Comments on: Mini-goals are the path to achieving fluency http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/ Unconventional language hacking tips from Benny the Irish polyglot; travelling the world to learn languages to fluency and beyond! Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:51:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: わたしのもくとき – My Goals « Apokaripusu Now. http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-4411 わたしのもくとき – My Goals « Apokaripusu Now. Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:46:44 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-4411 [...] – My Goals I’ve been re-reading Benny Lewis’ blog post Mini-Goals are the Path to Achieving Fluency and thinking about my own goals in learning Japanese, and how to inflect these ideas of [...] [...] – My Goals I’ve been re-reading Benny Lewis’ blog post Mini-Goals are the Path to Achieving Fluency and thinking about my own goals in learning Japanese, and how to inflect these ideas of [...]

]]> By: Suada http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-3049 Suada Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:04:02 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-3049 I thought this might be useful to you. I found it quite inspiring. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f237bj1hkI I thought this might be useful to you. I found it quite inspiring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f237bj1hkI

]]> By: Suada http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-7568 Suada Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:04:00 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-7568 I thought this might be useful to you. I found it quite inspiring. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f237bj1hkI I thought this might be useful to you. I found it quite inspiring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f237bj1hkI

]]> By: nomad http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-160 nomad Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:44:04 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-160 great post :) following on the last set of comments... i think the biggest problem for someone would be to decide the size of the progress and the time frame. having measurable results helps to fine tune the magnitude. you could probably sketch something more concrete and measurable step by step, but that is likely to differ between individuals ... and languages... anyway? good luck with the czech! great post :)

following on the last set of comments…
i think the biggest problem for someone would be to decide the size of the progress and the time frame. having measurable results helps to fine tune the magnitude. you could probably sketch something more concrete and measurable step by step, but that is likely to differ between individuals … and languages… anyway?

good luck with the czech!

]]> By: nomad http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-7567 nomad Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:44:00 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-7567 great post :) following on the last set of comments... i think the biggest problem for someone would be to decide the size of the progress and the time frame. having measurable results helps to fine tune the magnitude. you could probably sketch something more concrete and measurable step by step, but that is likely to differ between individuals ... and languages... anyway? good luck with the czech! great post :)

following on the last set of comments…
i think the biggest problem for someone would be to decide the size of the progress and the time frame. having measurable results helps to fine tune the magnitude. you could probably sketch something more concrete and measurable step by step, but that is likely to differ between individuals … and languages… anyway?

good luck with the czech!

]]> By: benny http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-158 benny Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:36:37 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-158 OK, I see from your comments that maybe this method needs a little fine tuning :) I think the basic principle is important (getting satisfaction out of minor tasks or "processes" as well as having the end-goal in mind for these), but obviously there is another way of looking at it I haven't considered. ;) Perhaps combining my method with what you (both) are talking about would involve a structured method of "mini-goals" with a definite plan linking them all together? Otherwise, perhaps you may not be focussing your efforts correctly if you learn something random as my post perhaps suggests. I thought my minigoal of a day or two was tight enough, but Iindeed a "time-box" of something very specific to achieve in 30 minutes (or particular time before break) is actually an improvement on this! Thanks for your input both of you!! Keep the interesting comments coming ;) OK, I see from your comments that maybe this method needs a little fine tuning :) I think the basic principle is important (getting satisfaction out of minor tasks or “processes” as well as having the end-goal in mind for these), but obviously there is another way of looking at it I haven’t considered. ;)
Perhaps combining my method with what you (both) are talking about would involve a structured method of “mini-goals” with a definite plan linking them all together? Otherwise, perhaps you may not be focussing your efforts correctly if you learn something random as my post perhaps suggests.
I thought my minigoal of a day or two was tight enough, but Iindeed a “time-box” of something very specific to achieve in 30 minutes (or particular time before break) is actually an improvement on this!
Thanks for your input both of you!! Keep the interesting comments coming ;)

