Based in my own experience as a student of a foreign language, I can say that there is a point when as a student, you feel like you are not learning as fast as you think you should, considering the time invested. You also might think that it is possible you will never be able to speak the language better than you do at this moment. In this situation you find many concepts from the grammar that you don’t understand quite yet, plus the amount of vocabulary that you need to know, to keep improving in specific conversations (for example in an academic scenario).
This is something that not only happens in our mind but it actually occurs to most of students. According to several studies, there is a moment in the learning curve defined as the plateau effect when the process slows down and we get the idea that our improvement is not happening as quick as we were used to. It can really affect the learning process and could make you want to quit as you don’t see further progress.
I want to help you regain your motivation in studying so that you can maintain regularity, consolidate previous knowledge and move on to next topics.
Below are some tips that I think can be useful when being in this situation.
Meeting people that speak the language
From enjoying a good time in a social environment to feeling more relaxed when practising Spanish, finding people to exchange languages or only learn Spanish with them is a great motivation. It is recommended in all levels (although during basic level can be very difficult), but it can help you specially during this time of doubt, when you feel exhausted from learning and not seeing progress in your skills.
Nowadays, it is more simple to find groups where you can exchange your knowledge of some language for Spanish (online or in person), or if you know some Spanish speakers already I’m sure they will be happy to spend some time just talking the language for you to practise. Some websites where to register and practise Spanish with native speakers are Tandem and HelloTalk.
Reading your favourite book in Spanish
If you have a book that you love and have read few times in the past, maybe now is the moment to switch this to Spanish. For best seller and very popular books, there is always a Spanish version you can find since there is a big audience and high number of readers in this language. It will definitely be challenging but the fact that you know the story already, will help you focus on the writing differences between both languages (such typical expressions and idioms) and the common tense verbs being used.
Travelling abroad
If you have possibility, you can book a trip to Spain or some Spanish speaker country in South America; instead of just dreaming about it, the action of having booked the dates for your trip, may give you enough motivation to practice the language and get ready for the adventure (it definitely sounds more interesting than studying for a test).
Small goals
The advise to set small goals is great idea for many objectives in life, and certainly can help when learning a language. We can get overwhelmed when thinking about how much more we need to study in order to have a job interview, read a book or have a conversation on the phone.
The best solution I can think of, in order to not feel stressed and disappointed, is to set reasonable and short term tasks. For example, during a week you can focus on learning how to first understand usual questions that an interviewer may ask during a job interview, and then to spend some time thinking of ways you could ask about the job description or what can they offer to you in that position. Or set up one day to only read a small and simple book in Spanish (it could be one for kids with many images, if your level is not high, or a short self-help book if you are more advanced in Spanish).
YouTube videos
Use YouTube as your hobby for learning Spanish. Most of us spend several hours a week just watching random videos in YouTube, mostly about things that interest us (cooking, gaming, podcasts…).
The days I didn’t feel like studying German grammar or doing exercises in a book, I would use that time to watch YouTube videos in German. There are great channels for learning languages and instead of watching them anytime, you could actually save these for later and use them as extra practise when you want to continue learning but don’t feel much motivation to sit in front of a book. Great channels for learning Spanish are: Easy Spanish and SpanishPod101.
Make sure to check our section Cities to get you motivated with learning Spanish!