How to make yourself learn English (and whether)
Forming Motivation / / December 19, 2019
Timur Zarudny
Author Skyeng Magazine, A leading blog about the motivation.
I have long suffered and suffered five rules of how to force myself to learn something, even made about it course. All my life I taught English in a school, then in college. An ongoing process with zero result. And then I changed strategy and now I'm reading the English scientific articles on neuroscience.
At the Institute, I did everything by the rules: walking on the lessons and taught grammar at the blue book Murphy. But when we had to open his mouth and utter read - everything collapsed, and the meaning escaped. His head seemed empty and I felt like an idiot.
One day I was called on a student conference in English, where I read a report about a spam email. At the end I was asked a single question: "Well, how do you feel about spam?". I said, "Zys EC difinatli bed ¯ \ _ (ツ) _ / ¯». More than me about anything not asked, and I was ashamed.
It seemed to start to speak English, you need to fill out the scale of conventional knowledge, and I have them still insufficient: pustovat vessel, a critical mass is not dialed. So I tupil and silent.
Everything changed when I started DJing and to stream your music show. I scored on a scale of all this, how could he wrote in English liner to podcasts, to review the steep plate, asked foreign electronics cool to make a special guest mix.
It was funny, I talked to strange sites for 10 people, with a stupid accent, wild errors, through an online translator. But I did not hesitate, because it was great to do my gear. And it worked. My interest and immersion language skills moved the ball rolling.
Ten years later, I pulled out from the experience of five rules that are now helping to make any long case, not only to learn the language.
1. I find the cause of which clicks
The phrase "learn English" - an abstract nonsense that can not be touched. Since the show was everything specific: I want to broadcast their music, for that I need English. English as a tool. Clearly understood.
All tired of the word "motivation". Call it the cause. To find the cause of undertaking, I ask myself the question "why" and dolblyu himself this question, while inside something clicks.
- I need to learn English.
- What for?
- To speak freely on it.
- Not that. What for?
- To watch movies in the original.
- Not that. What for?
- Hide it from your friends and then hit them with his perfect pronunciation in the next trip.
- (Scholk) Oh!
It clicks what to do with your inner world, with values.
In English with me it worked usual vanity. I began to teach him to be the coolest DJ in town, which in the program exclusive mixes played tough guys.
With other projects clicks something else. I like example Ludwig Bystronovsky about shower heads, which he had finally arrived just in order to stop her from an eyesore and pulling power.
Important: if you want to learn English to be "a good girl", it is better to make an appointment with a therapist and begin to understand where it comes from. Because a healthy goal - about the current value and the buzz, and not about getting rid of fears (especially children).
I made a text templateThe questionnaire itself. Responding to it, I figure out whether any new case for my efforts. Copy yourself and use on health.
2. I start with what I have
It is better to use the luggage, which took with him, and not regret parked on the apron. So do not "learn English, then to make a radio program," and "making a radio program in English right now so that I can." It is called project-based learningAnd for me it works better than the traditional model.
With this approach, I have six years to shoot a documentary about his life, in the second day. Before him, I did not know how to shoot, edit and paint the video - I wanted to learn, but are constantly broke. Once invented scholknuvshuyu cause and started shooting on the iPhone - it went.
At this stage, the main thing is not to be held hostage by the "perfect project", when it seems that everything goes awry and you are - and sucker loser. To do this, I have two stages.
First - do allow myself a wry, because for me any project curve better undone. To it you can always go back and correct.
The second - "progressive method dzhipega" Lebedev. Progressive dzhipeg - this is when it is assumed that the project is ready at any time, and the whole thing in the elaboration of details.
This means that any radio program is ready, as soon as I write music mix. Text eyeliner, review the story about the guest - a level of detail that make the program more interesting, but not necessary.
Any article is ready, as soon as I formulate the topic and to whom and how it can help. Structure, abstract, illustrations, and examples of life - this detail, which makes my point clearer.
Jogging credited as soon as I obuyus sneakers, go out on the street and make the first few steps. I want to - run, not rushing - Okay, I'll try next time. Kilometers, heart rate, posture assessment, a hitch on the bar after - a detailed training, which helps to get high and bleed.
Editor Julia Medvedev explainsHow it works in the life of an ordinary person.
3. I study what is needed now!
To write a paragraph or two about the music and the guests of the program, do not need to study the whole textbook grammar and how to speak the Native. I just typed phrases typical of other leading and pulls out an interesting turn of the articles in magazines - all according to the method of progressive dzhipega.
When you realize that knowledge is not enough, singled out problems, find welcome and honed it to automatism:
- not "doing the broadcast in English," and "dial hlostkih phrases", "to describe the essence of the plate two proposals through the Google Translate" and "clean up the recorded voice from the noise";
- not "learn to write articles in infostile" and "observe the minimum text hygiene", "describe your experience rather than abstraction" and "make the structure of the reader in the world, which he will be able to apply";
- not "make a movie" and "shoot without shaking hands", "choose how to paint the video" and "to automate the addition of dates";
- not "run" and "follow the beat", "correct posture" and "follow the breath."
Over time, the techniques are integrated into the life and added to the overall skill. The same He speaks Programmer Kathy Sierra.
4. Do regularly, but only in the buzz
Regularity - a system. The system is important for learning. Each formed in the brain of a skill - it is the connection between neurons, protoronnaya path. The more I repeat the action, the more often the path goes momentum. The more often walks the pulse, the more convenient and easier path to walk on it. It is so easy to do something that has done a thousand times.
Look at four minute Khan Academy video of how this occurs in the brain, it's pure magic:
Previously, it seemed to me that to understand a new important to concentrate more and work longer. "The longer'll sit on the task, the steeper will understand everything." Everything does not work.
The studies are equally important, and dig, and give the brain time to new information to sort through and turned into knowledge.
If you constantly teach or write, the brain does not have time to structure the information. Will dump useless.
This means that the study of 15-20 minutes a day works better than watching and one day a week for 2-3 hours. As in a rocking chair: the muscles do not grow during a training session, and during the holidays. Why does it work?
This method saved me the stress and learn how to work at your pleasure. If I do not want to engage in 20 minutes, I do 5. 5 do not want - as long as necessary for the operation without resistance.
The main thing - to make regular approaches and have fun. And there will be deep.
If you constantly force yourself, the work will be associated with the complexity and discomfort. This is when the "now-quick ether gashes and free." When I did my radio project, I did not know. I am trying to finish everything on time and perfectly. As a result, much to pinch myself and a year later lost interest in the project.
To learn more about the learning process, be sure to take the course Barbara Oakley Learning How To Learn. He was in plain English with Russian subtitles.
To practice regularly, you need to know how habits work.
5. Collect feedback
It is important to take a break, take a step back and evaluate what is generally done, that is OK, what can be improved. Without this rule, there is a risk to miss an important point when it becomes boring and you've gone the wrong way.
More would be nice to record all observations in a special diary and directly in the process: as it is and honestly. It helps to notice important details that may eventually be forgotten. I lead projects and notes in Trello.
Short
- Find the reason that snaps inside.
- Start with the knowledge and skills that are already there.
- If something is not enough - disassemble specific appointment and bring it to automatism.
- Engage regularly and in a rush.
- Take a step back, collect feedback.