Building Good Study Habits

Successful language learning is a lot like successful dieting: it requires discipline, tenacity, and the need to build good daily habits. Unsurprisingly, the typical excuses we make for not following a diet are also very much like the same excuses we make for not studying a foreign language, e.g.:

• "I'm too busy"
• "I'm too tired"
• "It's too hard"
• "I'd rather be doing something else"

Sound familiar?

Especially during the holiday season, it's easy to fall off the bandwagon, as we say, and let these thoughts and feelings completely derail our language learning plans, making "start over" part of the new year's resolution list. So how can we keep this from happening?

One of the most important habits to build is to find time every day. This doesn't have to be 30 minutes or an hour. It can be five minutes, even two, as long as it's consistent. Of course, to make more solid progress it is helpful to have longer, more focused study sessions, such as 20-30 minutes at a time. But what is most important is to do something every day.

A helpful strategy is to keep a simple daily log sheet. Put it somewhere you are guaranteed to see multiple times every day, such as on the bathroom mirror or refrigerator door. (Don't forget to leave a pen or pencil nearby!) Just write the date, and a couple of words about what your language study effort was for the day. Your effort could be 3 minutes of studying flashcards on the train, watching three or four television commercials on the foreign language channel, or even simply making up sentences and talking to yourself in that language while jogging on the treadmill or preparing dinner.

The idea is to not let too much time pass between sessions. The log sheet will hold you accountable to yourself and give you a sense of accomplishment when you see that you have been diligent in studying virtually every day.

Anxiety and Language Learning

Anxiety is one of the most challenging obstacles to overcome in learning a new foreign language. We are afraid of making mistakes, of looking and sounding foolish, of being vulnerable. I don't know about you, but whenever I feel like I'm fumbling around in another language, clumsily scrambling for the right word or grammatical construction to make my point, I always want to interrupt myself and say to the other person: "Just so you know, in MY language, I'm really smart!"

We like feeling smart, worthy of admiration, respected for our skill and knowledge, knowing our true personality is coming through. That can be hard to do in a foreign language, especially in the beginning. So here are a few tips to help get you over these fears so that your anxiety doesn't hold you back from making all the progress you are otherwise capable of making:

1. "Fake it 'til you make it" - if you are not confident in using another language, don't let it show! Keep a smile on your face, learn to laugh at your own mistakes, and pretend that you are emotionally okay - or maybe just a little frustrated - with your temporary limitations. If you appear to be totally embarrassed, falling apart under the pressure, you will project those thoughts to the other person. If you "fake" confidence well, it will have two results - first, if you act like it's not a big deal, you will put your listener at ease with it too; and second, you can actually convince yourself that you ARE okay, and eventually, it will feel natural to BE okay with it. Mind over matter!

2. Rehearse - Whether you are reading aloud to yourself at home, repeating phrases that you hear on television or radio, doing your homework out loud, or simply talking to yourself (which plenty of us silently do already) but out loud, practice speaking as much as possible, even if it's just one word over and over. This also has two purposes. First, it will help your mouth get used to the feeling of the words and phrases in the foreign language, so it will eventually feel more natural, just like you have to practice any sport or art to get used to the physical motion involved. Second, it will help you get used to the sound of your own voice in that language. For many people, it simply "sounds weird" to hear their voice in a different language. If your voice sounds "weird" to you, you will probably be afraid that it sounds "weird" to other people too (though it probably doesn't), and this will keep your anxiety level very high. Get used to it so you stop worrying about it.

3. Learn to talk to strangers - This is not as difficult as it seems! Each time you go out, decide you are going to ask a question. Just one question. You can ask the same question to two, five, or ten people, in the same location or in different locations. Perhaps you will ask someone to reach an item on the top shelf. You might ask someone to recommend a good brand of soft drink, pet food, or detergent. You could ask if an item is on sale. You can also decide how complex you want the question to be. Depending on your level, you can ask about the price of something by saying, "How much is this?" or by saying "Excuse me, but could you please tell me how much this costs?" Plan your phrase in advance, rehearse it, then set that as your goal for the day. The idea is to realize that most people will be very kind in responding, even if your language is imperfect, and even if you don't understand the whole answer. It will help you get over the fear of interacting with a native speaker as you get used to taking the first step of engaging them in conversation.

Consider this reality: You have nothing to lose by trying these strategies. If you never make the effort to try, you are guaranteed to make no progress. If you DO make the effort, the absolute worst possible result is that you maybe feel a little silly at first, but you make a little progress; you can't do worse than "no progress," right? And at best, you get used to the experience, reduce your anxiety, and make improvement little by little, which will reduce your anxiety and genuinely increase your confidence anyway! After all, isn't that the goal?

Zig Ziglar, a famous sales guru, asked a very relevant and powerful question: "Is your fear of failure greater than your desire to succeed?" Wow! Think about that, and find the motivation and strength inside yourself to make sure your answer is "NO!" Then use these strategies, and step by step take control of your own language learning success.

Twitter

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The pace of language learning opportunities is moving almost as quickly as these updates, so we need to keep up with what's new! Hopefully more people will realize that they have lots of control over how they learn foreign languages; they just need to discover their own language learning style, and start choosing smart strategies that work with their natural way of thinking.

Let's get this dialogue moving!