5 reasons to add language learning to your summer routine

July 6, 2024 Off By Christina

Together with the academic holidays in the summertime, many people pause learning during the summer. Many factors contribute to that, such as the desire to break and rest, taking time away for traveling and focusing on experiences and exploration, spending more time on outdoor activities, and giving it all to quality time with family and friends. Nevertheless, in the middle of the summer, many realize that learning a new language during the summer can be particularly attractive. Adding learning a language to your summer routine is a good idea for several reasons.

Don’t waste your summer 2024: create a perfect language routine

Reason 1: learning a language is fun!

Learning a language can be fun, even in summer when you strive to go to the beach. Summer is associated with the beach, sports, and water activities. But you can’t spend all your days on the beach playing volleyball. Remember that not only your body wants to enjoy summertime, but also your brain. Learning a language can be fun – add gamification into your language-learning summer routine.

Use games or elements of a game in a learning context

such as:

📌 competition, rewards,

📍interactive challenges,

📌 earning points for completed tasks,

📍 points, badges,

📌 progress visualisation,

📍 language tournaments,

📌 interactive quizzes or trivia games,

📍 board or card games,

📌 language challenges or tournaments,

📍 storytelling and narrative,

📌 real-life simulations,

📍 role-playing scenarios.

Reason 2: learning a language is good for your brain

Learning a new language activates many complex processes in your brain, that are normally passive. Engaging with a new language promotes neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. Studying new words, and expressions, active listening, and reading in a foreign language enhances the brain’s ability to focus and concentrate. It improves your attention span and reduces the effects of distractions.

Create time for language learning in your summer routine

and you will develop:

📌 problem-solving skills,

📍 multi-tasking abilities,

📌 creativity span,

📍your working memory,

📌 increased cognitive reserve (delaying the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease),

📍 auditory processing abilities (skills of active listening and focus),

📌 visual and spacial skills,

📍 non-verbal communication skills,

📌 empathy,

📍 analytical skills (ability to analyze a language as an abstract system),

📌 cognitive flexibility (adapting to new structures and concepts).

Reason 3: it’s a perspective to increase your income!

Use the summer to learn a new language that might benefit your career and provide you in the future a competitive edge.

According to Sean Hopwood, knowing how to speak two or more languages, even not at a fluent level, can be greatly advantageous. (Article “How Useful Is Multilingualism for Business Executives or Managers?”)

Language Testing International says that because of the COVID-19 pandemic — as of 2021, there has been a 30% increase in bilingual remote jobs. Multilingual employees help with the expansion into global markets and the building of employee and customer trust. Fully 40% of multilingual employees said language skills helped them land a job, and they earned 19% more than single-language speakers.

Add foreign language learning to your summer routine

because being multilingual:

📌 builds respect and trust,

📍 leads to greater visibility in the job market,

📌 multilingual employees get paid higher than their monolingual colleagues,

📍 creates a mutual sense of respect with your international colleagues,

📌 provides personal opportunities,

📍 helps you to expand your business networking,

📌 provides a bigger perspective and chances to be better informed,

📍 it adds to your expertise,

📌 helps you have the widest possible worldview,

📍 boosts your communication skills,

📌 it teaches you to be flexible and find common ground in every circumstance.

Finally, you never know where it might lead you in the future. To have better career opportunities in a multinational company or opening your own business in international trade. The fact still is – multilingualism is a competitive advantage. And there is never wrong moment to learn another language. Don’t waste your summer, schedule your language learning activities in your summer calendar and make them a part of your summer routine.

best languages to learn for career and business

Reason 4: the best opportunity to expand your social network.

Learning a second language always leads you to meeting new people and increasing the scope of your community and social network. For example, you can take language classes and visit language exchange events. It is a great way to meet new people with similar interests, both locally and while traveling.

Use summertime for a foreign language learning and use it as a tool for your social network expansion.

Here are some examples what you can do to expand your personal social network, using the language learning as an activity and practising your language skills:

📌 visit workshops in the target language,

📍 join language exchange communities,

📌 travel to the country where they speak the language,

📍 participate in international networking meetups,

📌 contribute to forums and discussions in the target language,

📍 get involved in volunteering opportunities where you can practise your language skills,

📌 disappear for a month and immerse yourself in travel, with the aim of using the target language,

📍 enroll in a language course or a language summer camp,

📌 attend social events or gatherings hosted by people speaking the target language,

📍 find an inspiring and motivating language coach,

📌 take one-on-one language classes with a tutor.

Reason 5: it’s a huge contribution to your well-being

According to the science of positive psychology, wellbeing consists of the presence and growth of one or more of the five following elements in your life:

Positive emotion

Engagement

Relationships

Meaning, and

Accomplishment

All together abbreviated by the acronym PERMA.

How language learning contributes to your PERMA – your well-being

📌 Set Your Summer Goal

Setting goals and achieving them gives you a sense of purpose (meaning) and accomplishment. Nobody says the goals have to be big. Even small milestones and short-term goals give you a strong sense of direction and a positive feeling about your daily life. This is why one of the best ideas for your summer routine is to set and accomplish some very specific and measurable goals in language learning.

📌 Flexibility

In summer we have more time to fit language learning into our daily schedule, as the days are longer and we have more energy to be active for longer hours. Especially, if you’re on break from school or work, summer is a perfect time to enjoy the flexibility and do something for your own personal development. Flexibility and meaningful activities for personal development lead to positive emotions, engagement and a sense of freedom in everyday life.

📌 Outdoor Learning and Socializing

Take your learning outside! Study at the beach, in a park, or by the pool. Communicate with people around you and expand your network (as mentioned before). Socializing is very important for overall wellbeing, as humans are very social creatures and socializing is one of our basic needs. It gives you a sense of engagement and leads to the expansion of your network and relationships. Without that, we can’t be happy.

📌 Travel

Plan an escape to your target language-speaking country. Practice the language in real-life situations. Order food, ask for directions, or chat with locals. All that contributes to your level of wellbeing and builds strong PERMA elements in your life.

Connect your learning topics to summertime

Focus on summer-themed vocabulary and phrases. Learn words related to holidays, outdoor activities, and seasonal foods. Take your time and enjoy the learning process without the pressure.

And again: don’t learn alone! Engage more in social learning activities.

📌 Reward Yourself

Don’t forget about the sense of Accomplishment! Reward yourself! Create a system of rewards or celebrations of every milestone you achieve. It may be a small thing like an ice cream or a day in the SPA as a prize when you reach your language goal.

Overall, language learning integrated into your summer routine will make your days better, more interesting, purposeful, and exciting. Infuse positive psychology in your language learning routine and be a happy learner!