As I mentioned a while back, when I visited Sweden in 2023, my cousin (my mom’s second cousin’s son, so my third cousin?) asked me, “What’s your Swedish plan?” As in, did I plan to continue studying Swedish? If so, why?
Cue me freezing, because I didn’t have a “Swedish plan.” I mumbled something about “possibly living in Sweden at some point,” which got me a talk about how it’s impossible to find an apartment in Stockholm. And that was that.
But the question followed me back home to the US. Why was I learning Swedish? Beyond wanting to improve, what was my goal?
Yesterday, I picked up The Inquiring Mind by Cyril O. Houle from my gym’s little free library. It’s a short collection of talks about “adults who continue to learn” and their motivations. The author grouped them into three categories: those who learn to reach a goal, those who learn for the associated benefits (such as taking a class in order to have a social group–the subject may not matter so much), and those who learn for the pleasure of learning. I overlap somewhat with the second group, but I’m squarely in the middle of the third.
It was a relief to know that I’m not the only one who doesn’t necessarily have a goal or plan for their learning. At the same time, it makes me wonder about the source of this motivation. Maybe it’s a result of the long-delayed gratification of being in school. If your long-term goal is “to get into a good college,” you’ve got to find some way to make all that time studying bearable. For me, solving complicated math problems and translating sentences were like solving puzzles. Once you finish one, on to the next! There is no real “goal” to reach. Each puzzle is a reward in itself.
But what about people who do have a particular motivation for their learning? I was struck recently by an episode of Lätt svenska med Oskar in which the host discussed the statistics of people listening to his podcast. I assumed (because I am in this group) that the largest group of his listeners would be from countries without daily exposure to Swedish. However, he said that 41% of the people listening were living in Sweden. Similarly, the language the most people in the US are studying on Duolingo is English (according to Duolingo’s 2025 report). Needing a particular skill for day-to-day life can be highly motivating.
At the moment, being a language nerd is motivation enough for me. I’m enjoying learning about Swedish grammar from Peter SFI’s YouTube channel. SFI is “svenska för invandrare,” or “Swedish for immigrants.” Because immigrants have a range of native languages, all of the lessons are in Swedish. It tickles me to be learning in another language about grammar, especially since much of what I’ve learned about grammar I’ve learned from studying other languages.
I suppose I do have another motivation–maybe even a plan: applying to a program that would let me try out the idea of living in Sweden for a few weeks while learning more about Swedish language and culture. For now, I’m cramming my brain full of Swedish to make the most of my time there. I’m also trying to learn to be less judgmental about my own mistakes as I’m speaking, so I can avoid freezing like I did on and off the last time I visited. (The Dr Languages YouTube channel has a lovely video about this: Why your brain freezes mid-sentence in a foreign language (and how to fix it fast).)
In summary? Indulge your desire to learn. You never know where it will lead you.
Numberless Dreams 