The Journey is the Reward - Learning Languages with Language Challenges

Picture by madsmith33 on Pixabay

Picture description: Photograph of an obstacle race. A woman is climbing a dirty wall. Two men are helping her by pulling her up by her hands while a third man watches. On the right edge of the picture there are two men pulling another man up the wall.

(The following text is written in Spanish and English. It isn't an exact translation.)

Sabéis que me gusta muchíssimo participar a desafíos para aprender idiomas. Cuando alguien me dice que está organizando un desafío, soy la primera persona que grita: "¡Desafío aceptado!" A veces me desafio y escribo un texto corto en un idioma que todavía no he aprendido. Cuando el idioma es bastante facil, solo necesito 30 minutos para hacerlo, pero cuando el idiomas tiene caracteres que no conosco, gasto hasta dos horas para escribir algunas frases. Ya he mencionado algunas desafíos que me gustan como el LanguageJam, Language Diary Challenge y 30 Days Speaking Challenge.

If you followed me here or on my other social media channels, you might have noticed one thing: I'm a total sucker for language challenges. Just say "I'm organising a language challenge" and I'll be the first to shout "Challenge accepted!". Sometimes I just challenge myself as I did in the beginning of my blog. I challenged myself to write a couple of lines in a language that I haven't studied. It took me from 30 minutes in easy languages to up to 2 hours in languages with other writing systems and few resources (see for instance my writing challenges in Amharic, Odia and Serbian). I also mentioned taking parts in other challenges like the LanguageJam (Greek, Learning random languages - Hausa, Mongolian, Kurmanji), the Language Diary Challenge (Learning a Language Like a Child) and the 30 Days speaking Challenge .

Hoy quiero presentar un desafío a lo que he participado varios veces este año: My Language Challenge. Su objetivo es aprender un idioma por tres meses. La primera vuelta aprendí español y gané un vale para italki. La segunda vuelta intenté a aprender neerlandés, pero no logré mis metas debido a que fui demasiadio ocupada con mi trabajo y fui en vacaciones por un tiempo largo. Ahora estoy participando por la tercera vez y siguendo aprender chino.

Today I'd like to present another challenge in which I already participated several times this year: My Language Challenge. It's goal is to consistently study a language for three months. The first time I did Spanish and won a voucher for italki. The second time I tried to study Dutch but due to being too busy with work and going on a long vacation I didn't meet my goals. And now, I'm participating for the third time and continuing with my Chinese studies.

Este desafío tiene varias características que me gustan:

• una comunidad de apoyo con otros entusiastas de idiomas
• una pagina web donde se puede escribir un diario, subir grabaciones, seguir sus actividades, desarrollar un plan de estudio
• "micro" desafíos (por ejemplo leer/escuchar algo cada día por un semana)

Debido a que debemos subir grabaciones al principio del desafío, tras un més, tras dos meses y al final para seguir el progresso, empecé a usar Youtube para publicar videos (mi canal Youtube Miriams_Lingotopia). Sin embargo algunos de mis videos son privados, solo los miembros de la comunidad o amigos pueden verlos. 

This challenge has several features that I like:

• a supportive community with other language enthusiasts
• a website where one can write a journal, upload recordings, track activities and develop a study plan
• micro challenges (for instance reading/listening to something on a daily basis for a week)

As we have to upload videos at the beginning of the challenge, after one and two months and at the end, I started using Youtube for publishing videos (my Youtube channel Miriams_Lingotopia). However, I keep some of the videos private, only visible to the community members and friends.

Hay otros desafíos similares, pero mi gusta el concepto de My Language Challenge. Como el nombre indica, cada participante puede crear sus mismo desafío de aprendizaje de idiomas. La pagina web es muy bien organizado y ofrece la cantidad adecuada para planear y segui sus estudios. La gente a que le gusta la competición hay un marcador y precios. Az veces hay sesiones por Skype con poliglotas y otros estudiantes de idiomas. No obstante, este desafío es más económico que otros de "poliglotas famosos", por que no se paga por un nombre o una marca, sino por una herramienta útil y un servicio de apoyo creado por un entusiasta de idiomas.

There are other similar language challenges, but I really like the concept of My Language Challenge. As the name indicates, every participant can create their own challenge. The website is very neatly arragend and offers the right amount of tools to plan and track one's studies. Learners who like competition like that there's a scoreboard and prizes. There are Skype sessions with polyglots and other language learners. Nevertheless, this challenge is much more affordable than others provided by "polyglot celebrities", because you're not paying for a name or a brand but a useful tool and supportive service created by a language enthusiast.

En resumen, me gustan los desafíos por que me pueden formar una costumbre de aprendizaje de idiomas. Si, a menudo no puedo practicar cada día y me siento desillusionada, pero el apoyo de otros participantes me ayuda superar los obstáculos. El viaje es el destino. 

In short, I like challenges because they help me to build a language learning habit. Yes, I can't always practise on a daily basis, but the community's support helps me to overcome the obstacles. The journey is the reward.

Language Challenges

My Language Challenge 
Duration: 3 months
Website: https://mylanguagechallenge.com
Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MyLanguageChallenge/

Parleremo Language Marathon
Duration: 26 days or 100 days
Website: http://parleremo.org/
Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/parleremolanguagemarathon/

Language Diary Challenge
Duration: 1 month
Website: http://joyoflanguages.com/learn-a-language-and-win-free-stuff-with-the-languagediarychallenge/
Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/languagediarychallenge/

30 Days Speaking Challenge
Duration: 1 month
Website: http://hugginsinternational.com/30dayspeakingchallenge/
Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1462110590536165/


Instagram Language Challenge
Duration: 1 month
Website: https://www.lindsaydoeslanguages.com/join-the-iglc/


Language Jam
Duration: One weekend (Friday to Sunday)
Website: http://languagejam.net

Hacking Chinese Challenge
Duration: 10th of month until end of month
Website: https://challenges.hackingchinese.com/