Are you feeling frustrated with your English language learning and how slow it is? Today we discussed this with my students. I shared with them the best way to set a goal for their English language learning.
Observe your language learning behaviors right now to find your baseline. How much are you practicing your English language? In what settings? What and how often you are doing it now is your baseline. For example, many students said that the only time they were speaking and listening to English was during ESL class. Only you know the answer to these questions. Whatever you are doing right now, write it down.
“I am speaking and listening to English only at ESL class.”
Start small. Wherever you are, add a small increase to that time and effort. If you want to improve your listening, maybe you can set a goal to listen more. Write it down.
“I will listen to English for 15 minutes a day.”
Name the situation for your goal, such as “in my car” or “at my children’s school with the other parents” and write it down.
“I will listen to English for 15 minutes a day while driving in my car.”
Put an end date on your goal. Try your goal for 2 weeks or a month. Add the end date to your goal. Write it down.
“For the remaining two weeks of this month, I will listen to English for 15 minutes a day while driving in my car.”
Post this goal where you will see it every day.
Do this task in the morning (so you’ve taken care of it for the day) or check midway through the day to make sure you fit it into your day.
Make check marks on a calendar to keep track.
Look at your behavior at the end date. Did you reach your goal? Was it too easy? Make it a little harder. Was it too hard? Make it a little easier.
Now here’s one more bit of advice for if you do not reach your goal. OK. It happens sometimes. You set a goal and do not reach it. What then? Well, I want to encourage you that even if you didn’t reach your goal you still accomplished more than if you had never set a goal! Maybe it stings a little? Maybe you feel disappointment? That’s OK. If you tried and failed, you probably learned something, didn’t you. Don’t let that keep you from making a new goal. Think through it for the next goal. Maybe if you try something new, you’ll reach your goal. Just don’t give up. You can do it.