Grammar in the morning, listening and vocab in the evening… Where should I put speaking, then? How should I structure my language learning for a day?
Let’s not rush into it. We don’t need warp speed here. Begin with your ultimate language-learning goal.
Whether you’re at the piedmont, midpoint, or summit of the mountain called “Foreign Language,” most probably, you have come here with a specific aim:
To speak more fluently
To move up to a higher level (from A2 to B1 or from B2 to C1)
To pass your language exam or test (e.g., HSK in Chinese, JLPT in Japanese, or TCF in French)
To broaden your cultural horizons
To make travel easier
To acquire a new skill for career advancement
Or others.
It may look like a steep hill, unconquerable at first glance. And when you have everything at once—new words, grammar rules, speaking practice, and so on—it seems tough not to fall, frustrated and lost in confusion.
No sweat off your back with this guide! It will help you create an effective daily schedule to reach your language-learning targets more smoothly.
But what’s the point in spending time and effort on preparation?
Why Daily Planning Is Obligatory for Achieving Language-Learning Goals
Here are the most valuable benefits you get with a daily language-learning plan:
Regularity
Mastering a foreign language requires continuous, non-stop immersion in the vocabulary, grammar, cultural nuances, etc. A systematic, day-to-day approach is crucial for better memorizing and retaining the knowledge you obtain.
Manageability
With daily scheduling, you can set short-term goals and break an enormous bundle of language-learning tasks into smaller, more manageable portions. It’s much easier to complete them chunk by chunk.
Discipline
Putting off your language “climb” may sometimes feel so tempting, particularly when you don’t see an immediate breakthrough. A daily language study plan will make discipline work for you. It won’t let you skip a language lesson or procrastinate.
Progress-tracking
As you look back at your daily progress, you can say: “Cool, I’ve already learned X words,” or “I’ve listened to X minutes today!” You can even visualize it as a graph and see how you eventually improve your language skills bit by bit.
Motivation
Just like ticking off the to-do list is accompanied by an outburst of positive feelings (due to dopamine releases), checking off language-learning goals each day spurs and instills a sense of accomplishment. It motivates you to keep scaling a language and feel satisfied with the progress.
Just to prove it with a real-life example:
“The more structured my studying is, the more likely I am to stick to it and to feel a real sense of progress.”
That’s what one of the Japanese learners said on Reddit.
Now, over to you and your language study plan.
6 Tips on Creating a Daily Language-Learning Routine
Prepare your learning space and clear up all distractions.
Let’s first pick a language-learning corner in your living place and get it ready for daily usage to stay productive and focused all the time.
Remember: Distractors are the worst enemies of your language study plan. Here’s what can distract you:
Background noise like TV or traffic
Physical discomfort
Clutter
Digital gadgets
Social media browsing
Family or roommate interruptions
According to David Speedy, General Manager at Workspace Direct, the best “distraction-removers” are noise-canceling headphones, turned-off notifications on your gadget, the “Do Not Disturb” sign on your room’s door, and ergonomic furniture for higher physical comfort. Additionally, “Build a minimalist study space set-up and clear your desk of unnecessary items. Only language-learning materials at hand.”
At the same time, Julia Doak, Franchisor at Bedpost, cautions against choosing counterproductive (bedrooms) or high-traffic (kitchens or living rooms) areas for drilling into a language daily. She points out, “Even if you want to use an adjustable bed as a study space, it still won’t provide sufficient ergonomics for a daily language-learning routine. Not to mention that bed-studying can harm your health, provoking issues with hygiene, mood swings, and sleep disorders.”
Divide your allocated time into four blocks.
Why four, you wonder?
It would be best to create a language study plan for every day based on the four pillars or skills:
Speaking (pronunciation drills, video diaries, conversations with native speakers)
Listening (podcasts, YouTube videos, audiobooks)
Writing (journal entries, translation exercises, letter-writing)
Reading (read-aloud sessions, dual-language texts, articles)
But how much time should you dedicate to each?
“Start planning with short-term goals and move from smaller to bigger steps. Calculate the time you need to ‘memorize [X] words’ or ‘read [X] pages’ daily and figure out your ideal daily dose of the language you’re mastering,” recommends Matthew Channell, Owner of TSW Training. He says the golden middle to keep building on is “15–20 minutes for each skill, totaling 40–60 minutes/day.”
