3 Crucial Habits to Become a Great Language Learner and Improve Faster

And that don’t have to be done at a desk

Studying a language is not even half the battle.

School failed us all when it comes to language learning. Most people get out of school unable to speak any foreign language despite having spent over 5 years studying at least one.

I got lucky and got out speaking one: English. The irony? I became fluent in English thanks to one thing alone. One thing our teacher had never recommended. I watched TV series. Thousands of hours worth of TV series.

Today, I’ve studied over 20 languages and can speak at a comfortable level in six. I know the usual word is “fluent” but my definition is a bit different. I digress.

I learned most of my languages out of school. I didn’t study for exams or bored myself to death with some exercises a teacher randomly forced onto me.

I had fun learning. I still am.

That’s the first of the five crucial habits that have helped me become a great language learner.

And here’s how you could too.

Fun is damn fun

I’m starting with this because I believe this is where most people get language learning wrong.

They think learning a language has to be boring. Even when they think it will stop being boring later, they think they have to go through a period of learning boring things.

That’s the biggest mistake you could make with language learning.

If you’re not having fun, you’re not learning.

How we do to make it fun will change depending on who we are. You might prefer chatting with people rather than watching shows. You might enjoy reading but only if it’s with drawings like in Manga, webtoons, or comic form.

And what makes it fun for you today might change next week.

I enjoy grammar, watching TV shows, and reading comics. I also enjoy talking with people but it gets me nervous so I avoid it at first. Why put unneeded pressure on myself when I could enjoy discovering a new language?

Research has proved the brain remembers better when you’re having fun.

I’m not a foodie so learning vocabulary about food bores the hell out of me. On the contrary, I love productivity and travel though so words related to those come to me easily.

Great language learners don’t focus on what’s boring. They make sure they rely on fun tasks.

And they vary the pleasures regularly so fun tasks don’t become boring.

Curiosity is the word

If there’s one trait absolutely all incredible language learners share, it’s their undying thirst for scratching the itches they have.

Like a dog who’s seen a cat pass by and won’t let go until they’ve gone to smell the entire area, great language learners don’t overlook what makes them curious.

They won’t let go thinking it’s “too hard” for them right now or “too early” to get into it. They go head first into what ticked them so they can satisfy their curiosity.

As a high-intermediate learner of Korean, I’m now comfortable doing most things using only Korean. I can read a webtoon without opening a dictionary every two words, even if I may not understand every single word.

But if one word seems like it could give me a much clearer understanding of the implied message, you can bet I’ll go look for it. I’ll even often look for example sentences to make sure I’ve really gotten a good handle on it.

Great language learners don’t follow lesson plans to the letter and learn everything. They let go of some potentially important stuff to focus on something that’s important to them.

And there are opportunities to find a scratch to itch everywhere.

Teeny-tiny exposure

We’re now in a world where, if you truly wanted, you could spend your entire life in your target language without ever going to the country where it’s spoken.

Many people rely exclusively on it. That’s “digital immersion.”

Most people, however, aren’t as hardcore as them. I’m not either and still came to speak many languages well. This means there’s an in-between where you can thrive too.

When you have, you know, a life to live, learning a language can quickly become a chore. Setting an hour or two every night or morning might not be possible for you.

But your life is filled with tiny bits of time.

Great language learners realize any opportunity to get some exposure is a great one. They don’t rely on large chunks of time. They notice the in-betweens to fit their language in.

This can take countless forms but here are some of my favorites:

• Changing your phone language to your target language so you see the language every time you grab it.
• Adding subtitles in your target language even if you’re watching something that’s not in said target language.
• Using double subtitles with Language Reactor (free) when watching something in your target language on Netflix so you can both hear and see your target language but still have a language you understand perfectly as well.
• Play a video game you know well in your target language (my favorite right now is Genshin Impact, although I’m also enjoying some good ol’ Zelda too).
• Reading webtoons/manga/comics on your phone in the bathroom, during commute, or while waiting in line.
• Listening to music in your target language in the background during mindless tasks. Radio.garden is a good tool for that.
• Chatting with strangers in their language on apps like Slowly (where messages take time to reach the interlocutor so you don’t have to rush to understand quickly)
• Reviewing some flashcards on Anki to cement your memory of some new words or grammar patterns.

The list could get much longer but you get my point.

What matters isn’t to have long study sessions every day. Would it help? Sure. But that’s not all.

Great language learners understand they need to interact with the language as often as possible. Even if it’s only for a minute at a time.

Any exposure is great exposure.

One extra useful habit

Looking at this list, you might think that’s not enough to become a great language learner. You wouldn’t be completely wrong.

Nobody becomes a great language learner through some hacks. It takes time. It takes overcoming frustration. It takes unrelenting efforts to keep improving.

This being said, you will need to add these habits if you ever hope to learn faster.

And when you do, you’ll need to add one important extra habit.

Great language learners turn to their past efforts to appreciate them. They look at their old notes to remind them of how much they’ve improved. They are thankful for the progress they’ve made.

It’s easy to feel like it’ll never end. For a good reason. It does never end. Learning a language is a never-ending task.

If you only focus on the long road ahead, you will give up.

You have to learn to remind yourself you’ve already come a long way. You have to remember there was a day you couldn’t understand a single word.

When that memory comes, smile. Feel the happiness.

And turn back to that beautiful language you chose to learn.

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