Stop Wasting Time and Start Learning English
you probably already have language
learning goals but the real key to
success is to make the right goals in
this video I’ll show you how with five
tips to stop wasting your time and start
learning hi everyone Alicia here in this
video I’ll teach you five tips to stop
procrastinating and keep your motivation
for learning a new language some of
these are study methods and some will be
general ways that you can keep your
study motivation up while these tips are
for studying a language some of them are
good for other things in your life -
such as new challenges or other types of
goals but before we start don’t forget
to click the link in the description to
get your bundle of PDF cheat sheets
including survival phrases romantic
lines learning tips absolutely free now
you probably already have some goals
you’re trying to achieve when it comes
to your language learning progress while
achieving these goals is important
making sure you make the right goals is
the real key to success
the very first tip is to set SMART goals
smart is an acronym meaning each letter
in the word stands for another word
the earliest known reference to SMART
goals was in an article written by
George T Doran for a 1981 issue of the
management review academic journal the
acronym varies depending on its use but
each letter generally stands for some
criterion that helps with effective goal
setting for our purposes let’s define
SMART goals as follows the S stands for
specific your goals should target a
specific area for improvement our
natural tendency is to have a goal
that’s very general if your goal isn’t
specific enough you’ll lack the focus
and proper direction you need to achieve
your goals so S is for specific
M stands for measurable your goals
should be quantifiable they should be
able to indicate progress in some way
you have to be able to track your
progress otherwise you won’t know if
you’re getting any closer to your goal
as you see yourself getting closer and
closer to your goal your motivation will
go up so your goals need to be
measurable a stands for achievable your
goals have to be achievable many people
want to become fluent in their target
language immediately however this goal
is unrealistic your goals have to be
achievable if your goal is to
challenging for your current level it
will only D motivate you when you aren’t
where you think you should be instead
think about what results can
realistically be achieved given your
level your resources and any constraints
such as time so make sure that your goal
is actually achievable R stands for
relevant your goals may be specific they
may be measurable and they may be
achievable but are they actually
relevant to what you want to achieve
don’t just do a lot of things if you’re
focused on improving your speaking
skills in your target language make sure
that you spend your time having
conversations with others make sure
you’re doing the right things so that
your efforts actually bring you closer
to your goal instead of just giving you
more work
T stands for timely you need to set a
deadline for your goals if you don’t
specify when you plan to achieve the
result you’ve set for yourself it’s very
easy to put off the task you can delay
it until tomorrow the next week or the
next month and at this rate you’ll never
get things done so your goal must have
an end date
so remember tip number one is to set
SMART goals specific measurable
achievable relevant and timely so for
example a goal you could make is
registering for a challenging test a
test that’s a little bit beyond your
current level
I hate failing so if I register for a
challenging test I’m motivated to study
because I don’t want to fail this is a
good example of a SMART goal because
tests are specific there are tons of
different tests focused on speaking
grammar and comprehension pick a test
that can measure the specific area in
which you’d like to grow measurable
tests are measurable every test measures
your performance to some degree whether
it’s a total count of right and wrong
answers or a simple pass or fail every
test measures your performance tests are
achievable there’s an important detail
to remember here though find a test that
is achievable for you if you’re a
beginner then the most advanced test is
probably not right for you find one
that’s meant for beginners then after
that one work your way up to more
advanced tests in the future tests are
relevant most if not all language tests
are designed to ensure that you’re
capable of performing to a set standard
in your target language lower level
tests are designed to ensure that you
can handle the most essential aspects of
your target language but there are tests
for all levels including higher
education entry exams that could be
difficult even for native speakers pick
the one that’s right for you and finally
tests are timely if your test is
completed in a physical location then
this one is obvious you have to be at
that spot at the set time ready to take
the test there’s no wiggle room but even
online tests will most likely have a
deadline for you to complete them
[Music]
the second tip to help you stop
procrastinating and to keep your
motivation up is to create a diary or
social media account that you can update
every day this may seem simple or even
unrelated to language learning but by
creating a diary in your target language
you have the chance to actually create
in the language itself creating a diary
is also a great way to practice writing
in your target language
another method is to create a social
media account which gives you the chance
to connect with other people who are
working toward the same goals as you
maybe they can even give you feedback on
your writing if you’re following people
online who regularly share good
resources those can be really helpful
for you too it lets you find new tools
that can encourage and motivate you
especially if they relate to some of
your other interests such as music or
books and other languages this is a
really good way to take a few minutes
every day to work towards your goal
without it even seeming like work the
third tip is to focus on understanding a
specific TV show or movie try to watch a
movie in your target language without
any subtitles or try to understand your
favorite TV show that’s in your target
language if you don’t already have a
goal like this it can be a fun way to
practice if your friends often talk
about a particular TV show it could be a
good way to study and a fun way to keep
your motivation up together
Plus TV shows and movies often use the
language in a way that’s vastly
different from the conversations
provided in traditional textbooks so you
often get to hear different vocabulary
choices it’s a very powerful way to
learn a language and end up sounding
more like a native speaker tip number
four is to enroll in a regular language
course register for something you have
to go to or you have to participate in
regularly meaning every week or two
times a week or maybe even every day the
point of this is it’s something that
gives you a pattern to follow forming a
study habit will help you progress very
quickly it will make it easier for you
to achieve your language learning goals
once you form the habit you won’t even
have to think about starting each time
it’ll just be natural have something
that you must take responsibility for
you
be more motivated to continue if there
are others especially classmates or a
teacher watching you progress look for
resources inside your community and if
there are no opportunities there look
for things digitally you can find many
of our videos on YouTube on Facebook and
of course our entire video and audio
lesson library on our website the
lessons on our website also come with
assignment courses so you can test your
knowledge the last tip is to make your
goal public share your goal tell people
about your goal for example if you want
to give a business presentation in your
target language this year then tell your
colleagues or your boss about it some
people may find what you’re doing
interesting and they can support you
this kind of pressure can help push
people forward who have trouble
motivating themselves alone by telling
others about your goal you feel more
accountable because you told somebody
that you were planning on doing
something there’s an underlying sense of
guilt
if you don’t accomplish the task you may
feel that you have failed your peers in
some way even if there’s no direct
pressure from them using this technique
you can push yourself into moving
forward towards your goal especially at
times when you feel the least motivated
and that brings us to the end of our 5
tips to stop wasting time and start
learning a language we’ve talked a lot
about how to set goals for yourself and
think about new challenges first I told
you about creating SMART goals
remember SMART goals are specific
measurable achievable relevant and
timely registering for a test is a great
example of a SMART goal next we talked
about keeping a diary or social media
account in your target language start
doing it right now
even if you’re still a beginner then I
suggested that you focus on
understanding a specific TV show or
movie pick something in your target
language that you really love because
you may need to watch it over and over
again until it all makes sense to you
and next we talked about enrolling in a
regular language course this will give
you something concrete that you must
take responsibility for finally make
your goal public tell someone about your
learning goals to keep you accountable
for them you’re much less likely to
abandon your studies if you have friends
asking you about your progress I hope
that these are useful tips that you can
use to reach your language learning
goals
and before we go let me remind you to
download tons of free pdf lessons to
learn the language the fast fun and easy
way just click the link in the
description if you liked this video give
us a thumbs up and share it with anyone
who may find it useful do you have any
good tips that you’ve used to help
you reach your goals share them in the
comments thanks very much for watching
and see you next time