Let’s start by laying out the benefits of setting intentions and how you can improve your Spanish (and your life even!) in doing so.

“Intention is one of the most powerful forces there is. What you mean when you do a thing will always determine the outcome.” ~ Brenna Yovanoff

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“La intención es una de las fuerzas más poderosas que existen. Lo que quieres (de lo que tienes la intención) cuando haces algo siempre determinará el resultado”. ~ Brenna Yovanoff

The reasons for using intention setting in Spanish are two-fold.

First, because setting intentions before starting the day, or your learning practice, for example, is a powerful tool used in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). When you’re setting intentions you’re creating within yourself a new and specific frame of mind that serves your purpose in that day or that learning practise time. You’ll be amazed at how many resolutions or goals you’ll successfully meet when you consciously base them on your intentions.

Having goals is necessary before you start learning any new skill, but it’s not enough. It’s important to set intentions every time before you start your Spanish practice. Why? Because it connects you with the reason you started in the first place, which in return activates your motivation for learning every time. Also, because it helps you to focus on how you want to feel during the practice which makes it present.

Second, because setting intentions, thinking of and writing a sentence every day before your Spanish practise is already PART OF the practice, as you will be using the complex (but hyper common) Spanish grammar structures in a meaningful way. You will be using the Subjunctive to express intention. And you will soon integrate what the Subjunctive is about. That is, talking about something that is not real (yet) but that lives in our heart. It’s a piece of information “filtered” through the subjectivity (emotion, desire, intention) filter.

Because the best way to internalize and integrate the Subjunctive is beyond understanding it intellectual, it passes through practising it in a MEANINGFUL way. Only when you sense/feel the Subjunctive, will you be able to make it part of your expression in Spanish.