Key Takeaways:
Research has identified six specific benefits of DAILY language practice:
- Boosts overall cognitive flexibility, with benefits that extend beyond just language skills.
- Boosts fluency and confidence in using the target language.
- Facilitates easier and more automatic retrieval.
- Improves listening abilities.
- Fosters more intrinsic, self-determined motivation for language learning.
- Improves memory, problem-solving, and attentional control.
As a language tutor, I often hear people ask questions like “Why is language learning practice important?” and “Should I practice language every day… and if so, how much?”
Consistent, daily practice is the key to achieving fluency and proficiency in a new language.
Particuarly as a beginner, incorporating language practice into your daily routine helps you quickly rack up the many hourse it takes to achieve fluency… but it can provide a multitude of benefits that go beyond just improving your linguistic skills.
The research is clear – regular, focused language practice not only enhances your linguistic skills, but also provides cognitive and neurological advantages that can positively impact various aspects of your life.
Let’s explore some of the key benefits of making daily language practise a habit.
For all-in-one language learning courses you can use on a daily language basis, check out Rocket Languages… they’ve got you covered!
The Benefits of Daily Language Practice
Why is language learning practice important?
Just as a daily workout regimen strengthens the body, daily language practice develops the mind’s ability to comprehend and communicate in another language.
It’s about creating a habit that becomes second nature, ensuring that progress continues steadily, without the setbacks that come from longer breaks between practice sessions.
So, what are the benefits of practicing a language?
Increased Mental Flexibility
The benefits of daily language practice include increased mental flexibility resulting from the novel challenges and consistent practice involved in language learning.
Mental flexibility is closely linked to improved attentional control and cognitive abilities in language learners. Research highlights that the combination of novelty and consistent practice in language learning drives these benefits.
When you engage in intensive language learning, even over a relatively short period, you constantly expose your brain to new information, vocabulary, and grammatical structures.
This challenge triggers your brain to adapt and strengthen its attentional functions to effectively process and retain the new language input.
Research specifically points out that language learning enhances various types of attention, including:
- Focused attention: You develop the ability to concentrate on specific linguistic information while filtering out distractions.
- Divided attention: You gain the capacity to switch between and attend to multiple language-related tasks or stimuli simultaneously.
- Auditory attention: You enhance your brain’s ability to selectively focus on and comprehend spoken language, even amidst other auditory cues.
Consistently engaging with these attentional demands day after day strengthens your brain’s overall cognitive flexibility.
You become more adept at focusing, shifting focus, and processing auditory information—skills essential not only for language learning but also beneficial for other cognitive abilities.
This improvement in attentional control and mental flexibility manifests in enhanced problem-solving skills, better multitasking abilities, and increased creativity.
Your brain’s enhanced capacity to focus, switch tasks, and process information efficiently applies across a wide range of cognitive domains, not just in language learning.
Importantly, research suggests that the boost in mental flexibility is not just a short-term effect. Consistent, daily language practice helps cement these attentional improvements, enabling your brain to maintain and further refine its cognitive adaptability over time.
By continuously engaging your brain’s attentional functions, the daily routine strengthens your overall cognitive flexibility, offering far-reaching benefits for various aspects of cognitive performance.
Explore many more benefits of learning a language through our detailed series of posts.
Improved Fluency and Confidence
Committing to daily language practice significantly strengthens your fluency and confidence in using the target language.
Engaging consistently in activities like writing in a language learning journal, group discussions, and regular speaking practice makes you gradually more comfortable and adept at expressing yourself.
This increase in fluency changes the game in language learning.
Communicating more fluidly, without stumbling over words or grammar, simplifies the process of conversing in the target language, making it feel easier and more natural. You will find it easier to articulate your thoughts and ideas, allowing for more seamless and enjoyable interactions.
However, the benefits of daily practice extend beyond improved fluency.
Gaining proficiency also boosts your confidence. You will no longer hesitate or feel self-conscious about speaking up. Instead, you will feel empowered to engage more freely with native speakers, equipped with the linguistic tools to convey your message effectively.
This surge in confidence is crucial, as it encourages you to step out of your comfort zone and immerse yourself more fully in the language.
You will be more inclined to seek out practice opportunities, whether by chatting with a language partner, participating in a language meetup, or even traveling to a country where the target language is spoken.
The more you use the language, the more your fluency and confidence will grow in a positive feedback loop.
Ultimately, the consistent practice afforded by a daily language routine unlocks heightened fluency and confidence.
Making language learning a consistent habit gradually transforms you from a hesitant beginner to a self-assured communicator, able to express yourself with ease and engage with the language on a deeper level.
