February is my month of French in the Power of Less Challenge. I committed to studying French at least 30 mins per day for the month. This goal in particular, is really important to me, as I want to come away from this job with a working ability in French.

But first, a quick thought about the language learning tools I’ve chosen. I recently had a discussion with a friend about why I gave up using Rosetta Stone for learning languages. My reasons for stopping have to do with effeciency and adherance.

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My friend Josh recently wrote a blog post about learning Spanish — what has been working, and what hasn’t — and asked for strategies from his readers. When I sat down to write a comment, I realized I had too much to say for just a short paragraph, so here it is. These are strategies that have helped me (and people who I have recognized as effective second language learners) pick up a new language quicker than average — not because we are smarter, but simply because we focus on time-efficient and effective strategies.

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