Studying alone can be fun – but it can also be difficult. It is often hard to motivate yourself when you have no-one to share your learning with, and it is very hard to see how much progress you have made.
We spoke to Beth Neher, an English language teacher trainer in London, to find out what advice she could give to people studying alone.
Before you read the extract What do you find easy to do in English? What is most difficult for you? What would you like to be able to do by the end of next month?
I think the biggest problem for any language learner is that of being able to see the progress they are making. In some situations, it is easier. For example, if you come to the UK and you don’t speak English, you can see when you have made progress. Suddenly, you understand someone when they ask you a question, or you can ask for something in a shop or understand articles in the newspaper. Obviously, it’s much more difficult when you are learning English in your own country. So, I think that the most important things for learners to do is to set themselves both long-term and short-term goals.A long-term goal could be to pass an international English exam at the end of the year.A short-term goal could be, for example, to learn a song by heart or to be able to understand the news headlines by the end of the month. In both cases, the goals need to be realistic and time-bound. It’s pointless saying ‘I want to speak fluent, accurate English in a month’ if you are not near that stage.You need to be very honest with yourself about what your strengths and weaknesses are.Time limits are also vital. If you don’t give yourself a time limit, your motivation can just disappear. However, if you achieve what you want within the time you set, it can give you a real boost!
We spoke to Beth Neher, an English language teacher trainer in London, to find out what advice she could give to people studying alone.
Before you read the extract What do you find easy to do in English? What is most difficult for you? What would you like to be able to do by the end of next month?
I think the biggest problem for any language learner is that of being able to see the progress they are making. In some situations, it is easier. For example, if you come to the UK and you don’t speak English, you can see when you have made progress. Suddenly, you understand someone when they ask you a question, or you can ask for something in a shop or understand articles in the newspaper. Obviously, it’s much more difficult when you are learning English in your own country. So, I think that the most important things for learners to do is to set themselves both long-term and short-term goals.A long-term goal could be to pass an international English exam at the end of the year.A short-term goal could be, for example, to learn a song by heart or to be able to understand the news headlines by the end of the month. In both cases, the goals need to be realistic and time-bound. It’s pointless saying ‘I want to speak fluent, accurate English in a month’ if you are not near that stage.You need to be very honest with yourself about what your strengths and weaknesses are.Time limits are also vital. If you don’t give yourself a time limit, your motivation can just disappear. However, if you achieve what you want within the time you set, it can give you a real boost!
- In Beth’s opinion, why is it easier to see your progress if you are studying in an English-speaking country?
- What are the two things necessary for good ‘goals’? Why is each important?
Answer
- Because you begin to be able to do practical things, like understand what you hear and buy things in shops.
- ‘Good’ goals need to be realistic and be set for a limited time.
But how do you know if your goals are realistic? And how can you see when you’ve made progress? Here are some ideas to help you.
Test your current level What can you do at the moment? What is difficult for you? Try to find ways of testing yourself in different language areas. For example, to test your listening skills, listen to the BBC World Service news in English today. How much did you understand? 75%? 50%? 30%? Make a note of how well you did in each test.
Make your own action plan An action plan is a list of your goals and what you are going to do to achieve each goal. So, if you understood 30% of the news programme today, your goal might be to understand 50% in one month’s time. How are you going to do this? You could plan to listen to the news every day, note down words you hear often and learn them, and record the news programme so that you can listen to it more than once to check your understanding.Try to make action plans for the other language goals you’ve set. Remember, however, that the time limit you give yourself has to be realistic. Learning takes time.
Test yourself at the end of your time limit When the end of the month approaches, set aside some time to test your progress. For example, you could say to yourself ‘Next Monday, I am going to listen to the news once and find out how much I understand.’ Make a note of how well you did, and then make your next action plan.
Take an international exam It might be possible for you to take an internationally-recognised examination such as the University of Cambridge First Certificate exam.As well as helping you see your own progress, international exams are a way of showing others, such as employers, how good your English is.
TASK
Try the task suggested above. Listen to BBC World Service news in English today to find out how much you understand. However, always take care to prepare yourself to listen.Take a few minutes to think about the news stories you expect to hear today.What vocabulary do you expect to hear? Remember that an important key to understanding is using the background knowledge which you have already!
Make your own action plan An action plan is a list of your goals and what you are going to do to achieve each goal. So, if you understood 30% of the news programme today, your goal might be to understand 50% in one month’s time. How are you going to do this? You could plan to listen to the news every day, note down words you hear often and learn them, and record the news programme so that you can listen to it more than once to check your understanding.Try to make action plans for the other language goals you’ve set. Remember, however, that the time limit you give yourself has to be realistic. Learning takes time.
Test yourself at the end of your time limit When the end of the month approaches, set aside some time to test your progress. For example, you could say to yourself ‘Next Monday, I am going to listen to the news once and find out how much I understand.’ Make a note of how well you did, and then make your next action plan.
Take an international exam It might be possible for you to take an internationally-recognised examination such as the University of Cambridge First Certificate exam.As well as helping you see your own progress, international exams are a way of showing others, such as employers, how good your English is.
TASK
Try the task suggested above. Listen to BBC World Service news in English today to find out how much you understand. However, always take care to prepare yourself to listen.Take a few minutes to think about the news stories you expect to hear today.What vocabulary do you expect to hear? Remember that an important key to understanding is using the background knowledge which you have already!
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