!)
• A local language partner and lovely people who speak Welsh with me. You can find these by asking around!

What are Your Language Goals for May 2019?

Have you ever studied Welsh? Are you a Chinese beginner? Juggling 2 languages like me?

Leave a comment below to tell me all about how you’re getting on, and what you are planning to study next.

Be sure to check out the Clear the List linkup full of inspiring language goals and reports, hosted by Lindsay Williams and Shannon Kennedy.

On The Need For Fun And Creativity In Languages

What do you think of when you see the word “creativity”?

For me, creativity used to mean being particularly gifted in visual arts. Painters and sculptors were creative. In school, it was clear that being creative was how you got good grades in art classes.

I was a pretty terrible artist, and so I always assumed that I’m not creative at all.

But then I got a job and started noticing things. In work meetings, ideas for alternative solutions to problems would bubble out of me. When I started teaching and learning languages on my own, I felt constrained by the ideas of learning with a textbook and classroom structure.

Instead of putting off my ideas as delusions, I started to listen to them and put a few into action. And slowly I realised…I’m creative after all!

You Have The Tools to Be a Creative Language Learner

My own discovery encouraged me to start looking differently at language learning. I quickly discovered that adults learn best when creativity and fun come along for the ride. So I started to seek out creative ideas of learning.

If you are a first-time solo language learner who’s busy in her life and wants to know how to become fluent without sacrificing all your leisure time, creativity is what will get you to your goals.

I know lots of people who start off and and think “learning is the books and the app”, and when you box your language learning in like that, your motivation suffers as a result.

Creative Ideas For Language Learning

In this episode of the Fluent Show, Lindsay and I discussed the easiest ways to start building a fun and creative language routine.

Listen to the show here to get our full discussion:

Warning: These may not feel like study, but you’ll learn a lot anyway.

Language Learning With Music

Research and discover songs in your target language and music from the target country. Learn new words and expressions by understanding the lyrics of the songs you listen to.

Playing Games

It’s a common theme on this blog: We learn best when we’re having fun. Playing word games like Taboo, or even classic board games in your target language gives you a subtle way of creating a space where you learn a few new words free from pressure.

When you’re on your own, video games create another interesting option for language learning, and some of them are even [developed with language learners in mind.]

Games are especially handy when you want to share your language with kids.

Poetry and Literature

You might think you have to be an advanced level language wizard before you can even touch a book of poems in your target language, but that is not true! Enjoy a story with tools like [Interlinear books], try your first ever haiku, or lose yourself in a rhyming dictionary.

The key here is to express yourself freely and have fun in the process, getting out of your head and into the feeling that you want to have.

Technology

It’s the 21st century, which means you’re more likely to be reading this on a phone than on a desktop computer right now. And that means it’s time to get creative with tech in your new language.

Lindsay recommends creating a language space in social media that’s dedicated to learning your target language, for example a “Norwegian only Instagram”. I’ve tried this too through Twitter lists. The result is fabulous: it’s instant mini lessons, whenever and wherever you want them.

Exercise

Movement boosts memory! Have you ever thought about combining a language workout with a body workout? We had lots of ideas in the podcast, like example looking for exercise videos in your target language, and taking a language podcast out on a jog.

This one’s great for teachers of any age group, too, as you can create a whole new lesson plan when you think about different ways of moving around your classroom (or outside!).

Bricolage / Crafts

For thousands of people, getting creative means creating cool craft projects like woodwork, scrapbooks, or small art. With craft projects, you have so many options of incorporating language.

Of course you can search online for videos and instructions in another language.

Or you could take printed items from the target country and use them to decorate your home. Or make special art pieces celebrating the words you love the most. Or create a photo essay based on inspiring expressions.

Listen to the podcast to hear more about the special things I created as a teenager (Lindsay calls them ransom notes!).

Cooking

Everybody’s got to eat, and most people have to cook. So what could be more practical than cooking yourself a meal in your target language? From seaweed scones to the secret cuisines of Paraguay, we’ve tried this out and recommend it whole-heartedly.

It’s SO Easy To Get Creative in Language

When it comes down to it, we found that it’s almost impossible to be anything BUT creative in language learning. Yet…many learners avoid getting involved.

Or when we do play and enjoy in our target language, we feel guilty as if this isn’t “proper learning”.

So this made Lindsay and me wonder: why the heck did school teach us that language learning has to look like classroom-exam-teacher-class-snoozefest?

STUDY and LEARNING are concepts that feel like they should look a certain way, when in reality they are not.

Creativity is about permission!

