New Year, New Language: My Plan for Language Dabbling

It’s a new year and I’ve been thinking about my language learning plans over the next 12 months.

And this year, I’ve decided to do something different.

For the first time since I started along the independent language learner path, I’m going to dabble.

Dabbling vs Learning a Language for Keeps

Usually, when I pick up a language, my intention is to continue on with it. Once I start a language, I’m committed. I may take a break or focus on another language for a short time, but with only a few exceptions, I return to the languages at some point.

This year, as a part of 90 Days with Drops, I’m doing something different and I’m going to try out dabbling in a language for the first time.

And that language?

It’s Norwegian.

Why I’m Learning Norwegian

As you know, I am the Resident Polyglot at Drops. And Drops recently became a part of the Kahoot! family, a Norwegian company. I thought it would be fun to kick off the new year learning the native language of many of my new teammates and what better way to do it than with Drops itself?

How I’m Dabbling in Norwegian

My goal is to learn every [relevant] word in Drops in Norwegian by the end of 90 Days with Drops.

I broke down exactly what I’m doing as a part of the first Quest in Language Conqueror, but I’ll share a quick summary of what I’m doing with you here as well.

Drops has more than 2,500 words in Norwegian available. That’s a lot!

But there are also a lot of words in that list I’ll likely never use. So as I’m learning in Drops, I’m hiding the words that aren’t personally relevant to me and focusing on the words that are.

This cuts that total word list down significantly — I’m likely learning just over half the words available. And because I’m focusing on relevant words, I’m enjoying the process.

Currently, Drops is the only resource I’m using to get a feel for the language. I’m still unsure about whether or not I’ll continue with it after the 90 days, but you’ll certainly be the first to know if I do!

How I’m Staying Motivated to Learn a New Language

Norwegian is my 15th language, and because it’s a language I don’t have long-term plans with (yet), staying motivated to learn it over languages that I am committed to might be a challenge.

But I have a plan to help me stay on track and maintain my motivation.

And that’s to find ways to stay connected with the language outside of my studies.

First, I absolutely love mythology. And along side Celtic and Greek mythology, Norse mythology is one of the best known mythologies in the West. It’s a big motivator for me because of how it connects me to the language and culture.

Prior to deciding to learn the language, my partner and I started watching Vikings and were all caught up on The Last Kingdom. I love learning about history — even if it’s fictional.

Additionally, I started playing Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla (you all know I’m a gamer at heart). And despite all the game glitches and issues, I’ve had fun immersing myself in the game.

Finally, after deciding to learn a bit of Norwegian, I started re-reading Norse Mythology by Neil Gaimon.

Both of these are fun ways for me to connect to Norse history and culture, and they motivate me to keep up my language studies.

Follow my Norwegian Progress

I’m sharing my learning stats over on Instagram each day. If you’d like to follow along with my progress, be sure to follow me!

What About You?

What are your plans for language learning in the new year? I’d love to hear all about them. Let me know in the comments below.

And if you learned or are learning Norwegian, I’d love to know if you have any resource recommendations in case you decide.