Hi everyone! For a couple of years now, I've been studying several languages. I started as I was a university student but things evolved as I became an engineer. I'd like to share with you how I approach languages while having a full time job.
When people ask me how I manage to learn different languages while working, my answer is usually the following :
- Motivation
- Having the language incorporated into my life
- Organization : set reachable goals consistent with my work but challenge myself out of my comfort zone
1) MOTIVATION
It is very important to keep in mind what made you start to learn alanguage (a song, the way the language sounds, someone...) : all reasons are valid. Learning a language is a rollercoaster : some days you feel like you are making incredible progress and crushing it, some other days it feels like you'll never speak or understand it. In those bad days, it is good to have the motivation that keeps you going on sight !
For me, whenever I struggle with japanese for example, I call a japanese friend or watch an anime: the joy of being able to understand and the way the language sounds always boost my motivation.
2) IMMERSION
By immersion, I don't mean to travel to the country of your target language (I've learned more Japanese living in Paris than during my exchange program in Japan). The important input here is the following : you should try to fit the language in your life and integrate your hobbies in your language learning journey.
After work, I usually work out or go for a run: I try to use this time by listening to a podcast in my Target Language (TL) or music in my TL. I also read a lot and try to read in my TL to improve my vocabulary and acquire natural phrases (at the intermediate stage).
3) ORGANIZATION
Your calendar is already full with your work and your other hobbies. If you do not organize yourself, you'll easily spend several days/weeks without studying.
Track and schedule
I track my study journey : this enable me to see where i've been putting effort and adjust my learning method accordingly. For example, I noticed I was putting a lot of effort in Korean grammar but still didn't feel like I was improving : after seeing my tracker, I realized that I only put a few hours in vocabulary acquisition. I started to read more webtoons and intermediate level books.
Choose realistic goals
There is no point deciding to become B2 in 6 months when you have no time to do so. It important to define achievable goals while still challenging yourself. I decided to take the korean proficiency test ( TOPIK II) with a reasonable timeline and while only focusing on korean and spanish for a couple of months, hence putting enough time in my study.
4) TOOLS I USE
Books
I like to read: in order to improve my vocabulary and learn in context, I try to read a lot in my TL. I have a kindle, which enables me to easily buy books in different languages.
Language partners platform
Find a good language partner to talk to regularly and use what you've learned. If you share some interest with your language partner, and you guys get along, it'll make the conversation more intersting and you'll be willingto pursue the exchange for a longer period !
Proper Websites and Grammar books
In my other articles, I've shared the books and website i'm using to learn different languages. Feel free to have a look !
Youtube and Netflix subtitle feature
Learn while watching content you are enjoying ! When you are struggling to much, you can pause the video and look for the word deifintion (only pause when you do not understand even with the context, ortherwise it will break the flow and you won't even enjoy the content you're watching).
5) BE FLEXIBLE
My last advice would be to be flexible and not to hard on yourself.
Adapt to your environment and ressources available : the covid made it hard to go to language learning event, then how about some great online events? As someone who loves language learning events, I was delighted to discover that the "Polyglot Gathering" event was online !
Be willing to "fail" and change methods
Don't learn for somebody else
Your goal can change : If a language is no longer part of your life: do not force it.
Pauses are okay and well deserved !