]]> By: benny http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-7566 benny Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:36:00 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-7566 OK, I see from your comments that maybe this method needs a little fine tuning :) I think the basic principle is important (getting satisfaction out of minor tasks or "processes" as well as having the end-goal in mind for these), but obviously there is another way of looking at it I haven't considered. ;) Perhaps combining my method with what you (both) are talking about would involve a structured method of "mini-goals" with a definite plan linking them all together? Otherwise, perhaps you may not be focussing your efforts correctly if you learn something random as my post perhaps suggests. I thought my minigoal of a day or two was tight enough, but Iindeed a "time-box" of something very specific to achieve in 30 minutes (or particular time before break) is actually an improvement on this! Thanks for your input both of you!! Keep the interesting comments coming ;) OK, I see from your comments that maybe this method needs a little fine tuning :) I think the basic principle is important (getting satisfaction out of minor tasks or “processes” as well as having the end-goal in mind for these), but obviously there is another way of looking at it I haven’t considered. ;)
Perhaps combining my method with what you (both) are talking about would involve a structured method of “mini-goals” with a definite plan linking them all together? Otherwise, perhaps you may not be focussing your efforts correctly if you learn something random as my post perhaps suggests.
I thought my minigoal of a day or two was tight enough, but Iindeed a “time-box” of something very specific to achieve in 30 minutes (or particular time before break) is actually an improvement on this!
Thanks for your input both of you!! Keep the interesting comments coming ;)

]]> By: Cainntear http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-157 Cainntear Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:15:31 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-157 We set goals so we can evaluate the effectiveness of our strategies. If the strategy doesn't help us achieve our goal, we pick new strategies. Your learning tasks are the strategy. If your goal is to follow the strategy, then you will always succeed on paper, but that's not going to guarantee you get anywhere -- you need to measure your success independently of whether you followed the process or not to achieve it. We set goals so we can evaluate the effectiveness of our strategies. If the strategy doesn’t help us achieve our goal, we pick new strategies.

Your learning tasks are the strategy. If your goal is to follow the strategy, then you will always succeed on paper, but that’s not going to guarantee you get anywhere — you need to measure your success independently of whether you followed the process or not to achieve it.

]]> By: Cainntear http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-7565 Cainntear Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:15:00 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-7565 We set goals so we can evaluate the effectiveness of our strategies. If the strategy doesn't help us achieve our goal, we pick new strategies. Your learning tasks are the strategy. If your goal is to follow the strategy, then you will always succeed on paper, but that's not going to guarantee you get anywhere -- you need to measure your success independently of whether you followed the process or not to achieve it. We set goals so we can evaluate the effectiveness of our strategies. If the strategy doesn’t help us achieve our goal, we pick new strategies.

Your learning tasks are the strategy. If your goal is to follow the strategy, then you will always succeed on paper, but that’s not going to guarantee you get anywhere — you need to measure your success independently of whether you followed the process or not to achieve it.

]]> By: SplogSplog http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-156 SplogSplog Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:13:53 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-156 I understand what Cainntear is saying. The important point is to define your goal in terms of a measurable result you want to achieve, rather than the steps you are going to take. The goal is the "what?" whereas the process is the "how?". If you focus mostly on the "how?" then how do you recognize you have actually achieved some result other than just spending time? Activities ("process" to use the fancy word) are just peddling unless you are aiming for a target and you can see when you got there. "Thirty minutes studying word lists" is an activity. "Learn the months of the year" is a measurable destination. Sure, you can break activities down into either smaller activities ("study for 15 minutes" then "take a 5 minute break" then "study for 15 minutes") but again these are not measurable other than "I spent time on them". In your "clean the house" example, you do have a goal (to have a clean house) and a measurable result ("shiny surfaces"). If you had told somebody "push a mop around for an hour" then you would be talking about activity with no way of knowing if you they achieved anything useful at the end. However, time-boxing can be useful to put a bit of pressure on yourself, and to stop you wasting time or getting distracted. So, if you already have a good idea of how much you can reasonably do in a set time, then you can say: "Learn the months of the year (the goal) within 30 minutes (the timebox) by studying word lists (the activity)". This is then something measurable: "I will know I am done when I can write all 12 list pairs out for myself within one minute, and will know my retention is good enough if twelve hours later I can have a friend read out randomly the names of the months in English and I can respond with their Czech equivalents without noticeable hesitation" I understand what Cainntear is saying. The important point is to define your goal in terms of a measurable result you want to achieve, rather than the steps you are going to take. The goal is the “what?” whereas the process is the “how?”. If you focus mostly on the “how?” then how do you recognize you have actually achieved some result other than just spending time?

Activities (“process” to use the fancy word) are just peddling unless you are aiming for a target and you can see when you got there.

“Thirty minutes studying word lists” is an activity. “Learn the months of the year” is a measurable destination.

Sure, you can break activities down into either smaller activities (“study for 15 minutes” then “take a 5 minute break” then “study for 15 minutes”) but again these are not measurable other than “I spent time on them”.

