Regardless of how busy you want to believe you are, you can always make more time for the activities you want to give more attention to. That rule is especially true when it comes to your language learning.
Here are some ways you can squeeze more of it into your day.
- Turn dead time into language learning time. The 10-minute wait at the doctor’s office, the 20-minute bus ride to work and the extra 15 minutes you have after lunch can all be put into your language learning. A quick review of your notes or committing a new word to memory could be a good use of that time.
- Read your news in the target language. Obviously, it’s probably not a good idea for local news. For world events, though, foreign language papers should be just as useful as your regular daily. Same with news for other things you like to keep up with, such as gadgets and sports.
- Try thinking in the target language. It will feel very unnatural, but spend some time throughout the day forming your thoughts in the target language. Thinking can be just like speaking practice, only with your mouth closed.
- Add an extra five minutes in your regular sessions for practice or review. If you’re taking your language program lessons seriously, then you’re probably doing it at a regular schedule. Whatever that schedule is, add an extra five minutes to it. In that time, squeeze in an extra word for your vocabulary or practice phrases you’ve learned.
- Write your personal notes and reminders in the target language. Making a grocery list? Writing yourself a reminder? Penciling in a date in your calendar? Write them in the target language. It’s good writing and reading practice.