Of course, you should find the right balance depending on your language-learning goals.
For example:
To break into C1 Spanish, the language learner developed a four-part language study routine, which includes one hour of listening, reviewing 250 ANKI flashcards, 35–40 minutes of talking to ChatGPT and journaling reflections on the day.
Turn “dead time” into language practice.
Are you stuck in a traffic jam while commuting to college/work or standing in a kilometer-long, never-shortening queue and missing precious hours in your daily language-learning schedule?
Then, grab this strategy from Toni Farrell, Marketing Manager at Coastal Motorhomes & Caravans, who worked as a driver before joining a family business and took it from there. “Whenever I had idle time slots when stuck in traffic jams, for instance, I filled them with something to learn. The time seems wasted, yet you can always turn it into a language-learning experience. Just arm yourself with materials and tools to simplify the process.”
Speaking of which…
LinguaLift offers a mobile app with an advantageous feature for language learners: Tutors who are always available to support you.
You can likewise learn foreign languages on the road while traveling with LinguaLift without missing a single minute in your daily study plan!
Ask other language learners to review your schedule (or practice together!).
It’s also highly advisable to seek feedback from others when creating a language study plan for daily practice.
Is there a possibility that your language-learning schedule is too overloaded? Let other language learners give it a look. On the other hand, you can let them spotlight gaps in it and suggest better language-learning apps, resources, or alternative ways to master foreign languages you haven’t thought of.
For example:
In the subreddit r/LearnJapanese/, a Japanese language learner asked for constructive criticism and suggestions on study plan improvements to reach a B2 level. The request was as follows: “Critique my Japanese learning plan for reaching B2.”
“Pulling ideas and feedback from fellow learners on language forums always brings better outcomes: two heads are always smarter than one,” says Nick Marshall, General Manager at Window Factory. “Even more than that. You can find a study partner and practice in tandem daily, motivating each other and achieving your language-learning goals faster together.”
Alternatively, you can also use forums to find a native speaker for a language exchange practice. Why not?
Evaluate your monthly progress and adjust your schedule.
Whenever you wrap up a month, step back for a moment to answer these questions to make corrections in your language-learning routine if needed:
Did you always achieve your short-term goals?
Have you set the proper language-learning intensity?
Do you notice any “sagging” areas (e.g., speaking confidence, cultural understanding, etc.)? How can you improve them?
How would you rate your overall progress this month on a scale of 1-10, where 8-10 is great, 5-7 is satisfactory, and 0-5 is low?
Assuming you feel strong enough in listening and native speaker comprehension but weak in vocabulary. In this situation, it could be high time to rethink your language-learning goals and add more intensive exercises like vocabulary drills to your daily schedule.
Let’s look at this daily language study plan to learn Hebrew.
As you can see, it focuses majorly on listening, reading, and Quizlet flashcards to memorize Hebrew phrases and words. Why so? Because the language learner has already coped with grammar and doesn’t feel the need to practice it anymore.
Break the routine for immersive language-learning experiences.
But what if you are simply bored out because of repetitive tasks?
Or what if you can’t track any noticeable progress at all (a clear sign of a language-learning plateau)?
If that’s the case, you might have to shake things up, rotate types of exercises, or even push yourself out of your comfort zone to overcome the stagnation stage or fight language-learning boredom.
How about shifting the scenery and entirely surrounding yourself with the language?
Learn from the experience of Greg Arnold, General Manager at Kitchen Mania, whose team is keen on Italian kitchen trends, and that’s why learning Italian would be a useful skill for business development. “Sometimes a full dive or total immersion into the cultural and lingual environment is necessary to draw closer to your language-learning goal,” he remarks.
That’s the recipe (couldn’t resist the pun ) the Kitchen Mania team followed. They went to Italy to explore high-end kitchens during Salone del Mobile (aka Milan Design Week) and tested their Italian speaking skills.
Design a Customized Language-Learning Plan with LinguaLift
Are you ready to conquer the highest pinnacle in your chosen language?
Whether for a day, month, or year, organize your language study routine and practice more effectively via LinguaLift. Try a free lesson at LinguaLift today, and keep studying step-by-step to reach your language-learning goals successfully.
Also, don’t shy away from asking LinguaLift’s tutors for assistance whenever needed. They are always at your service.
