S3E33: Let your distractions work for you
Full transcript:
Good morning, happy Wednesday and welcome to the Language Confidence Project, the daily dose of language courage for people who love languages, and those who really don’t, but have to learn one anyway.
And, in honour of the What’s In Your Inventory Workshop next Monday, all this week, we are talking about recognising the gifts that we have as part of who we are and the life we’re currently living that can help us with our language learning, even if they don’t seem very languagey, even if we didn’t choose them, and even if they don’t look very helpful.
And today, I want to invite you to get curious about some of the things that at first glance, look like they’re working against us in our language learning, and see if we can give them a job to do.
We’re talking about distractions. What are the things that you think about when you’ve told yourself you’re supposed to be studying? What do you find yourself doing when your attention starts to wander? What content do you seek out? What rabbit holes do you go down?
So often, we think about our interests and hobbies as competing with our language learning. And that’s even more frequently the case when our hobbies aren’t the conventionally productive ones like writing a novel, creating tangible crafts or earning money through our music. Because there’s always that voice that tells us it’s timewasting, that we’re doing those things as a means of avoiding the sensible, valuable, productive things. Then they feel shameful. Then we resent them.
But what if they’re not competing? What if they are giving you clues as to how to make your language learning better and more suited to you?
People talk about fascination as being engaged without effort… you don’t need to try, you just get lost in whatever it is. Maybe not all the time, but that thing has a higher hit rate for fascination, and for flow state, than other things in your life. So instead of resisting it, we should run with it, at least some of the time.
So today, I would love to encourage you to make a list of some of the things you read about or search or think about in the time you set aside for working. And then, in a second column, see if you can find any ways to bring those things into your language learning. Look for YouTube channels or social media platforms or forums that can help you to develop those interests in your new language too. Look for online webinars or classes and meetups taking place in that language. Schedule time into your weekly study plans where you can give yourself permission to work with this stuff, so it’s less likely to come and try to draw you away when you want to be doing other things. And if you like to get lost in random rabbit holes, I’ve never forgotten in the sitcom the Big Bang Theory that the group had “anything can happen Thursday” on the third Thursday of every month. So what if you can allow yourself the occasional afternoon, set aside, where you could just see where your language takes you?
Have fun today, language learners. And if you find something interesting, I’d love to hear about it, so feel free to send me a message on IG at @teawithemily and tell me what you’ve been looking into.
And just a reminder that tickets are now on sale for the What’s In Your Inventory Workshop, which is a two hour, super relaxed and informal online workshop where we mix journaling and discussion to really dive into how our personality, experiences and current life circumstances can work for us in our language learning. It’s taking place next Monday, so Monday 27th February, at 7pm GMT, which is 8pm Central Europe and 2pm Eastern Standard Time on Zoom, there are ten spaces available, and Tickets cost £28. All language levels are welcome, even if you haven’t quite started yet or you’re taking a break. You can find more details about the workshop and how to sign up in the shownotes, or check my bio on Instagram at @teawithemily and I would love to see you there. Have a wonderful day, and I will see you back here tomorrow.