It’s not a secret that a great source of language practice is simply doing the things you already enjoy doing in your native language, but using your target language instead. This can be watching YouTube, TV shows, movies, watching streams, browsing forums, or even gaming.
The key should be that you’d want to do it if it was in a language you could easily understand already. If your level is not yet high, it may be quite a steep learning curve, but that should hopefully give you the motivation to study even more. If you are struggling, keep in mind that the more you do it, the better you’ll get.
If you’re a beginner, many of those resources may be too difficult. It is possible to find channels on podcasts that try to release interesting content but with learner-centered language. Look for recommendations in the communities associated with the language you are learning.
Cultivate discipline as well as motivation
One common recommendation from the language learning community is to try to cultivate discipline. While motivation is essential, even motivated learners can find it hard some days to sit at their desk and study. If this is you, you may need to find ways to force yourself to at least begin studying.
Try to build a habit of language learning. One common method is to schedule a specific time in the day (usually first thing in the morning) to study language. They key is to build a habit, so your automatic process should be to begin studying and you don’t have to think about it.
If you have to ask yourself “should I study or should I do something else?”, it takes mental effort to force yourself to study that will eventually wear you down over time. Instead, the default should be that that time is dedicated to study, and you need to find a specific reason not to study if you are going to break that habit temporarily.
