Learning a new language can be both exciting and daunting, especially if you’re planning to move abroad or have already made the move. It’s common to feel the urge to start learning the language immediately by downloading apps, hiring tutors, or watching YouTube videos. However, diving in too quickly might not be the best approach. In this blog post, we’ll explore essential tips for language learning that will help you achieve better results and make the process more enjoyable and effective.

Before you start learning a new language, it’s crucial to understand your motivation. Many people feel obligated to learn the language because they believe it’s the polite or proper thing to do. However, this external motivation can lead to frustration and burnout. Instead, focus on finding an internal motivation. Ask yourself why you want to learn the language. Is it because you need it for work, to make your daily life easier, or because you genuinely want to immerse yourself in the culture? Identifying a clear and personal reason will keep you motivated even when the learning process becomes challenging.

Understanding your learning style is essential for effective language learning. Different people have different learning preferences, and knowing yours can help you choose the right resources and methods. There are three main learning styles:

Visual Learners: If you are a visual learner, you learn best through images, videos, and written notes. Use flashcards, watch videos with subtitles, and create visual aids to help with your studies.

Auditory Learners: Auditory learners excel when they listen to information. If this is your style, focus on listening to podcasts, music, and language learning tapes. Repeat phrases out loud and engage in conversations.

Kinesthetic Learners: Kinesthetic learners need to move, touch and use their hands while learning. Use interactive apps, write down new words, and practice speaking with gestures.

Combining resources that cater to your primary learning style will make the learning process more effective and enjoyable.

It’s important to consider the timing of your language learning journey. Jumping into learning a new language too soon, especially before you’re settled into your new environment, can add to your stress. Instead, give yourself some time to adjust to your new surroundings and daily routines. Once you feel more comfortable, gradually integrate language learning into your schedule. This approach will make the process less overwhelming and more sustainable in the long run.

Additionally, start with practical language skills that you will use in your daily life. Focus on learning phrases and vocabulary that are immediately relevant, such as greetings, directions, and common expressions. This will help you build confidence and see progress quickly.

By following these tips, you can make your language learning journey more manageable and enjoyable.

Check out the interview with a Portuguese language teacher where she shared lots of tips and advice.

For more personalized support, check out my Expat Journey Program. This program offers a comprehensive approach to managing the challenges of moving abroad and adjusting to a new life in a different country. Visit the Expat Journey Program to learn more and take the first step towards a smoother transition abroad.

Moving abroad can be an exciting yet challenging experience. Today, I want to share three common mistakes people often make when preparing for a move abroad, so you can avoid them and ensure a smoother relocation. These insights come from my own experiences and those of my clients, and my own research. Let’s dive into these mistakes and how to steer clear of them for a successful move.

When preparing to move abroad, many people focus so much on reaching their new destination that they neglect to properly say goodbye to their current one. Creating closure is essential for a positive transition. It’s important to acknowledge that this is the end of a chapter in your life and to say your goodbyes in a meaningful way.

Hosting a goodbye party, giving small gifts like handwritten cards, and visiting favorite places and enjoying beloved foods one last time can help create this sense of closure. By recognizing and celebrating your past, you’ll be better prepared to embrace your future in a new country.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when moving abroad is waiting until they arrive to start making friends. Building a social network in a new country takes time and effort, and it’s often not as natural as you might expect. To avoid feeling isolated, start connecting with people before you move.

Use technology to your advantage by joining online expat communities, participating in forums, and scheduling video calls. By establishing these connections in advance, you’ll have a support network ready when you arrive, making your transition smoother and more enjoyable.

While knowing why you want to move abroad is important, focusing too much on the reasons pushing you away from your current location can be counterproductive. Instead, shift your focus to what you want to achieve with the move. This change in perspective can make a significant difference in your experience.

Clearly define your goals and aspirations for your new life abroad. What do you want to accomplish? How do you envision your life changing? Recognize that different family members might have different goals, and that’s perfectly okay as long as everyone’s objectives are clear.

To recap, the three common mistakes to avoid when preparing for a move abroad are: not creating closure, waiting to make friends, and focusing too much on the ‘why’. By being mindful of these pitfalls, you can ensure a smoother transition and a more fulfilling experience in your new country.

If you’re looking for more resources and support for your move, consider joining the Expat Journey Program. This program offers comprehensive guidance and a supportive community to help you navigate every step of your relocation. 

