9 Ways You Can Use Your Daily Routine Activities To Learn A Language

If you are trying to learn a language, one of the main struggles you may face is how to balance your daily tasks with some language studying sessions. I often have this same issue; I want to be fluent in a language, but I hardly find time during the week to dedicate myself fully to learn. And I also know that when you want to acquire a different set of grammatical rules and vocabulary, I can’t just study one day and hope to be really good at it.

I need more than that, I need to study and practice at least three or four times a week. And that is why I think that the best way to do it is to incorporate some practical study sessions in your daily routine. In this post I’ll tell you nine ways to do it, so keep reading.

Age and experience have taught me that whenever I feel like I don’t have time to do something, I am just not paying attention to my daily routine. Even if you work or go to school/college, you may totally find some time to study a foreign language.

Think about all those afternoons when doing an Instagram scrolling to see the same kind of posts over and over again. Or those nights watching one silly Youtube video after another. I have nothing against Youtube or Instagram (I actually love them both), but I mean, I am sure you can use those minutes/hours practicing your target language. And here I will show you how.

Read my post: 5 Tips On How To Organize Yourself To Learn a Language

If you struggle to find the proper time to study the language of your dreams, keep reading. In this post I’ll teach you how to incorporate some language practice into your daily routines. And I will also challenge you to immerse yourself in your target language for an entire day without traveling to another country.

Let’s begin!

After waking up, you probably go to the shower first thing in the morning. It doesn’t matter if you do it or prefer cleaning your body at night. What is important is that when you step into your bathroom, you take with you your cell phone and put some music in your target language. Just choose the type of music you like the most and enjoy it while you learn unconsciously the language you love.

If you live with people who would feel annoyed by the music, try listening to it at a low volume.

Read my post: Use This Checklist To Study Languages Every Week!

This is something I personally do a lot. I love watching videos on Youtube while I eat my breakfast, iron my hair and do my make up. I know it is not a very good thing to do and that we should eat without a tv, cell phone or laptop near us, but if you already do it, why not trying to learn a little bit thought that?

Just search for youtube vloggers (or any other kind of video you enjoy) in your target language. A time ago I started watching booktubers’ videos in Italian and French. Then I chose to watch daily routines in Korean. Find something you like and learn through it.

Read my post: Create Your Own Language Studies Curriculum Right Now

If you take the bus or drive to get to your school, university or job, try listening to one or two podcast episodes in your target language. Last year I got into Talk To Me In Korean, a podcast made by Korean people teaching their language, mixing it with English so that foreigners could understand. I listened to the first two or three levels (It is divided into levels) and they also have worksheets to practice more after each episode. (you can download them on their website).

I know there are podcasts for each language, so search for the one the best suits you and your time and enjoy your commute time!

This is especially good if you are a student. While you are taking notes for your classes, try taking some notes in your target language as well! You can do it according to the level you are in; if you are a beginner, just writer isolated words that you already know in your target language and that are related to the topics you are seeing in class. If you are in an intermediate level, write some phrases or longer sentences that will help you both remember the contents you are studying and also practice your language writing skills. And in case you are in an advanced level, write paragraphs of what your teacher explains or what you see on the board/ppt presentation.

If you are not a student, but go to work, instead write down notes to remember your tasks and duties at your job. If you have to call someone, write something like: don’t forget to call ‘x’ (in your target language, of course). Just arrange your job duties so that you can also incorporate some language practice on them.

Read my post: How To Organize Your Notebooks For Learning a Language

While you are eating your lunch (at school, college, job or your house), try thinking about the food vocabulary in your target language. If you are eating soup, try to remember how to say ‘soup’ in the language you are learning. If you can’t remember any vocabulary word or you just haven’t learned it yet, search for the translation on your cell phone! Next time you eat soup (or any other dish) you’ll immediately remember how to say it in your target language.

We all have some short breaks. Either as a student or a worker, you probably have some moments during your schedule on which you just don’t know what to do. This increases if you spend some alone time during that period. If you are just scrolling down on Instagram or reading a useless article about the new lover of a famous artist, better change to a language learning app. Babbel, Duolingo, Lingodeer, Clozemaster…there are tons of apps you can download to your phone and use whenever you are bored. They are not only practical and simple to use, but also very fun.

Read my post: How To Use Your Bullet Journal When Learning a Language

If you need to watch the news or read them every single day, then you should totally try doing it on your target language. When I was learning English, sometimes I watched the BBC news to practice my listening skills. I also got to know some international news that was not so popular at my country.

If you don’t have cable or your cable doesn’t have news in your target language, search for them online! You can always find some videos on youtube or on different websites. There are also some radio stations you can hear in your target language through radio websites.

If you are more of gossiping news, you can always listen/watch/read about entertainment issues in whatever language you are currently learning. The internet has many tools you can use freely!

So it’s time to relax a bit and you just want to lie in your couch or bed and watch some tv or Netflix. Instead of watching something in your native language, choose a show you know you will love in your target language. As I am learning Korean, I love watching Korean dramas or reality shows because I both love them and I can practice my listening skills (and also my reading skills as many Korean shows use subtitles).

If you want to make your practice even better, grab a pen and a notebook and write every time you learn a new vocabulary word. I like having a notebook near me so I can write new words I am learning.

Reading is one of my favorite hobbies (that sometimes I forget to do when I am busy), but as most of us just have time during the night, I recommend doing it before going to sleep. This way you also nurture your brain and you avoid using your cell phone. If the bookstores in your city have books in your target language, try buying some! If not, you can always download short stories and print them.

If you are a beginner, try reading children stories since they are shorter and easier to understand. If you are an intermediate learner, read short books of about 100 pages and with simple topics. And if you are in an advanced level, you can move to more large and/or complex books. You can also re-read your favorite books, but now in your target language. As you already know the story, you won’t be so lost when reading it.

I truly hope this post was useful for you. If you have any question related to it, just ask me!

Are you learning a foreign language? Which one(s)? Tell me in the comment section below!

Have a beautiful day,

Namaste.