Hello Everyone!

Today it's September 5th in Canada. University and college students returned to class yesterday. Kids in elementary, junior high, and high school went back to school at the end of August.

At this time of year, I feel energized and motivated to study more, how about you? I bought some new materials for my studies. I will have fun, and stay focused learning French, and Japanese! Ganbarimasu!

At this time of year, it's important to remember that fun, enjoyment, and challenge are very important when learning a language. If you feel worried or anxious about studying, you can't learn effectively!

And have you heard the expression - 'variety is the spice of life' ? It means that humans need variety, life with no variety is boring. When we are learning a language, it's important to use a variety of methods and materials too!

I will share a photo of the materials I bought recently, and my learning plan for my French studies with you. 

In the photo you can see:

1. An exercise book- so I can practice verb conjugation.

2. A monolingual dictionary, so I can avoid internet distraction,  and remember more clearly. Here is a short news article about why reading on paper is more effective than reading a screen:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-lazar/study-finds-difference-in_b_10210036.html

3. A novel in French, written for French learners. The novel comes with a password, so I can listen to an audio recording of the book, on the internet. I will be able to practice shadowing, which is a great method for developing fluency.

4. A non-fiction history book written for French speakers. This one is difficult, but I love learning about history, and I have read the book in English, so I can enjoy using this book.

*Besides using these materials, I will re-watch a French tv show on Netflix that I really enjoy, and I will use it to practice shadowing, and listening. Here is a link where you can see a trailer for the show. I'm sorry, there are no English subtitles available on youtube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUcr1VVmeO0

*Once per week, I will have a Skype chat with my mother-in-law, who is a French speaker. I'll prepare for those chats by writing short diary entries 2 or 3 times per week. 

That's my learning plan for autumn 2018. I hope it will give you some ideas and motivation to create your own plan too!