Category Archives: Accountability

Posts about accountability on the language learning journey.

Resurrecting My Spanish While Maintaining Turkish

Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics Trilingual.   Trilingual is an idea that I aspire to but cannot currently claim. But I’d like to work on it. In 1996 I graduated from college after taking a year of German.  I wasn’t into the idea of learning German at the time needing it only in order to graduate and so I…

Don’t Quit

Accountability for Language Learners

Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics One of the key elements to any successful endeavor is perseverance.  Andrew over at How To Learn Spanish is fond of saying that language learners must practice “consistent persistence.” There are many factors that go into helping us persevere, to stick to it and complete the tasks which lead to the successful attainment of…

The Six Pillars of Successful Language Learning

Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics If you are new to The Everyday Language Learner, I want to welcome you.  Take a look around, enjoy today’s post and be sure to subscribe to get each weekly article, my monthly newsletter and to recieve my 8 Ideas for Maximizing Your Language Learning article.  (Subscribe Today) Today I took some time to reflect…

10 Essential Tools For Everyday Language Learners

Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics My son and daughter have learned to speak Turkish without ever thinking about the learning process and without ever consulting a dictionary, reviewing a flashcard or reading this blog. And while it hurts my pride to think that my five and seven year olds are not avid readers of  The Everyday Language Learner, their…

Bucket List Triage: Get Started or Get It Off The List

Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics The bucket list.  Everyone seems to have one these days.  It’s the popular thing to do and indeed a good exercise should you want to live an intentional life that is fulfilling, impactful and fun. Like my bucket list, most are a bit narcissistic, filled with quests that will make “me” happy and do…

6 Steps Every Language Learner Can Take To Start 2012 With A Bang

Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics How did language learning go for you in 2011? For me, I experienced mediocre results.  I know it sounds bad to say as the writer behind a blog about language learning, but it’s true.  I was busy.  I was distracted.  I had other important jobs that I was focused on.  At times I was…

What Man vs. Debt Can Teach Learners

Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics We have all faced it before. The sinking feeling that the new hobby, the new passion, the new goal we are excited about is falling on deaf ears.  The look in our spouse’s or a friend’s or a co-worker’s eyes tell it all.  It’s the glazed look of disinterest, of “could we get on…

2000 Turkish Words by 2012

Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics David Mansaray’s recent post about the power of project based learning coupled with my own post about Fartlek language learning have challenged me to think about what I can and need to do to continue to move forward as a Turkish speaker. While I write regularly about language learning, about sustaining motivation and about…

Someday

Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics I’ll start learning Spanish someday. That’s fine.  Don’t start until someday. Tomorrow though, stop by the Hispanic grocery store to get all the fixins for fish tacos. Make sure and look through the many varieties of peppers and ask someone which is the hottest.  You can always start learning Spanish later.  For now, just…

The Principle of the Path

Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics Looking ahead we are often deceived into thinking that life is a series of unrelated decisions, and somehow we will end up where we want to be simply by force of will or luck. Or as I’ve heard so many people say, “It’ll work out somehow.”  But if you can see a path in…

Creating a Target Language Bubble: Join Facebook

Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics Earlier this week I discussed briefly the challenge of avoiding the English bubble that many who move overseas find themselves stuck in.  It is in the end of course, a matter of choice and perhaps more to the point – lots of choices.  But bubbles, being what they are, surround what ever is inside…

Avoiding the English Bubble: Shut Down Facebook

Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics It is no secret that moving overseas by no means equals a life of immersion in the target language.  Finding or creating adequate exposure to the language can often be  a great challenge. The challenge has increased in the last few years as our addiction to all things social has kept us connected like…

The Unbreakable Chain of Language Learning

Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics I recently connected with Clarence Olivier after he put up a picture of his language learning calendar  (the one to the left) on Google+.  Clarence has been using the Jerry Seinfeld method for success, a method I encourage learners to begin to use in week three of The Ten Week Journey language learning program….

My Old Journals

Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics Today I was cleaning out a cabinet and came across a number of old notebooks. They were from my first year or so in Turkey and held both my lesson plans for each lesson I had with Mehmet as well as hundreds of practice sentences, daily journals, dialogues I had created and other learning…

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