How OFTEN Should You Study A Language? Alternative Habit Strategies | Polyglot Language Tips

How OFTEN should you study a language? We often hear the generic advice that we should study every day, but is that always best? I'm a huge advocate of creating strong and healthy habits around your languages, but today I take a slightly different angle and discuss some alternative methods you can use to still create great language habits even if you aren't able to study all your languages every day.

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[AqilahSafia]

So glad the algorithm brought me to your channel! Amazing content 😊🙌 I'm studying spanish right now and your videos have been so helpful!

[johntyy]

Spanish is the first language I’m currently learning. Once I get to a comfortable B1-B2 level, I’ll start with German. I do book/computer learning 4 times per week, the other 3 days I review my notes and things I learned that weeks and I do graded reading or read online blog/news. I watch 1 YouTube video or podcast everyday. I find limiting new learning to Monday-Friday and review Saturday-Sunday helps not overwhelm me and retain the new learning. And the daily podcast or video gives me input everyday. I figure that when I start with German next year, I’ll still read a book or watch video in Spanish daily. I live in a city with a lot of spanish speakers.

[angelsjoker]

It's a question of honesty in priorities and honesty in expectations. The only things you HAVE TO DO are sleeping and eating/drinking (otherwise you die), EVERYTHING else is a choice. There is nothing wrong with prioritizing something else than language learning, you just need to be honest about it to be able to better deal with it. Language learning, like every skill in life, takes time. Depending on your goal (proficiency level), you will need a certain amount of time overall. You can compress or stretch out this needed time VOLUME over different time SPANS, but you can't cut off from the volume. I.e. if you need 10 hours (volume) to learn something, you can put those 10 hours into one week (~1.5h/d) or one month (1h every 3 days). You shouldn't stretch out the volume too much because at some point, the frequency is too low for your brain to recognize the learned information as important and it won't build the neuronal connections to store and connect that information. Below three times a week, it starts to become noticeably less effective, and learning only once a week or less is basically a waste of time.

So yes, you don't need to learn/study every day to make progress, just don't expect to get the same results in terms of progress speed as if you did learn/study every day. In the end, your priorities are your choice and the result will be the result of that choice. I agree with the video on trying to do "something" every day. If you only want to prioritize 90 minutes every third day, then at least do 15 minutes of something (i.e. quick revision, listening to target language, watching the news etc.) on those other two days to show your brain that the language is important to your life. If you "can't find" even 15 minutes a day, you don't really want to learn the language and there is no need to lie about it to yourself (or others).

[ABetterYouEm]

I always find that after a holiday from my otherwise daily practice, I know the language better and make leaps that I've been struggling with

[billywade]

9, 000 its about time. You should be at 100, 000 you are that good. Congrats.

[connorgioiafigliu]

I think that the most important thing is establishing a schedule that allows you to maintain consistency!

[nicholasgooderham]

Thanks for discussing our conversation in this video Robin. Really interesting to hear your thoughts. I think I’ll reshuffle my daily and weekly goals. Keep up the good work, mate!

[kathysterndahl]

I’m studying three languages. Spanish is most important because I’m retired in Mexico. My mornings are dedicated to a couple hours of Spanish Duolingo, podcasts, grammar, and videos. After lunch, It’s French, using the same types of resources as I do for Spanish, but I spend less time on French. If it ever gets safe to travel again, I will bump it up because I had intended to spend a few months in France this summer and am still looking forward to doing that. Then, after an early dinner, I switch to Italian for about an hour. I actually used to know more Italian than I do now, but life got in the way and I forgot a lot, so this is really a lot of review right now. After my trip to France, I will spend more time on Italian and less on French. I know it seems like a lot but it is really 4-5 hours a day, which is nothing during this “lockdown” time. It keeps me from getting bored. But if something comes up that I need or want to do, I don’t stress over missing my language study. There’s always tomorrow.

[tonguesinc.]

Mmm, I stick to the everyday-style, for my main TL, anyway. I try to get in two hours every day, or at least one. It's not a biggie if I miss a day, though. I also feel like there is some retention benefit when you take a break from something and then come back and refresh the information.

[jeffreyd]

I've learned Russian for 2-4 hours everyday, seven days a week, for three years. I've pursposely taken a full day off three times, and getting back the next day, there was SOOOO much clarity. I feel like I wasted so much time. With language learning, less is more. One hour a day, every other day would have been so much more beneficial.
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My life is nearly 100% leisure, so I find it really hard to stay away from the learning, even knowing that its not good for me. Sigh

[irenemcnamara]

Robin, you are a gift to mankind! I am doing your 3-tiered learning system, using your note-taking system. My studies have definitely improved. They help me to focus and study every day. Thanks for all the encouragement you give us!

[TiffanyHallmark]

I really appreciate your point of view. I have made a habit of, at minimum, doing my apps(Duolingo, Memrise, etc., every day, so I can at least keep my toes in the pool. And then have days where there is an hour or two of focused learning on any one of my languages. Thanks for sharing.

[nextlifetimebrendan]

Your vids are amazing i can’t wait for you to grow even more

[higorpereira]

I love this guy, . I've bee studying English for almost 2 years, 2 years waiting to LEARN JAPANESE, God damnit.

[o_felipe_reis]

I guess the ideal situation is learning in an everyday basis but when it’s not possible “no pasa nada”... but at least every two days I would say (to have a considerable progress). Great video buddy

[ruiseartalcorn]

This is great and whilst I agree that it's OK to spread one's activities throughout the week, I actually find it easier to build a daily routine. I also have a lot of things to do during the day but I have quite a disciplined (and fun) routine. I am currently learning Scottish Gaelic and German, as well as being a musician, a martial artist and have a strong interest in spirituality and history. I start each day with a short workout and after breakfast I spend 30 minutes (or more) on German. Then I have a few hours to work on music and other things. In the late afternoon I have a martial arts workout and after dinner I spend some time on Gaelic. In the evenings I work on perfecting my guitar skills. It seems like a lot but because of my structured routine, everything flows quite easily. I even have time to get a couple of movies in each day ;)

[bobafruti]

You know what doesn’t help you study a language?

Watching YouTube videos about learning a language.

[VCMD]

I study the same three languages as your client. French I study daily, and Japanese Spanish 3-4 days a week, or depends on how many days I have lessons for that particular language with online tutors. So it makes it just two languages a day. Easy on myself and no stress at all. For my B1/2 french I just read some newspaper which is enough to maintain it. My A2 Spanish and A1 Japanese require much more active study. I am also starting Latin this week 😊

[sylviagabriel]

Definitely do not study all 5 of my languages everyday! Once I get in the mindset of one, I don’t want to switch into another. Max is 1-2 that I study a lot everyday, with possible minimal maintenance for the others. The priority languages just depend on my mood and usually whatever is most relevant to my life at the moment!

[anduril]

I tend to try and study my focus language for 40-45 minutes in the morning most days, and cycle through my other languages for 20-25 minutes in the afternoon as I have time (just one language a day). So I did my 45 minutes of Spanish this morning today, and will do about 20 minutes of Esperanto this afternoon, while tomorrow it will be Mandarin.