Hello, everyone! 2025 is just around the corner and we are sure everyone is setting goals for new year around this time. Us, as aspiring polyglots, are also setting goals and making systems in order to keep us accountable throughout the year.
Seolhwa’s Goals
My main languages for 2025 will be Japanese and Chinese and, of course, Korean.
First half of the year
I plan to focus on Korean at the beginning at the year (especially in the first 3 months), while also focusing a bit on Japanese. As I am an advanced Korean learner, I plan to get a lot of input from more advanced topics through watching the news, podcasts or reading articles. I also want to read more books in Korean as often as I can. I will also have conversations with a native speaker at least once a week. My final goal is getting TOPIK level 6 next time I take it next year.
For Japanese, I plan to focus on the language for the whole first part of the year. My main goal is passing the JLPT N3, either by taking the actual test or testing myself alone. I will continue to have weekly conversations with my teacher about daily topics, learn kanji (at least two new kanji every day) and consume media in the language (either through games, series or podcasts).
Second half of the year
While I will continue studying Japanese in the second half of the year, I plan to start learning a new language as well and that is… Chinese. I want to learn Chinese in order to be able to have conversations with native speakers and be able to consume media in the language. My motivation to learn the language started last year when I was studying in Korea. I had a lot of Chinese classmates at university and I became very eager to be able to connect with them in their native language. Also, as Teri is learning it right now, I am sure she will have some amazing tips for me on how to study the language. My main goal in Chinese is to just take it in 6 months to the same basic level I have in Japanese right now (N5), to be able to read easy texts and have super basic conversations.
Action
And, of course, a goal without action is just a dream, so I decided to have some micro-goals or daily habits that will help me achieve my big language goals.
For Korean, I set some mini goals such as listening to the news for 15 min and reading 20 pages from a book in Korean daily. As I am preparing for TOPIK also, I decided to have a day once a week when I practice writing type 54 essays.
For Japanese, I will have one class per week and listen to one Nihongo con Teppei podcast daily. I will also play games in my free time (I am not setting a certain goal here). Moreover, I will learn one kanji per day.
For Chinese, I will try to follow the same method I used for Japanese (a blog post about my Japanese Journey coming soon).
Teri’s Goals
My language goals for 2025… I have been struggling to find my specific language related goals for this year, after thinking a lot about it I decided to focus on 3 languages.
KOREAN
- Read at least 5 books in Korean. ( it could be novel, news compilation books, etc)
- Study Korean through immersion at least 5 times a week
- Listen to podcast in Korean
- Take the Topik exam and get level 5급
- Speak and write more in Korean with friends and boyfriend
- Watch at least 6 kdramas in a year
Chinese
- Continue with my Chinese lessons at least 2 per week or 7 lessons per month
- Finish HSK1 and HSK 2 grammar books
- Watch at least 4 Chinese dramas
- Write a Diary in Chinese
- Practice speaking with my teacher
- Take HSK 1 and 2
- Watch YouTube vlogs in Chinese
ROMANIAN
- Finish at least 2 grammar books
- Practice speaking and writing with my friend Seolhwa (who is a native speaker)
- Listen to some music/ podcasts in Romanian
Tips on setting realistic and sustainable goals
-Check your goals at the end of every month to see if you worked or not towards that goal and what you can change
-Try to set small attainable goals (for the mini goals) that you know you can commit to. If you say you will read 100 pages daily, but it takes like 2 hours, you will likely not have time or not feel like doing it, so small goals like 5-10 pages every day are better
-Make habits and stuck them on top of your already existing habits! If your goal is to read 10 pages of a book in your target language every day, try making reading after you brush your teeth or right before going to sleep a habit
-Try to set space in your calendar for the goals if you like keeping a tight schedule. If not, just set a certain day of the week to study a certain language. For example, Saturday could be Korean day, Sunday Japanese day and so on
-Don’t be afraid to change your goals and especially your micro-goals throughout the year. Be flexible and if there is something that you think could benefit your language journey better, try it out
May 2025 be a fruitful year for your language learning journey!
Polyglot besties 
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