New Year Resolutions for Spanish Learners: A Practical Approach

Is learning Spanish among your New Year resolutions for 2021? Are you looking for some New Year resolutions for specifically for Spanish learners? Has learning Spanish always been one of your New Year resolutions… maybe THE New Year resolution? In that case, how did it go before? Were you able to succeed? 

Chances are you felt very motivated at the beginning of the year. You probably downloaded Duolingo, or purchased Rosetta Stone; maybe you found yourself a tutor and started having weekly lessons or, perhaps, you started attending Spanish meetup events every week. But then came March and everything seemed to slow down. You got busy with work and life, you postponed your lessons and stopped going to meetups. 

We have all been there. We have had all the best intentions to introduce a new habit or learn something new but our old habits got the best of us. This is why today, I would like to offer you a more practical approach to learning Spanish in 2021.

What exactly are New Year resolutions anyway?

First, let’s address the idea of New Year Resolutions. According to researchers, only 12% of people will achieve their resolutions for the New Year. And that’s a remarkably low number. Why so low? In my opinion, we tend to get overambitious at the start of a new year and, unintentionally, set ourselves up for failure by trying to do it all, too fast, too soon. 

Now, this applies to all New Year resolutions but language goals are their own category in this case. Learning a language is a skill that requires patience and above all, it requires that you know yourself and understand the way you learn. 

Keep reading to find out how you can set the goal of learning Spanish in the New Year and actually achieve it!

1. New Year, Same You (and that is NOT a bad thing!): Let’s be honest. Not because a New Year starts, do we transform into an entirely new person. From December 31st to January 1st, no magical transformation takes place. It is still us and that is okay. This is why if you want to learn Spanish, you need to first understand how you learn and how you normally operate. For example: if you have a really busy schedule and feel exhausted at the end of the day, don’t schedule lessons or do your language app training at night. More often than not, you will not feel like it and, contrary to what most people say, I do not believe that forcing yourself to do something actually works in the long run.

Instead, identify the times where your higher energy levels and your schedule meet. Plan to study or to schedule your lessons during those times. Similarly, if you are the kind of person who needs accountability then finding a conversation partner or Spanish tutor might work better for you than trying to learn by yourself. The opposite is also true. If you learn well by yourself, then set time aside to study, use your language app or read a book in Spanish. 

1. Ve paso a paso (Go step by step): I am a firm believer that slow and steady wins the race. Always. As an experienced Spanish tutor, I can confidently say that those students who want to learn it all at once are the ones more likely to eventually drop out. So I urge you not to do too much, too soon. Go step by step. 

What does this look like? For example: if you’ve decided to start lessons with a tutor, do just that. Focus on your lessons solely, do your homework every week and practice what you have learned in the lessons. This should be your only active practice. You can, of course, incorporate more passive practices like watching TV in Spanish and listening to Spanish music. But by focusing on just one active task at a time, you are more likely to stick to your goal than if you try to overload yourself with apps, flashcards, books, events and more.

• Be specific: One of the reasons why New Year resolutions fail is that our goals tend to be too vague. When goals are vague they just represent an ideal concept and they might remain as that. On the contrary, if we are specific about our goals and break it down into smaller goals, we will get ourselves closer to success. For example: instead of thinking “This year I’m going to learn Spanish”, think what  you can actually accomplish in the first trimester of the year and break it down into even smaller tasks. Here’s an example: If you are a beginner and you want to just start using a language app, your goal could be to learn basic vocabulary and practice 10 minutes a day for 30 days. See how that works for you. If you are an Intermediate Spanish learner, your goal could be to find a conversation partner or  Spanish instructor. Then commit to 5 or 6 lessons to start and test it out. Remember, go slow.

Be open to switching your plan or strategy. If something is not working for you, change it. It’s all part of the process. 

• Be okay with setbacks: From the very beginning become comfortable with the idea of setbacks. Remember you are trying to incorporate a new habit and habits take time to form. It’s all about commitment and patience. Be kind to yourself if one day you forget to practice your Spanish or if you forget to do your homework or if you cancel your lesson because you’re too tired. All these things are perfectly normal. Real success happens when, despite setbacks, you continue to move forward because it matters to you. 

How can you get back on track? Just think to yourself: Today, I’m going to review my flashcards for just 5 minutes. Or I will only listen to one episode of the Spanish podcast. The truth is you will probably end up studying your flashcards for a little longer than 5 minutes, or you will listen to more than just one episode of the podcast. But if you trick yourself into thinking you will do something for only 5 minutes, you will actually do it.

• Don’t forget to have fun: Learning a new language should be fun! I know it sounds corny but it really can be! Learning a new language gives you a new perspective on the word around you, it’s great for your brain and it’s something that will become part of your identity and a topic of conversation with your friends. Whatever you do, enjoy the process! Be patient, take it slow and have fun!

¡Feliz año nuevo! Here’s to a better new year! All the best to you.