In the podcast, Lindsay and I looked deeper into this idea of permission and allowing ourselves to let go of language learning guilt. Guilt does not do us any favours at all so we should learn to let it go.

Whenever you feel like your activity is not “real learning”, it might be time to reconsider and remind yourself to:

1. Accept our mistakes (both in language and process and habits and study)
2. Be kinder to ourselves (does it really matter if we break a streak?)
3. Impress NOBODY but ourselves

How do YOU get Creative in Language Learning?

Do you cook, craft, run, or rhyme with your target language? Or are you worried that these activities mean you won't learn anything?

Leave a comment below and hare your thoughts!

9 Great Websites For German Beginners

Pop quiz - Which one of these is your favourite reason to learn German?

1. You fell in love with a German speaker

2. You fell in love with the atmosphere of a beer fest or a Christmas market

3. You have not yet tasted the greatest bread on this Earth, but you’d really like to, and you’ve heard the bakery only offers it to German speakers

4. Your company works with German clients and their English is so good it’s embarrassing all you know is jawohl ein Bier bitte

5. You want to visit Germany and get a taste of the wonderful nature, forests, skiing, castles, Roman history, medieval town centres, comfortable trains, inviting restaurants, fairy tale rivers

There are no wrong answers here. ALL of the above are fantastic reasons to get started learning the German language. I have been teaching and sharing German language and culture for five years, and today I’m sharing some of my favourite resources for beginners.

Make Your German Sound Amazing

My free mini-guide to speaking German is out now. It's called Make Your German Sound Amazing and will give you the best tips and 26 key phrases to make you ready for any conversation. Pop your details into the form below to join my email list and get the guide immediately!*

Check out 2 or 3 of these resources and make sure you bookmark them to visit again and again!

Great German Learning Websites

Beautiful German castles and Germany.travel

Sometimes it's necessary to check out of verb tables and remember why you chose to learn this language in the first place. What better way than to dream of hiking up beautiful hills and discovering romantic castles? Castles beat cases, after all.

Mein Weg nach Deutschland

This is a great project from the Goethe institute. Where would we be without them! Follow the story of Nevin, a newbie in Germany (who excitedly photographs pretty much anything on her mobile phone). The videos are available with and without subtitles and each episode has practice exercises too!

Deutsch Plus and Jojo sucht das Glück

There are some truly great telenovelas out there, designed especially for German learners. Lovers of retro Germany will like Deutsch Plus, the story of shy TV intern Nico from Romania - it's vintage 1996 work. Even better - it's suitable for starters from day 1. For improvers, Brazilian student Jojo will be a fun resource.

Listening: Radio D

Another suitable resource for beginners right from day 1 - Radio D is an audio course. Nice plot and a very well supported website with grammar hints and word lists make this resource a go-to page for German learners of any age.

Dictionary: LEO

No German learner can do without LEO - it must be one of the best online dictionaries around! Language searches available in both directions, 7 supported language pairs with German, audio pronunciation and a well-attended forum finding even the most obscure expressions make this a bookmark no-brainer.

TIP: Read more on how to use a dictionary like the most successful language learners

German Uncovered

Learn German the natural way without complex grammar explanations and boring lessons. This course is based on a story, so you’ll be reading and having fun as you progress to level A2 at high speed.

Speak German Like a Native

If you find spoken German hard to understand, you need this course. This  is my 5* masterclass course for all levels. No other course digs into the sounds of the German language, giving you the confidence to even say Eichhörnchen and Wechselstrom like a native.

Got More To Add?

The German learning community out there is always growing, and I’d love to hear what you’ve uncovered online.

Leave a comment if you know where to go for grammar that makes sense, or the best Swiss expressions. 

What To Do When Duolingo Gets Boring

Every other week on the Fluent Show, I put aside a little time to answer your listener questions. Email your question to me at kerstin@fluentlanguage.co.uk or tweet it to @thefluentshow

Luka asks:

I have been learning Spanish for 3 months. I started learning with Duolingo and was really into it, and recently I have been using a textbook as well but have become really demotivated - not because I give up, because I am bored of duo lingo. I’m tired of the way it’s trying to teach me and I don’t feel like I’m progressing. [..]

My question is, if I’m not using duo lingo, what can I actually do to learn Spanish? I’ve looked everywhere and all the websites have a lot of ‘tips’ but not an actual guide saying things like resources to use etc.

Does that sound familiar?

Listen to my answer and the best tips on how to learn a language here:

How To Refresh Your Duolingo Experience

Duolingo is a small app with a big promise, and largely it keeps its promise because it’s a game and it does correct you right in the lesson. Duolingo is nice enough, but it can become a monotonous experience and it sounds like you’re hitting a wall

Tips for dealing with Duolingo boredom - in Duolingo!

