Happy Monday, dear students!
If you're reading this from Santiago, Chile, I imagine you're very busy. School has just started back for both children and universities. Traffic is back to it's regular flow, vacation is over, and it's back to business as usual. I'm proud of you all for surviving Super Lunes, but I want to warn you: The stress is coming! And with that stress can come frustration with your English studies. The good news is there are ways to combat that frustration! Check out the list below for tips to help maintain your patience and motivation as we get back to the daily grind!
1) Remember why you're learning English. Maybe it's to help you advance in your job. Perhaps you want to study in another country. There are plenty of reasons to want to learn English, but everyone's reason is a little different. By reminding yourself why you started, you can reenergize your tired, overworked, frustrated brain.
2) Set goals. Then set mini-goals. Goal-setting is one of the most important steps to really learning. It gives you a tool to measure your progress. I can tell you when you're progressing (and I will!), but meauring yourself is an important part of the process, too. If your big goal, for instance, is to make a 105 on the TOEFL, make a list of smaller goals that you'll need to accomplish on your way to your big goal. These could be reading the news with ease, completing a certain amount of vocabulary practice units, writing an e-mail with few to no mistakes, etc. Setting goals and then achieving them helps you to really feel progress that otherwise is abstract. Plus, setting mini-goals gives you concrete reasons to celebrate, which in turn helps you to stay motivated.
3) Eat the frogs. This is a phrase we use, please don't eat any frogs. ''Eat the frogs'' means to do the worst part (of anything) first. For example, when I'm reading a book in Spanish, I have to write down a lot of vocabulary. This is my least favorite part of reading, and looking up the words takes a long time, and I'm always a bit surprised at how many words I don't understand. But when I sit down with my book, the most important part (and obviously the worst) is to review my vocabulary list and look up the words I don't know. Once I get past that part, the re-reading is actually enjoyable. Plus, I end with the best part (reading and understanding) instead of the most frustrating part. This is an important strategy to use, especially for studying something as complex as a language.
4) Be consistent. Learning as an adult is a different process than learning as a child. Our memories of learning our own languages are far away, and there weren't many difficulties. As adults, the difficulty is compounded by all of the other stress, responsibilities, and obligations that consume our time and energy. But being consistent with your class attendance and your independent study is one of the best ways to make sure that your progress keeps moving forward. Most times it will feel like you're moving by centimeters, but every once in a while you'll feel like your understanding is moving at the speed of light. Consistency is the price to pay to get those light-speed learning phases.
5) Know when to take a break. I know I just said that consistency is important, but it's also important to know when you need a break. If work is crazy, something has happened in your personal life, or you have the flu, you can miss a class. In fact, you probably should miss a class. If you think your brain can handle it, you can take a half break-- review old material, watch a youtube video, or listen to some music in English. But as your teacher, I know that you have jobs and families and bills, and I know that English (while important) sometimes has to come last. This is okay and it's important to accept. You don't have to feel guilty about taking a break when you need one. And often, a short break is just what you need to come back feeling refreshed!
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