10 things NOT to do this year (if you want to improve your English) Part II.
Everyone knows that I’m a really curious person, so I’m wondering if you read my previous post with the first half of the tips on how to work on your English more efficiently (not only) this year. Have you already tried some of the tips from my previous post? Do they work for you? I certainly hope so and here is the promised second part.
6. Do NOT disconnect
Why? No matter how motivated and dedicated you are, learning a foreign language can sometimes get hard. You may get stuck or you may hit a rough patch on your way to better English and temporarily lose the momentum. When you’re alone and have nobody with similar experience to understand and encourage you to move forward, it can be hard to get back in the saddle.
Instead: Rather than alone, you can study with a friend/family member or colleague. This will give you the chance to practise the language together, compare your notes and experiences, help each other with difficult grammar and help each other out when one of you starts losing hope that you’ll ever master at least the most frequent irregular or phrasal verbs 😉 Another option is to find a learner support group – either physical in your area or virtual on social networks. If you can’t find one, you can also start it yourself 😉
7. Do NOT lose track of your WHY
Why? You may have already come across Simon Sinek’s book ‘Start with Why?”. If not, I can strongly recommend it, especially if you want to get more insight into the topic of motivation. We don’t take random actions and in order to commit ourselves to an activity, we need a strong reason why we want to do it. Without it, you will give up, sooner or later, but you will. And even though you might have a clear reason why you started learning the language, it may sometimes change or fade away.
Instead: No matter if you’re just starting to learn a foreign language or you’ve been learning it for many years, just sit down and ask yourself honestly WHY you’re (still) doing it. You may make this a regular habit, like every half a year or year (beginning of the year may be just the right time for it). I believe that revisiting your motivation and aligning your goals with it is one of the most important components of learning a language (and, actually, doing anything). So what’s your WHY?
8. Do NOT stay silent
Why? Language is a means of communication. How do you communicate when you’re all on your own? Unless you work in a multinational environment or have an English speaking family member, it is probably hard for you to find a reason to communicate in the language. Finding a person or a group of people (preferably those who do not share your mother tongue so that you are forced to use English) gives you a natural reason to use the language. Let alone the fact that it’s lots of fun.
Instead: OK, you say, but how to find someone to talk to in English? Here are a few tips. Find a Facebook group that also meets physically. Since I live and work in Brno, I can recommend the following groups: Language Meetings in Brno, English in Brno – Angličtina v Brně and Living in Brno. Another way – especially if you’re a bit more courageous – is to hit a pub where lots of expats meet such as The Immigrant and simply strike up a conversation with somebody.
You can also agree with your friend/partner or colleague that you will set up a certain day & time when you will only speak English, no matter what.
Other ways of communication include talking over Skype or instant messaging, which is on the borderline of spoken and written communication. It’s still a great way to practise, though. Mind you that you can also “not stay silent” in writing. Writing is different from speaking in that it lacks the immediacy and unpreparedness of speech but you benefit from exchanging e-mails or letters just the same. Have you started looking for a pen pal yet?
9. Do NOT fear mistakes
Why? You may be surprised, but I just can’t stress the importance of making mistakes enough. Most of my students (especially in the beginning of our cooperation) dread making a mistake. I can understand the psychology between the fear of making a mistake, I totally can. And, believe me, I had my share of beating myself down for days after making a mistake at my lessons. I used to tell myself things like, “How can you be so stupid and make a mistake. You’re a teacher, you’re supposed to be perfect!” But that was before I understood two things. First, you have to practise what you preach. Your students will never buy what you say unless you also act accordingly. Second, what may seem like a disaster is gold for both the student and the teacher alike. Noticing and analyzing the mistakes gives you so much information and you can work on the areas that need improvement simply because you know what they are.
Instead: Embrace your mistakes and love them because they’re helping you to get better. If you make a mistake, don’t tell yourself off, don’t put yourself down and, most certainly, don’t hold yourself back as a result. Instead, take a note of the mistake, find out the correct version (or ask your teacher to correct you and explain what was wrong) and try to use the piece of language correctly next time. Given by the character of the difference between your mother tongue and English, there will be some grammar/vocabulary more difficult than the rest. That’s normal and it’s OK. Don’t hate your mistakes, learn from them!
10. Do NOT quit
Why? Quitting is for crybabies. Is it hard? Yes, and it will be sometimes. Maybe many times. Maybe you don’t feel like studying any more, maybe you feel it’s pointless. Maybe you think you will never reach your goal and be able to use the language the way you’d like to. So what?
Instead: You might have the same experience like me – once you quite an activity completely, it’s really hard to start again. And chances are you will want to go back to learning English. So what can you do instead of quitting? Take a break – your studying pace might have been too fast or life got in your way – or slow down, just don’t stop. Ask for help – your teacher or friend (see point 6 above) to help you kick up your appetite for learning. I will save you the pain of starting over from a much lower level and it pays off 😉
OK, so now you know how to improve your study habits and in my next article I’ll share with you some practical tips on how to make the most of your classroom time. Thanks for reading!
Photo taken from http://flickr.com/eltpics by @vickyloras, used under a CC Attribution Non-Commercial license, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/