We are 10 days into 2025, and during this time, I’ve been able to map out what my routine would look like regarding my work, studies, and independent learning (especially language learning). Before the year started, I had already committed to focusing on Chinese (Mandarin) as my target language. I gathered some resources, tried them out, and found the ones that work for my level and learning style.
As the year progresses, I want to ensure that I don’t lose my practice or skills in other languages. In the past years, my comfort level with Portuguese has waned to the point where I feel my writing skills have significantly decreased. So I’ve put together a tentative language plan to help me stay up to date with my languages while meeting my goals of improving in Mandarin.
Spanish (español)
Okay it’s a bit weird to include my native language in my “Language Learning” plan, but I’d like to get more familiarized with Spanish literature. I noticed that the bulk of my reading in Spanish happened while in school. So, I plan to go through some of my Spanish books by the end of the year.
Plan: spend 1-2 hours per week reading in Spanish
English
English is the main language I speak at home, as my wife and I are still learning each other’s native languages. I get a lot of English input through movies, work, and church, but I would like to read a bit more.
Plan: spend 3-7 hours per week reading in English
Chinese (中文)
Chinese (Mandarin) is my target language this year. By the end of the year, I plan to get to a level where I’m comfortable doing small talk and watching variety shows. This is the language that I will put the most effort in, and the one that I am using the most resources in. I am splitting my time between listening/speaking and reading/writing.
Plan:
Vocabulary, Translating, Speaking – Michel Thomas CD’s (10-30 minutes a day)
Vocabulary, Reading – Du Chinese (read 1 short story per day)
Listening – Reset (TV show, watch 1-2 episodes per week), Easy Mandarin (watch 1 episode a day)
Grammar – YoYo Chinese (1-3 lessons per week)
Daily Refresh – Duolingo (1 lesson per day)
Portuguese (português)
Portuguese is one of the first languages I learned as an adult, and for a few years, it was my strongest “foreign” language. I used to speak it daily in grad school due to my friend group. Unfortunately, I don’t have many opportunities for conversational practice this year, but I would like to get comfortable with the language again through input.
Plan: 3% (TV show, watch 3-5 episodes per week); Duolingo (2-3 lessons per week)
Greek (Ελλινικά)
Greek is a language that I learned in an academic setting (Ancient Greek courses for my Theology degree) prior to learning how to speak. However, I used to get some input from my mother, who spent a few years living over there, and who has kept Greece in her heart in the decades since. I don’t want to divert time from my Mandarin practice, so I’ll keep my Greek input to a minimum.
Plan: Ancient Greek (review lesson notes, read the Bible in Greek at least once a month); Modern Greek (Language Transfer lessons, 10-30 minutes per week), Duolingo (1-2 lessons per week)
Quechua (runa simi)
Quechua is my dad’s native language. It’s what he uses to speak to his mother and most of his siblings. I’ve always held Quechua close to my heart as I listened to it a lot growing up. My dad would sing me lullabies in Quechua and slip some Quechua words in his Spanish. I would like some minor input, but realistically, the most I can do is keep my current level. I don’t expect to improve unless I dedicate more time than I can spare.
Plan: Review Quechua grammar and lesson notes at least once a month; practice vocabulary twice a month.
Other Languages
There are some other languages I dedicated time to learning and speaking. I’m mostly at a beginner level in these, but I would like to do some recurring review exercises to keep my current level:
Russian (русский) – Michel Thomas (1 hour per month); Duolingo (3-5 lessons per month)
Catalan (català) – Duolingo (2-5 lessons per month)
Esperanto – Duolingo (2-5 lessons per month)
Italian (italiano) – Language Transfer (1 hour per month); Duolingo (2-5 lessons per month)
French (français) – Language Transfer (1 hour per month); Duolingo (2-5 lessons per month)
Dutch (Nederlands) – Michel Thomas (1 hour per month); Duolingo (2-5 lessons per month)
Korean (한국어) – Michel Thomas (1 hour per month), K-Dramas (a few episodes per month); Duolingo (2-5 lessons per month)
Hebrew (עִבְרִית) – Duolingo (2-5 lessons per month), review lesson notes
American Sign Language – Handspeak (2-5 lessons per month)
Latin – review lesson notes 1-2 times per month, read the Bible in Latin once a month
Tagalog – FilipinoPod101 (2-5 videos per month)