May 1, 2014 – August 31, 2014
What is it all about?
In short, I challenge you to read books in foreign languages this summer! Now let's expand on it:
1) What is a foreign language? It's any language that is not your first one! However, let's not count languages that you know really well, shall we? For example, English is not my mother tongue, but about 80% of the books I read, I read in English. So I will not count it. Otherwise, any language you want to improve is allowed!
2) What is a book? Anything! An adapted or a translated edition, a children's book, comics, a short story, an audio book - all are welcome! It depends only on your level and on the amount of free time you have!
3) What is summer? The challenge runs for four months: from May 1st to August 31st. I hope this will give you enough time to reach your goals!How do I participate?
There are levels! Choose just how much you want to challenge yourself to read, and don't forget to mention it in your sign-up post!
Beginner: read 1 book in any foreign language
Intermediate: read 2 books in any foreign language
Advanced: read 3+ books in any foreign language
The books can be in one or in several different foreign languages. You choose what you want to practice! But for really crazy linguists I have a special offer, which is called accordingly:
Crazy Linguist: read at least 1 book in EACH foreign language you know. Of course, this one is additional to the above listed three levels!
Bonus level is for films:
Subs Fan: watch any number of films in a foreign language (Why is it called so? Because subs are allowed, of course!)
After you read your book (or watch a movie), you are encouraged to post about your experience! It can be a review, or a reflection, or a rant, whatever! If the book's language affected your experience, write about it! Is it easy or difficult? Does it have crazy grammar or so many rare words that you couldn't put down your dictionary? Share!
For the hardcore language freaks I have another optional task! Try to write about the book in the language you read it in! Just a few phrases, to practice your writing! Last year native speakers were known to friendly explain the mistakes in the reviews, so don't be afraid to make them! It's all for your benefit, you know. :)How do I sign up?
It's easy! Just write an introduction post and link it to the linky below! To help you write it, I've prepared some questions! You may answer them, or write anything else - your choice! The minimum info that I need about you is the languages in which you are going to read and the level you choose. But the more you tell us, the more fun it is! So, the questions:
- What languages do you know? Note: even if you are a beginner, it totally counts! And don't forget to mention what your mother-tongue is!
- What is your history with these languages?
- Do you use them or are you out of practice?
- Have you read some books in these languages? Did you like it?
- What are your plans for the challenge?
- For veteran participants: have you read and/or reviewed some books in foreign languages since the last challenge? Boast about it and link the reviews!
How does it work?
When you sign up, I add you to my RSS feed. Since then, whenever you mention in your post that the review is for the challenge, I note it and put it into each month's recap post. This recap post will list all the participants' reviews since the beginning of the challenge sorted by language. I hope it will be fun for you to see what other participants are reading in the same language you are! I also introduce new participants in these posts. The post will go live in the end of each month, so don't forget to stop by and check it out! Or follow me not to miss it :)
This reading challenge is hosted by In My Book. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.
