Vision, Goals, Plans, and Accountability in Learning a Language

ESTABLISH A VISION

A vision is an idea of where you want to be down the road in the future. It is far beyond where you are now. It considers your resources (time, materials, and teachers). Here are some examples:

• Be able to speak The Language fluently
• Understand native speaker
• Be able to apply it in a professional level.

SET GOALS

A vision is exciting and it makes you feel good, but it isn't actionable. This is why it is vital to set inspired goals. For a goal to be helpful you need to know how to measure your progress over time. You need to set long-term goals and short-term goals. Here are some examples of long-term goals:

• To be effective in reading and writing
• Memorize 1000 common words and phrases
• Learn conversational grammar points

Even though you can measure these long-term goals, they're to big to accomplish in one sitting. Well-defined short-term goals are about what you have to accomplish in the language right now. Here are some examples

• Learn 7 words and 5 phrases if your going to practice how to explain the weather today.
• Spend 20 min. Watching short Korean drama clips just to get familiar with the voice tone and useful words.

CREATE AND EXECUTE PLANS

Specific plans to accomplish your goals include what, how, when, and where you will accomplish them. You will make plans for what you will do during formal language study time as well as what you will do throughout the day to improve your language. For example, if your goal is to memorize how to explain the weather today, your plans might include:

• Spend 15 minutes memorizing 7 words and 5 phrases during language study. Make a flash card.
• Carry the flashcard throughout the day. Review it during free time or while walking.

ACCOUNT FOR YOUR EFFORT

Accounting for your effort is vital to your growth in the language. This includes reporting your effort to someone you trust like your friend and family members. Most importantly ask yourself at the end of the day if you accomplish your goals, if not make necessary adjustments for tomorrow.