Okay, so you want to learn a new language.
That's absolutely, positively awesome!
It's one of the best decision you'll ever make.
So, when do you get started?
How will you go about it?
What motivates you to learn that language?
These are all things that should be crystal clear to you.
In order to be successful in language-learning, or anything in fact, you must set clear goals
for yourself.
This allows you to keep your eye on what you want to accomplish while increasing the motivation
to move in that direction.
In this post, we will talk about the 5 steps required to set effective language-learning
goals.
HAVE A PRECISE GOAL IN MIND.
The first step of setting goals for language-learning is to know precisely what you want to attain
and the time frame in which you will achieve that goal.
The more detailed your goals are, the more likely you are to achieve them.
"I want to learn Polish" doesn't really mean anything in terms of goal setting.
If you don't know exactly what you want, it will next to impossible to make a goal plan.
Aim for something that is challenging, yet achievable.
You might want to say: "I am going to Paris in 6 months and I want to manage without speaking
any English during my trip", or "I want to become an official government interpreter
in 3 years", or "I want to understand the Wookiee language before the next Star Wars.
And what the heck is that Chewbacca fellow saying anyway?"
Now, the steps and actions required to reach these goals will be entirely different.
Having a precise goal along along with a time limit or deadline will allow you to start
creating your goal plan and will give you something to hold on to, which is absolutely
crucial to be successful in language-learning.
BREAK DOWN YOUR GOAL.
Now that you have your final goal in mind, you can start looking at how you'll get there.
Goals are just like travel itineraries.
If you decide you're going to New York in 3 weeks, you'll need to work on how to get
there, how long it will take and the difficulty of the task.
Will you have to cross the ocean?
What means of transport will you have to use?
Are you going to drive there?
If so, what are the roads leading to New York?
Will you be taking the slower back roads or the interstate highway?
Goals work in the exact same way.
You need to break down your plan into several short term and long term goals.
For example, you could set your daily goal to be "I will complete at least one Ouino
lesson a day".
A weekly goal might be "I will have at least 2 video chat conversations with a native speaker".
And a month goal could be "I will be able to translate the entire Macarena song".
Of course your goals will constantly evolve.
Once you achieve your current goals, move on to different ones.
It should be something that you do not feel confident with right now and wish to improve
within a given time.
Breaking down your final goal into smaller attainable ones will boost your motivation
and language-learning success in a big way.
WRITE DOWN YOUR GOAL.
Several studies have shown that those who physically write down their goals accomplish
significantly more than those who don't.
Even if you have a clear goal plan in your mind, you will improve your chance of success
significantly if you take the time to write it down (preferably by hand) and read it multiple
times a day.
In fact, if you have ever read or plan on reading books on achieving success, they almost
always start by telling you to write down concrete and precise goals.
Writing your goals and reading them frequently is like self-hypnosis, like training your
brain to believe in your cause.
Your brain will start to believe anything you repeat often enough, whether it is "I
will succeed" or "I look like a reindeer".
Now, when you write down your goals, don't be afraid to put yourself up for a challenge,
aim high!
And most importantly, always write your goals in the future tense, "I will do this, I will
do that", never "I want to do this.
I would like to do that", which will only drown your goals into the black hole of procrastination.
GET STARTED NOW.
We all have goals and ambitions.
The sad truth is that a lot of them will never happen.
Why?
Simply because we are very good at assuming that things will magically appear one day.
"I would like to speak German one day."
"I'd like to bungee jump some day."
"One day, I'd like to create my very own potato salad."
There is a huge difference between a hopeful wish and a goal, but you can easily transform
a wish into a goal by setting up a plan and getting started right now.
Stop waiting for the perfect moment to get started, it will never happen.
Mark Twain once said: "The secret of getting ahead is getting started."
We couldn't agree more Mr. Twain!
Getting started as soon as possible is the way to go!
NEVER GIVE UP.
(NEVER SURRENDER) Oh sorry, that's a, movie clip...
You will eventually reach a point in your language-learning journey where you'll want
to give up on the whole thing.
You might start losing track of your goal.
Don't fall for it!
It's a trap created by evil gnomes!
Learning a language is a great journey with many ups and downs, but it's also one of the
most satisfying and beneficial thing you will ever accomplish.
If you start to feel the wave of discouragement coming your way, don't let yourself drown.
Instead, focus on the things you enjoy doing and remember to be satisfied with the baby
steps you make every day.
If you have goals, and stay true to them, progress is inevitable.
If you make a little progress every day, it will add up to become the goal you set yourself,
and that my friend is one of life's most rewarding experiences.
If you enjoyed our video, please make sure to give us a thumbs up.
If you have any comments or suggestions for fellow language learners, please make your
suggestion in the comments section below.
If you want to include a great language-learning method into your goal setting routine, check
out our YouTube channel or website at Ouino.com, that's O, U, I, N, O, dot com.
Thanks a lot!
Until next time!