You're Not Lazy or Unmotivated

You're actually just tired, bored, or uncertain about how to learn a language

I’ve taught hundreds of language learners who, despite longing to become fluent, don’t practice much between their lessons. They then beat themselves up for their slow progress and lack of dedication to learning.

If you can relate, this article is for you.

In my experience, people don’t study for one, or perhaps a mixture, of the following reasons:

Fatigue/Being Busy

You work long hours, have kids, volunteer once a week, and play on a recreational sports team. You have so many responsibilities that 90%+ of your waking hours are accounted for. With so much on the go, is it any surprise that you don't spend much time on language learning?

To remedy this, maximize your energy levels by taking care of your health. Optimize your sleep, water intake, and diet. Exercise. Do what you can to reduce stress, anxiety, and other energy-sapping emotions. You may also want to consider taking a step back from a few responsibilities in order to have more time and energy for language learning.

Boredom

Your self-study materials are so boring you use them as a sleeping aid. You dread studying because nothing is more tedious. It’s no wonder you don’t want to practice a language - you don’t enjoy the process!

Try using different resources or study methods to turn the dread into enthusiasm. Switch things up.

Lack of Clarity

You are uncertain about what steps to take next and don’t have a clear pathway to fluency. As a result, you procrastinate. Thankfully, this obstacle is relatively easy to overcome by using this piece of advice by Behavior Hack on Instagram.

If you’re stuck, start with 100.

100 words.

100 ideas.

You don’t need hacks.

You don’t need secrets.

You need to take simple things to extreme lengths.

- Behavior Hack on Instagram

Stop trying to find the “best way to learn a language.” Use the 100 strategy above instead. If you are an inexperienced language learner, start by reading articles or watching YouTube videos for 100 minutes about different language methods. Next, pick the language learning method that appeals to you the most and put it into practice for 100 minutes a week over the next 100 days. If you want a bigger challenge, try 100 minutes a day over the next 100 weeks instead.

Other ways to implement the 100 strategy are to:

1. Work through 100 pages of a textbook or workbook you haven’t opened in months

2. Write 100 words in your target language every day for 100 days

3. Watch 100 comprehensible YouTube videos in your target language

4. Do 100 grammar exercises

5. Complete 100 private lessons on a website such as italki.com

6. Ask 100 people on an app such as HelloTalk or Tandem to become your practice partner

You’re Not Lazy or Unmotivated

Your lack of studying has little to do with motivation levels or laziness. It is far more likely that you are bored, tired, and/or unsure about how to best approach learning a language. Address those obstacles. If you do, you will improve much faster than you are now.