Motivation word for learning english

When you’re down on motivation, it’s a great idea to get some advice from an expert. We don’t always have experts on hand, though. If that’s the case and you need some advice to help you get motivated to learn English, turn to some of the greatest thinkers of the past with these 19 quotes to help you get motivated to learn English.

1. The best way to predict the future is to create it. – Abraham Lincoln

If you want to be a fluent speaker of English in the future, you need to make it happen.

2. You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. – C.S.Lewis

Many people say it’s easier to learn a language when you are young but there are advantages to learning a language when you are older.

3. Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. – Gandhi

Enjoy living in the moment but remember that learning English will prepare you for the future.

4. Learning is not a spectator sport. – D. Blocher

If you want to master English, get involved and practise as much as possible.

5. There is no substitute for hard work. – Thomas Edison

Learning any language is hard work so prepare well, put in the hours and you will achieve your goals.

6. Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. – Lao Tzu

Starting early with your learning will mean that you have time to deal with things in small steps. Even a large goal is more approachable if you break it down into smaller ones and just get started.

7. Today a reader, tomorrow a leader. – Margaret Fuller

Reading is not just important for acquiring knowledge, it will help you build your vocabulary and range in English, too.

8. Learning is like rowing upstream, not to advance is to drop back. – Chinese Proverb

In a world where everyone else is learning, if you don’t take your learning seriously you will fall behind.

9. The secret of getting ahead is getting started. – Mark Twain

Like the Lao Tzu quote earlier, this one is a great way to help you stop procrastinating. Anything you can do right away will help you get ahead with your goal of learning a language.

10. If you can dream it, you can do it. – Walt Disney

Walt Disney was well known as a man who made dreams come true, and you can, too. It just takes plenty of hard work.

11. It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. – Confucius

Learning a skill such as a new language can take a long time. If you feel like your progress is slow, bear in mind these wise words from Confucius. The important thing is to keep going and you will get there in the end.

12. By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. – Benjamin Franklin

Earlier in the year, we shared some tips on how to plan your studies for the coming year. Planning is important when you are learning a language so don’t be afraid to put some time into it.

13. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. – Samuel Beckett

Making mistakes is a natural part of the language learning process. The key is to learn from these mistakes. Don’t be afraid to try out new things in English but always remember to reflect on them and decide what was successful and what you need to keep working on.

14. Language is “the infinite use of finite means.” – Wilhelm von Humboldt

Remember, it is possible to communicate big ideas with relatively limited language. Don’t feel like you need perfect English before you can go out and have interesting conversations with other people.

15. Is it not enjoyable to learn and practise what you learn? – Confucius

Using your English skills is fun. Make time just to enjoy speaking English.

16. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. – Joseph Addison

More wise words on reading here. Reading will also help you improve your English writing by introducing you to new, interesting sentence structures.

17. To have another language is to possess a second soul. – Charlemagne

Learning a new language gives you the chance to be a different person if you want to. Make the most of that chance.

18. Language is wine upon the lips. – Virginia Woolf

When you are learning a language, remember to slow down and enjoy the process. The language itself is often as enjoyable as the end goal.

19. Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. – Benjamin Franklin

Very sensible advice. Now it’s time for you to get involved.

Which of the quotes was your favourite? Share it on with your friends and inspire them to improve their English, too!

Similar article: 7 famous English love quotes to put you in the mood for love

Whether you’re finding your English language learning journey to be an enjoyable and fulfilling experience, or if you’re currently experiencing a lack of motivation, the following quotes are sure to inspire you to take your learning to the next level.

“Do you know what a foreign accent is? It’s a sign of bravery.” – Amy Chua

“It is astonishing how much enjoyment one can get out of a language that one understands imperfectly.” — Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve

“Language is not a genetic gift, it is a social gift. Learning a new language is becoming a member of the club – the community of speakers of that language.” — Frank Smith.

