Of all the people I’ve ever spoken to about language learning, those who are having difficulties often give me one of these responses: I have no talent to learn languages or I don’t have time to learn languages. I’ll talk about whether we need a talent to learn a language in the future, and today we’re going to focus on time. It’s true that life can be busy. However, whenever anybody says that they don’t have time to do something, it’s very rarely questioned or analysed. I’ve used these words in the past for a variety of things, but is this really true, or is it just an excuse?
Making language learning a
priority:
Imagine that you tell your friend
that you don’t have enough time to learn a language. As I mentioned before,
most of the time this will just be accepted by your friend, and the
conversation moves on. But what would you say if your friend asked you why you didn’t
have time? You’ll probably be surprised that they’ve asked for more details, and
you’ll say something like “I have too many things to do”, and you’ll then expect
them to accept that answer. But maybe they ask for more details and say “Okay, tell
me exactly what you do and when”.
You’ll say things like work, cooking/eating,
exercising, and seeing friends/family. When you’re asked this, your mind will
try to list the things that can’t really be challenged. For example, nobody can
question your exercising because it’s important for both your physical and
mental health. Nobody can question your working because we all need to pay the bills.
Nobody can question your cooking and eating because humans need this to survive.
However, this doesn’t mean that you don’t have time to learn a language. This just
means that learning a language is not a big priority for you. If this was an absolutely essential priority,
you would substitute it for some of the other things you do (i.e. going to
the gym or meeting with friends).
Someone you’ll likely know, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, is well known for his physique. He’s always been absolutely massive and muscular, and this has played a part in his success during his wrestling career and then during his acting career. As a result, exercising is incredibly important for him and is his highest priority. He says that he works out 6 days per week, with these training sessions lasting 3-4 hours (you can read the article here). He doesn’t care about what circumstances he finds himself in; he knows that working out is his number one priority, and therefore, he finds the time to do this. No excuses. If you really want to learn a language, you cannot just say you have no time. You have to at least try to find the time.
How to find this time?
In the example earlier, when
your friend asked you why you don’t have enough time to learn a language, you mentioned
all the top priorities in your life because you know that these are good uses
of time (work, exercise etc). However, did you remember to mention the time you
spend watching TV? Did you remember to mention the time you spend looking at
social media? Did you remember to mention the time you spend just laying on
your bed for a quick rest?
These are things that we all do,
and these are things that we’ll never admit in this answer. This is because we
know they aren’t generally accepted if someone asks you why you don’t have
enough time. Language learning is optional, so maybe your friend won’t care
about your answer too much. In a more serious example, let’s say that your
friend has politely asked you to read their CV for a job application they want
to submit. They’re desperate for the job and really need your help with the
CV. Do you think they would be happy if you said you didn’t have the time to help
them because you were looking at social media and watching Netflix?
For the next few days, try to take
note of everything that you do during your day. You’ll be surprised at just how
much of your day you spend doing things that could be substituted for language
learning. A lot of phones can track your general usage of certain apps, and I
imagine you’ll be surprised and displeased at how much time you spend on social media each day. This
isn’t just the case for social media; this can apply to all apps on your phone.
This is time that could be spent on language learning.
Those are uses of time that are
definitely worth substituting for language learning. However, what about other
uses of time that are essential but that we could actually do while learning a
language? Most people (I hope…) will have a shower or bath at least once per
day. Why not speak to yourself in your target language while you do this? Your
hands are busy washing yourself, but your brain is not doing anything, so it
could be used to practice the language you’re learning. When you travel to
work, why not use this time to listen to a podcast in your target language? When
you’re cooking, why not do the same thing? These are very simple ways of
incorporating language learning into your daily routines.
How much time do I need to learn a language?
Some people may want to find 3-4 hours to practice a
language each day, and when they can’t achieve this, they give up. It really
isn’t necessary to practice for this amount of time per day. I’ve always said consistency is the most important thing when it comes to learning a language.
It’s considerably better to practice for 5 minutes per day than for 35 minutes once
per week. Your brain will retain the information better if you do this every
day, even if it’s only for a short amount of time. Also, 5 minutes every day will
add up to 30 hours per year. Of course, this doesn’t sound like a lot, but this
is much better than nothing! There may be days when you can do more than 5
minutes, and this’ll be even better. Learning
a language is a marathon, not a sprint.
Summary:
We all know that life can be busy, but we can’t use this
as an excuse to not learn a language, especially if it’s something we really
want to do. Doing a small amount each day will be incredibly useful for you and will move you closer to reaching your goal of learning a language. You’ve
first got to ask yourself how high learning a language is on your list of
priorities. If it’s very high, then you need to look at the other commitments
you have and decide if they’re more of a priority or not. You can then take an
honest look at every minute of your day and how you spend it. Most of the time, you won’t be looking at anything of long-term importance on social media, or
you’ll be binge-watching the same Netflix show again and again. There are times
when we’re going through a difficult period in our lives and watching Netflix or
funny videos on the internet can be good for our mental health, and this is
absolutely fine. However, you need to be honest with yourself about the reasons
you’re doing this and if this is time that could be better used by practicing a
language. You can then look at any other way you can squeeze a language into your
daily routine, like during the shower, as this is an easy way to get another few
minutes of practice in. At the end of the day, you’ll be surprised at just how
much time you can find to practice a language!
Key vocabulary:
Priority - something of importance to you
Substitute - switch for something else
Displeased - unhappy with something or someone
Is a marathon, not a sprint - a process that takes a long time and can't be completed in a short time
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