Do you remember how enthusiastic you were the day BEFORE you decided to learn a language? Do you remember how enthusiastic and excited you were the day you started? The sense of rapid progress. The vision of sitting in a pub or restaurant with a glass of wine and talking to people from that country about life. The fun you imagined you’d have.
For most people that excitement and enthusiasm decays with time. Progress slows, confusions mounts, frustrations start to intrude. At some point you aren’t even sure if you are still making progress. Sure, you learned more this month, but was that more or less than the amount you suspect you forgot this month?
How do you get that enthusiasm back?
- Have a clear goal. For most people B1 is the right level. A vocabulary of about 2,200 words will suffice for that
- Track your NET progress. How much have you learned * % you can remember when tested = net progress
- Increase your learning speed. Works like a charm. Chrissi learned Spanish at 250 words a day from the start to the end of her A2 programme. The faster you learn the more EXCITING it is.
- Succeed. Success is exciting, rewarding, delightful fun. Failure is not.
- Make sure you are doing activities that show that you are improving. Read subtitles, texts, have conversations.
- Be practical not academic. You started learning a language because you thought it would be exciting to be able to communicate successfully not past exams successfully. Focus on communication not precision.