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” – Chinese Proverb

“That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you’ve understood all your life, but in a new way.” – Doris Lessing

“To have another language is to possess a second soul.” — Charlemagne

“We can be whatever we have the courage to be.”— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

“Learning is not a spectator sport.” – D. Blocher

“I admire people who dare to take the language, English, and understand it and understand the melody” — ‍Maya Angelou

“There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti

“Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.‍” — Oliver Wendell Holmes

“What we learn with pleasure, we never forget.” – Alfred Mercier

«Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true.» — Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“Language is wine upon the lips.” – Virginia Woolf

“The expert in anything was once a beginner.” – Helen Hayes

“Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.” — Oprah Winfrey

«Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things.» — Flora Lewis

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” – Joseph Addison

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – William Butler Yeats

“It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” – Samuel Beckett

“Language is power, life and the instrument of culture, the instrument of domination and liberation.‍” — Angela Carter

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S.Lewis

“Language exerts hidden power, like the moon on the tides.” — Rita Mae Brown

“A different language is a different vision of life.” — Federico Fellini

I hope that these quotes have instilled a sense of belonging and pride in you, as you are an important member of a beautiful community.

As a language learner, you are among a group of individuals who possess a passion for embracing different cultures, seizing new opportunities, and constantly expanding their knowledge and perspective of the world.

The journey of learning a new language may come with its challenges, but the benefits and rewards are well worth the effort.

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“Tannia is a very authentic person and is able to provide clients powerful and versatile communication tools that can be employed in daily conversations, in negotiations or in meetings. Recently, an American client told me that she’s really impressed with my English. It felt awesome. Thanks, Tannia, for your support!” —Chris G.

How can motivational quotes help you learn English faster and better? You may ask. Learning a language surely takes time. 

You have to start slow usually listening, then repeating and progressing bit by bit.

Reading is also a great help, so buy or shop some books online or even borrow some if you don’t have any! You will start noticing the differences. Maybe you won’t understand everything in a flash of time but it will help for sure!

You begin to understand things, first the message, then the grammar… and the problem starts when you are asked to write or to speak!

Then you remember that there are a lot of things you need to know about a single word…(for more information about this check out this post Things A Learner Should Know About A Word)

And suddenly you are afraid so you hide behind the others!!

You agree. You always agree. Or you nod all the time. You use your hands. As a non-native speaker, I know what I am talking about as there was a time when I hid because I was afraid my English wasn’t just good enough!

So that is why I believe these motivational English quotes will help you improve your English language learning! 

Reading a quote of this kind gives us the inspiration we sometimes need to continue. When things get tough, many people turn to a motivational quote for a bit of extra motivation.

Quotes usually have that power. 

We no longer feel alone as we suddenly feel supported by the words of a wiser person whom we believe to be or have been more important than we are!

Confidence, Confidence, Confidence…

Learning is all about that. Confidence, believing and hard work. Many learners put quite work on themselves but then they don’t believe they can and they lose confidence…

Another reason why motivational quotes are important to language learning is that they affirm what we already know (or think we know) about ourselves and our knowledge. This is specially important as we’re constantly searching for a sense of belonging!

15 QUOTES TO BOOST YOUR LANGUAGE LEARNING:

1. ‘If you had started doing anything two weeks ago by today you would have been two weeks better at it.’ – John Mayer

2. ‘Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.’ – Benjamin Franklin

3. ‘You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.’ – Richard Branson

4. ‘Ideas without action aren’t ideas. They’re regrets.’ – Steve Jobs

5. ‘With languages, you are at home anywhere.‘ – Edward De Waal

6. ‘You can never understand one language until you understand at least two.‘ ‒ Geoffrey Willams

7. ‘A foreign language is like a frail, delicate muscle. If you do not use it, it weakens.‘ – Jhumpa Lahiri

8. ‘There is no substitute for hard work.‘– Thomas Edison

9. ‘It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.‘ – Confucius

10. ‘If you’re determined to learn, no one can stop you.‘ –Zig Ziglar

11. ‘Education costs money, but then so does ignorance.‘ – Sir Claus Moser

12. ‘What we learn with pleasure, we never forget.’ – Alfred Mercier

13. ‘Whenever they say it can’t be done, remind them that they make a jellybean that tastes exactly like popcorn.’ – John Mayer

14. ‘Winners never quit, and quitters never win.’ – Vince Lombardi

15. ‘Never stop dreaming, never stop believing, never give up, never stop trying, and never stop learning.’ – Roy T. Bennett

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I hope you feel inspired by all these quotes and keep learning English!

If you are starting, don’t give up, you will succeed! Just continue with the hard work.

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Many of you are desperate to expand your vocabulary and start using more sophisticated English words. So today let’s focus on some words that can inspire, inspire you and inspire the people around you.

