When learning a new language, we often go through an emotional journey from enthusiasm to moments of frustration. At some point, you may lose confidence, especially after completing all your Japanese language courses and textbooks and realizing that the Japanese you learned is insufficient to navigate real-world situations. You are also most likely to reach a phase where you feel like you are no longer making progress, everything seems to come to a halt, also known as the plateau effect. I have had my fair share of experiences that brought me from a depressing to a rewarding day more than a thousand times since day one.
Motivation plays a crucial part when learning a new language. According to Lopez, one of the most common difficulties for most people attempting to learn a new language is losing motivation. A loss of motivation can stem from encountering persistent mistakes or feeling stressed due to your dissatisfaction with your current level of language proficiency. Therefore, I wanted to take the time to share some motivating words and quotes that have helped me and might help you stay encouraged throughout your language learning journey.
3 Motivational Quotes
If your progress in learning a new language could be depicted on a chart, it would resemble a staircase. After each step of development, you might experience a plateau. However, this doesn’t indicate that you’ve stopped improving or learning; rather, it signifies that further progress awaits you.
‒ My Mother
Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things but learning another way to think about things.
‒ Flora Lewis
One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.
‒ Frank Smith
3 Benefits of Learning a New Language
1. Boosts Self-Esteem
Learning a new language requires you to step out of your comfort zone. You’ll progressively become comfortable in various situations with each mistake you learn from. When you reach a point where you can actively communicate with native speakers, your self-esteem will immensely increase, which can make you stand out from others as it’s a highly regarded skill.
2. Opens More Options and Opportunities in Life
Many companies are opening offices overseas to expand their business. So, bilingual candidates are in high demand. By acquiring a foreign language, you can increase the number of available jobs and climb the career ladder much faster. In addition, the more languages you know the greater the opportunities to connect with people overseas and live in various countries for your future work and studies.
3. It Improves Your First Language
According to the University of Potomac, when you learn a new language you become more knowledgeable about what you know in your first language. While before you couldn’t quite explain the abstract rules and language structure, learning a new language helps you put names to what you learned in your first language. Furthermore, you become aware of the differences in structure, vocabulary, grammar, idioms, and sentence structure between the two languages. these factors improve comprehension and conversation and can improve your first language.
Last Message
It’s important to remember that learning a new language takes time, effort, patience, and perseverance. Remind yourself that you are doing well and you’re experiencing a rainy marathon. It is important to be consistent, and if you ever come to a stage where you feel unmotivated, come back to these words and quotes!
References:
1. https://potomac.edu/benefits-of-learning-a-second-language/