If I had a job to cut down a tree, and I had ten hours to finish the job, I would spend the first six hours sharpening the saw.   - Abraham Lincoln

I don't think that those are the exact words, but President Lincoln highlights an important point in life and in language learning.  Preparation.  My father-in-law is a farmer and often says, "an hour in summer is worth two in winter."  He understands the importance of preparation.  In language learning, preparation is also important and should not be neglected.  We often get into the flow of life and forget to stop and reflect on how things are going or to take the time to plan for how we would like to have things go.  We just don't have the time. Or so we tell ourselves. But when we take the time to prepare, our time in lessons, in the community, at neighbors is more effective and we end up having a more rewarding learning experience and we have more fun!  Let me give a brief example:  Going to the store.  Unprepared, I just go to the store.  I get what I need, I pay and I leave.  But, if I take two minutes to think of a few things I  would like to work on, to write them down and then to rehearse on the way to the store, I will have a learning experience where unprepared, I would have just had a trip to the store.  So I pick a few things to work on, asking the name of something and the location of some product for example, and head off to the store.  In the course of my shopping, whenever I see a clerk, I practice my questions, maybe asking where the rice is three or four times.  Sounds crazy, but then I get to hear three or four responses to the same question.  All a bit different, but all leading to the rice, which of course I already know the location of. (Then I can head in that direction, even if I have no idea what they said) In roughly the same amount of time (plus two or three minutes) I will get the same job accomplished but will have also had a small opportunity for language learning.  Too often we see life as a lot of menial tasks we need to get accomplished so we can get on with the real work.  But just as life is lived and experienced in the menial, so language can be learned there also - with just a little bit of preparation. 

With that said, check out the newest handcrafted audio, "The Tree Cutter" a story written to emphasize President Lincoln's advice.