I’m no busier than most of you, and far less busy than some.
But with a full-time teaching job, part-time self-employment, a house, a husband, a 120-pound dog, a novel in progress, and a bad procrastination problem – well, let’s just say that it’s not always easy to find the time that I need to work on improving my Spanish.
That said, there are a few simple ways to find more time to focus on learning a language.
See my review of Notes in Spanish .
Other ways to use a commute for language learning: audiobooks, target-language music or talk radio, audio courses (like Pimsleur, Michel Thomas or FSI).
I also try to multi-task in other ways: watching dubbed Buffy the Vampire Slayer while using the treadmill, singing along to Spanish music while cooking, narrating my actions in my head, picking up a book when I find myself waiting for a few minutes.
While this could easily be included in the multi-tasking section, I think that walking deserves its own section. Regardless of how busy a person might be, every single one of us should walk at least 30 minutes every day. Why, you ask? Check out this cool animated lecture:
I’ve walked twice daily – rain, shine, wind, snow, air so cold that it hurts to breathe – for the past nine years.
For the past few months, I’ve been listening and responding to while walking. FSI Basic Spanish is a public domain (ie. free) course from the early 60s, aimed at Foreign Service workers. It includes a variety of dialogues and drills aimed at building automaticity in Spanish. Granted, the course is dated and sexist at times. But I definitely feel that my automaticity is improving, particularly with regards to verb tenses. And since I was already walking, this has turned into “free” Spanish.
Other ways to practice a language while walking: audiobooks, target-language music or talk radio, audio courses, podcasts
It’s much easier to break promises to myself than it is to break promises to other people. Knowing that I have a session scheduled with a tutor or a language exchange partner guarantees that I’ll practice speaking every single week – even if my other plans for Spanish fall off the rails.
There are lots of ways to make language learning a social activity:
However you decide to track your learning – counting minutes, working your way through a course, keeping a running list of language activities – I think that keeping track naturally leads to doing more.
I like to track my learning using four categories: speaking, listening, reading, writing. If at the end of a week, I notice that I’ve done lots of one thing and not enough of something else, I’m much more likely to aim for balance. Since I started learning Spanish in May, I’ve used a variety of different tracking methods. The weeks during which I did very little were also the weeks where I stopped tracking.
I don’t have a ton of down time at work. But I do sometimes find myself waiting at the doctor’s office or sitting in the car while someone runs into the grocery store. Rather than doing nothing, I use this time for very brief Spanish work. I might review some words in the notebook that I carry around with me, read a few pages from the book that’s always in my bag, or – most likely – do some spaced repetition flashcards on anki, using my phone.
The many language-learning apps available on Android or iPhones are perfect for any down time throughout the day. In addition to SRS tools like , and offer fun gamified learning tools.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. If you’re like me, then you probably won’t do it if it isn’t fun. Reading books, watching TV shows and talking to people on Skype are all fun for me. You might prefer cooking shows, movies, video games, grammar study or music.
Just do fun stuff, do more of it, and keep on learning!