It’s been a while! I meant to write more often, but life—and new hyperfixations—got in the way, so I had to put language learning on hold. (What’s new? Sigh.)
I was itching to draft a Life lately post to yap about what I’ve been up to, but this blog is about language learning first and foremost, so I think language-related updates should take center stage. The miscellaneous stuff can wait.
I had no intention of writing a weekly roundup post. If I did, I’m sure my “routine” would have been more structured, and I’d have attempted to be more productive. But it is what it is. It’s still interesting to see how a “normal” week goes; that is, when things get busy, and I’m not deliberately trying to be proactive with my Spanish studies.
Anyway, here’s a summary of what I did last week (from June 8 to 14).
Listening
Listening is always my strongest and most practiced skill. I’m simply obsessed with podcasts, which comes in handy when learning languages.
Last week, though, my listening fell short.
I only listened to a couple of podcast episodes, then the rest of my listening hours were on YouTube. I binged a bunch of cycling-related videos (my latest obsession). Then, I caught up with some of my go-to YouTubers (Jess Zamarripa and Raquel PS), playing their latest videos in the background while I did admin tasks and chores. Each video was nearly an hour long, so it was perfect.
Reading
I resumed and finished reading Perdida (Gone Girl) by Gillian Flynn. I first read it over a decade ago, so I only remember the major plot points, not the finer details. Before picking it up, I also read a bunch of crime/mystery/thriller novels translated into Spanish, which made me appreciate Flynn’s writing way more.
Compared to the typical airport reads, hers is certainly more literary, particularly in the writing style and characterization. It was strange having to highlight so many unfamiliar words on a single page; I’m usually very comfortable with the vocabulary in such books. Thrillers, after all, are my jam, and they tend to be action-packed rather than character-driven, so the storyline is usually easy to follow. But reading Gone Girl in Spanish humbled me and reminded me how limited my vocabulary still is, as well as the importance of embracing ambiguity when reading in another language.
I also continued with En otras palabras (In Other Words) by Jhumpa Lahiri. I’m trying to read this one more slowly; just a few chapters per day, usually before I go to bed. I prefer to take my time with nonfiction books, and Lahiri’s writing is way too beautiful and reflective to be devoured in a few sittings. It demands to be savored.
Speaking
I had a one-hour iTalki lesson on Tuesday, so I managed to get some speaking practice in.
iTalki is also among my latest attempts to get back into Spanish. I haven’t had a lesson since January, but I got an email a couple of weeks ago that my credits are expiring soon, so I figured it was a sign to pick it back up.
Writing
Not much writing was done, unfortunately! I didn’t write a single entry in my Spanish journal. I did have some writing practice during my iTalki lesson—my tutor had me listen to a short audio, then write a summary and analysis after. The topic was physical activity, which was very timely given how much I’ve been exercising recently.
I also sent some messages to my language partner on Discord. Most of them were in Spanish. That counts, right?
What’s next?
- As you may have noticed, I’ve mostly been reading books translated into Spanish lately. I’m hoping to finish En otras palabras this week. After that, I want to focus on books originally written in Spanish instead. I’m gravitating towards El príncipe de la niebla (a re-read, but it’ll be my first time reading it in Spanish), Reina roja, or El tiempo entre costuras. We’ll see.
- I have an iTalki lesson on Friday.
- I’m hoping to schedule a call or two with my language partners this week.
- I want to listen to more Spanish stuff again. I discovered a new English podcast that I immediately fell in love with, so I’ve been binge-listening to it a lot, but it’s time to rack up more listening hours in Spanish. I’m aiming to listen to at least 30 minutes per day.
- Writing isn’t a priority this week. I want to focus on input instead and just… get back into the swing of things.
That’s it for now! See you next week, maybe? 😉