A new year, what about a new habit?

Now that the year is still very fresh, it's a great time to consider adopting a new habit.

If you're interested in improving your English, what about trying something new for a month, something you've never done before? Here are a few simple ideas:

1. Start a journal in English. Every day or every week, write some thoughts, ideas, new words, quotations or anything that captures your attention.

2. Read something different. Find a new blog about something you love, buy a cookbook in English, start reading an English or American newspaper or magazine. Even if it seems challenging at the beginning, practice will help you understand more and more!

3. Find the lyrics to your favorite songs and look up the words that you don't know. Slang dictionaries can be helpful in this.

4. Give yourself a mini-challenge. For example, you could commit to master a verb tense in two weeks. You could challenge yourself to really learn eight new words in one month. Or you could go to an English pub or language exchange and talk to someone new!

5. Participate in an online exchange, or start posting comments on blogs or sites you read. Or, if you're really brave, start your own blog in English!

I hope that 2013 has started well for you, and that it will be a year of happiness, adventure and well being!