Never give up!

The period near the end of the year tends to be a busy one for a lot of people, meaning that our language learning can suffer. A lot of people will have plans related to Christmas throughout the month of December, and then we have potential New Year's celebration plans after that. People may be extra busy at work because they’re trying to finish off before the winter break, as well as because of illness, where the colder conditions and advanced socialising result in a lot of people catching a cold or the flu. Whether you’re busy with work, socialising, or ill, this time of year may not necessarily be the most efficient for those learning a language. This is something I’ve experienced myself recently. First, we had the World Cup that I wanted to watch, then a few Christmas events here and there, and then an illness. All of this combined has caused my language learning (as well as the blog) to suffer in the last few weeks.

Image by Emily Heidt from Pixabay 

I’ve previously spoken about how to maximise your time learning a language throughout the day and that it is, in fact, possible to incorporate the language into your daily routines. However, sometimes people will still want to use the language more, and they may not be happy with the amount of time they’re spending with the target language. This can lead to trying to ‘force’ yourself to do some language learning when you may not feel like it, and you run the risk of this starting to feel less interesting and more demotivating. This can lead to potentially dangerous thoughts such as “I haven’t done a lot recently, and I don’t really feel like it at the moment. Should I just give up with this language?”

I’ve mentioned this in the context of the Christmas/end of year period because, in England, where I live, this can be a time where language learning is not high on your list of priorities. However, these periods of little contact time with the language can happen across the year for a variety of reasons, and they can all feel equally demotivating.

The first step is acceptance, and you need to accept two things. The first thing is that during this time period, you’re not doing a sufficient amount of language learning that you’re happy with. You still have time to use it during the day (travelling to work and in the shower etc), but you want more. The second thing is accepting that these moments of inefficiency happen in every language learning process for everybody on the planet.

In my opinion, it’s healthier to say “For now, my priorities have temporarily shifted. However, I’m going to mark a certain point on the calendar where I’m officially going to start up properly again.” Up until that point on the calendar, you can say to yourself “I am going to do the best I can during this time, but I am not going to pressure myself or feel bad if I don’t do as much as I want to.”

Image by Bastian Wiedenhaupt from Pixabay 

In this scenario, you may end up doing less language learning than if you continually try to fight against it. However, in my opinion, your mindset will be considerably better. If you keep trying to fight against it, you may grow tired, and, like I already said, it may start to feel like a chore, and you seriously run the risk of your interest fading. However, if you accept that during this time your language learning will be slightly more limited and you choose an official point to restart and refresh your language learning, I believe you’ll be in a better state of mind for language learning when that point comes.

With 2023 about to start, this is a time where people have a chance to reflect on the year they’ve had, and they can set themselves goals and objectives for the new year if they wish. Some people want to start something new, i.e. learning a language. Some people want to stop a bad habit, i.e. smoking. Other people just want to continue what they're doing. Whatever your plans are, you can try to view this as a fresh start in your language learning if you have gone through a bit of an inefficient period.

This is something I’ve done. In recent weeks, trying to squeeze the languages in has been difficult, and at times I just felt like I didn’t want to. I knew these were temporary feelings rather than long-term, and I told myself to relax and not try to force myself. I took time to think about what I could do and planned a date to start fresh. This will be January 1^st. I’ve still been trying to use the languages each day, but it hasn’t been what I would normally like. However, having this fresh ‘starting point’ has given me an extra boost of motivation, knowing that I don’t need to pressure myself so much at the moment because I know that on January 1^st, I will be going for it properly again.

Use this time to think about your language learning and whether it is something you are truly motivated to do. Look at all the advantages of learning this language, and write them down somewhere if you need to remind yourself during these difficult moments. These moments of reduced language time will happen in 2023 as well, and your language learning will temporarily suffer. As I said, this is normal and something you need to accept as just a part of the process. Use it as a time to reflect on how you can change the situation. Nobody else will change it for you; this is something you have to do!

Summary:

Rather than specific language learning advice, this post has been more about mindset, and this is something I believe is just as crucial as the methods we use in language learning. If your mindset isn’t correct, you'll not be prepared for the problems that arise when learning a language. If you accept that these moments of inefficiency are normal in the language learning process, it's much better for you in the long term. Some people see these periods as failures, but this is categorically untrue. This is not a failure; this is just life!

Whether it is language learning or any other objective you are working towards, please never feel bad about periods of time where you’re not able to work as hard as you want to. Take some time to sit back and think about the situation and how to overcome this small and temporary problem.

I truly hope everybody can have a happy and healthy 2023 and continue working towards their objectives, whether it is language learning or something else. Never give up!