Do you get yourself
into the habit of learning
a language for like a day,
a week, two weeks,
but inevitably it always just ends.
Maybe you get distracted,
maybe you get bored,
whatever the case may be.
You can't seem to keep
your language learning habits.
Keep watching to find out three reasons
why your language learning
habits don't work and what to do instead.
If you're new here. Hi, my name is Jamie.
I'm a language coach
and my specialty is helping
online language learners find success
in their language learning,
no matter what that looks like to them.
So if that sounds good to you.
Make sure you subscribe and hit the bell
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language learning video every Wednesday.
The first reason why your language,
your language learning habits
don't work is because
you're making your language
learning habits too much of a priority.
Like anything else
with language learning,
this has a lot of nuance to it.
But what I see a lot of people doing
is thinking that their language learning
is like the top.
Like, they have to achieve their language
learning habits, whatever they look like
every single day or else
they failed.
Is it important to make your language
learning habits a priority?
Yes, but a priority, not the priority.
And it doesn't help
that there are so many voices
on the internet that say
you have to stick to it
every single day
because that's what,
you know, strong, empowered people do.
And you know, you just got hustle
and you got to do
all this stuff and that's,
you know, you're super motivated
and you need to stay motivated
every single day or else you fail.
So inevitably, when a language learner,
you know, sets these habits
for themselves and they
gasp, they like, have an off day
or they just they get distracted
or they're tired or whatever it is,
and they are not able
to fulfill their daily habit.
They just crumble.
They feel really, really guilty.
They feel like they're lazy
or they're procrastinating.
They're not smart enough
or not good enough.
Maybe they can't learn the language
and then a whole lot of like
mindset issues come up and it's it's it's
a horrible cycle.
Honestly,
none of that is helpful in any way.
The second reason why your language
learning habits don't work
is that you're either
being too flexible or too strict.
Obviously, everybody's experience
and needs are different,
so it really it's really up to you.
You know how strict or flexible
your language learning habits are,
but it's something that you know
you need to learn
how to approach over time.
On the one hand,
some language learners are too flexible.
And so they're kind of like the opposite
of the first point
where they say, Oh, you know,
I decided that I wanted to go,
hang out with my friends and, you know,
not learn my language,
which, by the way,
that's not a bad reason to not study.
Being social is definitely
an important part of your life.
But I digress.
But more commonly, to be fair,
I see more language
learners being way too strict
with their language learning habits.
A lot of language learners
set really bulletproof habits
and strict rules
that they have to achieve this thing.
They have to study every single day.
They have to commit,
you know, an hour, every single day
to their language learning.
And then when they can't do that
again, they crumble.
And don't worry,
I say this from personal experience.
I've absolutely done this before,
so you are not alone.
It can be really,
really fun and easy
when you're motivated in the moment,
you know, January first
or the beginning of the month
or whatever time frame it is
and set yourself
really lofty language learning habits
that just aren't something
that you'll be able to stick to in
two weeks in a month.
Like anything, language
learning habits are creating nuanced,
and they can shift and change
and still be consistent.
And you really have to learn
how to be responsive to your own needs
with your language
learning habits, And setting language
learning habits that work for you
long term and not just
in any given moment.
And the third reason why your language
learning habits don't work
is because you are
depending on your habits
and nothing else.
Habits are important.
Yes, they are. Absolutely.
I agree with that concept.
But what are they important for?
Is the question
because I see a lot of language
learners thinking that their language
learning habits is
what's going to keep them
consistent in the long term.
I mean, that might work for some people,
but not for everybody.
Not everybody can say,
Oh, I have this to do every day,
and that's that's
what's going to keep me going.
It's not how it works for me at all.
This is a generalization, of course.
Like anything
with language learning, it's
kind of a generalization
your habits won't work
if you don't have a reason
to keep them up.
In other words,
a big reason why a lot of language
learning habits don't work
is because language
learners set habits
for the purpose of setting habits
and not for the purpose of any
why or motivation or anything like that.
The habit isn't the end goal.
The habit is what you use
to get to the end goal.
You don't define that end goal,
then you've got no reason to keep going.
Do you relate to any of these reasons?
Let me know in the comments
section below.
Now we know three reasons why
language learning habits don't work.
What do we do instead?
