Aiming to be a Language Master: An Expat Wife's Ambition

I am a thirty-something, unemployed, homebody expat wife living in Europe, accompanying my husband on his overseas assignment.

I am right in the middle of a summer vacation from life.

What do I want to do before I return home?

Expat life is not straightforward.

But it is also a life that will definitely come to an end as well.

Since I have the time, and I am currently in a situation where I cannot move around much.

I cannot work, and I have no income.

Even so, I want to spend my time without regrets when I return.

I want to do everything I thought I would do when I had the time.

Current thoughts

Certifications I want to obtain before returning to Japan

・Boki Level 2
・Real Estate Notary
・FP Level 2

Things I thought I wanted to do if I had the time

・Master Korean
・Take classes at an overseas university
・Study philosophy
・Become able to speak English
・Make something of Chinese, which was my second foreign language

As for the certifications, some of them I was able to obtain while working back in Japan, so I think I would do them in Japan if I really needed to.
Besides, the tests can only be taken in Japan.
I cannot maintain the motivation to study without a clear test date, so I think it is better for me to study slowly and then cram once the test schedule is decided.

Now, about the things I thought I wanted to do if I had the time.

These are things that my future self will definitely regret if I do not make them happen.

English complex

I think I have a complex about English.

It's not that I'm bad at it.
In fact, I like it.

But if you ask me if I'm fluent,I can't speak like a native speaker.
However, I have this strange pride that I worked hard for entrance exams and passed the toughest English tests for private universities back then, so...

It makes me angry when I'm treated as if I can't do it at all.

That said, I don't have any achievements to prove I can, so I've often felt frustrated, but...

Well, I don't use it anyway, so it's fine.
It would be a hassle if people thought I could speak it and English-related work came my way.

And so I kept running away.

I'm not getting as good as I thought I would...

And then, unexpectedly, I found myself living abroad.
At first, I struggled even with daily life.

I had been studying a little bit here and there, but more than I thought,I'm not getting better at English.

I can do it if I try!

I thought that, but when I think about it, I only became capable after studying desperately for hours every day for entrance exams, so
even if I do it half-heartedly here and there,there's no way it's going to go well that easily.

I have no choice but to do it!!!

Yes, I have no choice but to do it.

The only way to improve is to admit my current inability and work steadily every day.

What I'm aiming for isa level where I can speak my thoughts in English without difficulty.

I definitely want a good TOEIC score, but before that, I want to thoroughly address my weaknesses.

Grammar and vocabularyare what I feel are my biggest challenges.

In 2024, once my English takes shape, next is Korean!

I've always wanted to be able to speak Korean too, but I kept thinking 'English first,' so I haven't made any progress at all.

Once I become proficient in Korean, I want to take a Chinese proficiency test.
It's because I regret that I studied it in college but never really achieved anything concrete with it.

My English study method

I have been continuously using abceed, which I introduced in this article, and it's been almost a year now.

The abundance of study materials and the accessibility of the app have helped me keep at it, even if it's just steady, slow progress.

Since app-based learning is easy to sustain, lately I've

also started Duolingo!

I'm also dabbling in the local language here and there.

I sometimes do French or Korean for a change of pace.
Even though I'm only using the free version, I can clearly see my progress, so even someone like me who usually gives up easily has managed to keep going.

I also practice pronunciation on YouTube.

I check out study books if I find any on Kindle Unlimited.

I've spent so much money on this in the past, so I want to avoid spending as much as possible...!

By the time I return home... will I be a language master???

If things go according to plan, I might just become a language master.

Or so I say.

If I stress too much, I won't be able to keep it up, so I'm taking it easy

so that I don't have any regrets about this limited-time life

so that I can enjoy my own life

I hope to spend my days living like that.