Language learning in your down time

imagen-cerebro-pensante-vector-material_34-57772I was having a full body massage the other day (yes, lucky me!), and, as it tends to do, my mind started wandering.  I thought about things I wanted to blog about, and then I started thinking of the translations for body parts that were being worked on.  I couldn’t remember the word for ‘ankle’, but I realised that this was a good way to pass the time in a way that’s still not very stressful on your mind.

So, for any time that you would otherwise be letting your mind wander (at the hairdresser, on the bus, waiting in any kind of queue), try to focus on some learning revision.  Some examples of things to do:

  1. Name as many items, colours, occupations, locations around you as possible.
  2. Make up sentences about people or situations around you (e.g. ‘That woman is wearing a yellow skirt’).
  3. Count the seconds as they go by.
  4. Narrate your actions in your head (e.g. ‘Now I’m walking towards the ATM. Now I’m getting my wallet out of my bag.’).
  5. Note down any vocabulary you don’t remember or know.  Look them up the next chance you can.

Can you think of any other ways you can keep your mind occupied with language practice?