How to continue learning a language when your progress is slow?

We tend to give up on languages we want to learn because we don’t see results right away. We give it a try for a couple of weeks, months or years. Some of us keep going and some of us stop for different kinds of reasons. One of the biggest reasons is seeing no progress in the skill you are trying to master.

Photo by Daniel H.Tong on Unsplash

I have been learning Korean on my own (using online resources) since 2013. You might be thinking “five years should be enough to be fluent”. That is not true. I still struggle with understanding, reading and writing Korean. I am nowhere near fluency, but I don’t see myself giving up anytime soon. I just keep going even though my progress is very slow. It is too late to go back anyway. My whole life is immersed in the Korean culture/language. And if I ever decide to stop learning Korean, I won't stop watching its dramas, listening to its music or checking out Naver.

Korean has become more than a language for me. It is part of my lifestyle now. Even as I write this, I have a local Korean radio on as a background noise.

I do believe this is the key to continue learning a language even when the progress is unnoticeable. It is that I am always learning indirectly even when I am too lazy to sit down and actually study.

Maybe it helps that I really enjoy Korean entertainment. There is always something to watch/listen to. There is something in this language for everybody. That is the beauty of it. You can find Korean content online easily. Even learning resources are available unlimitedly.

The other thing is I don’t measure my progress with a ruler. In fact, I don’t measure it at all. I just pat myself on the shoulders if, for example, I understand a scene in a drama, etc.

Something else that I do is coming up with new goals to motivate myself. Because change is required to get you out of the boring routine of learning a foreign language. So below is an image of how my goals started simple and got bigger over time:

Goal #1: Learn the Korean alphabets

Goal #2: Understand Korean catchphrases from dramas

Goal #3: Finish all of the 9 levels posted on TTMIK

Goal #4: Be able to watch Korean dramas/shows without subtitles

Goal #5: Learn Korean Idioms

As you can see my first goal was so simple. I was planning to stop there but I got greedy. I decided to explore more of this language when I completed my first goal. Gradually my goals became bigger and bigger because my interest deepened. So yes you can say that you should start small and go big not the other way around.

From time to time you have to change how you study your targeted language. Don’t depend on one source. Don’t depend on one method (even if you think its working for you). Continue to evolve your ways not to get bored. However, if you stay with the same method for a long time, you will eventually stop.

So these were my tips. What are yours? Comment them below.

Thank you for reading

For more tips follow me @basma_aalx