Your Language-related New Year's Resolutions 2017

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2017 Resolution: To finish studying German.

Background: I started learning German in 2009, but had only spent 285 days on it between 2009 and 2016, which is 41 days per year The resolution was to finish off German in 2017, reaching B2 in output as well.

2017: End up I spent 16 days on German, even less than the previous average Part of that is because I want to use this workbook that I can only access in Hong Kong, so I'll wait. That's what I tell myself anyway.

In Hong Kong bookshops and libraries, you see a lot of hardcore grindwork stuff along the lines of 50,000 Must-Know Words for Beginners, or Fun and Easy Learning with 70,000 Grammar Drills whereas here in Sydney the shelves are mostly A1 books and then lots of audio programs. I work better with the former.

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2017 Resolution: To finish studying Italian.

Background: Similar, 233 days spent between 2011 and 2016 so only 47 days per year

2017: Worked hard in Dec and Jan and achieved B2. My skills in Italian had always been quite even so crossing the finishing line just meant wrapping things up rather than forcing a certain neglected skill.

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2017 Wish: To finish studying Swedish.

Background: Low priority but not hard so would be nice to reach B2. Just a wish and not a resolution.

2017: Spent 26 days on Swedish, improved but not B2 yet. I've long been happy with my level so it's hard to make myself do more. Same with German, actually.

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Overview

I enjoy learning languages and I'm happy to work hard, but I don't really need all these languages so I don't always have the motivation to work on all skills, all topics, all accents, etc. I thought setting NY's Resolutions would help but apparently not I don't maintain my languages so reaching a certain level means little because I'll lose it again anyway. Maybe I should start maintaining them? But why keep dating your ex's when there're 100s of new faces out there?

[DaveBee]

I'll finish my Assimil french course in the coming week. (Hurrah!) I'd like to get my french up to B2/C1 land. Something that feels fluent to me anyway.

From comments posted on this forum I've set myself a checkpoint of 30-35 books (10,000 ish pages), at which point I'm expecting my french to be superplusgood.

This is my first foreign language so if I'll probably want to validate the level to myself with a Delf/Dalf test. (The TCF one looks more expensive).

I hit my reading target, and my reading and listening french skills have improved, but my productive skills writing/speaking are NOWHERE, so I need to do something about that in the year ahead.

[gsbod]

Find more time to read real books (in any language) by spending less time aimlessly browsing the same three websites.

I was 50% successful. I read a lot more real books this year than I have done for a very long time. 30 in total, 18 English and 12 German. At the beginning of January this year I decided which books I was going to read this year and somehow I managed to finish the pile with one day to spare. Luckily I made, on the whole, good choices and there are a number of books I am really glad to have read - in particular a whole pile of history books, The Periodic Table by Primo Levi and The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. However, I mainly found time to do this by watching less TV and, dare I admit it, spending less time with the German textbooks - but I did read 12 German novels. Maybe my (non language learning) resolution for next year should be something about spending less time on the internet - sorry, that includes this forum.

Finish the SC in German and carry on towards my goal of 10,000 German pages (still no time limit on this).

I stopped counting things explicitly for the SC, but I've carried on keeping track of pages read in German. I am now three quarters of the way to 10,000 pages, my German is on the way to C1, and overall I am quite happy with that.