Lesson Transcript

Hey everyone, welcome to the Monthly Review!
The monthly show on language learning.
Where you discover new learning strategies, motivational tips, study tools, and resources.
By the way, all the lessons and bonuses you’re about to see can be downloaded for free on our website.
So, click the link in the description right now to sign up for your free lifetime account.
Okay, today’s topic is:
The Halfway Point &How to Keep Going with Language Learning
If you’ve been learning a language for some time…
…Do you ever stop and review your learning progress… which ensures you’re more likely to succeed and keep on going. Or, do you try and learn for a bit… then realize you have nothing to show for your efforts and give up? Well, in today’s episode, you’ll discover
why… you should review your progress,
how to start measuring your progress with a special goal-setting trick…
…and how to stay motivated with something called “anchor points” so you can succeed with the language.
But first, if you’re looking for some free language resources and downloads… here are this month’s new lessons and resources. Be sure to download these now before we take them down in a few days.
First — The “Using Opposites” Conversation Cheat Sheet
With this new cheat sheet, you’ll learn common opposite adjectives like... near and far, hot and cold... and grammar rules on how to use these words in a sentence.
Second — How to Say Goodbye PDF Writing Workbook
With this printable PDF, you'll pick up some common parting greetings and be able to practice writing them out.
Third - Can you talk about cars in your target language?
Learn how to say words like ”tire,” ”windshield,” “headlights” and more, with this quick vocab bonus.
Fourth — Must-Know Words &Phrases for Public Transportation
Learn how to say “ticket,” “bus,” “train,” and much more... with this quick 1-minute lesson
Fifth - The 10 Habits of Highly Effective Language Learners
Wondering which habits will help you succeed with language learning? Then check out this free lesson.
To get your free resources, click the link in the description below right now. They’re yours to keep forever. Ok, let’s jump into today’s topic:
The Halfway Point &How to Keep Going with Language Learning
Part 1: Why You Should Review Your Past Language Goals.
If you’ve been learning a language for some time, do you ever stop and review your learning progress?
It’s something you can do at the half-way point of the year - around June or July - if you start learning in January. Or you can do it a few months into your journey, like now.
So, why stop and review your progress?
Picture this. Let’s say you started learning at the start of the year, and you’ve been at it for a few months.
In month 1, you’re excited and motivated.
In month 2, you’re still going at it, but maybe the motivation is not as strong, and you want to make sure that you don’t fall off… unfortunately, as most people do. So, you work hard to keep at it.
By month 3 — if you’ve made it this far — you’re on autopilot and learning with whatever has been working for you. This seems like a good place to be, but the problem is, by month 3, 4, or 5… if you’ve been coasting on autopilot for too long and haven’t had any significant improvements, you may start worrying if you’re actually learning or improving.
If you’re not tracking your progress and have no results to look at, by month 4 or 5, you’ll look around and realize you have nothing to show for all that work you did.
You might start losing motivation…
And at worst, you might quit.
So, the reason you should consider reviewing — is to see that progress. For example, you spoke 0 of your target language in month 1, 1 minute in month 2, 3 minutes by the end of month 3. That’s progress. Now, you can say that you’ve improved since the start.
The point is…. Seeing results is a powerful motivation booster, and it’s a good practice to have, especially a few months in, or at the halfway point of the year, whenever your motivation starts dipping.
Knowing that you were directly responsible…for your success, your improvement in the language… will give you more motivation than anything else ever could.
It’s like looking in the mirror after going to the gym for a month and seeing some muscle, or checking your bank seeing that you were able to save $100 this month. That’s exciting. It’s proof that you’re actually able to make this work. And you’re more excited to keep at it.
So, how can you start tracking your progress?
Part 2: How You Can Keep on Going Past the Halfway Point
Here’s what you can do:
One: Set small measurable monthly goals.
Instead of saying “I want to be fluent by the end of the year,” set more realistic goals like…
I want to learn 100 words this month. I want to do 30 lessons with the learning program I have. Or I want to put in 15 minutes a day, every day for the month. Setting these goals makes it super easy to track your progress. 100 words, 30 lessons, 15 minutes a day - these are all measurable and trackable.
Which brings us to number 2.
Two: Review your goals.
Now, if you’ve been setting these small measurable goals every month, then reviewing your progress is easy. If you can see that you learned 50 words in January, 50 in February, 20 in March, and so on…
...now you have measurable progress.
And even if you just learned 10 measly words in January, totally failed in February and bounced back to learn 30 words in March… you still have progress on hand.
Three: If you’re learning with our program, you can check your Dashboard… and see how many flashcards you’ve studied… and how many lessons you’ve completed. We track your progress for you.
Four: You can also test your language skills with our assessment tests. Testing yourself is a great way to assess your progress and see if you’ve actually improved. It’s also why language learners sign up for proficiency exams every year, which of course, we recommend you to do as well.
But if you want to test yourself with our program, find the assessments inside our Learning Pathways. These assessments test you on what you’ve learned in the last few lessons.
Five: This is the simplest thing you can do. If you’re using a notebook, just go through and see how much you wrote inside… as proof of work. You may not remember or know it all 100%, but you definitely know a lot more than when you’ve started.
Progress tracking aside, there’s another way to boost your motivation and keep going with your language…
Six: create more anchor points to the language.
Anchor points are connections to the language - that keep you anchored to the language and your goal.
It could be friends or relatives who speak the language, tv shows in that language you like, an upcoming trip to the target country, language classes, or language programs.
All of these things - in one way or another - keep you anchored to your language learning goal. And when one anchor point is no longer enough, you can add more to boost your motivation.
For example, if you started learning a language because your best friend speaks it… that motivation may get you going but it may not last forever. Your friend would probably prefer if both of you spoke a language that both of you know well.
So your initial reason - or anchor point - for learning may be helpful in the first month or 2…
…but by month 3, 4, or 5, your motivation can wear off, if it didn't earlier. At which point, you can create more anchor points like…
… enroll in a class
…sign up for a proficiency test…
...or start watching a tv show in that language…
These new anchor points… new reasons… will boost your motivation and keep you going.
So, if you’ve not been setting goals and anchor points or tracking your progress…
Now is the time to start.
Otherwise, do you know much of the
language you can speak?
How many words you’ve learned?
Or if you’ve improved at all?
If you don’t track and review your progress, you’ll have nothing to show for your work… and you’ll always feel like you’re floating around and not learning anything.
So, thank you for watching this episode of Monthly Review
Next time, we’ll talk about… are you an introvert or an extrovert? And How to Speak More of Your Target Language
If you enjoyed these tips, hit the “like” button, share the video with anyone who's trying to learn a language, and subscribe to our channel. We release new videos every week!
And, if you’re ready to finally learn language the fast, fun and easy way and start speaking from your very first lesson, get our complete learning program. Sign up for your free lifetime account right now. Click the link in the description.
See you next time! Bye!

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