Let me check my schedule!

Buenos días maravillosos alumnos de español :)

You all know by now that being consistent when you’re learning a language is very important.  But did you know that the students who have a schedule make the most progress?  This is because working on their new language skills has become a habit for them.  They don’t simply work on it when the mood strikes or when they “have time” (that’s a joke – who has time for anything these days?), they have a set day and/or time that is set aside for this purpose specifically.

For example, my current schedule with Italian is to take a lesson every Friday, Saturday or Sunday morning at 10:30am (whatever day works best for me that week).  I schedule my following lesson immediately after I complete one, so I always know when it will be the following week.  Every day while I eat breakfast or after dinner/before I go to bed, I sit down and do 10-15 minutes worth of homework.  Every other day I listen to a podcast in Italian while I’m getting ready.  My Italian practice with Octavi is sporadic, but everything else is fairly set.

Now imagine what it’s like for someone who speaks 7 languages like Octavi!  He doesn’t need to practice 3 of them as he speaks them daily (English, Spanish, Catalan), but he does need to practice French, Italian, Japanese & Korean.  Here is his schedule:  An hour of  Korean conversation on Monday or Tuesday night and an hour of Japanese conversation on Thursday afternoon.  Every Wednesday morning he meets a Swiss friend for a 2 hour language exchange of French & Spanish.  Italian is the language he is having a difficult time with right now, as his friend’s schedule is not as open as his.  But he’s working on it (I’m learning Italian as fast as I can Octavi!, so that we can practice!).

The moral of the story:  Life is busy, but if you make working on your Spanish a part of your schedule, it will become a habit that will help you progress faster.  When would be a good time for you to practice your Spanish outside of class?

Besos,
Caro