In English, there are many ways to say the same thing. You know a lot of simple vocabulary already, which is awesome but if you want to earn the respect and the attention of people around you, using interesting, thoughtful and meaningful words is definitely something that you want to work on.

Words are powerful! And the words that you choose to use tell people a lot about the type of person that you are. Expanding your vocabulary and using inspiring words can make you more successful in business, in school, in life. Your words can make others want to be around you.They command respect. People are more likely to trust you or to follow your advice if you use powerful words. And the words that you use don’t just affect others, using powerful and positive and inspiring words will also have a positive impact on you.

Today Learn English Fun Way is going to give you six inspiring words that you should learn and start using as soon as possible. We are going to show you how to say them because really, if you can’t pronounce these words correctly, it’s difficult to deliver an inspiring message. We will tell you what they mean and I’ll show you how to use them correctly.

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1, Inspire

Alright let’s start with the word ‘inspire’. Yeah if you’re going to inspire people with your words, you’re going to have to know how to use them, right? If you inspire someone, you make them want to do something, you make them feel confident and excited to try something. Maybe something new or maybe something that they haven’t done in quite a while. Let’s start with pronunciation first.

• Inspire /ɪnˈspaɪə(r)/

So, that middle syllable is the stressed one.

And in the past, it’s ‘inspired’. Now that final D is a soft D sound. So when it’s spoken, you hardly hear it. You should catch that sound ‘d’ before you release it.

• I feel inspired by her.

We often say “someone can inspire someone to do something”.

• A friend inspired me to run a marathon.
• The orchestra inspired her to study music.
• His brother inspired him to travel the world.

But you can also be inspired by something.

• She was inspired by her boss.
• I was inspired by the speech.

Who inspires you? Is there someone in your life who makes you excited to do something and makes you want to do something? Tell us about that person in the comments. Tell us who inspires you.

You can also say that they’re an inspiration or that they are inspiring.

So if you’re thinking of someone who inspires you, try to use all of these words, all of these words from the ‘inspire’ word family to talk about them.

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2, Motivation

When you’re feeling inspired, you may need some motivation to help you take action, right? Motivation is the reason why you want to do something. It’s all of the things and the feelings that make you keep working hard to reach your goals or to finish something.

You want to become a more confident English speaker for a purpose, right? It could be to get a better job, it could be to meet people from other countries, to study abroad, maybe you’d love to travel. These are all reasons or your motivation to learn the language.

So motivation is like a better, more sophisticated way of saying reason. You can ask people “What’s your motivation for learning English?”

There’s a lot of syllables in this word to pronounce here.

• Motivation /ˌməʊtɪˈveɪʃn/

Words that end in -tion like this one are usually stressed on the syllable before last. And that last syllable is unstressed, the vowel sound reduces right down to the schwa so it’s short and low in pitch.

• My sister Jill works full-time and she studies medicine at night school. Her kid’s education is her motivation for studying at night school.

You’ve got the word ‘motivation’, now, let’s expand your vocabulary a little. We can use the verb ‘to motivate’, ‘to motivate someone to do something’, to also express these ideas.

• She needs people around her who motivate and inspire her to succeed.

There are also two adjective forms that you need to know, the -ed and the -ing forms, including ‘motivated’ and ‘motivating’.

• As soon as I lost a few kilos, I was motivated to lose more.
• His speech was really motivating.

There is another adjective, ‘motivational’, which is used to mention something or somebody that makes people want to do something, especially something that involves hard work and effort.

• He’s a motivational speaker.

What or who motivates you to keep going? Tell us about that person in the comments.

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3, Courage

Learning a new language, using big words, speaking out loud, all of this takes courage. Courage is the ability to do something even though it might be scary or dangerous or difficult at times. It relates to your emotional strength, to do something that you are scared to do, so it’s kind of similar to bravery.

There are quite a few different ways to pronounce the OU in English words.

• Courage /ˈkʌrɪdʒ/

In the word ‘courage’ we use /ʌ/ as in ‘up’ vowel sound. This is the strongest syllable so you need to make sure that you’re pronouncing it right. And the final consonant sound might be a little tricky too. The /dʒ/ sound. So to make it, you have to get you tongue behind your teeth and push up to the top of your mouth but the edges of your tongue must be pushed or pressed up to seal the sound in.

