Learning a new language in the new year is up there with all those other good intentions like stopping smoking, losing weight, getting fitter and Dry January.
But New Year’s Resolutions are doubled-edged swords. There’s something subconsciously counterproductive about them. Believe it or not, you’ve got a whopping 62% chance of abandoning them.
It gets worse. Chances are you’ll hit the buffers just 17 days in to the shiny new year, after initially going at your new language with all guns blazing.
17th January is officially recognised as Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day because the majority of people have already ditched theirs by this inglorious date.
It’s a fate you’ll be keen to avoid when you embark on your new language learning journey. Thankfully, there are some great tactics you can use for staying as keen and engaged as you were for your very first lesson.
Top Tips for Retaining Interest in Your New Language
University of Leeds Lecturer John Gallagher explained in Psyche magazine, “…it won’t always be a question of grammar drills and vocabulary lists – you’ll be able to replace the hard grind of study with literature and ideas in your new language, as well as the joys of travel, conversation and multilingual friendships. With the right goals and motivation, the slog of learning a language can soon give way to living it.”
- Concentrate More on What Makes You Tick and Less on What Doesn’t – Any and every new language entails an amount of grammar and vocabulary as par for the course. The thought of this might put you off, remembering the uninspiring exercises of your school days. But adult learning doesn’t have to be anywhere near as formulaic, depending on what your end goals for learning a new language are.
- Talk the Talk – Conversation is our key method of communication as human beings. So, the best way to accelerate learning a new language is to use it, often and regularly. Contemporary language classes for adults will have you talking the talk in your new language more than burying your head in textbooks.
- Live Your New Language – It’s said that immersion learning is one of the quickest and most effective ways to learn a new language. You might not be able to go and live in another country for a few months to try this method out first hand. But you can have a taste of it. Watch films and television programmes in your new language. Eat out at local restaurants that specialise in the national cuisine of the language you’re learning. And join cultural groups.
At La Academia, our broad range of face-to-face and remote learning options are purpose-designed and delivered to keep you sticky.
In case you hadn’t heard, our next ever-popular Spanish courses start on Thursday 20th January, three days after Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day.
That’s 62% increased stickiness odds + La Academia = Win:Win
NEW SPANISH COURSES FOR BEGINNERS STARTING IN JANUARY
Starting date: Thursday 20th for six consecutive weeks.
ZOOM: 7 to 9 pm, £90 for the whole course.
FACE TO FACE: 7 to 9 pm at La Academia in Cheadle £100 for the whole course.
FACE TO FACE: 10.30am to 12.30pm at La Academia in Cheadle £100 for the whole course.
Contact us to book your place!
Sources
How to learn a language (and stick at it), John Gallagher, Psyche