Sometimes, for lots of reasons, it can be difficult to stay motivated when learning a language.
Have you ever planned to learn some vocabulary or revise some irregular verbs but then just didn’t feel like it? Perhaps you found something more interesting to do.
Don’t be frustrated if this happens – it’s normal!
Try to incorporate language learning into your daily routine and build up a regular habit to do this. You don’t have to necessarily learn for a long time each day – start with a small amount of time and build up gradually.
Listening to podcasts is a great way of including English in your daily routine. Podcasts can be used passively – i.e. you can listen to them while you are doing other things – for example while in the car, on the train, travelling or doing the housework.
If you don’t understand everything, it doesn’t matter. Podcasts are a great way to listen to natural English spoken in a range of situations such as conversations, interviews, narrations, casual dialogues, scripted dialogues and jokes.
You can hear the natural flow of the language and get a better sense of pronunciation and intonation.
If you want to practise active listening, set aside time to listen to a podcast and make notes of any new words or phrases that you hear. Add them to your ongoing vocabulary lists and then try to put these words into sentences of your own.
With such a variety of subjects available – fictional stories, inspirational TED talks, current affairs, national and world news, history, sports, entertainment, culture, and investigative journalism to name but a few – there really is something for everyone. Plus, podcasts are free.
Have fun learning English!
Louise