Who else has been taking part in the six week language challenge? Surprisingly, there were only 39 sign-ups this round (it’s usually at least a bit higher, I think) and 34 of us have logged some time, ranging (at present) from 55 minutes to 57 and a half hours (!) spent on their target language alone.
I’ve spent just under eight hours on Slovak so far this challenge, which is not too bad, all things considered.
I’ve gone through the first two lessons of Colloquial Slovak (though I need to revise some of the vocabulary) and I’m feeling pretty good about it. I’m trying to learn some of the grammar but I’m not too interested in intensively studying it at this stage – I do like the Colloquial series, but they throw a lot at you all at once, so it can be a struggle to take it in. What’s important right now is that I understand most of the information and that I can produce information about myself.
I had hoped to write weekly updates during this challenge, but honestly there haven’t been so many breakthroughs (I’ve literally been working with the book and with memrise) and I’ve been pretty busy.
See, this is my last month in Austria, so I’ve been busy with classes (most of which are over) and saying goodbye to my colleagues. My weekends have been mostly free, but I’ve been trying to fill them with the things I’ve wanted to do but not got around to yet (plus I’ve seen friends too, because we’re all leaving) – and the week before last I got another job teaching English online, so I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to make sure that I’m doing a good job.
However, I go home in a little less than two weeks and I’m hoping to then spend a lot more time on this blog, as I have many more ideas for it. Plus, I like interacting with the language-learning community all over the web and I feel like I’ve been neglecting it of late. (Maybe not yesterday. We had a fun Eurovision party over on twitter, hosted by the wonderful Lindsay – it was so great!)
So let me know what you’re up to, languages-wise. Working hard? Taking a much-needed break? Also, if anyone has any suggestions for a German book I should read from June and blog about (much like I did with Divergent – Die Bestimmung in March/April), then please let me know. I am open to anything!