This #ClearTheList post is always a little different to the regular ones. I not only look back at December and look forward to January, but also look back at 2018 for language learning and forward to 2019. Here’s my language learning goals for 2019.

Language Learning Review for December

I had one goal: to finish Arabic Script Hacking. And I did it!

The book is a lot of fun, and a really great introduction to the Arabic script. If you’re new to learning Arabic or just curious about writing systems around the world like me, then it’s definitely worth checking out.

Language Learning Review of 2018

On the road

It’s been quite a year! On the one hand, I got to meet Galapagos tortoises, cook with banana flowers in Laos, spend an evening in a living room class in Malaysia, and so much more.

On the other hand, I had no idea what 2018 would hold for my language learning. We kicked off the year in Monteverde, Costa Rica, almost half way through our trip making season 1 and 2 of Language Stories.

Working on the road so much meant that I didn’t set myself any language goals at the start of the year. We knew we’d be home in the summer, but it was so far off and felt like a different year in itself.

I did get the chance to learn a few key words in Vietnamese, Lao, and Khmer though. I also got the chance to try out my odd selection of Burmese phrases; experience Japanese, Chinese, and Malay in real life again; and speak Spanish most days for a good few months.

Oh, and I spoke Guarani in real life with real people.

Oddly enough, the first time was at a Japanese restaurant in an Asunción mall on the day we arrived. The waiter seemed very impressed by my “hello”, “thank you” and “it was delicious”!

Back home

When we did get home, after a little time settling back in, I kicked off a new routine that I’d thought of when we were in Asia. I do 20 minutes Guarani, 20 minutes Korean, and then 20 minutes “other” each morning Monday-Friday.

My “other” languages are French, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Esperanto, and Indonesian. It works well.

I decided to record myself speaking all of these languages completely on a whim a few weeks ago when I had the camera set up to film a couple of YouTube videos.

The purpose of this isn’t to show off, like “Ohh, look at me speaking all these languages! Aren’t I great!”.

Instead, it’s to show the process, the middle, the imperfection of language learning. If you’re feeling brave, I’d encourage you to do the same. We need more of the process out there and not just the end result.

Language Learning Goals for 2019

Much like at the start of last year, I didn’t really know what the year ahead would hold for me and was unsure what I wanted to do in terms of language learning too.

However, a week or so before writing this post, I spotted a comment from Dave Prine (who also featured in season 1 of Language Stories!) and he mentioned that 2019 is the International Year of Indigenous Languages.

This has helped to give me some direction, and I’m excited that I now know what I want to do with my 2019 for language learning.

In 2019, I’m going to spend a couple of months learning various indigenous languages from across the globe.

I figured an easy way to plan this would be too focus on picking a language from each continent. I’ll still be learning Guarani all year, so that’s South America covered.

That leaves North America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

I know for that last one some consider the continent to be Australia, others Australasia, others Oceania. However, I’m leaving the term as wide as possible as I’m not yet sure which language will take my fancy. (Also, I’m excluding Antarctica for obvious reasons!)

Here’s my rough plan so far…

February to March

– Asia

April to May

– Welsh (Europe)

June to August

– North America

September to October

– Africa

November to December

– Oceania/Australia/Australasia

I’m still deciding on which languages I want to look at from June, so having the continents there to help me narrow things down is helpful for now.

And just in case you’re wondering, an indigenous language is defined as a language native to a place and spoken by people who have lived in that place “since time immemorial”. You can learn more here on the official International Year of Indigenous Languages website.

Language Learning Goals for January 2019

January looks a little different, but feeds into my plans for February and March with Kristang nicely.

Boost my Portuguese with 10 online lessons from Lusa Language School

In January, I’m being sponsored by Lusa Language School and will learn Portuguese with them via 10 online lessons.

I couldn’t make it out to their ‘real life’ school in Portugal, but we’re keen to work together to show that you don’t always have to go to a place to learn a language.

Keep up with my 20/20/20 Routine

I’ll be keeping my regular routine of 20 minutes Guarani, 20 minutes Korean and 20 minutes ‘other’ and then doing 10 additional hours of Portuguese with a tutor from Lusa Language School.

Look out for my #ClearTheList post at the end of January to find out how it goes, and in February I’ll be sharing more on the blog about my experience too.

Your free #NewYearNewLang 5 Day Challenge for 2019

If you want to kick off 2019 right and make it the last year you set “learn a language” as a resolution, then you need to join my free 5 day challenge, #NewYearNewLang.

It all kicks off January 1st 2019 and you’ll get 5 daily emails from me, each focusing on a particular key element of successful language learning, with a workbook to accompany the challenge.

Ready to join in? Click below to sign up for free now.

Join Clear The List + Share Your Goals!

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What are your biggest language learning successes of 2018? What are you language learning goals for 2019? Share in the comments below.