The verbs ‘have’ and ‘find’ are often used with the noun ‘courage’.

• He has the courage to do the right thing.
• She found the courage to stand up and speak at the rally.

It’s also definitely worth knowing the adjective ‘courageous’ as well. ‘Courageous’ means being ‘brave’.

• She’s a very courageous woman.

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4, Encourage

And if someone doesn’t have the courage, certainly you can ‘encourage’ them. Encourage sounds really similar to courage. The pronunciation is almost the same but the meaning is a little different. If you encourage someone, you give them hope and confidence and support to achieve something. You don’t just tell them that they can do it but you help them to believe that they can. By encouraging someone, you can help them to find courage that they need. And again, we ‘encourage someone to do something’.

• Their cheering encouraged me to finish the marathon, even though I was exhausted.
• Her parents encouraged her to study medicine.

Let’s expand a little. Something or someone can be ‘encouraging’.

• That was an encouraging sign. I think we’re on the right track.

You can also use the noun ‘encouragement’. And you can use it with verbs like ‘give’ and ‘need’.

• I think she needs a little encouragement.
• Her teacher should give her some encouragement.

It is an uncountable noun.  It’s really common to hear this word used with a quantifier like ‘some’ or ‘any’, ‘a little’ or ‘a lot’.

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5, Empower

To empower someone is to give them the strength and the confidence or the authority to do something.

• The Ladies’ Project empowers women to speak English with strangers.

Notice that the first vowel sound is actually a short sound and the second syllable is the stressed one. The final syllable is unstressed, it’s the schwa sound and you don’t hear people say that sound.

• Empower /ɪmˈpaʊə(r)/

To empower someone is to make them stronger and more confident to do something and it’s often used to talk about giving power or strength or control to someone who doesn’t have it.

But don’t be confused. If you are ‘empowered’, it doesn’t always mean that you are ‘powerful’. These two words have quite different meanings.

• The CEO wants to empower his management team to make strategic decisions for the company.
• What makes you feel empowered?
• Or have you ever empowered someone else in some way?

You’ll hear the -ed and the -ing adjective forms here. Someone can be ‘empowering’ and people can also feel ‘empowered’.

And it’s worth knowing the noun ’empowerment’ as well. ‘Empowerment’ means ‘the act of giving somebody the power or authority to do something’.

• Education is a tool for empowerment.

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6, Perseverance

These words and their word families are challenging, challenging to pronounce and challenging to use these different types of words correctly but if you’re still here you’re still working hard, then you’ve got perseverance.

So someone with perseverance keeps trying to succeed even when it’s difficult. Even when things are hard, they keep going. When they get stuck, they find a way around it. When they fail, they try again, they don’t give up. Therefore, perseverance isn’t really something that you can learn. You either have a really strong desire in you to achieve something or you don’t.

So do you have the perseverance to become fluent in English? Can you keep going even when it’s difficult? Since you’re here and you’re practising with Learn English Fun Way, we know that you don’t give up easily. You have perseverance or determination or tenacity. These are all synonyms of perseverance.

Let’s focus on the pronunciation for a second.

• Perseverance /ˌpɜːsəˈvɪərəns/

That third syllable is the stressed one.

It is also really common to hear the verb ‘persevere’ in difficult situations. “To persevere (in something/in doing something/ with something/ with somebody)” is ​to continue trying to do or achieve something despite difficulties.

• She chose a difficult career path but she persevered and she graduated with the degree that she wanted.
• Can you think of anything that you have persevered through?
• Anyone who’s failed their driver’s license several times before, they persevered as well.

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It is the end of the writing. We hope this lesson has inspired you to be a little more courageous with your English vocabulary and that you’re motivated to use these words again soon. If you’re feeling a little uncertain or a little unsure about how to use some of these words, then practise by writing some sentences in the comments below so that we can check them for you. In order to get further explanation and practice your listening skills also, watch the video below. Thank you for reading and see you in the next writing!

Credit: Youtube Channel “mmmEnglish”

Some days learning a language can be a real struggle, but these beautiful inspirational quotes will keep you motivated.

Learning a foreign language is an emotional roller coaster mixed with amazing highs, frustrating plateaus, and the feeling like you’re not making any progress at all. It’s so easy to become discouraged and want to throw in the towel which is why I’ve collated a list of inspiring language quotes from history’s great linguistics and authors as well as beautiful proverbs that will give you a much-needed boost of morale.