In your “clean the house” example, you do have a goal (to have a clean house) and a measurable result (“shiny surfaces”). If you had told somebody “push a mop around for an hour” then you would be talking about activity with no way of knowing if you they achieved anything useful at the end.

However, time-boxing can be useful to put a bit of pressure on yourself, and to stop you wasting time or getting distracted. So, if you already have a good idea of how much you can reasonably do in a set time, then you can say: “Learn the months of the year (the goal) within 30 minutes (the timebox) by studying word lists (the activity)”. This is then something measurable: “I will know I am done when I can write all 12 list pairs out for myself within one minute, and will know my retention is good enough if twelve hours later I can have a friend read out randomly the names of the months in English and I can respond with their Czech equivalents without noticeable hesitation”

]]> By: SplogSplog http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-7564 SplogSplog Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:13:00 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-7564 I understand what Cainntear is saying. The important point is to define your goal in terms of a measurable result you want to achieve, rather than the steps you are going to take. The goal is the "what?" whereas the process is the "how?". If you focus mostly on the "how?" then how do you recognize you have actually achieved some result other than just spending time? Activities ("process" to use the fancy word) are just peddling unless you are aiming for a target and you can see when you got there. "Thirty minutes studying word lists" is an activity. "Learn the months of the year" is a measurable destination. Sure, you can break activities down into either smaller activities ("study for 15 minutes" then "take a 5 minute break" then "study for 15 minutes") but again these are not measurable other than "I spent time on them". In your "clean the house" example, you do have a goal (to have a clean house) and a measurable result ("shiny surfaces"). If you had told somebody "push a mop around for an hour" then you would be talking about activity with no way of knowing if you they achieved anything useful at the end. However, time-boxing can be useful to put a bit of pressure on yourself, and to stop you wasting time or getting distracted. So, if you already have a good idea of how much you can reasonably do in a set time, then you can say: "Learn the months of the year (the goal) within 30 minutes (the timebox) by studying word lists (the activity)". This is then something measurable: "I will know I am done when I can write all 12 list pairs out for myself within one minute, and will know my retention is good enough if twelve hours later I can have a friend read out randomly the names of the months in English and I can respond with their Czech equivalents without noticeable hesitation" I understand what Cainntear is saying. The important point is to define your goal in terms of a measurable result you want to achieve, rather than the steps you are going to take. The goal is the “what?” whereas the process is the “how?”. If you focus mostly on the “how?” then how do you recognize you have actually achieved some result other than just spending time?

Activities (“process” to use the fancy word) are just peddling unless you are aiming for a target and you can see when you got there.

“Thirty minutes studying word lists” is an activity. “Learn the months of the year” is a measurable destination.

Sure, you can break activities down into either smaller activities (“study for 15 minutes” then “take a 5 minute break” then “study for 15 minutes”) but again these are not measurable other than “I spent time on them”.

In your “clean the house” example, you do have a goal (to have a clean house) and a measurable result (“shiny surfaces”). If you had told somebody “push a mop around for an hour” then you would be talking about activity with no way of knowing if you they achieved anything useful at the end.

However, time-boxing can be useful to put a bit of pressure on yourself, and to stop you wasting time or getting distracted. So, if you already have a good idea of how much you can reasonably do in a set time, then you can say: “Learn the months of the year (the goal) within 30 minutes (the timebox) by studying word lists (the activity)”. This is then something measurable: “I will know I am done when I can write all 12 list pairs out for myself within one minute, and will know my retention is good enough if twelve hours later I can have a friend read out randomly the names of the months in English and I can respond with their Czech equivalents without noticeable hesitation”

]]> By: benny http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-155 benny Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:06:10 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-155 Do you really think so? I don't think experience is so necessary - I am confident that those reading this page are well able to break up huge tasks into smaller ones. I'm sorry, maybe I'm a bit slow today but I don't actually understand your argument :( I honestly don't see why having frequent processes (which I have decided to call mini-goals) could only work for me because of my "routine"... We break up large projects all the time. Tidy the house = first hoover the floor, then clean bathroom surfaces, etc. I'm just saying it can work for language processes too. It's mostly just a mental jump I'm suggesting, no experience necessary :) Do you really think so? I don’t think experience is so necessary – I am confident that those reading this page are well able to break up huge tasks into smaller ones.
I’m sorry, maybe I’m a bit slow today but I don’t actually understand your argument :( I honestly don’t see why having frequent processes (which I have decided to call mini-goals) could only work for me because of my “routine”… We break up large projects all the time. Tidy the house = first hoover the floor, then clean bathroom surfaces, etc. I’m just saying it can work for language processes too. It’s mostly just a mental jump I’m suggesting, no experience necessary :)

