How to Stay Consistent in Your English Learning Journey with Despoina!
In collaboration with Despoina
Sharing our best tips for staying consistent in your English learning journey
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Today I have collaborated with English teacher Despoina Keramari, an English-loving linguist originally from Greece, to help you stay consistent in your English learning journey. Make sure you check out her website for more information on her English lessons, writing services and online English courses: Click here to go to her website!
I prepared 5 questions to ask her about this topic
Scroll down to read her top tips!
1) Despoina, what is your top tip for students to stay consistent when studying English long-term?
Staying consistent when studying English or any language long-term can be a challenge, but it's crucial for making steady progress. I always tell my students that consistency is more important than the amount of time you spend each day. Even dedicating a small portion of your day to English can yield significant results over time. By creating a routine that fits your lifestyle and making language learning an integral part of your daily life, you'll be better equipped to stay on track and make long-term progress.
Here's my top tip for students looking to maintain consistency:
Create a Routine and Stick to It:
Establish a daily or weekly routine for your English language studies. Consistency is key, so make a schedule that works for you, and commit to it. Here's how you can structure your routine:
Set Specific Goals: Define what you want to achieve with your English studies. Whether it's improving your speaking, reading, writing, or overall proficiency, having clear goals will keep you motivated.
Examples of specific goals could be:
Achieve a Certain Proficiency Level:
"Reach a B2 level of proficiency in English within one year."
"Attain an IELTS score of 7.0 within six months."
Vocabulary Development:
"Learn and retain 20 new English words and their usage every week."
"Expand my vocabulary by 500 words in the next three months."
Listening Skills:
"Understand and follow English-language podcasts without subtitles within three months."
"Watch English movies without subtitles and comprehend 90% of the dialogue within six months."
Speaking Skills:
"Participate in English conversation classes or language exchange meetings at least twice a week."
"Confidently give a five-minute presentation in English at work or school in three months."
Writing Skills:
"Write a 500-word essay in English on a chosen topic every two weeks."
"Create a personal blog in English and post at least one article per week."
Reading Comprehension:
"Read one English novel per month."
"Understand and summarize English news articles without difficulty within six months."
Grammar Mastery:
"Study and understand the usage of all English verb tenses within four months."
"Eliminate common grammatical errors from my writing within two months."
Cultural Understanding:
"Learn about the cultural customs and traditions of English-speaking countries by reading at least one book per month."
"Attend cultural events or festivals related to English-speaking cultures at least once a month."
When setting these goals, it's important to make them SMART:
Specific: Clearly define what you want to achieve.
Measurable: Use quantifiable metrics to track your progress.
Achievable: Ensure that your goals are realistic and attainable.
Relevant: Make sure your goals are relevant to your overall language learning objectives.
Time-Bound: Set a clear timeframe for achieving your goals.
Diversify Your Learning:
Don't just focus on one aspect of the language. Incorporate various activities into your routine, such as reading, listening to podcasts, watching movies, practicing writing, and engaging in conversation. This can help you stay consistent as variety makes the learning process more interesting.Join Language Learning Communities:
Connect with other English learners online or in person, if possible. Online language forums, social media groups, or local language exchange events can help you stay motivated and share your progress with others.Keep a Study Journal:
Maintain a journal to track your progress, set weekly or monthly goals, and reflect on your language learning journey. This can help you stay accountable to yourself.
This could work like that:
It’s Saturday morning. You make your coffee, and you sit down to check what you have worked on during the week (either with your teacher or by yourself if you have chosen self-learning). After that, you should prepare a detailed plan for the week coming. Research the material (videos, audios, exercises) you will work on based on a topic you choose.Incorporate English into Daily Life:
Integrate English into your daily activities as much as possible. Change your device settings to English, listen to English music or podcasts during your commute, or switch your news sources to English-language ones.Reward Yourself:
Celebrate your achievements and milestones. Think of your language learning as the one at the gym. You stay consistent, you work hard, you follow your diet, and at the end of the week you can have a cheat meal. Treat yourself to something special when you reach a particular level of proficiency or complete a challenging task.Be Patient and Persistent:
Learning a language is a long-term endeavour. There will be times when you feel stuck or demotivated. Remind yourself why you started and stay persistent. Learning is like a turbulent flight, not steady.
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2) Some of my students struggle to pick the language back up after taking a break. How can they improve their consistency?
I bet that getting back to anything after a break is a struggle for all of us. It's common for students to struggle with picking up a language after a long break, but there are strategies to help improve consistency and get back on track.
Start Small and Gradual:
Encourage your students to start with short, manageable study sessions. A few minutes of daily practice is often more effective than trying to study for hours on end. As they become more comfortable, they can gradually increase the time they dedicate to language learning. These first sessions I believe should be enjoyable with interesting topics that remind students that learning a language can be fun, too and connecting existing knowledge to new information.Set Realistic Goals: Review how far you’ve come in your language learning journey and define your next goals. Work closely with your students to set achievable, short-term goals. These goals should be specific and focused on the skills or areas they want to improve, such as vocabulary, grammar, listening, or speaking. Achieving these smaller goals can provide a sense of accomplishment and motivation.
Incorporate Language into Daily Life: Encourage students to integrate the language into their daily routine. This is generally fundamental in language learning and before going on a break you could remind them to do so while on break. What matters mostly to me is paying attention. Even if you are on break, you might watch a TV show or movie in English. So, pay attention to the language while watching.
Review and Revisit Previous Material: Suggest reviewing previous lessons or materials to refresh their memory. This can help them regain confidence and build on their existing knowledge.
Stay Patient and Positive: Remind your students that language learning is a journey with ups and downs. Encourage them to stay patient and positive, even when they face challenges or setbacks.
