Wait, what?  At Transparent Language, we’re all about language learning!  It’s good exercise for your brain.  Learning about other languages and cultures makes you a better global citizen.  And there’s that rush you get ordering your meal at a French restaurant, all in French, with the greatest of ease.  Why on earth would we tell you not to resolve to learn a new language in the New Year?

You know why.  88% of all New Years resolutions fail.  And we don’t want you to fail.  We want you to experience the joys of successfully learning another language.  So let’s have a look at how the science of New Year’s resolutions applies to language learning, and what can be done about it.

Lofty goals are fun to fantasize about, but nearly impossible to attain. Without a roadmap of all the little steps along the way, you’re bound to get overwhelmed and demoralized.  As humans, we’re naturally prone to seeking instant gratification.  If you envision only the end goal, it’s very hard to view your slow and steady progress as a good thing.  But it is; it is a good thing.  Focus on the babysteps, and how to make those happen.

You’re never really done learning a new language (or even your native one, for that matter), and as such, it actually is an unattainable goal.  But what about the goal of being able to read one newspaper article in German?  Or holding a French conversation, however brief, while on vacation in France?  Those goals are absolutely within your reach.  As a language learner, you have countless little milestones and victories to look forward to celebrating.  The joy is in the journey, and even if it is January right now, and millions of people all over the world are making resolutions destined to be broken, you don’t have to be one of them.

On this blog, we provide many useful learning tips and advice for all language learners, to keep you motivated and focused.  We want to see you still coming back here long after most people have swept their resolutions under the rug of January.  Share your progress, and your fall-backs too; you’re never alone in either.  We have lots of social media support available as well, so join one of our Facebook communities if you haven’t already.  Sign up for our Word of the Day service, in any of 26 languages, and start nibbling at some delicious bite-sized chunks of language.

Don’t make a New Year’s Resolution.  Just start learning language.  Sure, right now.  Today.  We’re here to help you succeed at that.

Ready to start learning? Find a library near you that offers Transparent Language Online.