]]> By: benny http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-7563 benny Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:06:00 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-7563 Do you really think so? I don't think experience is so necessary - I am confident that those reading this page are well able to break up huge tasks into smaller ones. I'm sorry, maybe I'm a bit slow today but I don't actually understand your argument :( I honestly don't see why having frequent processes (which I have decided to call mini-goals) could only work for me because of my "routine"... We break up large projects all the time. Tidy the house = first hoover the floor, then clean bathroom surfaces, etc. I'm just saying it can work for language processes too. It's mostly just a mental jump I'm suggesting, no experience necessary :) Do you really think so? I don’t think experience is so necessary – I am confident that those reading this page are well able to break up huge tasks into smaller ones.
I’m sorry, maybe I’m a bit slow today but I don’t actually understand your argument :( I honestly don’t see why having frequent processes (which I have decided to call mini-goals) could only work for me because of my “routine”… We break up large projects all the time. Tidy the house = first hoover the floor, then clean bathroom surfaces, etc. I’m just saying it can work for language processes too. It’s mostly just a mental jump I’m suggesting, no experience necessary :)

]]> By: Cainntear http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-154 Cainntear Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:54:53 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-154 No, I'm not saying that the end-results are the main goals, but that you can have sub-goals that are ends in themselves yet not processes. Take your example about knowing kitchen vocab. Goal: Learn the common kitchen vocabulary by 5pm You can then define your measure: Measure: Get friend to test you at 5.15. Repeat test in a week Once you've got your goal and your measure, then you can identify the steps required to achieve it. Steps to achieve: [...] Mixing goals and processes may work fine for you because you already have a routine, but as a model for readers to copy, it's sorely lacking because the average reader doesn't really have any experience of what you want to achieve. No, I’m not saying that the end-results are the main goals, but that you can have sub-goals that are ends in themselves yet not processes.

Take your example about knowing kitchen vocab.

Goal: Learn the common kitchen vocabulary by 5pm

You can then define your measure:

Measure: Get friend to test you at 5.15. Repeat test in a week

Once you’ve got your goal and your measure, then you can identify the steps required to achieve it.

Steps to achieve: [...]

Mixing goals and processes may work fine for you because you already have a routine, but as a model for readers to copy, it’s sorely lacking because the average reader doesn’t really have any experience of what you want to achieve.

]]> By: Cainntear http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-7562 Cainntear Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:54:00 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-7562 No, I'm not saying that the end-results are the main goals, but that you can have sub-goals that are ends in themselves yet not processes. Take your example about knowing kitchen vocab. Goal: Learn the common kitchen vocabulary by 5pm You can then define your measure: Measure: Get friend to test you at 5.15. Repeat test in a week Once you've got your goal and your measure, then you can identify the steps required to achieve it. Steps to achieve: [...] Mixing goals and processes may work fine for you because you already have a routine, but as a model for readers to copy, it's sorely lacking because the average reader doesn't really have any experience of what you want to achieve. No, I’m not saying that the end-results are the main goals, but that you can have sub-goals that are ends in themselves yet not processes.

Take your example about knowing kitchen vocab.

Goal: Learn the common kitchen vocabulary by 5pm

You can then define your measure:

Measure: Get friend to test you at 5.15. Repeat test in a week

Once you’ve got your goal and your measure, then you can identify the steps required to achieve it.

Steps to achieve: [...]

Mixing goals and processes may work fine for you because you already have a routine, but as a model for readers to copy, it’s sorely lacking because the average reader doesn’t really have any experience of what you want to achieve.

]]> By: benny http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-149 benny Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:40:52 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-149 Thanks for your thoughts! You're right that the end results are indeed the main goals, but I hope you see that I was trying to indicate that we should be focussed more specifically on processes that add up to those "end goals", rather than not breaking them up into something achievable in the short-term. I'm saying that we should abandon the end-goal, just that <b>only</b> having that end-goal in mind (and not it's required parts) is not beneficial. I suppose I am playing with semantics a bit, changing "processes" into goals. Would you recommend that I do it differently? :) Thanks for your thoughts!
You’re right that the end results are indeed the main goals, but I hope you see that I was trying to indicate that we should be focussed more specifically on processes that add up to those “end goals”, rather than not breaking them up into something achievable in the short-term. I’m saying that we should abandon the end-goal, just that only having that end-goal in mind (and not it’s required parts) is not beneficial.
I suppose I am playing with semantics a bit, changing “processes” into goals. Would you recommend that I do it differently? :)

