Just wanted to do a quick question round to the community to see what you all aim for (+ some other questions) because goals can be very different. Don’t be too shy to say it even if you find it to be very little, I want to hear everybody’s opinion/goals.
Questions;
How many words do you aim for (read words) to read every day?
How many per week, if you don’t practice every day?
Also, how much progress do you feel you are making with that goal or is it more about the habit for you, so you rather just try to do something every day?
Connecting to that, where do you think/hope you will be (realistically) in what time?
And how much time does it usually take to reach your goal/for your daily practice?
Also, do you usually reach your goal? I mean, setting one you couldn’t reach wouldn’t make much sense but who knows…
And the last one is: Do you truly enjoy it. I know, sometimes it’s hard but do you generally like doing it?
I don’t care about statistics. I do one hour watching or studying videos in LingQ per language, then one hour listening to podcasts in French, and some Anki.
I consider words read per day and per week irrelevant, what matters is that I expose myself to material at my level, and gradually the language enters my consciousness. Words read does have a use in that it gives you an idea of how much input you have processed, and hence a very vague estimate of expected level.
Most apps have statistics and streaks in order to create an addiction and hence create a revenue. I found that I was maximising the statistics and that was harming my learning. Now I learn only a few new German words each day, according to LingQ, but my progress in practice is greater.
Vietnamese, it brought me to the LingQ. It would be nice to be able to participate in basic conversation… let’s say by the end of this year. And I also want to create my personal Vietnamese-Czech dictionary here, because those few available are… dubious. As for LingQ statistics, I use it just to check that I read and listen at least 2h every day, and that I have at least some daily progress.
Italian: it all started on my singing classes, where I’ve realised that the bel canto technique is tightly coupled with Italian phonology. Not to mention that every singer should have really good understanding of the lyrics. So I’ve found a tutor. And while working with her on this, I noticed that I’ve started to read and listen Italian more and more, and that I’m able to find tons of interesting contents in it. I’m glad I understand it more and more, but I don’t have any particular goal or time frame. When it comes, it comes. I’m moving my learning it to LingQ just for the comfort of use of online dictionaries and creating lingers.
Polish: this is my on and off language for years. It is quite close to Czech, so I sort of understand it, but I’m forgetting all those false-friends and treacherous words all the time. The LingQ seems to be a good way to see how much I’m really understanding, and how much I’m just lucky on guessing Plus the comfort of dictionaries and lingqs.
I don’t have a daily goal either. I usually put on my ear phones after dinner and read 1~2 hours while listening to music before going to bed.
I sometimes read before work, too, and I read a lot if I have days off. I do grammar studies, too, while watching podcasts or politics shows. But as said, there is no strict goal. I do as I please.
I have a couple of daily goals, but if I am busy with other tasks, it is fine.
I am only working on fluency in Spanish and have studied in both traditional ways - an AA in Spanish from a Community College, in-person private lessons, italki classes once a week (and still ongoing) for a long time, annual travel to Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries, and with immersion classes in Spanish-speaking countries; and I have added Comprehensible Input on LingQ as a study method.
I import YouTube videos on topics that interest me and go on deep-dives on those topics, and I import books by native Spanish authors. I also checkout Spanish books from the local public library to read in person.
My daily goals are to listen one-hour a day to the imported YouTube videos and read 10,000 words per day from the imported videos and books. I study 1.5 hours to 2.0 hours per day, and my comprehension has increased tremendously in the past year.
My word count still goes up, but at a much lower rate than before.
I enjoy the learning process and I can see, hear, and speak my progress over time.
Lynx made a rather unsettling comment this morning after I finished a short video by a Tibetan teacher on “overcoming laziness.”
“This lesson proved especially timely: its main thesis—turning intention into a concrete daily habit—is already evident in your practice. Today, you completed two lessons, maintained a three-day streak, and worked through the material not only by reading but also by listening to 16 minutes of audio. For the next 20–30 days, you could establish one simple “anchor”: study Russian at the same time every day, even if it’s only a short session. That way, consistency will rely not on your mood but on a routine you’ve already begun.”
I don’t have a lot of time for studying right now, so my current goals are quite modest. I only have two goals at the moment:
I aim to listen to audio materials for at least 15-30 minutes per day. I find it very beneficial in terms of helping words and phrases stick into my brain, but I am much more of a reader than a listener, so I need to make a conscious effort to listen every day.
I also have set myself an arbitrary goal of reaching Advanced 1 in Icelandic by the end of the year. To achieve this, I have to learn an average of 52 words per day.
Not huge goals, but they keep me moving forward at a steady pace.
I have an average of 25-30 known words / day when active in learning a language. I wish i could have time to study all along the year but so far I keep the pace during a period of 1-2 month to reach a certaingoal (like +1000 more words). Then i stop for a while before starting again later.
Plus the comfort of dictionaries and lingqs.