Looking for ways to target fluency skills in your daily practice?
Look no further! We’ve got you covered.
Better Retention and Recall
Consistent daily language practice dramatically elevates your ability to retain and recall new vocabulary, phrases, and grammatical structures.
Effortlessly retrieving the right words and expressions is crucial for effective communication.
Consider a practical example: you’re learning Spanish and have just encountered the preterite and imperfect verb tenses. These tenses can be tricky as they require an understanding of when to use each one.
If you tackle this topic with sporadic, inconsistent practice, you might struggle to remember the rules and apply them correctly.
However, daily reinforcement through activities like verb conjugation exercises, reading short stories in Spanish, and engaging in conversational practice ingrains these grammatical concepts deeply in your memory.
Repeated exposure and application help your brain recognize patterns and automatically retrieve the appropriate verb forms, even during spontaneous speech.
What was once a source of confusion becomes a natural and effortless part of your language skills.
The same principle applies to vocabulary acquisition.
Consistently reviewing new words, using them in context through writing or speaking, and exposing yourself to them in various media firmly embed these words in your long-term memory.
You’ll find that you can recall them more readily and use them with greater fluency, instead of constantly searching for the right term.
Consistent daily practice is key to improved retention and recall.
It helps your brain forge stronger neural pathways and solidify the language concepts you’re learning, making them readily accessible when needed.
This enhances your overall language proficiency and confidence, enabling you to draw upon a well-stocked linguistic repertoire to express yourself effectively.
Refined Listening Skills
Auditory selective attention and attentional switching are crucial listening skills.
Auditory selective attention enables the brain to focus on and process specific auditory information while filtering out irrelevant sounds.
This skill is essential for comprehending spoken language as it allows you to concentrate on relevant words, phrases, and intonations, instead of getting distracted by background noise or other auditory disturbances.
On the other hand, attentional switching involves the brain’s ability to shift focus between different auditory stimuli.
In language learning, this skill enables you to quickly adjust your attention from one speaker to another or from one language to another without losing comprehension.
This ability is particularly useful during conversations, where you need to seamlessly shift focus between different speakers and the flow of the dialogue.
One of the benefits of daily language practice is that by consistently practicing listening to and processing the target language, you will find yourself filtering out irrelevant sounds more effectively and focusing on the speaker’s words, enhancing your understanding of the meaning and nuances of what is being said.
Additionally, your brain will become more agile at switching its attention between different auditory cues, enabling you to actively participate in multilingual conversations or rapidly shifting dialogues.
These refined listening skills are crucial for effective language use, as they enable you to fully engage with native speakers and comprehend spoken communication with greater ease.
By incorporating daily language practice that challenges your auditory attention, you not only improve your overall listening comprehension but also develop a more versatile and adaptable cognitive capacity applicable across various language-learning and communication contexts.
Sometimes it can be difficult to find more time for language learning – but did you ever consider how watching television could increase your ‘language practise’ time?
Increased Motivation and Engagement
Daily language practice increases motivation and engagement. Self-Determination Theory, a contemporary evidence-based model of motivation, helps us to understand how.
Self-Determination Theory (SDT) suggests that human motivation ranges from amotivation (a lack of motivation) to intrinsic motivation (engaging in an activity for its inherent satisfaction).
Importantly, SDT asserts that the more autonomous and self-determined one’s motivation, the more likely it will lead to sustained engagement and positive outcomes.
Research shows that daily language practice helps foster more autonomous, self-determined forms of motivation.
Specifically, daily practice supports the satisfaction of three key psychological needs that underpin intrinsic motivation:
- Autonomy – You choose language learning activities that align with your personal goals and values, engaging out of your own volition rather than external pressures.
- Competence – Regular practice enhances your sense of progress and mastery, boosting your confidence and perception of your language abilities.
- Relatedness – Participating in interactive language tasks like group discussions or language exchanges fosters social connections and a sense of belonging.
By satisfying these needs, daily language practice shifts your motivation from controlled, extrinsic forms (such as studying merely to pass a test) to autonomous, intrinsic forms (such as studying because you enjoy the process and find it meaningful).
This shift sustains your enthusiasm and drive to continue improving, allowing you to experience a genuine sense of progress and accomplishment.
SDT also highlights the role of the social context in shaping motivation.
A supportive learning environment that offers optimal challenges, positive feedback, and a sense of belonging further nurtures intrinsic motivation.
Daily language practice, particularly when integrated with interactive and meaningful tasks, creates a motivationally supportive context, underscoring the benefits of daily language practice in sustaining motivation and engagement.
Explore more strategies to find motivation when language learning obstacles get in the way.
