S3E5: You don’t have to do this alone

Full transcript:

Good morning 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. It’s Friday, and I just wanted to round off this week with a reminder to you all that, even if you aren’t studying in a classroom environment, you don’t have to do this alone.

All this week on the Language Confidence Project, we’ve been looking at ways we can make plans we can actually keep in 2023. And so far, all the episodes have focused on our actual planning process… how to set goals that work for us, how to put ourselves out there, how to keep focusing on our own language dream, and how to ensure our targets fit our circumstances. But today, we are looking at one final part of the puzzle that I think is essential in making sure we can stick to what we set out to do this year. And that is, avoiding loneliness.

Because even people who attend language conferences and seminars with 100+ students can feel lonely, and long for an actual community that aligns with their values when it comes to their language learning.

 And even people who love self-studying can find the process isolating. Because, the more we shut ourselves off from other people who are on the same path as us, the more we find ourselves wondering if we are the only person who finds a certain thing hard or isn’t making progress using a method that everyone else seems to love. 

Even if you want to study alone, you don’t have to do the whole journey alone.

And you don’t need to force yourself into social situations that you don’t like or don’t feel comfortable in.

Find the support you need. Find the support that will lift you up and not drain you. 

It might be in person language meetups. It might be online ones

It might be language exchanges with people learning your language, or it might be a language accountability meeting with someone who’s studying the same language as you are.

It might be following people on Instagram and sending them occasional messages

It might be lurking, or just reading and not commenting at all, on forums and live streams

It might be watching videos

It might be joining online conferences 

Figure out what sorts of conversations you want to have. Do you want to compare apps and methods? Do you want to geek out on grammar? Do you want someone to actually practise the language with?  Do you want someone to check in with every week to keep you both on track? But whatever you want, whatever you feel is missing in your language journey, there will be people out there who want that too. There are now so many communities, meet-ups and language events, in person and online, and so many individuals putting themselves out there through social media to connect with language learners just like you. So don’t keep that thought in your head. Don’t tell yourself that studying is fundamentally a lonely pursuit, because it really doesn’t have to be.

Figure out what you need, figure out what you can give without feeling exhausted or anxious afterwards, and go there.

Do whatever feels right to feel less alone.

I hope you have a lovely weekend, and I will see you back here on Monday.