Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash
By Federica Lupis, https://www.federicalupis.com/
Author of "Fluent On The First Try" and "Why You're Not Fluent and How To Fix It"
Language trainer, interpreter and translator.
You have to work, study, clean the house, see the dentist, make lunch and dinner and buy a last-minute gift for that party you didn’t even want to go to… So how exactly will you find the time to learn a language?
Don’t worry! You are not alone. Most people go through that ‘no way’ moment.
The thing is, you don’t really need to make more time. To begin with, you can fit language learning into your current routine.
How? Read on!
Turn downtime into productive time.
As an interpreter, I spend a lot of time waiting. Sometimes I’m lucky and can sit next to my clients who tell me amazing stories about their migration and new life in Australia. The other times, I’m stuck on the opposite side of the waiting area where all I can do is wait.
At first, I used to sit there and get bored; I literally counted the minutes until the doctor called us in. Then I thought: ‘What if I did something productive?’. So I grabbed my Kindle and started reading books in foreign languages.
I am embarrassed to admit that since then, I have been looking forward to the waiting time…
Even if you don’t work as an interpreter, I bet the same can be true for you.
Do you catch the train to uni, drive to work or sit in a waiting room for regular check-ups? If so, you’ve already found a way to practise your language skills. Grab a book, play a podcast, or do a crossword in the foreign language and you’ll realise that finding time to learn a language may not be as tricky as it sounds.
Multitasking
My partner often teases me about my ability to do multiple things at once. He says that to do the same, he would need to have at least four arms.
Now, I know it may seem like I’m bragging, but I’m not. I wasn’t born with this ability. I developed it through my passion for foreign languages and then applied it to other areas of my life.
And just to be clear: if I can do it, anyone can – including you!
Consider some everyday activities like preparing meals, cleaning the house, and exercising. Can you combine these activities with language learning?
For example, this is my current routine: watching TV shows in French while I cook, listening to Japanese songs while I clean (it makes me feel better, especially when I have to clean things I don’t like...), watching anime in Japanese while I eat, reading manga in Spanish before bed.
I know it sounds like a lot, but it’s not. I simply paired the languages with things I have to do anyway, with the difference that these activities now seem way more interesting. And you can do the same!
Take a moment to think about your daily routine, and I’m sure you’ll find at least one activity to combine with a foreign language.
I hope by the end of this post, you’ve figured out how to fit a foreign language into your routine. The hardest part will be getting started, but once you do, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start earlier!
Thanks for reading! See you next month!
If you enjoyed my article, you can discover my tried and tested language learning strategies in my books:
and here are this month's book offers:
This article was brought to you by EsoutacheCreations, one of a kind Jewellery. Handmade in Italy with love.
This month I’d like to share with you a fantastic story written by my dear friend Reg. Click here to read it!
Thank you!
Go to the Italian version.
To read my previous article click below:
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