My Holiday Plans: 40 Hours of Language Study

But the real goal is to enjoy the process

My holidays have begun and my idea of rest is to challenge myself to 40 hours of language study over the next 7 days!

I felt that doing a challenge to encourage myself to do more language learning would help me get back into a consistent language-learning routine. I’ve done the 40-hour, 7-day language challenge (40d7hlc) several times before and have been successful. I’ve done it while working and also during breaks from work. This time around I’m not travelling for the holidays like I did last year so I’ve got plenty of time to study.

Usually, I start challenges on Mondays since I consider it the start of a new week. However, I was so energized to be on holiday that I decided to start my challenge on Saturday instead.

This time around, while it’d be nice to "complete" the challenge, my main goal is to choose to spend time with my languages and enjoy the process.

I’m tracking my activities using the Toggl app. They have a new goal feature that allows you to set time goals. I decided to set a goal of 5 hours of study each day since it’s a good way to stay consistent throughout the 7 days.

If you'd like to see how I track my activities for language challenges like this one, check out one of my previous recaps:

📝 40 Hours of Language Study in 1 Week

And if you want to know how I visualize my tracked study time using spreadsheets, check out this post: x

📊 How I Visualize My Tracked Study Time With Spreadsheets

• Spreadsheet templates

⏳Day 1 to 3

Day 1 went well! I hit the 5-hour goal with relative ease. I had a conversation lesson booked for Saturday, which gave me the perfect head start. Before the lesson, I worked through my French Tutor textbook. For the rest of the day, I alternated between gaming, watching YouTube, and listening to podcasts.

Day 2 didn’t go as well since I was out and about handling life stuff. Knowing I'd be busy, I spent the morning gaming and then watched a show as I got ready for the day. When I finally returned home, I decided sleep was more important than hitting the 5-hour mark. I did some exercises in a short story French book and then headed to bed.

Though Day 3 isn’t over yet, I’ve already surpassed the 5-hour goal, reaching 6 hours! Prioritizing sleep over study proved to be a good choice because I woke up refreshed, at 6 am. It was nice not to have to rush to be out the door by 7 for work. I listened to podcasts and audiobooks while starting my morning, then read a book while out doing last-minute Christmas shopping. Later, while wrapping presents, I had a French film playing in the background.

Break down of tracked study activities for French

Looking at the pie chart, it’s clear that gaming takes up almost half of my tracked activities in French. The game I’ve been playing is Dragon Age: Inquisition in French, which is great because it includes French audio. I’m able to practice both listening and reading.

So far since starting the challenge, I’ve learned the following words:

1. guet [gɛ] - watch/lookout 👀

   1. tour de guet [tuʁ də gɛ] - watchtower 🏰

2. bijou [biʒu] - jewel/jewellery 💍

3. manigance [maniɡɑ̃s] - scheme/plot 😈

4. maussade [mosad] - bad-tempered/gloomy 😒

5. acquiescer [akjese] - to agree ✅

6. manguier¹[mɑ̃ɡje] - mango tree 🌳🥭

📈 Progress

1. French: 12h 50m

2. Japanese: 13m

Total: 13h 4m

The challenge ends on Friday, and I’m curious to see if I’ll be able to keep it up when Christmas comes around. Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season!

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What are your holiday plans? Do they include any language learning?

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1. I love how trees in French reflect their type. For example, apple trees are pommiers, and orange trees are orangers.