Starting Off on the Right Foot with Language Learning

hey everyone welcome to the monthly

review the monthly show on language

learning

where you discover new learning

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okay today’s topic is five ways to make

sure you start on the right foot with

language learning

ever wondered if you’re on the right

path with your language learning or if

you’re studying the right things and

taking the right steps

well today you’ll learn how to start on

the right foot with your language

learning journey

we’ll talk about one why you must know

your reason for learning the language

two how to set fail-proof goals and

rewards

three how to match your daily routine to

your learning so that you don’t struggle

with the actual learning

four why you need anchor points for

long-term motivation

and five how to improve faster with

ongoing assessment

[Music]

but first listen up here are this

month’s new lessons and resources first

the connecting thoughts conversation

cheat sheet do you know how to connect

ideas in your target language

with this cheat sheet you’ll learn the

sentence structure x

but y plus must know adverbs for

connecting ideas so download it for free

right now

second the how to stay motivated with

language learning ebook

if you want to know some secrets and

tricks to staying motivated so that you

can stay consistent with your language

journey and finally become fluent

you’ll want this ebook download it right

now

third can you talk about herbs and

spices in your target language

learn how to say garlic ginger pepper

and much more with this quick vocabulary

bonus

fourth twenty must know hygiene words

if you’re learning the language but

don’t know how to say toilet paper

soap or toothpaste then you’ll

definitely need this one minute vocab

lesson

fifth do you know how to talk about the

weather in your target language

if you don’t access this one minute

lesson to learn 40 weather-related words

and phrases

if you want to learn these words fast

use the free audio slideshow tool

inside the lesson to get your free

resources click the link in the

description

below right now they’re yours to keep

forever okay

let’s jump into today’s topic

how to start off on the right foot with

your language learning journey

there are five things you as a language

learner need to address if you want to

start off on the right foot

here they are one your reason for

learning

two your goal and reward three

matching your routine to your medium

four

anchor points and five assessments

if you get these squared away in your

first month you’ll be set up to succeed

with any language goal you set

and today we’ll walk you through each

point

the first one your reason for learning

why are you learning the language

so why is thinking about your why so

important

here’s an example think back to when you

were a kid

and you were trying to save money what

was the first thing you wanted to buy

and how much did it cost you probably

still remember what it was

and how much it cost and because you

knew the specific price

you were able to save up for it if not

at the very least

you made more progress than if you just

said i want to save money

with no specific purpose in mind and

that’s the thing

if you know precisely why you’re doing

something it’s easy to tie a goal to it

and there are all kinds of reasons to

learn a language there’s travel

family friends love or maybe you’re

living in a country that speaks it

so knowing your reason clarifies your

mission and gives you motivation from

the start

now some reasons are stronger than

others for example

living in a country that speaks the

language is a powerful reason

you need it for survival if your reason

for learning is something simpler like i

just want to watch tv in that language

it’s not exactly something you need to

survive

does it matter whether you have a strong

reason or not not necessarily

strong reasons help with motivation

initially but people with strong reasons

can

and do fail and people with weak reasons

succeed

it’s all up to the individual but the

point is

you need to know why you’re doing this

and that’s enough for you to take the

first step

the second point goals and rewards once

you’ve clarified your reason

it’s time to set your goals if you want

to succeed

your goal can’t just be i want to be

fluent one day

why because this tells you nothing about

how you’ll achieve it or

when you’ll reach fluency it’s too vague

your goal needs to be small measurable

realistic and have a deadline

so you can clearly see the steps you

need to take to reach your goal

instead of saying i want to be fluent

one day which you can’t measure

and can’t precisely determine aim for

for example

30 words or one minute of conversation

you can measure these goals

if you have a deadline like by next

month you know your time frame

and unlike a goal like i want to be

fluent a goal like

i want to be able to talk for one minute

is much more realistic

now what about rewards now that you’ve

set a goal you need to tie

rewards to your goal why rewards

shouldn’t you work hard first and worry

about rewards later

because rewards are powerful motivators

you should be working hard

but hard work often is not fun and you

need something to push you through

when you come home after a long day of

work on a rainy day

soaking wet the last thing you want to

do is open a book and start studying

it’s so much easier to turn on netflix

or something

but having that reward reminds you if i

achieve this then i get that

so defining what’s in it for me what do

i get boosts your motivation

you have something to look forward to

and get you through times when you don’t

feel like doing work

the third point is match your routine to

the study medium

once you have your goals and rewards you

need to fit your language learning

into your current life and daily routine

how

sit down and write out your daily

schedule for every day of the week

for example wake up at 7 a.m breakfast

at 8 a.m

get on the bus at 9 00 am work from 9 30

a.m

lunch at 1 pm and so on do this for

every day of the week

that way you can see where you can fit

in learning for example

if you ride the bus in the morning you

can use that time to listen to our audio

lessons

why do this well language learning is a

brand new routine

if you don’t work from your existing

daily routines it may not work out

for example if you decide to wake up an

hour earlier to study

now you’re adding two new routines

waking up earlier

and learning a language at once one is

hard enough but two makes it even harder

you may not wake up on time you may not

get out of bed you may fall right back

to sleep

the point here is you should piggyback

off of your existing routines

and use a learning medium that matches

your routine

so instead of waking up earlier keep

your daily routine but look for another

way to introduce language learning

write out your daily routine see where

you spend your time and then match your

routine to learn it

if you take walks and listen to music

swap out music for language lessons and

listen along

if you take the bus or train check out

our audio and video lessons

if you usually read in the evenings and

can focus try using a textbook

in all of these examples you’re taking

an existing routine and adding language

learning inside

the fourth point is set anchor points

anchor points are the connections you

make to a language that boosts your

motivation and keep you attached or

anchored to your goal so you don’t slip

away

so what’s an example of an anchor point

for example

if you have friends or relatives that

speak the language and if you’re around

them

and you’re exposed to the language

you’re more likely to learn

same thing with watching tv shows in the

target language you’re exposed to it

more

so your interest in learning naturally

goes up also

investing in a textbook or learning

program signing up for classes or for a

proficiency test

all of these are anchor points that

connect you back to the language

why do you need anchor points oftentimes

your initial reason for learning the

language

isn’t as motivating as it used to be

maybe you were motivated in month one

but not in month

five that’s why people with strong

reasons might fail

so an anchor point gives you another

reason to keep going and boost your

motivation

and also oftentimes the reason we start

isn’t the same as the reason we continue

anchor points are not something you need

to worry about in your first month of

learning

but adding them in the second month and

afterward will help you keep going

can you think of any anchor points you

can add leave a comment

finally the fifth point is you need

assessment

now that you have goals rewards routine

and anchor points

it’s not enough to learn a language

alone in a vacuum you need

feedback and course correction from a

native speaker

with our learning program you can learn

with your very own teacher

you can also leave comments on lessons

and get answers from the others

or you can find a tutor of your own

someone that will assess your progress

and correct you as needed

so let’s recap there are five things you

as a language learner

need to address if you want to start off

on the right foot

one clarify your reason for learning

two set goals and rewards three

match your routine with your study

medium

four set anchor points and five get

ongoing assessment

so thank you for watching this episode

of monthly review

next time we’ll talk about how to deal

with missed language goals and failure

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you next time bye