1. Get on the web version so you can read explanations (more about this here)

2. Restrict yourself to a few minutes a day - how about Duolingo while waiting for your kettle to boil or your bus to arrive?

3. Try out one of the in-app clubs so you can compete with your friends and compare progress.

Duolingo is great, but…in all these scenarios, you’re still reacting to a screen and you maintain your sense that you don’t have a plan. So let’s address the other issue: Motivation!

How To Refresh Your Whole Language Learning Experience

Most projects, be they language learning or dieting or a new job, start with enthusiasm and optimism. You have reasons why you’re doing this.

But that initial motivation, that burst, does not last. Motivation is cyclical: It leads to an experience of success, and then that boosts you on to work through a boring period, and then you have another success experience. So in a way, you’re not having that experience of success.

How To Create A Sense Of Progress And Success

In order to feel successful in a predictable, sustainable way, you need to learn how to set good goals for yourself. Your success must be more than a vague sense of progress, it has to be “I achieved what I set out to do".

Your practical goals - I call them Path Goals - need to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant/Realistic…and whatever people say the T stands for. I go with Time-Bound.

I also advise learners to work with the 4 core skills listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Your start is to set yourself goals, think about where you want to be and what that looks like. Get specific! And then ask “what do I need to do to get there?"

Your goals can totally include Duolingo and your text book, but I would advise you to start where you are. Right now where you are is bored with no sense of progress. So your goal has to be:

• Excited about Spanish learning

• Feeling like I’m getting somewhere

So what will help you answer those two questions? That’s the interesting bit.

Example: Learning Spanish For Travel

In a coaching session, this is what we’d explore. What are you into? What is interesting you about Spanish?

Let’s say you’re dreaming of walking the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain. So you’re interested in travel, you dream of speaking Spanish to the locals there, to have the right words to talk about your religion and spirituality, and to feel confident sorting your own food and accommodation.

That’s your Vision goal - the big, inspiring thing you dream of.

To get a sense of your Path Goal, ask yourself how much time you have and what you want to tackle first. Let’s say it’s ordering food and learning about Northern Spanish food.

Your 3 month goals could be

• to cook a meal for yourself

• to role play a restaurant scenario with a tutor

• to know 50 words for food items

• to study a restaurant menu

• to listen to 10 podcasts so you can understand the words

• to pronounce every place name on the Camino.

These are specific goals. They’re way less boring than doing Duolingo forever in the hope you’ll finish a skill tree, because they are YOURS.

No app or textbook is leading you now because your routine is becoming personal. The next question? What do I need to get there? Duolingo becomes a part of the journey, rather than your leader.

No, a short-term goal approach won’t teach you all of Spanish instantly. But that’s because that doesn’t exist. Language is a long-term game.

Yes, you will have to think differently. But this is how to fire up your motivation and keep going.

The Language Habit Toolkit

If you want to learn more about this, the Language Habit Toolkit is designed to help you set up exactly this way of thinking and create a solid language learning routine.

There’s even a Resource Manager worksheet included, in which I’ve listed exactly what you need to set up a good and supportive set of resources. Duolingo is a good start, but I’d advise you add an input resource and a set of reference material.

A few final tips:

• Practice with people, either native speakers or at least by finding like-minded folks. Feeling like you’re on your own with this makes motivation harder to maintain. Come and join our Facebook group for check-ins every Saturday.

• I actually spoke to you Luka and you mentioned you’ve listened to Spanish music. That’s so awesome! Always look for interesting input from real life like stories, music, conversations. Lyrics are great for interest.

• Always consider how far you’ve come - being aware of your progress from a few months ago is an instant cure for feeling like you’re getting nowhere.

For Spanish Learners

You can find my curated list of resources and articles for Spanish learners at www.fluentlanguage.co.uk/for-spanish-learners.

The Fluent Show is supported by LiveLingua, where you can have your first Spanish lesson entirely for free. I tried it out, and spoke Spanish for a whole hour. And they have many other languages available like German, French and Russian. Get your free lesson by clicking here.

Episode Links

• It's a free app loved by millions. Is Duolingo wasting your time? by Fluent Language — My infamous Duolingo Article

• In Language Learning, Are Apps All Amazing? Are All Apps Amazing? by Fluent Language

• Teaching and Researching Motivation on Amazon

• Resources For Spanish Learners

• Gretchen Rubin on the Strategy of Pairing