Relocating to a new country is an exciting but challenging endeavor. The process can be overwhelming at various stages: before the move, during the transition, and after settling in. While this feeling of overwhelm is almost unavoidable due to the magnitude of such a life decision, there are effective ways to manage and reduce it. In this blog post, I’ll explore three practical tips to help you navigate the complexities of moving abroad with more ease and confidence.

First, let’s establish why overwhelm is not beneficial for you. Besides the obvious discomfort, being overwhelmed leads to anxiety and diminishes our cognitive abilities. Even if we have all the resources and information, we struggle to think straight, make decisions, and often second-guess ourselves. This can affect our relationships with ourselves and with others, both those moving with us and those staying behind. Clearly, managing overwhelm is crucial, especially since a move abroad is a significant investment emotionally, energetically, and financially. So, let’s dive into the three tips to help you manage and reduce this overwhelm.

Pay attention to how your body manifests anxiety and overwhelm before it becomes too intense. Everyone experiences this differently. Some might feel a knot in their stomach, others may feel the urge to go to the bathroom, start sweating, feel cold, or tense up in specific areas like the shoulders or lower back. Some might get headaches or have a dry mouth. By observing these early signs, you can take action to reduce the anxiety before it escalates. Simple actions like taking a break, practicing breathing exercises, going for a walk, or having some tea can make a significant difference. It doesn’t have to be complicated or involve a full-blown meditation session. The key is to know when to stop and address the symptoms early on.

Understand and articulate your objectives with the move, which I refer to as your “what for.” We often focus too much on why we want to move and not enough on what we are moving for. Having a crystal clear and well-established “what for” can guide you through the process. Write it down like a mission statement and keep it visible on post-its, your phone, or even as a symbolic image. This clarity helps you stay focused and motivated throughout the relocation process.

While we usually have to-do lists, they can be adding to our overwhelm because they don’t take into account what you might want to delegate or break down into smaller bites. That’s why I recommend creating a supercharged to-do list. This tool helps you organize and prioritize your tasks effectively. All you need is a pen and paper or a spreadsheet. This method allows you to focus on the benefits and get things done efficiently. I have a detailed video explaining the step-by-step process of creating a supercharged to-do list, which can be incredibly helpful in reducing the overwhelm associated with moving abroad.

By following these tips, you can significantly reduce or even eliminate the overwhelm of moving abroad. 

For more personalized support, check out my Expat Journey Program. This program offers a comprehensive approach to managing the challenges of moving to Europe or any other destination and adjusting to a new life in a different country. Visit the Expat Journey Program to learn more and take the first step towards a smoother transition abroad.

Moving abroad can be an exciting and enriching experience, but it can also be a complex and challenging process, especially when it comes to making important decisions and planning ahead. Cognitive biases, which are mental shortcuts and patterns of thinking that can distort our perceptions and judgments, can often play a role in our decision-making when preparing for a move abroad.

Here are some common cognitive biases to be aware of and tips for overcoming them:

This is the tendency to seek out information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore or dismiss information that contradicts them. When preparing to move abroad, it’s important to seek out diverse perspectives and consider all sides of an issue. Be open to feedback and be willing to challenge your assumptions and biases.

This is the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of positive outcomes and underestimate the likelihood of negative ones. When planning for a move abroad, it’s important to be realistic about the challenges you may face and have a contingency plan in place. This can help you stay grounded and avoid disappointment or setbacks.

This is the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information we receive when making a decision. When planning for a move abroad, it’s important to gather a wide range of information from multiple sources to avoid being overly influenced by one perspective or opinion.

This is the tendency to prefer familiar situations and resist change. When preparing for a move abroad, it’s important to recognize that change is inevitable and embrace it as an opportunity for growth and adventure. Focus on the positive aspects of the move and remind yourself of the reasons why you decided to take this step.

This is the tendency to rely on readily available information rather than seeking out more comprehensive or accurate data. When preparing for a move abroad, it’s important to do your research and gather information from a variety of sources to ensure that you have a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities you may encounter.

Overcoming cognitive biases can be challenging, but it’s an essential part of preparing for a move abroad. By being aware of these biases and taking steps to address them, you can make informed decisions and approach your move with greater clarity and confidence. Seek out diverse perspectives, challenge your assumptions, and stay open to new experiences and opportunities. With a positive mindset and a willingness to learn and adapt, you can make your move abroad a success.

