How to personalise your language learning to propel your progress

You have more fun and improve faster when you link your language learning to what you already know and enjoy.

Here are 3 suggestions to make language learning personal.

1. Create your own catchphrases

Catchphrases are short sentences that model a vocabulary or grammar pattern to help you remember it.

So un délicieux chocolat noir reminds me noir is the word for dark and it goes after chocolat which is un and not une as per the x in délicieux.

Rather than using the models in books or from the internet, it’s much easier to remember your own examples.

And the funnier or quirkier the models the better to memorise them.

You can include the names of people and places you know, refer to a favourite film or use a topic that interests you.

Speaking of topics …

2. Choose a special topic

What topic is dear to your heart?

Is it cooking or cars or crochet?

Mine is chocolate — delicious dark chocolate that cracks when you take a bite, melts in your mouth and slips smoothly down your throat.

That’s why I learnt French verbs such as: craquer, croquer, fondre, glisser to be able to talk about tasting chocolate.

Base your language practice around your theme of choice. Pick vocabulary related to it, active copy about it and do 5-minute writing on it. Watch YouTube videos, listen to podcasts and read books.

Become a topic specialist in your target language.

Another way to stay motivated is a project.

3. Do a personal project

Focusing on projects can keep learning on track, particularly when your usual training routine has become a bit tedious.

You could:

Research a new city or region or country and create slides about the sites you’d visit and activities you’d do.
Dig deeper into one of your hobbies and make a series of recordings explaining what you’ve learnt.
Plan your home renovation or garden re-design and create the blueprint in your target language.

My current project is investigating chocolate making workshops all around France to choose one for my next trip.

Ignite language learning by making it relevant and meaningful.

When you personalise learning by connecting it to the different dots in your life, your langauge journey becomes engaging, empowering and effective.

Need a hand to set up and stick to your DIY language learning? I’d love to help.

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