There is usually a reason behind a desire to learn a new language. It could be for professional reasons or because there is a family connection to it.
Of course, there are high school students who study languages for their matric and adults who want to tick learning a new language off their bucket list or improve their travel.
Regardless of why you are learning a new language, it is important to frame your goals in a way that they are conducive to helping you achieve them.
In this article, you will find out more about the science behind decision-making and how to set goals for achieving them.
Find more smart goals for learning a new language today on Superprof.
Smart Goals Are ….
What is a SMART goal?
Understanding the acronym is important:
- S: specific (and strategic)
- M: measurable (motivating)
- A: achievable (action-orientated, attainable)
- R: relevant (reasonable, realistic, results-based)
- T: time-bound (time-oriented, time-limited, trackable, time-sensitive and others)
At a quick glance, these adjectives seem to be mainly business-related. If that’s your initial thought, you’re not too far off the mark.
Peter Drucker, a management consultant and business philosopher suggested that it is easier to understand an objective and realise when it has been met if one takes considered steps towards it.
In the above list, the words that are outside of the parentheses are the original adjectives that define the parameters needed for goal-setting progress
A good way to implement this thinking is to cherry-pick the adjectives that suit you best.
SMART Goals: Scientific and Realistic Language Learning Goals
Now that you understand a bit about SMART, let us discover what happens to our brains when this philosophy is applied to our goal setting.
As mentioned, most people set out to learn a new language with a specific purpose in mind. If this is you, remember that your overall objective is to learn a new language by setting goals and milestones along the way.
How can one be explicit about learning a new target language?
When you consider language aspects such as vocabulary and grammar and fluency, there is a lot to achieve.
How, exactly, would you measure success?
For example, you may be learning conversational English to conduct daily transactions and be able to socialise, but that will not mean you have mastered the language.
If you are quite academic, you will probably be interested in grammar and vocabulary – even the etymology of words which is how they came to mean what they do, yet not be able to hold a conversation. Not only that, speaking a language with the correct inflection and tone is as important as understanding the grammar.
When viewed like that, learning a foreign language can be an overwhelming proposition; one that could cause you to give up before you have truly begun.
Applying SMART goals to your learning process will give your brain the time to take small tasks out of a huge task.
It also allows for the organisation of learning ideas and methods and helps to keep you motivated to achieve your overall goals and objectives.
Also, by learning how to train your brain to work with this quick guide, you will be achieving realistic language learning goals in no time.
How Your Brain Works with Smart Goals for Learning a New Language
For too long, the scientific community believed that only rote repetition learning helped the brain to develop. Fortunately, this was proved incorrect a long time ago.
Today, we understand that the brain draws on more than one type of memory – muscle memory and rote memory are just two needed to function daily. This is how people do not forget how to speak or ride a bike – it’s because those skills have become so ingrained that they are virtually automatic.
What happens to the brain when it learns something new?
The neurons in the brain that are needed to convey information, like the memory and language centres, become even more efficient at gathering, storing and processing.
Interestingly, as we learn new languages, our brains will not use the same pathways to transfer and store information used for our first language. Instead, new neural pathways are established.
At first, it is quite a strenuous exercise because the chemical messengers that carry the information need to leap from one nerve ending to another.
However, as the learning continues, new pathways become more travelled, which means that the new words you absorbed and stored can be recalled more efficiently.
The incredible plasticity of our brains – the fact that it can continuously change to process new information more efficiently is what allows us to spend our lives learning new things, while never losing anything we have already mastered.
If you are searching SMART goals language learning to understand the science, keep reading because this article is for you.
One unfortunate downside to this efficiency is that, once new neural pathways are established, the brain has energy to spare which is usually spent on worrying, daydreaming and entertaining.
Before you know it, you can be more distracted or worried than focused. This is why it is common for dreams of mastering a second language to be relegated to the ‘maybe one day’ boneyard while you remain woefully monolingual.
How to Set Realistic Language Learning Goals
When you pair SMART philosophies with continuous learning – whether that’s learning Spanish, English or German – you put goals in place that will help you not to lose your drive. This means that it is unlikely that you will let anything distract you from your goals.
Here are those goals in more detail.
Setting Smart Goals that are Specific and Strategic
Declaring that you hope to learn a new language is a lofty goal.
To start ask yourself questions like:
Which language do I want to learn? To what degree? And for what purpose?
If you are searching SMART goals language learning, these are some of the questions that will help you to target your language learning goals in specific ways.
Whether you want to learn English or Zulu, how will you learn it. You could take classes or hire a private tutor. You could also immerse yourself in the language and culture by making sure you are constantly surrounded by native speakers.
Setting SMART goals is easier than you think.
Smart Goals Are Measurable
Are you searching SMART goals language learning? If so, you will need to know how to measure them.
If you are learning the language independently – in other words, outside of a classroom without the help of any teacher, you could use learning apps like Duolingo or Memrise to help track your progress.
If you are taking formal language courses, your progress might be measured through interval testing but be aware that exams like this will measure your retention of the new language, not necessarily your ability to have a conversation and use it.
To get a grip on how well you’re progressing, try finding an online language exchange platform where you can talk to a native speaker of the language you are studying.
Superprof language tutors are an excellent way to ensure that SMART goals for learning a new language are used.
Smart Goals Are Achievable and Attainable
Don’t be fooled by adverts that say that acquiring a new language only takes 15 minutes per day. The reality is that learning a second language will take commitment, dedication and hard work.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with using your daily commute to listen to Pimsleur or Rosetta Stone, however, it should not be your only method for becoming multilingual.
Forget about becoming fluent for the moment. Instead, think about being able to have a conversation in your target. This is attainable.
Always set realistic language learning goals.
Smart Goals Are Relevant
If you are aiming for conversational English, then you may not need to spend too much time memorising verb tenses. Rather, focus on the ones that are used the most.
On the other hand, if you are only one language course away from an excellent business opportunity, you may decide to pass on learning more light-hearted conversational skills in favour of learning business phrases.
Smart Goals Are Time-Bound
Even if you are trying to learn a new language for pleasure, it is still important to set a time limit for your efforts.
Remember: once the brain has gotten used to absorbing new material from language lessons, it tends towards distraction. Distraction leads to procrastination which is how we fail to advance in languages and other subjects altogether.
Keeping to a strict study schedule is a good way to train the brain to expect to receive new knowledge. Forming a habit to learn will end up serving you well indeed.
If you are still searching SMART goals language learning, try Superprof.
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