Language Challenge 2015

If there are two things my friends tend to know about me, it's that I love both languages and game plans. As everything had been rather topsy-turvy since I graduated from college, one of the most important thing I could do was create an action plan. A language challenge for 2015.

You might be thinking, “But the year’s already half over!” And that’s true. To be honest, my regular language studies resumed in May, while I slowly inched out of academia into the rest of the world. Since then I have designed a set of goals dotting this year's timeline, with a focus on German.

From my time learning about self-study, deciding on specific goals that lead up to a core objective, and assigning each goal to a place and time frame is vital to actually getting things done. When I've assigned my current goal of German grammar review for the month of May, I also picked a time I would begin and end (12pm-2pm), and the place (my desk space). All of my books and materials are an arm length's distance away, so I don't have to search for anything.

Although I try not to over-plan, time management is a key to getting everything done. What needs to be done, however, is another matter.

More reading material...auf Deutsch!

As many of you know, I took courses in German, Russian and Arabic in college. Taking more than one language can result in going slower in all of them. Now that I'm free from the classroom, and I return to self-study, I've made some adjustments, which correspond to my goals.

First, the main objective:

Pass a Goethe-Institute C2 level exam by early January 2016.

This gives me the rest of the year to work on an intensive, self-designed German program. I guesstimated my level to be about B1.5-B2, but I want to work in translation, and one more way to push my German level is to reach for a high level of fluency.  Like most language learners I've met, my biggest problems are speaking and writing, which no doubt brings my level to the B1 level. 

So this is my current plan:

From May to July I'll be working on perfecting my understanding of grammar, by using Essential German Grammar and a Dictionary of German Synonyms. And so I have been working on a massive review, from fundamental adjective endings to subjunctive mood and complex sentences. I intend to work on broadening my conjunctions and recalling verb forms more naturally. But vocabulary won't be completely left out! I'm using German Pod 101 lessons and Memrise to fill in this gap. Of course, I hope to be reinforcing the new vocabulary and grammar with writing exercises and finding speaking partners.

After July, I'll start moving into simply reading books and watching short films online, and work on summarizing them, taking practice questions. I've also recently signed up for a German-language history forum, where I hope to be able to practice and learn a few new things.

Now, what does this mean for my other languages - Russian and Arabic?

Thankfully, nothing bad!

I intend to work on each language for about 15-30 minutes a day. I can work slowly, filling in gaps, reviewing old vocabulary, writing, maybe attempting short conversations. The purpose of this is to place greater emphasis on German, so that I can achieve my goal by the end of the year.

Once I have my C2 certificate, I'll start working on my other languages in more detail. But until then, I'll keep them working on them little by little. Whether I decide to pursue a similar level in Russian or Arabic, I haven't decided, although I do know I want to be conversationally fluent and I want to be able to read literature and the news well. 

In any case, that's the plan for now! Feel free to ask any questions, or list your own challenge in the comments below!