I have found the best way to learn a language is to set goals – but sometimes, especially when learning a language is somewhat of a hobby, it can be hard to set a goal and stick to it. Unlike making a quilt or a birthday card or a cake, language learning tends to go on forever and doesn’t have a natural ‘end’ or ‘completion. To maintain motivation, it can help to divide the task into smaller chunks. You could decide to complete a lesson in a learning kit each week, or listen to a podcast daily. However, particularly if you are a social person, it can really help to make language learning a social experience. Some people choose to go to classes for that purpose, but I have found them to be expensive and slow, so classes don’t really interest me. On the other hand… the idea of joining an international group of language learners in a timed challenge really inspired me!
The Add 1 Challenge was initially set up by Brian Kwong after he was inspired by Benny Lewis (from Fluent In 3 Months) to learn German in 3 months. Brian was community manager for the first 26 Add1Challenges, before handing it over to Fluent in 3 Months. I have followed Benny and the FI3M crowd for a while now, and so when I heard about the challenge, I was SO in!
So – I have been accepted, and am going to use the challenge to see if I can get my French to a solid A2 level in three months!
Keep an eye on the blog – I’ll let you know how I’m going, and share all my ups, downs, and tricks that I learn along the way