If you relate to the first point
that you are making language
learning too much of a
priority in your life,
it's time to sit down
and think about what your priorities are
and where they lie
in your list of priorities.
So instead of telling yourself
that language learning
is your number one priority
and then feeling really guilty and crappy
when another priority comes up,
it's time to think
about where in your list
of priorities language learning is.
Are you treating language learning
as something that has to be done?
Absolutely.
No matter what, it doesn't matter
what else is going on in your life.
Language learning has to happen.
Or
are you allowed to
miss a day if you're sick?
Is it OK to put it to the side
because your child needs you?
Is it OK to put it away
when you're having a busy week at work?
Do you have other hobbies and interests
that may be more important to you?
These are all examples of priorities
that are completely valid
to have above language learning,
and it's totally OK to prioritize
other things, no matter what
they are over language learning
and be OK with putting it
to the side temporarily
and picking it back up
when you can, when you want to,
when it makes sense for your life .
It's not unreasonable
to skip a day or a week or a month.
It really depends on you,
your life, your goals
and your priorities.
Going back to the second reason.
Are you too strict or too flexible
with your habits?
Like I said, I've generally seen language
learners being way too strict.
So what do you do instead?
Generally, this is pretty similar to,
you know, making language
learning too much of a priority.
But consider, you know,
how strict your language
learning habits need to be.
A lot of times
this looks like language learners
not being responsive to their own needs.
They hold themselves to these standards
that there is no reason why they cannot,
you know, achieve the habits
that they've set.
Like, it doesn't matter
how tired they're feeling,
how busy they're feeling,
how stressed out
they're feeling
because they have set a strict habit
and there is no reason
why they should fail that habit.
And then when they inevitably do,
there comes those crappy
guilty feelings again.
So just like the first point,
consider thinking about
how strict or flexible
you need your habits to be,
how strict or flexible
you want your habits to be.
Journal about it.
Pray about it, meditate about it,
think about it.
Whatever works for you,
just to think about where
language learning sits in your life.
Think about how important it is
to be strict with your habits.
And no matter how strict you decide
to be, it's totally valid.
It's up to you.
Language learning can absolutely be
the end all, be all.
If that's what works for you,
or it can be like not a priority at all.
It's all up to you and your needs.
And then third mistake
depending 100% on your language,
learning habits and nothing else.
A lot of the time,
this can feel like being really bored
and uninterested
in the monotony of your habits,
like if you're doing the same thing
every day
for the purpose of
doing your habits
and achieving your habits.
But the actual language learning
is not interesting, so you're just
it's it's not going to work out.
Plus, the monotony of language learning
just becomes another thing on your to
do list for life, which is,
you know, miles long, obviously.
So you end up feeling bored, then guilty
that you're bored and guilty,
that you don't want to stick to it
and you're like, just fighting yourself,
you're fighting the urge
that you have to make it more interesting
or just to not do it at all
instead of sticking
100% to your habits and nothing else.
Think about the thing that excites
you and motivated you
to learn a language to begin with.
We tend to see language
learning as a job.
We tend to see it as something that
if you miss a day,
then there's something wrong with you.
And I see a lot of people
talking like that on the internet.
It's OK to take a break and skip
a day, miss a day,
whatever it is that you need to do,
and there is nothing wrong with that .
If you're not feeling excited
and motivated by your language
learning on a day to day basis,
then something needs to change.
Obviously, that excitement
will ebb and flow over time,
but there should be
some level of consistency.
And if that's the case, consider
you know what it is that you're excited
about in your language
learning and work towards that.
So if you're really excited
to watch a movie
in your target language,
work towards that
and make that your habit.
If you're really excited
to have conversations, start
having small conversations
even with just like a chat bot.
It all depends on what works for
you and your goals.
But as a general rule,
if you're struggling with this
and you need something more
than just like black and white habits,
language learning is not objective.
It is subjective.
It depends entirely on you.
Want to dig deeper
and more intentionally
into things like your motivation,
expectations, things like that,
I help clients every day learn
how to set great habits for themselves,
great goals that give themselves
motivation long term.
If that sounds good to you, click
the link below in the description
to learn more about my 90 day
self-paced coaching program.
And if you like this video,
check out these videos.
I come out with a new one
every Wednesday.
Other than that, have a wonderful day
and I'll see you next time.
Wow, I'm really pale.
Who knew?
I did just. Oh.