Happy New Year! We’d like to wish language learners throughout the world a fruitful 2022 and thank everyone who supported HelloTalk in 2021.
So what’s the best way to learn a language this new year? It’s by making good use of the holidays and by forging ahead with the world’s biggest language exchange app. With more and more features and even more members for you to interact with, there’s never been a better time to use HelloTalk! Powerful translation features, text and voice messaging, as well as voice and video calls all mean that it’s time to put the leftover turkey behind you and your language goals in front.
If you visit HelloTalk now, you’ll be able to enjoy your 2021 Report! For an overview of how many native speakers you’ve chatted with, and which member you’ve interacted with the most throughout 2021, tap Moments and then the ‘My 2021 Report’ banner to find out. You’ll also receive a reminder of how many times you’ve corrected your fellow members and which of your Moments performed the best.
What a year it’s been, and what a great December we enjoyed at HelloTalk. As well as looking forward to the Christmas and New Year season, HelloTalk celebrated its 9th anniversary with HelloTalker Stories. We invited HelloTalk members to submit short videos celebrating some of the remarkable and entertaining things that have happened between them and their language partners. So keep an eye out for HelloTalker Stories.
Time To Set Your Language Learning Resolutions
With every New Year comes resolutions. This most reflective of seasons certainly spurs many of us to contemplate our achievements and to put some goals in place to help us grow.
According to most New Year’s resolutions, the top 5 lists, losing weight, exercising more, getting organized, quitting a vice, and of course, learning a new skill all tend to feature. Not surprisingly, the new skill in question is very often learning a new language. We all know, with New Year resolutions come challenges: challenges to begin learning our new skill, and more pertinently, challenges persevering to a point where we feel a true sense of achievement.
So, if you’re reeling from seeing in the new year and you’re fired-up about your resolutions, follow HelloTalk’s top 5 tips on starting, and just as importantly, continuing to learn that new language skill.
1: Limit Your Resolutions
It’s been proven time and again that setting too many New Year resolutions can work against you, overwhelming your overall strategy of self-improvement. Any resolution, whether it relates to how to lose weight, the best way to learn Chinese, or indeed, any resolution that makes it into your list, is undoubtedly going to be advantageous. However, research into the benefits of learning a new language cements this resolution’s ‘place of honor’ in any top 5.
Research published by The Educational Research Review confirmed the effectiveness of mobile devices for learning a new language. A great deal of evidence also suggests that learning a second language enhances problem-solving ability, improves memory, and can add to an overall sense of confidence. So placing language learning within your resolution choices is hugely justified.
2: Set Realistic Goals
When you’re starting a new language from scratch, over-facing yourself should be avoided. With a good system in place, you’ll undoubtedly make good gains in your language learning. However, set realistic goals i.e., where you see your language in three, six, and twelve-month intervals. But also, be realistic with the time you can commit to language learning each week.
3: Get Support
This tip should apply to all goals and projects you find yourself engaged in, both professional and personal. Enlisting an expert, hiring a professional, and getting support will not only help you progress but maintain direction and focus. When you’re learning a new language, HelloTalk’s immersive HelloWords, HelloChinese, and 1-on1 Chinese Classes will give you the support, motivation, and accountability you need to continue onwards and upwards.
4: Track Your Progress
Establishing and maintaining a sense of achievement will undoubtedly keep you on track with this New Year resolution. Tracking your progress is the best way to confirm that you’re making gains. If you’re making gains, you’ll bask in accomplishment, and you’ll certainly want to keep on going towards the next level of language learning.
5: Move On from Lapses
What’s meant by this is, we’re only human! From time to time we need to slow down, focus more on other things, maybe even fend off a seasonal cold or two, naming no names here. But the point is, dust yourself off, reevaluate your goals and carry on towards ‘higher ground’. Perseverance is key to smashing any goal in life, and language learning is no different!
All Aboard HelloTalk’s 2022 Language Journey
2022 is set to see HelloTalk climb to even headier heights, so don’t miss the ride. At 30 million-plus users, opportunities to talk to native speakers increase by the day. Make sure you join the language learners who spent an average of 810 hours learning 428,160 lessons throughout 2021.
Tap the ‘Learn’ icon towards the bottom of the app and find HelloWords: interactive game-like language learning. HelloChinese (HelloKorean, HelloSpanish, etc.,) offers lessons comprising dialogue, vocabulary, and sentences surrounding common themes, at a level to suit all. HelloTalk’s 1-on-1 live language classes provide you with real-time lessons from professional teachers. You’ll also benefit from a personal study assistant and unlimited playback. All of this makes HelloTalk an unrivaled language-learning resource. Ideal for winding away those winter evenings!
Thanks for reading, enjoy the rest of the holidays, and seasonal wishes to you upon your language learning journey.
Download HelloTalk here!