Here are 42 of the best inspirational quotes that will keep us language learners motivated.

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1. Language comes first. It’s not that language grows out of consciousness, if you haven’t got language, you can’t be conscious. – Alan Moore

2. Do you know what a foreign accent is? It’s a sign of bravery. – Amy Chua

3. Learn a language, and you’ll avoid a war. – Arab Proverb

4. It is astonishing how much enjoyment one can get out of a language that one understands imperfectly. — Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve

5. Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about. – Benjamin Lee Whorf

6. To have another language is to possess a second soul. ‒ Charlemagne

Like this quote? Then you’ll love this planner that I designed that will keep your language goals on track. Plan your days in style with the help of my customisable planner. Perfect for your busy lifestyle, this planner has a place to plan your months, plan your weeks, and write down everything that’s important to you! The cover features the beautiful quote by Charlemagne: To have another language is to possess a second soul. Buy it here.

Buy it here.

For more inspiration, don’t miss my guide to cool gifts for language learners and the best travel accessories and travel gadgets here.

7. Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. – Chinese Proverb

8. To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world. – Chinese Proverb

9. You live a new life for every new language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once. ‒ Czech Proverb

10. Learn a new language and get a new soul. – Czech Proverb

11. With languages, you are at home anywhere. – Edward De Waal

12. I love commuting between languages just like I love commuting between cultures and cities. – Elif Safak

13. A different language is a different vision of life. – Federico Fellini

14. Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things. ‒ Flora Lewis

15. Learning a new language is becoming a member of the club – the community of speakers of that language. ‒ Frank Smith

16. One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way. ‒ Frank Smith

17. Language is not a genetic gift, it is a social gift. Learning a new language is becoming a member of the club – the community of speakers of that language. ‒Frank Smith

18. A man who knows two languages is worth two men. ‒ French Proverb

19. A special kind of beauty exists which is born in language, of language, and for language. ‒ Gaston Bachelard

20. You can never understand one language until you understand at least two. ‒ Geoffrey Willans

21. A foreign language is like a frail, delicate muscle. If you do not use it, it weakens. – Jhumpa Lahiri

22. He who knows no foreign languages know nothing of his own. ‒ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

23. The most intimate temper of a people, its deepest soul, is above all in its language. – Jules Michelet

24. Change your language and you change your thoughts. ‒ Karl Albrecht

25. We should learn languages because language is the only thing worth knowing even poorly. – Kató Lomb

26. If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world. ‒ Ludwig Wittgenstein

27. The limits of my language are the limits of my world. ‒ Ludwig Wittgenstein

28. The joy of knowing a foreign language is inexpressible. I find it really difficult to express such joy in my mother tongue. ― Munia Khan

29. If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart. ‒ Nelson Mandela

30. Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow. ‒ Oliver Wendell Holmes

31. A new language is a new life. – Persian Proverb

32. Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going. ‒ Rita Mae Brown

33. Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom. ‒ Roger Bacon

34. The conquest of learning is achieved through the knowledge of languages. – Roger Bacon

35. Speak a new language so that the world will be a new world. – Rumi

36.  I am always sorry when any language is lost, because languages are the pedigrees of nations. – Samuel Johnson

37. Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can; there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did. ‒ Sarah Caldwell

38. One who speaks only one language is one person, but one who speaks two languages is two people. ‒ Turkish proverb

39. The man who does not know other languages, unless he is a man of genius, necessarily has deficiencies in his ideas. – Victor Hugo

40. Language is wine upon the lips. – Virginia Woolf

41. Language is to the mind more than light is to the eye. – William Gibson

42. As a hawk flieth not high with one wing, even so a man reacheth not to excellence with one tongue. – Roger Ascham

If you enjoyed these words, then let wordsmiths Stephen King, Mark Twain and the Dalai Lama transport you around the world with these Inspirational Travel Quotes. Want more? Add these beautiful foreign words to your repertoire.

For more inspiration, don’t miss my guide to cool gifts for language learners and the best travel accessories and travel gadgets here.

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Over to you!

Which one of these language quotes did you love the most?  Do you know any others?
Let me know using the comments section below or join me on social media to start a conversation.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post.

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