As things wind down for Christmas, it’s always worth pausing to take stock of what went well over the last twelve months.
Language learning can be both a high-focus undertaking as well as a lower-key, background constant, especially if life is busy. But sometimes, just listing what you’ve managed to do in twelves months will reassure you that you’re on track.
For me, it’s been an incredibly busy year. It’s been one where I’d have loved to find more time for languages, and felt that pang of underachiever guilt. That’s probably me being far too harsh on myself — it’s been a year of product launches, presentations, and from September, a PhD too!
Adding it up
When I add it up, though, I haven’t done too badly despite the calendar crush. Here’s what I’ve managed to keep up in spite of it all:
- Learnt enough Swedish to get by in the language during Eurovision week in Malmö (mainly through cross-learning from Norwegian and reading a crime novel in the language)
- Keeping up an hour’s Greek lesson a week all year on iTalki and speaking better than ever on a trip to Athens and Crete
- Two full terms of intermediate Scottish Gaelic with the University of Edinburgh’s brilliant Centre for Open Learning (90 mins a week for ten weeks each)
- Brushed up my French for two unforgettable Parisian sports spectator visits
- Duolingo, little and often, for gradual vocabulary expansion – much more useful after breaking free from the XP game
Granted, that’s less than I’d have wanted. It’s a focus on fewer languages than I wanted, for sure. But it’s not a bad haul at all, given how packed the year was with other stuff.
And there’s a pattern here.
Recipe for success
My 2024 language achievements fall into three categories:
- Occasion-based motivators (building language skills in the lead-up to holidays)
- Social motivators (learning languages with people – your class, or a favourite teacher)
- Everyday habits / daily tactics (five minutes on a language app, for example)
They’re all things that make squeezing an hour in here, half an hour in there, worthwhile. The rewards are things I value: lovely experiences, having fun, making friends, having a quick gamified language escape on the bus. And they’re the reason I’ve not fallen off the wagon despite my protestations of I’m too busy all year!
It’s a nice reminder that language learning works best when it works with you. Ideally, your learning should be frictionless. If you feel resistance, then you should think about reframing your approach to your person interests (books and podcasts that grab your fancy in your ‘non-languagey’ life definitely help). If in doubt, use the motivator mix above to make your recipe: event goals, people goals and everyday mini-habits.
As the year ends, it’s clear that language learning isn’t about perfection—it’s about persistence. Whether it’s for travel, connection, or the joy of discovery, the key is finding what keeps you coming back. So, take a moment to reflect on your own journey this year. You might be surprised at just how much you’ve achieved, even when life was at its busiest. Here’s to more languages, more moments, and more fun in 2025!