Improved Cognitive Function and Enhanced Brain Health
Unlike irregular practice, daily language practice achieves consistent reinforcement and maintenance of neurological changes that support improved cognitive function and brain health.
These structural changes underpin the enhanced cognitive abilities observed in bilingual individuals, such as improved memory, problem-solving, and attentional control.
However, the critical factor is that these neurological benefits require active maintenance through regular, consistent practice.
The “daily” aspect of language practice allows the brain to continuously reinforce and strengthen these structural changes over time.
When you approach language learning sporadically, the brain lacks the opportunity to consistently reinforce the new neural pathways and connections that have formed. Consequently, the cognitive advantages may not be as pronounced or may diminish over time.
In contrast, daily language practice provides the brain with constant stimulation and reinforcement needed to solidify these structural changes and keep the cognitive benefits active.
The repetition, exposure, and active engagement involved in daily practice help to “cement” the neurological adaptations, maintaining enhanced functionality.
Research has found that the cognitive benefits of language learning are best maintained through long-term, consistent practice.
Daily engagement with the target language allows the brain to continuously adapt and optimize its structure and function, leading to lasting improvements in areas like memory, problem-solving, and attention.
The benefits of daily language practice are crucial because they provide the brain with consistent stimulation and reinforcement needed to sustain the neurological changes that underpin cognitive benefits.
While irregular or sporadic practice may lead to initial improvements, it is the daily, habitual engagement with the language that truly optimizes brain structure and function over the long term.
At the heart of mastering any new language lies one unwavering principle: consistency. The journey to fluency is not achieved through sporadic bursts of study but rather through the gradual accumulation of knowledge over time. Each day’s practice layers upon the previous one, reinforcing old lessons while introducing new concepts.
Conclusion
Consistent, daily practice is the key to achieving fluency and proficiency in a new language.
Particularly as a beginner, incorporating language practice into your daily routine helps you quickly rack up the many hours it takes to achieve fluency… but it can provide a multitude of benefits that go beyond just accumulating hours.
The research is clear – regular, focused language practice enhances your linguistic skills significantly.
Daily language practice helps maintain and advance your language proficiency, making each session a building block for more complex language skills. Each session’s practice layers upon the previous one, reinforcing old lessons while introducing new concepts.
By dedicating time every day to your language studies, you ensure steady progress and a deeper engagement with the language, which in turn, opens up more opportunities for practical application and real-world interaction.
How might your life change if you could speak another language fluently?
Find out about the benefits of knowing French (or any other language) to your career and life.
For all-in-one language learning courses you can use on a daily language basis, check out Rocket Languages… they’ve got you covered!
Language Practice FAQs
Is 2 hours a day enough to learn a language?
The recommendation for language practice varies depending on your goals and the language’s difficulty relative to your native language. However, a common guideline suggests aiming for at least one to two hours of active learning daily. This can be complemented with passive learning activities, ensuring a balanced approach to language acquisition.
Can passive learning activities replace traditional learning methods?
While passive learning activities such as listening to music, watching movies, or reading in a target language are invaluable for immersion and real-life exposure, they cannot entirely replace traditional learning methods. Structured lessons that focus on grammar, vocabulary, and speaking skills are essential for laying a solid foundation in any language.
What are the signs of progressing to a B2 level?
Progressing to a B2 level is marked by the ability to interact with native speakers with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction possible without strain for either party. It also includes understanding the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in one’s field of specialization.
References:
- https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/e94b1d8be0b9f8b0e73b72c0ec317155c93bc384
- https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/71011c4981caa824a6e01e50b6576e537c16b7f4
- https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/927b4d4a6b9bb06877a189925030ba94edc49d8a
- https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2022/04/29/learning-language-changes-your-brain
- https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0153485
- https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/phon-2022-0020/pdf
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167876017303896
- https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/8/2/e000553
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1658361223000550
- https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/news/learning-a-second-language-boosts-cognitive-function-355109
- https://kohud.kendal.org/2024/04/05/cognitive-benefits-of-learning-a-second-language
- https://dana.org/article/the-cognitive-benefits-of-being-bilingual/
Cate is a language enthusiast sharing her language learning journey here. Apart from her native English (albeit 'Strine'*!), as an adult she has also learned Auslan (Australian Sign Language) to approximately a C1 level, Dutch to around B1/2, French to around A2, and has a smattering of other languages.
B.A. (Anthropology/Marketing), Grad. Dip. Arts (Linguistics), Grad. Cert. Entrepreneurship & Venture Development, (CELTA).
Auslan Interpreter (NAATI), and general Language Nut.
*For more information on 'Strine', visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strine