S6E36: It’s still language learning if it happens outside!

Full transcript:

 Good morning, happy Monday, and welcome to the Language Confidence Project, the daily dose of language courage for people who love languages and those who really don't, but have to learn one anyway. And today's episode is my yearly reminder that language learning is still language learning when it isn't happening behind a desk. You can take it outside if you want to!

Now, for those of you in the UK, I don't know if it's just a North East thing, but we have been in perpetual February for months now. It really has felt like we've never properly got out of winter. And then this weekend, a miracle happened and there is sun and there are temperatures above 20 degrees and normally Monday episodes are about how we're going to plan our week how we're going to start our week off really well: a new idea, a new something that we can change in our mindset that will make this week great. And so I've actually put back the episode that I was going to do, so that instead, I can ask you: how can you bring more summer into this week?

Because we don't know how long the summer is gonna last. How can we make it part of our language learning. Is there anything that you can do on your existing to do list? Is there anything that maybe you could adjust a little bit so that you can take it outside or so that you can make it shorter so that you can spend more time outside?

So many of us internalise that mindset from when we were at school and in the classroom when it was hot, that we have to do the work first. We have to get the important stuff done first. We have to be productive first and then we get to go outside. Then we get to go to the park. Then we get to go to the beach.

But, we're adults now, and we can go to the park and listen to our podcasts there, and we can go to the riverside and we can take our flashcards if we want. Even if you've got something planned, like an online language exchange that you've scheduled for an evening, what would happen if you took your smartphone and you went with them? You took your language exchange partner to a place that, you know, you feel safe in. If you're worried about having your phone out and you just showed them, you know, this is, this is somewhere pretty in my hometown. This is where we can go at the weekends. This is a statue or a monument or a mural, some street art that's really beautiful in my town.

And so I know that a lot of us have things we need to get done. And a lot of us feel a lot of pressure to get things done now. Okay. But if there is anything you can do to take it outside, just take a moment and ask yourself, can I? Do I need to wait? Do I need to be indoors? Do I need to be at my desk? And maybe you don't have to.

All right, I'm going to keep this really short, but have a wonderful day. I hope this is the start of a sunny week for you, and I will see you back here at 7am tomorrow.

If you would love some ideas about language learning activities that you can plan for the outdoors, I think you’ll love this episode!