I needed something, anything, really, to add some fire to my Chinese studies; something that would make me feel like I was moving in the right direction.
In short, I needed a kick in the butt and a structure that would keep me going after said kick.
So I took the Add1Challenge, and it was, if I do say so myself, one of my smarter decisions.
The #Add1Challenge by Brian Kwong was designed to motivate students to add one language through 90 days of studying with the goal of having a 15-minute conversation with a native speaker.
After 90 days in this challenge, I decided to speak with my mother, who was born and raised in Taiwan but moved to America when she was twenty years old.
We chat about things like her favorite foods, her views on Taiwan now that she’s been away for so long, and her passion for Italy.
Click here to see my day 60 video.
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Then, here’s my day 0 video, so you can see the comparison.
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Overall, I am so glad that I took the challenge because it taught me the importance of maintaining a study streak, pushed me out of my comfort zone, and showed me what was possible with Chinese.
I’ve struggled with learning this language for such a long time, and I finally feel like I’m making meaningful progress.
From here, I plan on maintaining a daily study schedule of 30 minutes per day with weekly or bi-monthly lessons.
I want to focus on two of my weakest links, which are pronunciation and grammar, so that’s what I’ll be working in the next few months.
I still have a long way to go, but now it feels manageable and possible.
What about you? Have you taken the challenge before? Is it something you’d be interested in? Let me know in the comments below!
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