Progression help: Making time to study

A lot of my students lead really busy lives and they find it hard to keep up with their language learning goals. I think this can be broken down into a couple of different problems.

1. Not seeing progress because you haven’t accurately recorded your progress.
2. Not seeing progress because you only learn ‘in the classroom’.
3. Not seeing progress because you have no defined goals.

Let’s break these down:

Not seeing progress because you haven’t accurately recorded your progress.

When you start to reach Intermediate or B1 or higher levels of English, it can be hard to see that you’re making any kind of progress. No matter how many classes you attend, or how often you practice, you might feel stuck. One thing I’ve found that helps this immensely, is keeping a record of your progress. If you know where you were before, it’s easier to see how far you’ve come! By this, I mean, looking back on the work you were able to complete, and the quality you produced in the past will help you see how much more you’ve learned. You’ll start to recognize mistakes, a limited range of vocabulary, or simply remember how hard it was to do something that now is easy for you. These are all signs of progress, that may seem subtle if you’re not keeping a record of them, and not reflecting on how much you’ve learned. Here are some ideas on how you can keep records of your own progress:

• Keep a daily/weekly/monthly journal in English.
• If you have tests in your English classes, save them to check back on in the future.
• Record yourself (with or without video) saying something in English every week. Watch old recordings to see how you’ve progressed.
• Look back through old text books or work books, how easy do these activities feel now? Is there something you don’t quite remember? Make a point to study it this week.

Not seeing progress because you only learn ‘in the classroom’.

This one might be a little obvious, but only practicing and learning in the classroom is probably not enough. Think of it this way: if you only practice and learn English one hour a week, and the rest of your life is consumed with your first language, you’re probably not going to see very much progress at all. 1 hour in English compared to 168 in your first language… well. It’s not a great ratio.

Of course, if you’re taking classes every day or multiple times a week, if you use English at work or school, or if you live in an English speaking country, this probably won’t apply to you. In these cases, you’ve got ample opportunity to practice what you’re learning in a natural way.

This ratio is why it’s very important to practice as much as you can outside of classes. This doesn’t necessarily mean doing worksheets and grammar exercises exclusively (though if you like them and you find them helpful, there’s no reason not to do them!), but it does mean that if you want to see better, faster results, you need to do more English in your day to day life. Here are some ideas to help you increase your practice outside of class:

• listen to podcasts in English on your way to work or school, while you’re cooking or cleaning, or before bed to unwind.
• play video games in English, or join an English discord group connected to one of your hobbies or interests.
• Read an article a day (in the morning with your coffee, maybe?) on a topic that interests you, or on a topic you already know a lot about in your first language.
• Watch TV, Netflix (or other streaming site) or youtube videos in English- you can start slow, with something you know and have watched before in your first language or something short until you get used to it. More ideas on how to make the most of videos in English to come!
• Follow English language content creators on Instagram, Facebook, or tiktok.

Not seeing progress because you have no defined goals.

This one might be the easiest to fix! Regardless of your level, there is always something you are working towards achieving. Maybe it’s a C1 level exam, a certain IELTS score, moving to an English speaking country, or getting a job where English is used. These goals can seem HUGE and difficult to achieve, so I would recommend breaking them into smaller, achievable pieces.

If your goal is to score well on a language exam, try practice tests to see what areas need the most improvement. From there, make little goals to help you work on these from day to day. If your listening needs work, try some podcast practice. Writing quickly is impossible? Try a daily journal exercise.

If your goal is to get a great job where you need to use English, your goals could look something like this:

• Look at job postings for positions you would like to apply to- analyse the language used in the job descriptions.
• Attend events, meet ups, or festivals where you can practice talking to strangers in English. This will help to boost your confidence, which will be useful when you get to the interview stage. Start small, and work up to longer conversations.
• Use social media sites like LinkedIn to learn more about the role you’d like to apply for in English. LinkedIn and other social media can be great to learning new vocab, and seeing language in action.
• Do some research on what kind of questions you might be asked, and the best grammar structures that fit them. This will help you sound your best! For more help on interviewing in English, contact me for a class or keep an eye on this space!

What are your goals in English? How do you practice outside of class? What are the best ways for you to measure your progress? Let me know in the comments!