Balancing first full-time summer job and foreign language studying. Any tips?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Hi there, </p>

<p>I just finished my first year of college (wow!), and I’m now looking forward to a productive summer. I’m going to Europe for a study abroad trip (it’s from early July to mid August), and until then, I was hired to help out at a family friend’s landscaping business. It’s my first full-time job, and I’m slotted to work 5 days and 45 hours a week. I also wish to keep going with my language studies (I study two of of them), and I’d appreciate any advice on how to manage a physically draining job and my intellectual endeavors. </p>

<p>I know plans will change after I actually start working, but here’s my tentative plan: do a solid few hours of language study on my days off and do a few minor things (like listening to music and reading in the languages) at night after work. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get much speaking in with my main foreign language, but my mom can help me with the other since teaches it. </p>

<p>Does this sound like a good plan? I SHOULD be keeping up with my languages, right? I fear that I’ll fall into the full-time work grind and will slack off with my language acquisition, so I’m trying to do the best that I possibly can with it all. I’ve worked part-time before in the summer, but nothing was ever as serious and physical as this job is going to be. </p>

<p>Thanks so much, and Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers on here! :slight_smile: </p>

2

<p>I assume you need the money from the job… and possibly that should be your first priority unless it is critical that you do the language study to stay on track for your degree. A landscaping job is going to be exhausting, you may not keep up with evening or even day off studying during the time you are working. It sounds like it is only maybe 6 weeks of work time – I would focus on your job and earning money, and just not worry so much about the languages. If you can listen to headphones while you work, maybe you can find some podcasts in the languages you are studying to listen to.</p>

3

<p>Second the idea of listening to your language while working. Try audiobooks as well.</p>