I've got two main things going on this year: the languages I'm studying in-depth (listed in the log title above) and a project I've set up for myself to learn the basics of 20 endangered languages in 2020. It's an ambitious one, of course, but as last year was the International Year of Indigenous Languages, I want to keep some momentum going and investigate new languages.
My Main Study Languages
German
Goal: C2
I need to work on my active skills, so I've joined the Output Challenge and, since I'm now living in London, attending meetups should be a bit easier. I'd also like to get into the habit of reading regularly because I do see a lot of progress from that; I just can sometimes be lazy about it.
Smaller Goals:
- Read 12 novels.
- Write 50,000 words.
- Attend one language exchange per month.
- Record 50 hours of speech.
Mandarin
Goal: HSK 6
This one's a bit of a stretch goal but I'd like to reach it—and I plan to sit the exam, too, either at the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021. I also want to keep going with the habit of studying Mandarin every day that I built up last year. Plus, reading: I'm bad at it, so it's time to get better.
Smaller goals:
- Work through NPCR 4-6.
- Practise reading.
- Attend one language exchange per month.
- Complete half of the 2020/2021 SC by the end of 2020.
Spanish
Goal: B2
I'm going to Spain in May and I'd like to feel conversational by then. Plus, setting a goal might make me put more effort in here, which is what I need to do.
Smaller goals:
- Complete Living Language Ultimate Spanish.
- Read two novels.
Goal: TOPIK I Level 2 / TOPIK II Level 3 (~A2/B1)
Once I get into Korean, I really enjoy speaking it and learning it, but I need to carve out the time to sit down and study at the moment. I think the TOPIK Level 2 is at least achievable, provided I put the work in!
Smaller goals:
- Complete Living Language Korean.
- Complete Assimil or Pimsleur Korean.
Scottish Gaelic
Goal: A2
My new main language for this year! I'm excited to get into this, especially as it seems like there are a fair few resources out there. It doesn't look as though Scottish Gaelic is mapped to CEFR, but the National 5 exam appears to be around an A2 equivalent, so I can try out a past paper at the end of the year to see how I'm doing.
Smaller goals:
- Complete Teach Yourself Scottish Gaelic.
- Complete the Scottish Gaelic Duolingo tree.
20 Endangered Languages in 2020
Just a list. I'll be working on each one for eighteen days before I begin the next, which gives me a finish date of Christmas Day (25/12). My chosen language for the 366-day language challenge is 'generic;' so, the studying I do for these languages, mostly!
- Scottish Gaelic
- Ainu
- Guernésiais
- Nahuatl
- Welsh
- Māori
- BSL
- Cornish
- Ojibwe
- Basque
- DGS
- Navajo
- Irish
- Tuvan
- ASL
- Manx
- Frisian
- Romanes
- Manchu
- Breton
I'm also going to try and update this log more regularly this year to reflect my progress on the 366-day challenge. It might not be daily, but hopefully a lot more frequently than last year!
Happy 2020, everyone!
I also had a couple of comments on an Instagram post in Gàidhlig so I even got a bit of practice writing out some of the new phrases I've learnt.
Still, if anyone has any recs, feel free to send them my way—I prefer podcasts when I'm running so that I don't pay attention to how much time's passed.
