Like any project, learning a language isn’t a linear path. There’ll be times when things are going great, and you feel like you’re making amazing progress. There’ll also be times when things feel like they’re at a standstill. It’s typically during these tough times that our motivation stalls, and we struggle to keep up our motivation to learn a language.
I’ve certainly been there, and I’m going to share my tips for how you can find your motivation again, and continue on your path to fluency.
Reasons WHY You’re Struggling to Find the Motivation to Learn a Language (And How to Overcome Them!)
Why do we lose our motivation to learn a language?
There are five main reasons:
- Burnout
- Stale study methods
- Lack of a strong why
- Focusing too much on the big picture
- Your target language is too removed from your daily life
1. Burnout
The first reason you might feel unmotivated during your language learning journey is that you’re burnt out. Burnout is typically associated with work, but it’s now being used to describe any activity that’s draining you.
Some signs of language learning burnout can be:
- Studying your target language is no longer exciting. Instead, you feel dread, stress, or frustration when you think about it.
- Making more mistakes than normal when using your target language.
- This isn’t a sign so much as a notable cause: You’ve been actively studying for a while. “A while” can be different for everyone, but I find myself feeling burnt out after doing biweekly italki lessons for 6 months.
The Fix?
Take a Break
If you’ve been studying for too long, are feeling uninspired, and/or have been stumbling more than usual in your target language, taking a break is the first fix I’d recommend. I know this is simple but hard! However, you won’t lose all of your progress if you take two weeks off. As they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder. I’d suggest taking a full-on break when you’re feeling extremely negative towards your target language. If you’re just feeling a little unmotivated, then lessening your study time could remotivate you.
Lessen Your Study Time to Boost Your Motivation to Learn a Language
A less “drastic” solution to language learning burnout is to lessen the amount of time you spend studying. If you’ve been spending two hours a day for the last month studying and you’re starting to dread it, lower it to just ten minutes a day. Some people commit to just five minutes a day. The time duration is up to you, so long as it’s less than the time you studied when you first lost your motivation. The idea here is to have this time feel easily achievable. Then anything on top of your new study time will be a bonus. This solution is perfect for people who don’t feel comfortable taking full days or weeks off. You’ll still be studying, but not to an extent that will drain you.
Keep Things Interesting
Switching up your routine is another way to tackle language learning burnout. This can be as simple as changing the YouTubers you watch in your target language, or picking a new genre show to watch on Netflix. Switching it up can not only help you come back from language learning burnout but help you tackle your lack of motivation when it comes to language learning in general.
2. The Language Learning Method You’re Using Has Grown Stale
The second reason why you could be feeling a lack of motivation is that your language learning method has grown stale. You may have been using the same textbook for the last three months, or you’ve been relying on Duolingo as your sole learning language method. This isn’t burnout, but boredom.
The Fix?
Switching it up. There are so many language learning resources out there. If you’ve been mainly using an app, switch to pen and paper and try a classic textbook. If you’ve been focused on grammar, go the more intuitive route, and focus on having conversations with a speaker instead.
Sometimes, it’s as simple as swapping one learning language method for another to feel refreshed. Like how repainting a room in your house makes it feel brand new.
To help with this, download this free daily language learning checklist! it includes seven useful tasks you can do to refresh your language learning routine.
3. Lack of a Strong “Why”
This is the same no matter what you’re trying to accomplish: learning a language, creating a new habit, etc. If you don’t have a strong reason why you’re doing what you’re doing, especially when what you’re doing is tough, you’ll quit.
Here’s the breakdown. There are two kinds of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic is when the motivation comes from inside you. Extrinsic is when something external is the motivator. When you’re doing something because it’s rewarding in and of itself, or you’re doing something for the sake of it, you’re most likely to succeed. As opposed to if you’re doing something for external validation or to avoid punishment.
While extrinsic motivation isn’t all bad, it’s more suited for tasks you need to complete but truly don’t want to. Like chores.
The Fix?
Reflect on why you’re learning your target language. What’s your motivation to learn a language?
Rather than focusing on completing the Duolingo tree as fast as possible because you “should”, or wanting to avoid the disappointment of your tutor, focus on learning because you feel good being able to understand new words. Find what you like about the learning language process. You may just find it easier to stay motivated when learning a new language after you find your intrinsic motivator!
Tip:
Rewarding yourself with a treat might seem like a good motivator for studying your target language, but it is still extrinsic motivation. Studies have found that offering a reward, even for something that you already have the intrinsic motivation to do, can make the task feel more like “work”. So, I’d avoid rewards altogether and focus on finding the joy in the language learning journey itself.
4. Focusing Too Much on the Big Picture
Being focused on the big picture goal may be another reason why you’re struggling to stay motivated when learning a new language. Of course, many language learners’ goal is to become fluent. But if you’ve just started on your language learning journey, fluency is going to feel very far away. This is discouraging, and without smaller goals to focus on on the way to fluency, you’ll feel like giving up.
The Fix?
Set small goals that are still in line with your main goal. People are more spurred on by short-term goals. There’s a reason instant gratification is appealing to us, and why it’s easy to blow off next month in favor of today. So focusing on your long-term, lofty goal isn’t the best way to go. Instead, focus on what you can achieve this week.
This can be studying for ten minutes a day every day, completing one chapter in your textbook, or having three conversations with other speakers of your target language via language exchange this week. These are small goals that are achievable and easily measurable. When you start to get bored, you can swap out one of these small goals for another to avoid boredom.
5. Your Target Language Is Too Removed From Your Daily Life
Motivation comes and goes. In a way, it’s contagious. The less wrapped up you are in your target language, the less you confront it, and the easier it’ll be for your motivation to slip away. This is why people who are immersed in their target language have such success in learning it. It’s always around them, confronting them, and pulling them in.
Another example: if your goal is to learn Italian but you live in the suburbs of America with no access or exposure to Italian. It would be easy to focus on your day to day and let your motivation to learn Italian fade away. Out of sight, out of mind.
The Fix?
Bring your target language to you. The easiest way to do this is through media. My favorite musicians are Norwegian, so almost every time I listen to music, it’s in Norwegian. Because of this, every day I’m confronted with my target language. I’m reminded of how I’m not fluent (nowhere near!). That motivates me to study, in the hopes that I will one day understand the entire song (an example of a short-term goal!).
You can also find shows in your target language that you genuinely like and want to watch. If you look for things that you already enjoy and then look for it in your target language, you’ll naturally want to take part in it and you’ll be interacting with your target language. This allows room for motivation to learn a language to come back.
All in all…
Your motivation to learn a language can be fleeting, and that’s completely normal! It takes consistent effort to stay the course and reach the end goal of fluency. Give some of these methods a try the next time you feel your motivation waning. In the meantime, share this post with someone else who may need some help staying motivated when learning a new language!
If you’d like to learn how to target your foreign language listening skills specifically, check out my other recent blog post!
And if you’d like to have lessons with native speakers online, give italki a try! When you purchase $20 worth of credits, both you and I will get a $10 credit.
