3 Mental Models That Will Make You A More Efficient Language Learner

Summary: The key to learning a language successfully is to stay consistent. In order to do so, we can take into account various science-based factors when setting up our language learning schedule. We can also boost our motivation by learning how to spark our curiosity. Lastly, we can learn how to turn a feeling of overwhelmingness into an actionable plan.

Language learning is a long process, and the most successful language learners are those who manage to show up consistently over a long period of time.

Showing up is easy on days when we feel motivated and inspired – but it’s completely normal that this is not the case everyday. Dealing with fluctuating energy and motivation levels is part of the game.

What many of us do when energy and motivation levels are low is this:

Quitting or forcing.

Quitting because, as humans, we tend to project our current state of mind or energy to everything that’s going to be in the future: We think that, if we feel a certain way about something at the moment, it’s going to be like this forever.

And forcing because there’s this narrative that, if we want to succeed, we just have to work harder than others. However, this will eventually make us feel even more drained in the long run, and will probably lead to us burning out and quitting.

Fortunately, there are some gentler – and more productive – ways to deal with a lack of energy or motivation in language learning.

Let me break them down for you here:

 

1. Schedule Smartly With These 2 Principles

Picture of an open notebook with a cup of coffee and a blue textmarker

Have you ever found yourself saying: “I won’t take a break today to finish this whole pile of work as fast as possible, so I’ll have more time for language learning (or side projects) later today.”

Well, that’s not necessarily true.

When scheduling language learning (or any other project) into a busy schedule, there are two essential principles we should have in mind:

1) Studies have shown that the more stressed we are, the longer it takes us to recover. And not only that – stress reduction time rises exponentially with a rising stress level
2) A concentrated, relaxed mind has a better capacity to absorb, learn and retain things than a stressed, tired mind.

That means the following:

If you start working at 9 and work for 8 hours with a one-hour-break, you’ll be done by 5. Let’s say it takes you 2 hours after work to calm down to a normal stress level – you’ll reach that relaxed state of mind by 7.

However, if you assume that by rushing through the day without taking a break, you’ll finish work by 4 and have plenty of time for your personal projects – you’re actually wrong.

Not taking breaks accumulates stress. And as stress reduction time rises exponentially, you might be done with work by 4, but won’t reach a concentrated, ideal state of mind until maybe around 8, because reaching a relaxed state of mind now doesn’t take 1 hour anymore, but 4.

So, rather than asking yourself how to squeeze as many things as possible into your schedule as possible, have this in mind: Breaks will decrease your stress level and are therefore a great investment in your mental capacity, and thus in your productivity. This, in turn, will help you stay more motivated in the long run.
Read more about how to stay consistent in language learning here.


2. Boost Motivation By Understanding How Curiosity Works

Have you been too busy to open your textbook? Are you lacking the motivation to get back on track with language learning?

Taking a step back from language learning when we’re busy with something else is absolutely normal – sometimes, life happens and we have to shift our priorities.

However, when staying away from language learning for a while, it might be hard to get back on track. We might lack the motivation to do so.

This could be one of the reasons:

The human mind is wired for problem-solving. Its job is to absorb the impressions we’re exposed to during the day, process them and finally make sense of them. But, in order to connect all the dots, our brain sometimes needs more information than we’re giving it – and, to obtain these, it creates curiosity.

That means, if we’re staying away from language learning for too long, we’re not planting any seeds that can spark this curiosity. We’re loosing our interest and maybe see no point at all in getting back to it.

So, what can we do about it?

Start by feeding your brain short portions about the language you’re learning that it can process and become curious about: Watch a short video, read a passage of something or look at the last notes you took. Let this sink it in for a couple of hours.

That way, you’re putting your mind in the right mood again. You’re giving it something to work with and something to become curious about, which will eventually fuel your motivation.

3. Turn Intimidation Into An Action Plan

When I first started learning Serbian, I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of grammar it takes to form simple sentences. Serbian grammar seemed like an endless ocean of rules that I would never be able to make sense of. It’s easy to get paralyzed when we’re faced with that.

When the initial euphoria of dabbling in a language is over, we often find ourselves overwhelmed by the huge pile of work that’s still in front of us. That can make us feel frustrated and leave us with questions like: Is there even a point of going on?

But here’s the thing:

Sometimes, feeling overwhelmed can stem from the fact that we don’t know what’s in front of us. Because humas feel more uncomfortable if we’re facing something we don’t know than if we’re facing something we know – no matter if this thing is equally hard.

If we don’t know what the outcome of our actions is, so we often rather go for the option that we know – which is, in this case, staying away from the possibility of investing time in a language and failing, and rather feeling comfortable and not trying any further.

But, if we understand that feeling overwhelmed is a natural human reaction to the unknown, we already have a remedy for it: We have to take a look at what we don’t know, zoom in and make it known.

Here’s what I did when I realized that I’m overwhelmed by Serbian grammar:

I created a table that systemized the whole case system for nouns and adjectives. Each time I would learn a new case, I could jot down the form I learned in the respective cell. That way, I created an overview which showed me exactly how far I was, how much was still in front of me. Instead of seeing Serbian as this huge, blurry, endless pile of words and rules, I could now see it as a system to be uncovered step by step.

By chunking down systems, we’re turning them from an intimidating thing into a list of tasks that want to be fulfilled by us.

So, what you can do is this:

Look at a language, see what it consists of and figure out what you would like to learn next.

For instance, you can create a list of tenses you want to learn, or a list of subjects you would like to tacke.

You don’t necessarily have to create a whole study plan, but getting an idea of what you will have to do and creating a list with small tasks can already be a fantastic help. It can be a great relief, because it’s now something that is known and that we just have to follow along.

By the way, if you’re interested in how hard it is to learn Serbian, check out this article.


In order to get through with language learning, we have to understand the obstacles that we’ll come across on the way and that will keep us from staying consistent: Feeling exhausted, unmotivated or overwhelmed are natural emotions that come with long-term projects. But thanks to science, we know that they’re normal human reactions. And by understanding them, knowing where they come from, we can find ways to deal with them.

Read more about language learning here: