Third week (ALMS course)

 

Hi everyone,

I have just completed another week of English studies combined with my PhD work and professional responsibilities. I have been trying to improve my schedule every day to become more efficient. So far, I have not reached my goal of studying around 14 hours per week. Maybe that target is too ambitious for me.

I realized that listening to podcasts before or after work has not been very effective. I often do not pay enough attention, and when the episode ends, I notice that I barely remember what I have just listened to. Because of that, I decided to practice my listening skills at home using AI tools, listening exercises and TV shows without subtitles.

During the week, I prefer studying at night since I usually do not have much free time at work. On weekends, I spread my study sessions throughout the day. I have noticed that practicing more time-consuming skills, such as writing, works much better for me on weekends.

Another strategy I added to my routine is what I call the “comment section” with my husband. When we watch TV together, we spend at least 30 minutes discussing what we are watching. This has been very effective, not only for improving my speaking skills, but also for helping me think faster, analyze situations, express my opinions clearly, and understand his perspective.

This routine really pushes me to practice my English every day at home, and I am happy about that.

 

⌚Time spent (3 weeks): 26 h 40 min +13 h 5 min = 39 h 45 min/ 98 h

📊 My Progress: 46% completed 💪

 

WEEK 3
DATE	Day	Time	Skill	Activity
10/02/26	Monday	40 min	listening	Movie or TV show (no subtitles)
		20 min	vocabulary	New vocab (app: Langeek)
		21 min	listening	Podcast Antibodies: ep2, types of immunity
		1 h 25min
11/02/26	Tuesday	30 min	Listening	Listening drills/podcast
		1h 15 min	speaking	RPG game
		30 min	listening	Movie or TV show (no subtitles)
		15 min	vocabulary	New vocab (app: Langeek)
		10 min	listening	NYT audio
		2 h 40min
12/02/26	Wednesday	1 h	speaking	Easy Talk support group / HelloTalk conversation
		10 min	listening	Podcast or NYT audio
		30 min	listening	Movie or TV show (no subtitles)
		1h 40min
13/12/26	Thursday	15 min	vocabulary	New vocab (app: Langeek)
		20 min	Listening	Movie or TV show (no subtitles)
		35 min
14/0226	Friday	30 min	writing	Discussing with AI about my experiment
		30 min
15/02/26	Saturday	40 min	Writing	Academic Writing Support Group
		1 h 30 min	Speaking	Commenting a movie, only in English, during movie section with my husband
		40 min	listening	Listening drills: https://ieltsonlinetests.com
		2 h 50min
16/02/26	Sunday	30 min	listening	Movie or TV show (no subtitles)
		15 min	vocabulary	New vocab (app: Langeek)
		40 min	Speaking	Discussing Olympics games with my husband
		2 h	Writing	Writing Support group: Induction and purification challenges in recombinant protein production in Escherichia coli
3 h 25min
Total= 1 h 25 min+ 2 h 40 min+ 1 h 40 min+ 35 min+ 30 min+ 2 h 50 min+ 3 h 25 min= 13 h 5 min