To get the most out of this template, get clear on what goal you are trying to achieve by learning your target language. You can then focus on the steps that lead you directly towards your goal, and skip the ones that are less relevant.

• [ ] 👉 Write down your language learning goal:

My goal is …

Examples:

• Learning Spanish for a 3 week trip to Colombia
• Learning Chinese because my partner is Chinese and I’d like to converse with her family and friends
• Learning French because I have to work in France with French colleagues
• Learning German because I want to migrate to Germany and become part of German society

Once you’ve defined your goal, initially you will focus on the activities that relate most directly to your goal.

• Example: I’m learning Spanish for holiday, so I’ll focus mainly on speaking, some listening, some reading while neglecting writing

Note: sometimes you notice you’re unable to advance in the skill that relates most directly to your goal, and you will need to go back and do some activities that are only tangentially related.

• Example: You only want to speak Chinese, but you’re running out of practice material because you can’t read Chinese characters. So you have to go back and learn the writing system.