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