In less than 24 hours, 2020 will finally be done and most of us won’t miss it. So if you are feeling like this past year was kind of wasted on compulsively washing our hands, binge eating and panicking about the news – then we feel you, bro.
Even in non-horrible times, a good set of New Year’s resolutions tends to be the ideal way to turn the page. January 2021 is a great excuse to join a gym, get rid of all our junk food, and buy a ton of dictionaries and textbooks so we can finally master Spanish.
However, chances are that most of these resolutions will be abandoned by mid-February: they’re hard, they’re not fun, and even despite our best intentions, days in 2021 will still only have 24 hours, so sometimes we will want to just get home and plop down in front of the couch.
So what is Lingopie’s resolution? To ensure you stick to your language learning goal, and help you feel like it’s no work at all.
Can I Really Learn Spanish without Any Awkward Grammar Lessons?
Yes! Just go on a learning binge with a riveting TV series.
Just a few years ago, learning a new language meant enrolling in a language school, where you would spend hours memorizing verb forms and repeating “¿Donde está el baño?” But as it turns out, TV and movies can help you land in the same place.
Mind you, this won’t happen in a week or a month – but it wouldn’t in a normal language school either. Watching movies or TV series in Spanish constantly will make your brain associate words, actions, and plot points, just like it did when you were a baby. You can learn more about how that happens here.
Learning Spanish in 2021 – You’ve Got 12 Whole Months!
Now that you know that it can be done, it’s time to learn a few tricks that will ensure you keep your momentum going.
1. Take a virtual tour of the continent
Do you ever dream of all the places that you will be able to visit after you learn Spanish? You can check them out right away by visiting our Travel Shows section. A proper vacation may not be possible right now, but it’s never too soon to start counting all the places that you will visit.
And if your thing is below-the-line travel and real cities, just pick a series from one country at a time. Interspersed between all the postcard-worthy vistas, you’ll find your characters visiting the good food trucks, the underground bars, and the alleys you should stay away from.
2. Let the other apps remind you
At Lingopie, we don’t like to name names, but we know who’s who in the language learning scene. And it’s okay! We are not the jealous type. After all, any extra exposure you get to Spanish during the day will only help our mutual goals.
We know that there’s a good chance that a cute green bird is sending you daily reminders to spend some time practicing Spanish every day. We think you should listen to him – just remember that binge learning with a movie counts.
3. Choose a new favourite actor to hunt down
Sometimes, a beautiful face can give you the push you need to run the extra mile. If you ever feel like can’t make up your mind about what to watch next, try this trick: find one actor you really really like and stick with him or her.
It doesn’t even have to be a hot one. Sometimes we develop celebrity crushes on unconventional, quirky people. So indulge away this year and dig out what Salma Hayek was doing 20 years ago – it’s for a good cause.
4. Don’t skip the intro
Most streaming services include the option to “skip the intro” for a reason – when you’re watching a whole season in one afternoon, the same old theme song can get boring pretty quickly.
If your goal is to learn Spanish this year, that would be a wasted opportunity! The repetition and rhythm of the theme song offer a great chance to learn new words quickly. If you want to practice those rolled Rs, you can also sign along.
5. Tell your friends about your new favourite series
A riveting plot and a new obsession feel more important when you have someone to share it with. So after you are done studying for the day, why not try to get your own friends to watch the series too? This will also give you a chance to relive some of the key scenes, and the vocabulary that comes with it.
Plus, it will be a good opportunity to push one of our sweet referral codes.
6. Tell your pet about your new favourite series in Spanish
The best thing about learning a new language is to be able to speak it. This is also the hardest of all language skills, though, so you will need to start small. A good way to keep it simple (and away from judgemental ears) is to try talking to your dog in Spanish. He probably doesn’t really care that much about the plot, but he’ll be happy to be included.
If you have a cat instead, you’re out of luck, I’m afraid.
So let’s make 2021 the year we learn to laugh, love, and run away from a shooting in a new language. We just have a few hours left to kick it off right – so take advantage of our Holiday sale.
