Hi, everyone! I have been in a language slump for a long time. I read some articles and decided to set some concrete goals for myself. I'd like feedback on whether these goals are realistic and what skills I should work on. 

Immediate goals: overcome shyness and ask shopkeepers/waiters questions, pronounciation, use more active and enjoyable language learning methods (speaking, writing).

Summer goal to reach by Sept. 1: Reach advanced low proficiency (I'm at intermediate high), pass the Russian 2nd Certificate (B2) exam

Grammar: Master intermediate grammar, begin advanced

Reading: be able to read chapter of middle school history wise ease, 4 page academic history paper, find enjoyable books and read

Writing: academic essay for exam, write about impressions of books and movies, narratate funny personable experiences

Speaking: be able to talk about feelings with native speakers, have 15 min. interaction without accent or noticeable grammar mistakes, be more assertive and ask more questions, learn how to ask interesting questions

Listening: be able to understand 10 min. academic lecture (like a Ted Talk), fully understand 30-min TV show with normative language (news?), learn colloquialism from Универ, Физрук

Methods this week:

1. working on practice exam 2 hours at a time *too boring, not sustainable, exhausting*

2. speaking with language partners *good, 1-2 hours all in Russian, a lot of small talk*

3. chatting online *always do this, good for colloquialisms, might reinforce bad spelling*

4. watching Стилги *not as easy as expected, will watch again*

5. hanging out with Russians here *very fun, most do more often*

6. flashcards with audio and pictures *great for pronounciation, unlearning bad habits, in public must whisper answer*

7. professional lessons *extremely helpful, they are excellent grammar guides, more exhausting than I thought it would be*

8. listening to Russian music *I've been lax about this lately*

9. Wrote notebook entry

Next week:

1. Grammar textbooks, use new and easy grammar forms in speech all week

2. More speaking, speaking is always good *should I speak every day?*

3. Try to marry writing to other fun activities. Write about something so you can speak about it later.

4. Watch TV shows and cartoons

5. Incorporate flash cards and listening to music into my daily routine

6. Try to read a chapter a day of Королевство кривых зеркал 

Any suggestions for material? What have you done for your own language learning? I want to establish habits so I don't regress when I return to the US. I also want to use as many active skills as possible and incorporate passive skills into my relaxation time. If I can make learning Russian fun and enjoyable, I am more likely to stick with it.