Happy New Year Everyone!

2020 has surely been a challenge! In fact, the events of this past year have been unprecedented (that means never done before or never known before).  But let's look at 2021 through the eyes of Max and Rosie (my puppies).

The interesting thing about dogs is that they enjoy life in the moment. That means they don't think about or worry about what happened in the past. And they also don't worry about the future. I think as language learners, me included, we can all take a hint from dogs.

First of all, 2020 has been rough for all of us because of the pandemic. Looking forward, I've got a feeling that we'll get over this soon and life will go back to some kind of normal. And we have to look forward, because as Max and Rosie will tell you, thinking about the past, especially negative things, doesn't change anything. It just makes you feel bad. So let's leave what happened in the past and enjoy our moments now.

For 2021, change your mindset (the believes and attitudes you have). You've got two ways to look at life, positively or negatively. Chose the positive path. The media is full of information designed to bring you down (make you feel negative), so don't pay attention to it. Focus on what's good in your life.

And do the same for your language learning. Quite often students tell things like, "Oh, I've made that mistake before" or "Oh, I always say that wrong" etc. Focus on now...what words or grammar you used incorrectly yesterday don't really matter today. You are always learning, which means you are always improving.

And remember my favorite quote: Your last mistake is your best teacher!