Have you always wanted to learn a language but it’s never the right time? Here’s why during a global pandemic might the perfect time to start.*
Many of us thought that by this point in the coronavirus pandemic we would have rescheduled our romantic getaway in Corfu, the city break in Amsterdam, or perhaps even that business trip to Tokyo. However, with travel restrictions firmly in place in many countries, it appears that it may take a little longer for the usual pace of international travel to resume. Given that many of us will not be leaving our home countries any time soon, why is now the ideal time to learn a foreign language?
1. Look ahead, your future is on the horizon
I don’t know about you, but the only thing that has got me through this pandemic is looking forward to the future. Whatever your reason for learning a new language, whether it be because you love to holiday in Italy, you have a Polish grandmother, or learning Arabic will afford you more job opportunities, you may feel like the pandemic has swept your motivation out from under your feet. With an inability to make concrete future plans for holidays, careers abroad and spending more time with family members, you might feel like your target language is something to put off until it becomes more relevant. However, my advice to any language beginner would be to start early, because despite what all the “I learned Italian in one month” polyglots out there might tell you, learning a language takes a lot of time and effort. For example, if you are serious about having conversations with locals in your target language one day, don’t download Duolingo two weeks before the trip (we’ve all been there!), start one year in advance. Not only have you given yourself a realistic time limit in which to reach your goal, but it also gives you an opportunity to get excited about the future and to prepare for it, instead of mourning missed opportunities.
2. Connect with your international neighbours from home
It’s no secret that learning a foreign language gives you a better ability to connect with people from further afield. However, if you think that you need to achieve fluency before you can do that, let me tell you joyfully that you are wrong. From day one of learning a foreign language, you have become part of a linguistic community. Whether you are a native speaker, or simply someone working towards small talk conversation in the language, you suddenly have a common interest with a large group of people. For example, my Portuguese is pretty basic conversational at the moment, but as soon as I tell a native speaker that I am learning their language, we suddenly have a common interest, and – even if we speak in English – we could likely talk for hours about the joys, difficulties and intricacies of Portuguese! So join the Russian society at university, join the Facebook group for Polish speakers in your city, or perhaps try to converse with the Chinese owner at your local takeaway (although PLEASE check whether they speak Mandarin or Cantonese – or neither! – before you do).
3. Spend those holiday savings on some language lessons
If you are someone who, like many, has lost income due to the pandemic, scroll down because the next point is just for you! However, if you have been lucky enough to maintain the same income this year but with less spending on things like travel, perhaps it’s time to spend your cash productively. It’s true that you can learn a language using free resources, but this can be a long and time consuming process that requires constant motivation and drive. Good teachers offer you an opportunity to converse with a native, efficient learning strategies, and the foundational base you need to advance. Not only can the right teacher make the language learning process easier and more enjoyable, but also the consistency that a weekly class offers you will allow you to learn at a faster pace. Additionally, the money spent on these classes will add value to your time and give you the motivation you need to keep it up. Besides, what better way to invest your money than to invest in yourself? Sites like italki and superprof are great places to find a remote teacher to fit your specific budget, needs and time zone!
3. Online resources have never been so available
The resources available to e-learners are wonderful, and they are only getting better. Due to an increase in language learners during the pandemic, investment in language learning companies has increased, which will only lead to a greater availability of products for learners. Whilst resources have always been widely available for beginner level students in common languages like English, Spanish or French, many of the larger language learning companies have upped their game during COVID. For example, Duolingo has added tools which make it easier to study characters in languages with non-latin script such as Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Arabic. The beauty of many of the online resources is that so many of them are free, and in fact, many language learning sites increased their availability of free content during this time. My advice would be to spend some time using free resources before you splash out on classes – it’s a good way to prove to yourself that you are committed before wasting money on a pursuit you may not have time for. Furthermore, many local language teachers have taken to making their income online, and are creating some wonderful resources on social media sites like instagram in order to connect with their students whilst working from home. I found my lovely Chinese teacher, Ms Lin, on Instagram. At the time I was looking for Chinese translation classes specifically, and without the need for online learning during the pandemic, I may not have found someone who fit my needs so perfectly!
5. The gift of more time at home
How often have you said, “if only I had more time at home I would definitely learn a language”. Pre-pandemic, home was a place where we would go to relax. We would collapse into the couch after long days out at work, and spend the weekends out shopping and at birthday parties and events, only to cosy up and relax again on a Sunday night. During those precious at-home hours, often the last thing you wanted to do was open a language textbook or take a class. “Not enough time at home” was always a pretty good excuse to put off your language learning. There’s no doubt that even in 2022, social gatherings and in-person working events are not as common as they used to be, so we spend much more time at home than before. Whist some feel cooped up and long to get out more, there are definitely some positives we can take from this extended time at home. For example, we could easily replace the time we spent on our morning commute with half an hour of listening to a French podcast and taking some notes (my recommendation would be Coffee Break French, FYI!). If you work from home, you can have access to all the tools you need for language learning, so why not take twenty minutes out of your lunch break to study? Not having as many coffee dates with friends at the weekend? Why not organise a Sunday coffee with your language partner? Learning a language can be really fun, and a great way to break up your routine at home. So use that time wisely!
6. This is the year to rethink your goals
2020 and 2021 were two of the most difficult years most of us have ever experienced. It’s the one time that almost everyone in the world can say that their lives were turned upside down. As unwelcome as the change was, in some way, 2022 feels like a new start. The pandemic perhaps made some of us re-evaluate our lives and what was important to us, and in some way may have encouraged us out of old habits and beliefs about ourselves. Almost everyone I know, language lover or not, has expressed an interest in learning another language at some point. In fact, a study by the British Council on lockdown language-learning found that 6 in 10 UK adults regret not keeping up a language they learned at school. Time after time I have heard, “I learned it at school and I would love to go back to it”, or “I go there on holiday every year, I’m definitely going to learn some phrases”, or “it’s been five years and I still can’t communicate with my wife’s parents, but I’ll get lessons soon”. I get it, it’s much easier to buy the Spanish book and say for years that you’re going to learn it, than to actually learn Spanish. But, following all these colossal changes in our lives, I think this might be the year to stop being the person who always wanted to learn Spanish but never had the time, and be the person who is learning Spanish. 2022 is your year!
In my opinion, any time is a good time to learn a language. I know it has been a difficult few years and we are all perhaps lacking a little motivation. Whilst you may not relate to every point, I hope this post gives you at least a little motivation to start putting your words into action, and to bring the joy of language learning into your life this year. Especially after all you’ve been through. Your future self will thank you, and your present self deserves to get their life moving in the direction they want it to go in! If you’ve been looking for the right time to start learning a language, the time is now.
*I want to caveat this post by saying that its purpose is to help those that need a little bit of motivation to reach the goals they set for themselves. No-one should feel any pressure to “self-improve” during a pandemic, and the very privileged circumstances I describe don’t apply to everyone. Take care of you first!
Linggow 