3) I’ve noticed that a lot of students are only interested in improving their speaking. How can they study the other skills more consistently?
It’s crucial for any learner to understand that knowledge of a language is multidimensional. Even when it comes to your first language, you are not only capable of speaking it but also writing and reading in that language. To speak, write and read effectively you need to have a solid knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and spelling. Additionally, to speak and communicate efficiently you also need good listening skills. So, I would say that to be a master of a language you need to practise all those skills and students should understand that grammar should be learnt for correct use of English purposes.
So, my suggestions for a lesson that helps students balance all language skills but focuses primarily on Speaking would be:
Incorporate Speaking into Other Language Skills:
Encourage your students to find ways to incorporate speaking into other language learning activities. For example, when reading a book or article, they can try summarizing what they've read aloud or discuss it with a language partner. This reinforces reading comprehension and speaking simultaneously.
Set Specific Speaking Goals:
While speaking is their primary focus, your students can set specific speaking-related goals to maintain consistency. For instance:
"Participate in a language exchange conversation at least twice a week."
"Speak for 10 minutes in the target language, using new vocabulary and grammar every day."
Record Speaking Sessions:
Encourage your students to record their speaking sessions. Listening to recordings can help them identify areas of improvement and track progress over time. You can also ask them to focus on the correct use of grammar and vocabulary that you have recently worked on.
Balance with Listening and Pronunciation:
To improve speaking, listening skills are crucial. Your students can watch movies, listen to podcasts, or engage with native speakers in real-life contexts. These activities not only enhance listening but also provide natural exposure to pronunciation and accent.
Regular Vocabulary Practice:
A rich vocabulary is essential for effective speaking. Your students can consistently practice learning and using new vocabulary in their daily conversations.
Writing to Speaking:
Writing and speaking are closely related. Encourage your students to write essays, short stories, or personal journals in the target language and then practice speaking about what they've written. This helps connect the skills and reinforces vocabulary and grammar.
It's important for your students to recognize that a well-rounded language proficiency enhances their speaking abilities as well. Encourage them to maintain consistency in all aspects of language learning, and over time, they will see the benefits in their speaking skills as well as their overall language proficiency. When it comes to occasions when teacher and student share the same first language which is not English, I suggest using English during the lesson to get accustomed to functional language and generally get used to speaking the language to communicate and using the language to learn the language.
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4) Is it important for students to study daily?
Studying daily can have some benefits like consistency, habit formation, incremental progress and knowledge retainment. However, there are some considerations against daily study like burnout and overwhelm. At the same time, you should always choose quality over quantity and that depends on the individual’s time availability and learning style. Daily study may not be feasible for everyone due to work, family, or other commitments. In such cases, creating a realistic study schedule is more important than daily study. Also, some learners benefit from short, daily practice, while others prefer longer, less frequent sessions. It's important to adapt your study routine to your individual learning style.
I would say it’s important to engage, rather than firmly study daily. Having a journal as discussed above could help a student define which days will be devoted to studying and doing exercises to prepare for the lesson and which days will be engagement and fun “English days”.
In summary, while daily study can be highly effective, it's not an absolute requirement for language learning. The key is to find a study schedule that is sustainable and suits the learner's needs and goals. The quality of study, consistency over time, and the ability to adapt to individual circumstances are more important factors to consider. The most important thing is to stay motivated and make steady progress in your language learning journey, whether that involves daily study or another approach.
5) Is routine important when taking an English course or self-studying?
This question definitely links to my previous answers. Like the example I gave with the gym.
So, yes.
Having a routine is important both when taking an English course and when self-studying. Establishing a routine provides structure and helps you stay on track with your language learning goals. Here's why routine is important for both approaches:
For English Courses:
Class Attendance: In a formal English course, attending classes at specific times is a part of the routine. Regular attendance ensures you receive the necessary instruction and practice.
Homework and Assignments: English courses typically come with assignments and homework. Having a routine helps you allocate time for completing these tasks and meeting deadlines.
Consistency: Consistently attending classes and participating in assignments and activities is vital for building a strong foundation in English.
Progress Tracking: A routine enables you to track your progress and ensure you're covering all the necessary topics in a structured manner.
Interaction: English courses often include group activities and interaction with other students. A routine makes it easier to coordinate these interactions.
For Self-Study:
Consistency: Self-studying, by its nature, requires self-discipline. Having a routine helps you maintain consistency in your language learning efforts.
Time Management: A routine helps you allocate specific time slots for studying, making it easier to balance your language learning with other responsibilities.
Progress Monitoring: With a routine, you can set specific goals, track your progress, and adjust your study plan as needed.
Efficiency: Structured routines can make your self-study more efficient. You can dedicate time to various aspects of language learning, such as reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Habit Formation: Over time, a routine can become a habit, making language learning a natural part of your daily life.
Whether you're taking a course or self-studying, it's important to create a routine that suits your schedule and learning style. Here are some tips:
Set specific study times that work for you, whether it's in the morning, afternoon, or evening.
Break your study sessions into smaller, manageable chunks. For example, study for 20-30 minutes at a time with short breaks in between.
Include a variety of language learning activities in your routine to keep it engaging and comprehensive.
Be flexible and adjust your routine as needed, but try to maintain regularity.
In summary, a routine is a valuable tool for anyone learning English, whether in a course or through self-study. It helps ensure consistent progress and efficient use of your study time.
I understand that especially when self-studying, staying consistent is a struggle.
For this reason, I offer my students the option of asynchronous (self-studying) and synchronous lessons with me. We set our goals at the start, I prepare the material and provide them with the resources they need and meet with them twice of once a month to check on their progress and practise speaking.
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