3 Proven Strategies To Set Language Learning Goals That Work

If you're like most language learners, you might be thinking about setting some language learning goals.

I'll be honest – I'm not usually a huge fan of making these big ambitious proclamations. But recently, I've started to change my mind a little bit.

With the right approach, we can create language learning goals that have a massive impact on our progress.

Not the usual “I'll study for 30 minutes a day” goals that fizzle out after a few weeks, but proper game-changers that'll transform how you approach languages.

If you prefer watching videos to reading, hit play on the video version of this post at the top of this page. Otherwise, here's what you'll discover in this post:

Why Most Language Learning Goals Fail

Whether you've had a brilliant year or a disappointing one with your language learning, there's always room to aim higher.

I've found that the biggest breakthroughs happen when we realise just how much we can achieve when we really put our minds to it.

Here's the thing: if we aim low or set regular SMART goals, we may or may not achieve them. But the best that can happen is that we reach that ordinary target.

However, if you set a huge goal—something that makes you properly excited, something you think you could never achieve in a million years—then something very special just might happen.

Maybe you won't reach it (that's cool), but I've found in my own life that by aiming really high and going for some genuinely crazy objectives, incredible things start to unfold.

A friend of mine was telling me about a book he was reading recently where these ambitious targets are called BHAGs – Big Hairy Audacious Goals. Something very special happens when you start to aim higher than you ever thought possible.

Let me share my own BHAG to show you what I mean.

My Crazy Language Goal: Getting On Hong Kong Television

Back when I was learning Cantonese at the moment I had this mental idea: what would happen if I aimed to be on TV in Hong Kong?

Sounds absolutely mad, right? I had no idea how I'd do it. I had no connections to television in Hong Kong whatsoever. My Cantonese wasn't good enough to get on TV there.

But something about that goal made me think “Yes!” It suddenly made me really excited and got me thinking, “You know what, if I could achieve this…”

There's nothing intrinsically special about being on television – it's quite a materialistic, funny sort of goal.

But if I could work towards that and have it as a potential outcome to my studies, to my language learning, I thought that would be a really cool thing to do. Something I could look back on and say, “Wow, that was super cool that I managed to do that.”

So I decided: why the hell not? That was my language learning goal back in 2016 – to be on TV in Hong Kong somehow, in some form, obviously speaking Cantonese.

Now, you might think, “Well, that's a very Olly Richards sort of goal – that doesn't apply to me.” And you're absolutely right.

We don't all have to have the same objectives. You may be motivated by a completely different kind of challenge, and that's absolutely fine.

3 Language Learning Goals That Will Transform Your Progress

The idea behind setting audacious language learning goals is this: nothing's going to change unless we actually try to do something a bit different, something beyond our normal expectations.

I want you to have a proper think about this. Really think outside the box and ask yourself: if I was going to set a genuinely crazy goal, what would it be? Just go through that exercise and see what happens.

If you can find something that motivates and inspires you, then some really cool things could happen.

Regardless of what your specific language objectives are, I've got three concrete ideas that will light a fire under you. These will either make you recommit to learning your target language or surround yourself with people who'll help you achieve your goals.

Goal #1: Take Part In A Language Challenge

The first thing you can do is join one of the many language challenges that are regularly available throughout the year.

I know that italki have language challenges – they often run 45-day challenges that are fantastic motivators. I've participated in these before, and they're brilliant because:

• You get free lessons from italki to spend on language tutors
• You set yourself a proper challenge
• You have a set timeframe to take as many language lessons as you can
• You really kickstart your learning with momentum

There are loads of other challenges going on as well. If you're part of any online language communities, you'll hear about them.

Taking part in a language challenge would be a brilliant way to break out of any rut you might be stuck in.

Goal #2: Join A Language Learning Community

The second objective is to become part of a community – a group of people who are learning languages.

Back in the day I started a community in London called Polyglot Pub (it's a funny name, but it's got a bit of alliteration and you know what it is from the title).

It was a bunch of polyglots or people interested in language learning who came together, go to a pub, and talk about languages.

Something very special happens when you've got this community of people around you. Loads of people came to these events in London, meeting others interested in languages, and suddenly realising: “I never had anybody around me who's interested in language learning.”

It makes you want to try harder because you realise you're not on your own. You get ideas from other people, and it can be incredibly motivating and inspiring to know you've got a support network.

How to find your local language community:

• Check Meetup.com for local language exchanges
• Search Facebook for language learning groups in your area
• Look for conversation clubs at local libraries or community centres
• Join university language societies (many welcome non-students)

Goal #3: Attend A Language Learning Event

The third goal would be to attend a language event of some kind. These can be incredible experiences because, like joining a community, you get to meet loads of people.

But at events, you typically have talks and workshops where you can get some brilliant ideas.

There are all sorts of language events happening around the world:

• The Polyglot Gathering in Berlin – runs annually in April
• The Polyglot Conference – held in different European cities each year
• Polyglot Workshops – we run these at different places around the world for everyone learning languages

Why not set yourself the goal of attending just one language event? Come and meet some people, listen to some talks, and see what happens.

Your Goal-Setting Action Plan

To summarise, here are your three language learning goals:

1. Join a language challenge happening throughout the year
2. Get yourself into a local community of people learning languages
3. Attend one language event during the year

If you pick just one of these goals and commit to doing it, I guarantee you're going to see results. You'll find motivation and passion from places you didn't know existed.

I've done all of these things myself.

Your action steps:

1. Commit to doing one of the things I've mentioned in this post
2. Join the email list if you're not already part of it, so you can hear about these events when they come up

Language Learning Goals FAQ

Olly Richards

Creator of the StoryLearning® Method

Olly Richards is a renowned polyglot and language learning expert with over 15 years of experience teaching millions through his innovative StoryLearning® method. He is the creator of StoryLearning, one of the world's largest language learning blogs with 500,000+ monthly readers.

Olly has authored 30+ language learning books and courses, including the bestselling "Short Stories" series published by Teach Yourself.

When not developing new teaching methods, Richards practices what he preaches—he speaks 8 languages fluently and continues learning new ones through his own methodology.