Have you ever tried to learn a new language and then forgotten some of it?
Do you ever find that you lose motivation or interest along the way?
Today we have a very special guest on our show, Lydia Machova, who is an expert at learning new languages.
We’re going to go through various ways to ensure that you can be successful at learning and remembering this new language, and ensuring that you stay motivated along the way.
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Overcoming The Challenge of Learning A New Language
We are so happy to have Lydia on our show today to teach us some tips for overcoming the hurdles of learning a new language.
Lydia learns a new language every two years, and today she’s going to share with us her secret of never forgetting a language.
She’s going to talk about her four pillars for successfully learning a new language.
Lydia is a polyglot, which means that she knows many different languages.
She is a successful polyglot who is always learning languages all the time, and now has become a language mentor.
She has learned nine languages and keeps seven of them on a fluent level.
She has worked as an interpreter and has an excellent educational background in languages.
We’re talking about the feeling of worrying that you might forget a language.
You may worry that you might forget the language or get rusty if you are trying to keep up with multiple languages.
It can be stressful to have all of this in your head and to be successful in each of the languages.
It’s very normal to forget languages or to feel like you are stuck on the beginner level for a long time.
You might feel like you are stuck and you can’t move forward.
You might feel as if you aren’t talented and that you aren’t the person who can learn multiple languages.
What is the right way to learn a language?
How can you feel comfortable and ensure that you don’t forget the language?
We’re going to look at this today and help you to answer these questions.
Looking at an Analogy
There are many different ways to look at learning a new language, but there’s an analogy that you can look to for some guidance.
If you look at the movie “Castaway,” Tom Hanks was stranded on an island and he was trying to build a raft to get away.
The waves would always drag him back to the island, and he could never get past them and move forward.
The same sort of analogy applies to learning a new language–you may feel as if you are doing fine at the beginning but then the waves hit!
You might feel that as you try to move forward towards the intermediate level, then the waves may drag you back.
You might feel as if you can’t move forward or that something, like the waves, are holding you back.
You might feel as if you reach a plateau and you aren’t able to move forward, you may feel stuck and as if you just can’t get to where you want to.
You want to make sure that you are learning this new language in a way that is fun for you.
This is crucial because you need it to be fun for you to stick with it.
This will keep you from getting stuck, as will changing up your materials to help you to move forward.
There is the “B2” level which means that you can understand and it doesn’t cost you much in using this language.
This is the last wave that you have overcome, and what you should strive for as you are learning a new language.
You need to work towards the good intermediate or upper level so that it becomes second nature to you.
This is living with the language without a second thought, and what you should strive for in your journey.
You need to keep changing it up so that it works for you, and you have the motivation to keep pushing forward past the challenges and the waves.
You won’t forget the language anymore if you change things up and you challenge yourself, but in a fun way.
You might stop loving what you are learning if you stay with the same materials or same approach all the time.
Listen to the voice in your head if it is telling you that you are bored or that you need a new method to learn.
This gives you a new wave of motivation and ensures that you keep your energy high.
The Four Pillars To Successfully Learning A New Language
There are four pillars to successfully learning a new language.
If you can focus on these, then you can truly learn to make this new language a part of your life.
- Have fun: You need to make sure that language learning is in some ways fun for you. People can’t imagine having fun if they just use textbooks or what you learn in school. That’s why you have to mix it up and keep it interesting. If you have fun and keep it interesting, then you will be motivated to stick with it. Find something that you enjoy and use this to help you learn.
- Making your learning intensive: This is about the energy that you put into learning the language. You need enough to sustain you. It’s all about putting the right things and enough energy into it. If you spend one hour a day with the right methods, then that’s plenty. It should be consistent and everyday to make it work. Try to focus on one hour a day for half a year to learn a new language. It may be reading a book or watching a TV show or talking to people around you. It may be going on the Internet for possibilities to learn this new language. There are websites where you can talk to others and do an exchange for your language and their language. You can even use self talk because it allows you to practice anywhere in the world. This is very effective! It’s all about making the commitment and being consistent with the methods that you choose. When you make that commitment and stick with that, then you will be successful. Find that time to practice by yourself so that you can truly commit to it.
- Using effective methods: Are the things that I’m doing in this language achieving the goals that I want to achieve? I want to be able to speak French, so I will learn using this vocabulary app. This won’t get you very far because you aren’t practicing speaking at all. If you aren’t practicing speaking though, then you aren’t going to stick with it or master it. You have to listen a lot, and you have to practice a lot. You have to ensure that you are using methods that are effective and which help you to be successful. If you want to understand people speaking in the language, then you have to listen a lot. Talking to yourself can work well with being able to speak in the language. Watching a TV show, listening to a podcast, or reading a book can all help you as effective methods in living with and being successful in your language learning.
- Having a system in your learning: Your task is to do something for a given amount of time. Have a good approach and a system to remind you of this new habit. It’s all about having a system in place that works for you. Perhaps it’s whenever you are on your way to work, you are listening to a podcast. When you are at lunch, you are practicing vocabulary. You need a plan and a system of different methods to help you to reach your goal. These are the tactics that will help you to stick with it and to overcome the lazy days. This is your plan and your overall system to ensure that you stick with this and don’t get lazy about it. This routine helps you to overcome the whole thing falling apart!
These four pillars will help you to achieve success and ensure that you overcome the waves that previously held you back.
Making This All Work As A Part of Your Life
It all starts with having fun so that you stick with it.
Then it’s about having a lot of contact with the language.
Then you ensure that you are using the right methods so that you are effective and successful.
Then it’s about having a plan and sticking with it as that will ensure consistency and dedication.
If you can make these four things happen in your language learning, then you will be successful and overcome those waves.
These are four concrete pillars that can help you to stick with it and overcome that last wave.
These are so useful and can ensure that you have fun with it as you learn.
Being honest with yourself when something isn’t working. isn’t easy, and knowing how to switch it up when necessary matters greatly.
If you follow these pillars and stick with your plan, then you can truly be successful in learning a new language.
You can find Lydia on her website Language mentoring for extra help and ideas.
You can also search up “Language Mentoring”on YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook.
She can offer expertise in learning and mastering a new language and really making it your own.
Takeaway
Learning a new language can be very rewarding, but challenging at times.
These four pillars can help you to be successful and ensure that you make and stick with a plan to move you towards success.
It’s all about consistency, but also keeping it fun so that you have motivation and interest in continuing.
If you can rise above the waves, then you can master a new language and make it a part of your life.
If you have any questions, please place them below in the comments section.
We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
Bio:
Lýdia Machová has learned nine languages without ever living abroad or in a multilingual environment.
She maintains seven of them at a fluent level, and she usually learns a new one every two years. After meeting dozens of polyglots, or people who speak a lot of languages, she now shares the principles of language learning with the world as a language mentor.
Machová was the main organizer of the world’s biggest polyglot event, the Polyglot Gathering in Bratislava, Slovakia, in 2017 and 2018.
She holds a PhD in translation studies and previously worked as a professional conference interpreter.
She is based in Slovakia but travels often on her mission to help people learn languages in their own ideal way.
Her website is called Language Mentoring.
