Keeping motivation high

[jacob_kap]

Some languages you study are languages you tend to use pretty much in your daily life, while other languages are used only for special occasions, in specific places, in the internet etc. As for those languages you don't use daily, how do you keep yourself motivated learning them as you don't have a great usage of them?

Thank you

[tomgosse]

Some languages you study are languages you tend to use pretty much in your daily life, while other languages are used only for special occasions, in specific places, in the internet etc. As for those languages you don't use daily, how do you keep yourself motivated learning them as you don't have a great usage of them?

Thank you

I'm studying French, a language I have little practical use of at this time in my life. One of the things that helps me stay motivated is the use of fantasy. Sometime I daydream that I am sitting in Les Deux Magots writing my great philosophical novel and ordering my lunch in flawless French while my beautiful French girlfriend gazes lovingly at me.

Other times, I daydream that I have lost my beautiful French girlfriend and joined the French Foreign Legion to forget her.

The idea is to have fun in your studies.

[arthaey]

I've come to believe that motivation is fickle and can't be relied on for anything you want to make consistent progress in. For that, you need discipline/consistency/habits.

This is easier said than done, of course.

[rdearman]

There is some really good research which shows that it is better to create tiny changes to develop good habits. This TED talk by BF Fogg director of the Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University is really great and full of information

[Arnaud]

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[garyb]

I need to have some sort of opportunity to speak the language either in my current life or on the horizon, otherwise I start to wonder why I'm bothering. Having friends who speak the language, or a plan or possibility of a trip to the country, for example. If a language is only useful for special occasions then it's hard for me to justify continuing to put effort into it, although if it's already at a high level then I can find the time to maintain it by listening and reading every so often.