3 Ways to Engage Your Mind While Learning English

want to speak real english from your

first lesson

at englishclass101.com

consistent hard work is one of the

biggest factors that determines

someone’s success

and it’s true for language learning too

while it’s important to choose a course

and study method that’s right for you

at the end of the day the results you

see are a product of the effort you put

however the quantity of time spent

studying a new language doesn’t

necessarily determine the quality of

your study

spending three hours a day watching

movies doesn’t help you learn much if

you’re not

actively engaging with the language

in this video we’ll talk about how to

actively engage your mind while studying

number one think of your brain as a

muscle

you might be familiar with the phrase

feel the burn or maybe

no pain no gain if you’ve been to your

local gym recently there’s a chance you

might have heard one of these phrases or

seen something similar on a poster on a

wall

in the world of sports and workouts

there’s a common idea that the

discomfort you feel when running

lifting weights or doing some other

physical activity

is what brings results the discomfort

you feel is your muscles being pushed to

their limit

it’s the limit pushing that strengthens

your muscles so that over time your

performance

increases in the context of language

learning it’s helpful to think of your

brain as a muscle being trained

just as we need to push against our

physical limits when exercising

we also need to push our mental ones

when learning a foreign language

have you ever studied or practiced your

target language in a way that left you

tired or even exhausted

if so you’ve experienced what it’s like

to push your brain out of its linguistic

comfort zone

number two practice active listening

one of the easiest ways to push your

language skills is to practice active

listening

active listening is when you listen to

spoken language and do your best to

understand what you hear

the best way to accomplish this is by

using audio that you can’t completely

understand on the first listen

preferably you want to use audio that

has subtitles or transcripts in your

target language

free to double check your understanding

after you listen to it

you can use movies youtube clips or our

lessons

during this exercise you might feel like

you’re able to pick out only a few words

here and there

during this practice session you should

listen to the audio several times

the first time around it’s okay if no

words or just a few words stick out to

you

simply make a mental note of any words

or sounds you recognize

the second time you listen you’re likely

to recognize a little more than you did

the previous time

expect similar results with your third

or even fourth time listening

when you reach a point where you can’t

understand any more words

go ahead and look at the subtitles or

transcripts listen to the audio again

and read along with the text odds are

that you’ll see words in the text you

know

but didn’t hear correctly you’re also

likely to encounter words that are new

to you completely

as you play back the audio and read

along try to guess what these words mean

from the context of the words around

them

after you’ve read along a couple times

look up the unfamiliar words in a

dictionary or

translator app this active listening

exercise routine is a great way to

increase your listening and

comprehension skills while picking up

some new vocabulary along the way

it also allows you to learn new words in

context which itself is a powerful way

to help you retain what you study

number three practicing with native

speakers

practicing with native speakers is the

best way to push your language skills

using what you’ve studied to communicate

in real time is how you’ll really

challenge yourself

try to connect with a native speaker on

a weekly basis remember consistency is

important when you’re learning a foreign

language

if you live in a large metropolitan area

then there’s a chance that there are

some local native speakers nearby

try visiting a local language exchange

or meetup group to make the necessary

connections

if you’re unable to find a practice

partner locally then you can take your

search online

there are a number of sites that help

you find and connect with other language

learners from around the world

for example if you’re a native english

speaker learning a new language

you can find a native speaker of your

target language who is learning english

there are tons of language learners

around the world who have learned or are

learning a second language

you’re likely to find someone who knows

your target language and is looking to

improve

his or her english learning a new

language isn’t always easy

but it’s the discomfort that comes with

pushing your ability in the language

that produces results in your studies

don’t be afraid to step outside of your

comfort zone it’s okay to move far

outside of your native language

you’ll expand your mind and your skills

also

remember that language learning is in

every way a lot like an adventure

there will be fun times and times when

it feels like you’re swimming upstream

it’s by keeping your head up through

these ups and downs that you will

experience the satisfaction that comes

with learning a foreign language

keep moving ahead and for even more tips

on how to engage

better in your language learning check

out our complete language learning

program

by clicking on the link in the

description

get tons of resources to have you

speaking in your target language

and if you enjoyed these tips hit the

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see you next time

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