Listen on Spotify: Spotify Link
Listen on YouTube: YouTube Link
Benvenuti, Bienvenue, Croeso and Welcome.
Hi, I’m Juliet. Join me on my language learning journey and discover my thoughts on different aspects of language learning with the A Language Learning Tale Podcast. Today, the subject is …
I have to wait until everything’s perfect
Are you waiting to learn a language until everything’s perfect, the stars are aligned, you win the lottery? Stop. No, I mean start. There is no perfect time, no perfect way, no perfect state for learning a language. You just have to get on with it.
There are many situations in which people wait for the perfect time to do something. They wait to get married, because they need to save up for the wedding. They wait to have kids, because they need to save up to buy all the things. They wait to learn a language, because … well, why? What’s stopping you? You can pretty much learn a language for free, these days, so that’s not an excuse. At least, if you’re determined enough that’s not an excuse. Oh, you’re waiting because you don’t have the time? Well, how much do you want to learn this language - what else can you give up?
But let’s take a step back. Are you really waiting for the perfect time to learn a language, or do you just feel like learning a language is something you should do, rather than something you actually want to do? To learn a language you have to want to do it. You need to have the motivation. If you don’t have that, maybe that’s why you’re making excuses.
Or, are you waiting because you think it’s going to be too hard? You never got on with languages at school. You felt like an idiot because when the teacher came to you, you never knew the correct response, so why should now be any different? Well, for a start, because you can learn a language in your own way, rather than the school’s way. There won’t be anyone judging you, if you don’t want there to be, or anyone forcing you to go quicker than you want to, or anyone saying you’ll be tested on those fifty words tomorrow. So, what’s really stopping you?
There is no better time than now to learn a language. There are so many resources available to people online, for free. Yes, some languages have a lot more content than others, but the amount of material out there is increasing every day. Many native speakers of languages create content specifically to help people learn their language. There are apps, many of which have free levels, that you can use to get used to grammar and if your target language isn’t included, with enough searching, you should be able to locate a grammar book, at least.
And, if not now, when? Seriously, when? Next month? Next year? Tomorrow?
Okay, but write down the actual date, because we all know that tomorrow never comes.
That’s all for today. Don’t forget to join me again next time, for more tips, tricks and tales and in the meantime, check out the A Language Learning Tale YouTube channel for additional, non-podcast content.
Ciao, salut, hwyl and bye for now.