This week I finished reading Cien Años de Soledad. Normally, I reserve mentioning that sort of thing until the weekly numbers and recap section of this blog, but in the case of this book, it proved to be an especially heavy challenge. Not in a difficulty of reading sense, though it was a pretty tough, … Continue reading Reading Books You Don’t Enjoy
So here we are in 2020. After spending the last month or so reflecting on stuff that’s happened up to this point, it’s now a new year, which comes with new things to look forward to. Last year had its ups and downs, but trended toward positive for me, and I hope that continues onward. … Continue reading Yearly Themes for 2020
While I have occasionally had unrealistic fantasies over learning Spanish to my goal super-fast, I have mostly viewed this project as a long-haul endeavor. Nobody learns a language overnight, and every expert out there warns about how necessary it is to put in the time and effort in order to see results. I didn’t start … Continue reading Understanding the Intermediate Plateau
Merry Christmas! Here we are, smack dab in the middle of the holidays with the year fast approaching its end. I’ve been in an introspective mood for a lot of the more recent blogs, and that’s coming to a head as the decade winds itself down. It’s been a long and strange year for me, … Continue reading A Bit of Festive Cheer
(This blog is the English translation of this week’s primary blog, which was originally written in Spanish.) A popular topic for language learning tips online is how to make sure that you enjoy it. Sometimes spending hours and hours each day learning can be difficult, maybe boring, and many people give up before they finish … Continue reading Continuing to Learn When You Don’t Feel Like it
(This blog entry is written in Spanish. There will be an English translation available tomorrow morning / Esta entrada está escrita en español. Habrá una traducción de inglés disponible mañana por la mañana.) Un tema popular de consejos para el aprendizaje de idiomas en línea es cómo asegurarse a disfrutarlo. A veces, pasar horas y … Continue reading Seguir Aprendiendo Cuando no se Tiene Ganas
I’ve been spending a lot of time this week feeling introspective about this project. That sentence might seem like it’s lacking some self-awareness, as this blog is basically one long object-lesson in the concept of introspection, but I mean I’m feeling that way moreso than the usual. I finished La Corona del Pastor this week, … Continue reading Old Endings and New Beginnings
As November wrapped up, this blog hit 18 months old and my language journey learning Spanish turned two. A lot has happened in that time and I’m proud of myself for sticking to this project and for making as much progress as I have. There are lots of times when I feel like I’m walking … Continue reading A Look Back on 18 Months of Language Learning Progress
I think it’s pretty undeniable that the internet has made language learning a lot more accessible than it used to be. The number of available resources has skyrocketed and multiplied, attacking the challenge from multiple angles. Go back twenty years or so and you were stuck with text books and cassette tapes of conversation examples, … Continue reading Resources for Language Learning on the Internet
(This blog is the English translation of this week’s primary blog, which was originally written in Spanish.) Finding time to learn something while working isn’t easy. This week I started a new job and I had to change how I study. I have less free time, so it was necessary to reduce the amount of … Continue reading Learning a Language with a Job
Fumbling Toward Fluent 