Before I began tracking my language learning, I often felt lost and unmotivated, unsure of my actual progress.

Set (and Re-Set) Realistic Milestones

In the beginning, most learners' goals are broader than they realize.

I want to be fluent, understand this media, or live and work in this country. These are all long-term goals. But what are your goals for this year, this quarter, and this week? What could you do in your target language by the end of the day?

Having long-term and short-term goals helps us better understand our daily progress.

Keep a Learning Journal

This can even be a sticky note, but you need somewhere to log your study sessions, successes, and areas for improvement.

Like goal setting, having a place where you can see how much you've studied in the last week or month is motivating. Journaling can also give you a better idea of what you're doing well. If you're anything like me, you're always reminding yourself of what you can't do. Having that balance of successes and struggles helps you better understand your progress.

Starting a language journal today will force you to take stock of your abilities. And they might be better than you realize.

Test Your Skills

Testing our language abilities is a great way to measure our progress and know what to study next.

As both a language teacher and a language learner, I know how much people dislike tests. But testing our abilities is a vital part of learning. Like weights for a bodybuilder, the mental stress of recalling what we've learned strengthens the connections in our minds.

Practice tests, drill books, or flashcards, can help learners better understand their abilities.