Happy New Year!

Today is New Year’s Day. One popular thing to do for New Year’s is to make some New Year’s resolutions. When people make a resolution, they think about some bad habits they want to quit, or maybe start some good habits, and then resolve (make a promise and determine to yourself to keep it) to make the change for the new year. So, for example, many people resolve to lose weight, give up smoking, get more exercise, eat more healthful foods, and so on.

Although many resolutions have to do with one’s physical health, resolutions can also be in regards to other habits as well. For example, someone might resolve to read more books in the coming year, and then set a goal of reading 3 books a month. Someone else might resolve to spend more time with their children, and take them camping in the summer. Still others might make resolutions concerning a hobby – some might resolve to take cooking classes, tennis lessons, or play the piano more often.


For those of us learning a language, an obvious resolution would have to do with language study. I want to study more Korean and Japanese, and take the JLPT Level 2 at the end of this year. I’m going to try to set aside time each day to study – 30 minutes every day is much better than 3 1/2 hours only once a week, even though the total minutes is the same. Practicing by writing in a journal every day is also a good idea.

Have you made any resolutions? May 2008 be a breakthrough year for you in English!

Graphics courtesy of Little House.