Many language learners use goals as the “holy grail” of their studies, and rely heavily on setting goals, tracking goals, and achieving goals. Goals become the center of their journey to learning languages.
They seek to figure out what language goals other learners have, and compare whose goals are more S.M.A.R.T vs vague. They scour the internet for popular youtubers who show them their ways of tracking goals, and even grow shocked when someone says they don’t set goals at all.
And they ask, “How? How can you learn a language without goals?”
Now, I’m not here to tell you not to set goals. Instead, I want to unpack what goals ARE and how they best serve your language studies. And then, I want to share with you one other area that is often neglected and what should be THE focus when it comes to measuring progress and growth within your language studies.
Let’s start with what we know about goals.
What really are goals?
We can start by using the dictionary’s definition, which is “the end toward which effort is direct.”
In other words, goals are a desired result that we want, and we commit to achieving this desired result.
In language learning, this is the “I want to be able to speak in French” or “I want to be able to watch anime in Japanese” ideas we tell ourselves and others.
So to be clear, this isn’t the action or speaking french or watching anime, this is just the destination. And once you reach that destination, you find yourself having to set another goal, and another goal, and another goal. Or sometimes, you’ll struggle to reach that goal entirely.
Nothing about the goal tells you HOW to achieve it. It’s just the objective of your studies.
What about Habits? How are they different?
Habits, unlike goals, are actions. If we compare it to the definition of goals, a habit is “a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.”
So in those same two examples above, the habits for our “speaking French” goal, might be texting a friend in french every day, or meeting with a tutor for regularly scheduled conversation practice. These actions are what we need to develop discipline and consistency within our language studies, and these actions are what you want to be able to do without thinking about it or having to force yourself to do it in the first place.
And THIS is what we want.
Consistency and discipline are what most language learners mean when they set goals. Except… they don’t always do this.
You work so hard to define your goals, but do you put that same effort into defining and clarifying the habits you want (the actual actions you will take)?
At this point, you might be saying to yourself, “But I set S.M.A.R.T. Goals. That’s the same thing, right?
No it’s not.
S.M.A.R.T goals are desired results that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. While this strategy helps to hone in on your goal, and even set some milestones (which I will definitely talk about in-depth in a separate post), they don’t identify the specific action you will take every day to achieve your aim. Just the smaller “destinations” you want to reach along the way.
What can you do to build habits into your studies?
1. Reconfigure Your Environment
Create an environment where completing that habit is the obvious action to take. Then, actually DO the thing.
2. Find an Accountability Group
Find and join a group of language learners that have built consistency with the habit you want to have for yourself.
3. Identify Smaller Habits
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the habits you’ve tried to build into your study system, try to break them down to even tinier actions you can take each and every day.
4. Reward yourself!
After you successfully complete your desired habit, like reading or listening to a podcast, reward yourself so you’re more likely to do it again!
5. Use a Habit Tracker
Keep track of your habits using a habit tracker to make your actions more VISIBLE.
Which strategy will you use to build habits into your own language studies?
Have you ever tried any of these strategies before?
If so, share which one and what that looks like for you in your study routine!
And if not, choose one of the ones listed above and let us know how you will incorporate it into your study routine!
PS. If you’re making these mistakes in your own language studies and want help to create your own study system and build consistently, check on my free guide!