I remember Steven mentioning in one of his videos how he would like to hear about someones success in their 90 day challenge so I thought I would give some thoughts on it. I have seen all of Steves video’s in the challenge so far and look forward to seeing them as I find them encouraging. I can now positively assure those in the challenge that the key really is your activity score, as simplistic as that sounds.
It is exciting to me as I keep putting in the time that I can actually understand stuff which was foggy at the beginning of the challenge, like who is she, I know it’s supposed to be a simple story but it was confusing to me as I didn’t know enough words. Some times as I’m listening to the material it’s almost like I’m listening to it in English, maybe German and English are more alike that I once realized.
After the 90 day challenge I hope there is some sort of other “challenge” like a 12 week challenge or something like that. I feel pretty confident in telling those who want to learn a language to try lingq but IMO one of the most important things to do Is have a very healthy apple and fulfill your target bars. I should probably start speaking soon as that bar is empty and plan on finding a tutor on here by the 45 day mark. Just my thoughts.
I have not been actually being doing a lot of lingqing this year as I was working through another spanish book I did decide to step up my language learning at the beginning of the year when steve mentioned the challenge, basically I do an hour and a half a day.
I am finding I have learned an awful lot, recognize lots of new words but also realize how slow language learning is and I think there is a maximum you can take in a day, the last few weeks I am still enjoying my progress but feel like I need a break from the ‘intense’ study, nonetheless, I was only saying to myself the other day that it’s only February and if I kept this pace up I would be very far in the language in another few months and the end of the year!
I like checking in each night to see what new videos steve has up also and would like to see more of the scenic videos
Steve’s videos are inspirational. Please keep them coming. When this challenge started I took it as an opportunity to form better language learning habits. Before the challenge I would gorge myself on a language for weeks then take huge breaks for weeks or even months. I progressed, however, very slowly. I could read very simple passages understanding maybe half of what I read. Everything else which included listening, writing and talking were at a minimum. When someone spoke to me in Italian I could barely understand them even when it was something as simple as “Where do you live?”.
The only time I wrote was to answer questions in a homework assignment and it took hours to write just a couple of sentences, with mistakes mind you. That said I’d have to say that the worse was when it came time to talk. When I’d talk in Italian I would stammer, the words would just come out wrong and my mind would go blank or reach for German words (my other language). I was starting to feel like I’d never be able to communicate in Italian. I didn’t want to give up because I love studying languages and had invested so much time and effort in to trying to learn this beautiful language but it was starting to get to me. I decided at the beginning of the year to come back to LingQ. I had been on it before but stopped using it when I started taking formal classes.
Returning to LingQ is one of the most pleasurable decisions I’ve made this year. Since the start of the 90 Day Challenge my Italian has improved by leaps and bounds. I have thus far managed to meet my daily goals, not an easy task but I’ve met them. I read, write and listen everyday now. Plus I’ve started 1 on 1 tutor sessions so that I can get my speaking in. I for one am quite astonished to be able to be in a conversation with a native speaker and to understand and be understood. It bogles my mind how this came to be because I honestly was having great difficulty speaking and listening prior to the challenge. My vocabulary has improved so much that I am now also able to read short stories on all sorts of topics and am writing and speaking with more confidence. I’ve also discovered some really great Italian music which makes the whole process more fun when one tires of flashcards, reading and dictation.
Overall, this challenge has thus far been fantastic! Hoping to keep up the pace to the bitter end:)
I’m also really enjoying the daily video updates. It’d be cool to see the challenge feature become something regular at LingQ. People could commit to challenges of particular lengths, and perhaps even particular intensities.
I’m not participating in the 90-day challenge because the timing didn’t work for me - I was in the midst of moving back to Japan - but it’s a concept I like and would want to try in the future.
What I like most about the challenge is that it seems to be a major boost of motivation for so many people. I have not taken part in the challenge myself but I am sure that sticking to a specific study rhythm over a period of three months is a great way to either start building a sound basis in a language or to get you back on track in case you had somewhat slackened your study efforts before.
ad huggie_spice: very inspirational story. Thanks.
So great to hear that guys! I hope to bring myself from Beginner 1 to Beginner 2 in my French today and then move forward Thanks for sharing your great stories and opinions.
I have been trying to use the challenge as a way to get started with Russian. I did some Russian last year, but could never keep the motivation up for long periods of time. Since the beginning of the challenge, around 5 weeks ago, I have averaged over an hour a day of listening, and read over 22,000 words in Russian, according to my LingQ statistics. I have also been going through Assimil and doing around 10 minutes a day memorising vocabulary with Anki. This is not even close to what I was doing when I started German 18 months ago, but is still an effective work rate. I notice big improvements in my Russian comprehension.
@ nate81
"After the 90 day challenge I hope there is some sort of other “challenge” like a 12 week challenge or something like that. "
I think it would be a good idea to make this some sort of yearly thing. It shouldn’t happen too often, because then there will be nothing interesting about it. I am hatching plans for my own 6-month German challenge after the 90-day challenge which might end in me trying a C1 German exam.
Not all challenges have to come from Papa Bear at One Kaufmann Plaza in Vancouver. Members can propose challenges, too. Further, not all challenges have to be 91-Day Challenges. They can last one month, 6 weeks, 6 months, a year. They don’t have to start on Jan. 1. The goals don’t have to be LingQ daily goals. They can concentrate on one or more but not all of those goals. Write a hundred words a day for a month. Record a 10-minute video in your T2 (maybe a Skype conversation) once a week for three months. They can be other goals. Read 20 pages a day for 4 months, for example. LingQ does not have to track your goals. Members participating in the challenge can track them. Etc.
LOL @ " Not all challenges have to come from Papa Bear at One Kaufmann Plaza in Vancouver. Members can propose challenges, too."
I agree, of course goals should be personal, and suited to the learner. I just happen to like the target suggestions, it gave me something to strive for. Steve himself doesn’t go by all the target goals, as he mentioned he doesn’t plan on writing much. He also says speak when your ready, when ever that is and don’t feel rushed. My goals are to be active in all the target goal areas. Like you mentioned make your own goals but more importantly stick to them and be consist, which IMO is the key to making good progress.
@don, I made a goal today of making 1000 lingq’s as I have a lot of free time today. I managed to double that and get 2033. BTW I noticed I was at the top of the list in the activity score and to my chagrin there was no gold wreath…
They have decided that instead of a little toy, they are going to replace your avatar’s head with a picture of Steve’s head. They just have not decided if this will be a reward for completing the challenge, or a punishment for not completing it.
Thanks for sharing your great stories and opinions.