All Your First Steps when Learning English

want to speak real english from your

first lesson

at englishclass101.com

when you decide to learn a language it’s

exciting but there are lots of different

ways to approach your studies

what can you do to make sure you start

things off in the best way for yourself

in this video we’ll cover six things for

you to consider to get you started on

the right foot

first what is your reason for learning

thinking about your why for studying a

language can be so important

if you know why you’re doing something

it becomes easier to create

goals there are lots of reasons to learn

a language

travel family friends love and even the

experience of living in a new country

clarifying your reason for learning

helps you define your mission and gives

you motivation

right from the start some reasons for

learning may be stronger than others

if you live in a country that speaks the

language you need to learn you’re

probably highly motivated to study

because your progress will directly

affect your daily life and relationships

if however your reason for learning is

something like i want to be able to

watch tv shows in that language

your motivation might not be as high as

the person in the first example

but that’s okay everyone has a different

unique reason for wanting to learn a

language

take some time to understand what you

want to get out of your studies

this is a helpful first step second

set the right goals once you’ve

clarified your reason for learning

it’s time to set your goals don’t make

goals like

i want to be fluent one day this type of

goal is problematic because there’s no

deadline for the goal

no clues about how you’ll achieve your

goal and no way of knowing when you’ve

reached fluency

your goals need to be small measurable

realistic

and have a deadline try making monthly

goals instead of yearly goals

saying i want to be fluent one day isn’t

helpful

instead make a goal like be able to

speak for one minute by the end of the

month

a goal like this gives you a target a

skill to develop and a deadline

you have one month to practice your

speaking skills enough to be able to

talk for one minute

you can set a timer and track how long

you’re able to speak

this is also a realistic goal learning

enough to speak for one minute in one

month is reasonable

you can even think of how you might

reward yourself for achieving the goal

third reward yourself for achieving your

goals

you can determine your rewards when you

determine your goals

rewards are powerful motivators you

should be working consistently towards

your goals

but there will undoubtedly be times when

the work isn’t fun and you need

something to push you through

when you come home after a long day of

work or school on a rainy day

maybe the last thing you want to do is

open a book and start studying

it’s so much easier to turn on netflix

or scroll social media

but if you have a reward you can use it

as a motivator

as mentioned before it’s important to

remember why you’re learning a language

and what your goals are

for many people thinking about the

rewards they’ll get along the way

boosts their motivation if you give

yourself something to look forward to

it can help you get through the times

you may not feel like putting in the

work

fourth match your routine to the study

medium

the word routine here refers to your

everyday routine

you need to understand your personal

schedule and your personality to make a

study schedule that’s right for you

it may come as a surprise that this is a

step where many people fail

they think they can do a lot more than

they actually can get overwhelmed and

quit

in the end the people who give up after

just a few weeks of hard study

are only able to do a fraction of what

they plan to be able to do

it can be tough to understand your own

limitations

we all like to think we’re capable of

doing anything we put our minds to

at any time on any day but the reality

is there will be times when we’re tired

bored or just don’t feel like studying

we need to be able to plan for times

like these

to do that we need to understand our own

limitations

try this write out your weekly schedule

where do you have some existing time

that you can spend on studies

for example maybe you have some time on

your commute every day

or sometime during a lunch break if

you’re super busy like most people

look for places in your day that

naturally make sense instead of trying

to create a whole new block of time to

devote to your studies

maybe it’s when you visit a cafe or when

you’re on the bus or train

see if there’s a place where you can

match the medium the learning method

to your existing routine for example

on your commute in the morning you can

listen to an audio lesson twice a week

or listen once a week after dinner at

home while you do chores

break out some vocabulary flashcards

during lunchtime

maybe you can even find a weekend class

which brings us to our fifth point

fifth anchor points

these are the connections you make to a

language that boost your motivation and

keep you attached or anchored to your

goal

for example maybe you have friends or

relatives that speak the language

and if you’re around them and you’re

exposed to the language you’re more

likely to learn

if you don’t know anyone who speaks the

language consider making a monetary

investment

like a textbook or a learning program by

paying for something you make a

commitment to yourself to use it

sixth assessment it’s good to know where

you are in your studies and determine if

you’re making progress

if you’re not moving forward maybe the

methods you’re using aren’t quite right

for you

or maybe you need to find new ways to

add studying into your routine to give

you more opportunities to learn

but don’t do assessments so often that

you don’t actually have a chance to

learn

for example if you take a test once and

get a score you’re not happy with

don’t immediately take the test again

give yourself time to study and develop

your skills more

then you can come back and try again

assessment is a great way to keep

yourself on track but don’t let tests

take over your studies

in this video we talked about six things

to consider when you start learning a

language

figure out your reason for learning set

good goals and choose rewards

have anchor points and make sure to

match your routine with the medium of

study

and finally make sure you have the

proper approach to assessment of your

progress

and for more ways to get started

learning on the right foot 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

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see you next time bye