]]> By: benny http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-7561 benny Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:40:00 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-7561 Thanks for your thoughts! You're right that the end results are indeed the main goals, but I hope you see that I was trying to indicate that we should be focussed more specifically on processes that add up to those "end goals", rather than not breaking them up into something achievable in the short-term. I'm saying that we should abandon the end-goal, just that <b>only</b> having that end-goal in mind (and not it's required parts) is not beneficial. I suppose I am playing with semantics a bit, changing "processes" into goals. Would you recommend that I do it differently? :) Thanks for your thoughts!
You’re right that the end results are indeed the main goals, but I hope you see that I was trying to indicate that we should be focussed more specifically on processes that add up to those “end goals”, rather than not breaking them up into something achievable in the short-term. I’m saying that we should abandon the end-goal, just that only having that end-goal in mind (and not it’s required parts) is not beneficial.
I suppose I am playing with semantics a bit, changing “processes” into goals. Would you recommend that I do it differently? :)

]]> By: Cainntear http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-147 Cainntear Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:45:45 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-147 "BAD GOAL: Speak with a very slight (or preferably no) accent." Good or bad, it's a goal -- it's an end result, but the following is not: " GOOD GOAL: Work on rolling your ‘r’ for the next 3 days like they do in the target language, getting as many tips about this one sound and mouth/tongue positioning from others as you can. Train yourself and repeat the sound as often as possible. Then ask people what other sounds distinguish your English accent and work on them one at a time." You're not describing a desired end-state, you're describing a process to get there. Both of these are important, but please don't confuse the two as you often need to alter the process to achieve the goal, but if the process *is* the goal, then you "achieve" your goal by carrying the process through, even if it fails to help you progress your language. “BAD GOAL: Speak with a very slight (or preferably no) accent.”

Good or bad, it’s a goal — it’s an end result, but the following is not:

” GOOD GOAL: Work on rolling your ‘r’ for the next 3 days like they do in the target language, getting as many tips about this one sound and mouth/tongue positioning from others as you can. Train yourself and repeat the sound as often as possible. Then ask people what other sounds distinguish your English accent and work on them one at a time.”

You’re not describing a desired end-state, you’re describing a process to get there.

Both of these are important, but please don’t confuse the two as you often need to alter the process to achieve the goal, but if the process *is* the goal, then you “achieve” your goal by carrying the process through, even if it fails to help you progress your language.

]]> By: Cainntear http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-7560 Cainntear Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:45:00 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-7560 "BAD GOAL: Speak with a very slight (or preferably no) accent." Good or bad, it's a goal -- it's an end result, but the following is not: " GOOD GOAL: Work on rolling your ‘r’ for the next 3 days like they do in the target language, getting as many tips about this one sound and mouth/tongue positioning from others as you can. Train yourself and repeat the sound as often as possible. Then ask people what other sounds distinguish your English accent and work on them one at a time." You're not describing a desired end-state, you're describing a process to get there. Both of these are important, but please don't confuse the two as you often need to alter the process to achieve the goal, but if the process *is* the goal, then you "achieve" your goal by carrying the process through, even if it fails to help you progress your language. “BAD GOAL: Speak with a very slight (or preferably no) accent.”

Good or bad, it’s a goal — it’s an end result, but the following is not:

” GOOD GOAL: Work on rolling your ‘r’ for the next 3 days like they do in the target language, getting as many tips about this one sound and mouth/tongue positioning from others as you can. Train yourself and repeat the sound as often as possible. Then ask people what other sounds distinguish your English accent and work on them one at a time.”

You’re not describing a desired end-state, you’re describing a process to get there.

Both of these are important, but please don’t confuse the two as you often need to alter the process to achieve the goal, but if the process *is* the goal, then you “achieve” your goal by carrying the process through, even if it fails to help you progress your language.

]]> By: Matt http://www.fluentin3months.com/mini-goals-are-the-path-to-achieving-fluency/comment-page-1/#comment-127 Matt Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:49:18 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=130#comment-127 I very much agree regarding goal setting - it's important that they are both realistic (to keep motivation) and concrete in terms of time and substance (so that progress can be objectively measured). It's a useful lesson that applies in all endeavours. Looking forward to the video / photos of Prague! I very much agree regarding goal setting – it’s important that they are both realistic (to keep motivation) and concrete in terms of time and substance (so that progress can be objectively measured). It’s a useful lesson that applies in all endeavours.

Looking forward to the video / photos of Prague!

]]>