If you are ready to prepare for your move abroad with purpose, the Master Your Move might be for you. Check out all the details and book your free enrollment call HERE.

PS: Ready to take your move abroad to the next level? Join the Expat Journey Program and replace guesswork with a framework and get everything done. 

As an intercultural psychologist, an expat coach and an expat myself, I want to dispel 3 popular myths about moving abroad and adjusting to the new culture. Moving beyond these myths will help you be truly successful in your new life.

The truth is that you really haven’t done this move before, because you aren’t the same person. We are constantly changing every day. Even if we never physically move we will still change because we all get older.

And since your previous experiences, most likely your financial or marital situation has changed. Maybe you were single then but now are married now or vice-versa. Maybe you had young kids the last time you moved, and now you’re an empty nester. 

You always want to be learning from our experiences, not only from the mistakes but also from your accomplishments. By examining what you’ve done before, you can better understand your current priorities, needs, and wants.

Ask yourself:

1. What went well last time abroad that I would like to do again?
2. What do I want to do differently this time?

Take everything into account, your past experiences, your requirements now, and what you might need in the future. Remember, be realistic. If you were student back then, what does this move look like now that you are a parent or have a corporate job? If you’re not going to be working, how will your needs be different? 

Learn from your past, but don’t be closed off by it. Being prejudiced or biased with expectations of how this move is going to go won’t help you successfully adjust. The key to your success is balancing experience with willingness.

I’m going to have a clean slate in a new country. I’m leaving everyone and everything behind that has caused me pain.

People may not really even realize that this is their mindset when they decided to move abroad. For many, these are unconscious thoughts. It’s tempting to want to believe that this move will solve your problems with difficult people and situations, but it won’t.

Believing this myth is a problem within itself. 

First of all, most of our life problems come from within not from outside circumstances. The causes of our troubles are not necessarily what has happened to us but rather how we react to people and events. Our task is about how we deal with challenges and whether we approach them in a positive or negative manner. 

Secondly, in order to make your move abroad really successful and smooth, it’s important to focus on what you want to accomplish not what you’re trying to avoid. Where we place our focus usually determines what happens in our lives.

If your focus is, “I don’t want to have these problems. I don’t want to live life this kind of life.” Well, most likely you’ll bring these unwanted things into your new reality. 

You can shift this mindset by saying, “I want to accomplish new things in this culture. I want a new reality.” 

A practical example of shifting a mindset are people fleeing from urban violence or unstable countries. If they relocate with the mindset of avoiding violence at all costs, they are likely to focus more on their insecurities, no matter how safe their new environment. They need to reframe their thinking to what they want, such as, “I want to live a calmer and safer life.” This is how they will attract new and positive experiences.

Yes, preparing the paperwork, finding an apartment and a school for your children are really important aspects for your move abroad. However, just as crucial is the emotional preparation. 

If you don’t emotionally prepare for this move, then you can finalize all paperwork, have a beautiful apartment and a wonderful school for your kids, and still not successfully adjust. 

You need to know why you are moving. You need to know what your motives are for this move abroad and what you want to achieve. This might take a little bit of soul searching, because your reasons on the surface might not match your deeper motives.

Soul searching is worth the effort, and you can do this by starting a journal, or creating audio recordings, or maybe you like to paint or draw. Finding an activity to express yourself in concrete ways will help you uncover your interior thoughts and feelings about your move.

For this exercise, think about not only why you’re moving but what you’re moving for:

What will this move accomplish?
How will the move benefit my life financially, socially, with my family, my health, in my career?
What are the benefits of moving?  
What will I be giving up with this move abroad?

It’s important to be conscious of what you’re giving up so you are better prepared to handle the stressful days or the low times while adjusting to your new life. This emotional preparation will set the tone for your cultural transition. 

And you don’t need to prepare for your move abroad without help. Let’s work together and create a logistics and emotional preparation plan for a more easy-breezy cultural transition. 

We all experience culture shock, but you don’t need to be alone. I offer small a small group course, Master Your Move. In this an intimate setting for likeminded pre-movers, there are online modules, group calls, a private social media support network, and individual coaching calls. To learn more about this group and other online courses, click here. 

PS: Ready to take your move abroad to the next level? Join the Expat Journey Program and replace guesswork with a framework and get everything done.