Autumn is in full swing and we have just about one quarter left (!!!) of 2018. Why not make use of it and squeeze all I can out of these next three-ish months?

I know setting some manageable goals for myself will both motivate me and help me better notice my progress. (Because ambiguous goals like “learn Icelandic” and “practice every day” haven’t been working well for me lately.)

Lindsay Does Languages has this to say about measuring progress: “The first flush of a new language is fun and joyful and lovely. But then things start to get harder, the ‘slope’ of achievement gets steeper, and complete lack of motivation seems to become our closest friend. Sucks! Do you want to know one thing that really helps to stop this? Measuring your progress. Documenting your learning has a huge impact on motivation, improvements, and overall success.” <– This! This! This!

In the remaining quarter we have left in 2018, I hope to complete the following:

• October 2018
  • Be able to recite the Icelandic alphabet from memory. 🙂 I have most of it down, but I still forget the pronunciation and order of some letters.
  • Complete all of Pimsleur’s Icelandic Level 1. (There are 30 lessons, and I’ve completed 20+ of them.)
  • Complete Chapters 6-7 in my “Learning Icelandic” workbook.
  • Complete Mango Language’s Icelandic Unit 2. (I’ve only completed Unit 1; I stopped using the app once I started Pimsleur lessons.)
  • Complete the “Food & Drinks,” “Nature & Animals,” “People & Health,” and “Travel & Health” vocab categories in the Drops Icelandic app.
• November 2018
  • Complete Mango Language’s Icelandic Unit 3.
  • Complete Chapters 8-11 in my “Learning Icelandic” workbook.
  • Complete the “Home & Garden,” “City & Shops,” “Business & Tech,” and “Society & Politics” vocab categories in the Drops Icelandic app.
  • Complete Icelandic Online 1 through the University of Iceland.
• December 2018
  • Complete Mango Language’s Icelandic Unit 4.
  • Complete Chapters 12-15 in my “Learning Icelandic” workbook.
  • Complete the “Fashion & Clothing,” “Fun & Recreation,” “Science & Wisdom,” and “Sports & Fitness” vocab categories in the Drops Icelandic app.
  • Complete Icelandic Online 2 through the University of Iceland.

I work full-time and I’m teaching an evening college course this semester, but these milestones do feel manageable for me now that I’ve written them out. And I’m familiar with all of above resources already, so I won’t have to figure out how to use a new Icelandic program/app.

I do have other Icelandic books and apps (too many, perhaps!), but I’ll tackle those in 2019. I think it will help me to stay focused on just a few of my Icelandic resources rather than keep switching back and forth between them all.

And I surely do have more specific goals (like sorting out noun declensions and other grammar difficulties), but I know that will come with practice. For now, I’ll focus on what I can control, like the above tasks. Wish me luck!

Bless í bili,

Sarah