>Enjoying it
>Spending wisely
As someone who learned Italian as an adult, I know that learning a second language can be really rewarding and achievable even by those who like me, thought learning a foreign language would be very difficult.
In today’s world having access to English opens up all sorts of learning and cultural possibilities providing you with the possibility of seeing things with your own eyes and hearing things with your own ears, understanding what’s happening directly, yourself and never having to say “what did she say?” or “what does he mean?”.
Nevertheless, there are schools that will pretend that English is easy and learning it can be accomplished quickly and at minimal cost/time.
Our experience is that to really achieve something worthwhile it is better to recognise at the start that there are few magic solutions but there are approaches and methods that will make it easier and much more enjoyable for you.
A few tips
1. Focus
Focus on WHAT you want to do and WHY.
“I want to learn English” is a poor objective - far too broad in scope.
“I want to learn English so I can keep up with my German business colleagues” is better,
“I need to have a basic level of English as I’m planning a trip to Chicago with my children” is much better,
“I’ve a medical conference I’m speaking at in June and I need to deliver a clear presentation” is better still.
Having clear objective(s) helps to determine the type of English to learn and to what level, it helps the teacher prepare suitable material and provides a yardstick for you to see your successes.
2. Class Sizes
Ask how many students will be in the class. Don’t make the mistake of low cost, large class schools with students of different levels all rammed into the same classroom.
So many of our students have been refugees from schools where to maximise profit, classes are large with students at different levels. The consequences are little to no teacher interaction or feedback and if you miss classes, it is almost impossible to catch up – you end up disillusioned but worse the tendency is to blame your own inability rather than recognising that the school sold the wrong thing for you.
The personal attention you can gain from small classes or even one-to-one is really helpful, the course can be designed around you and if there is something you don’t understand It can be explained.
3. Material
It’s MUCH more helpful if the material is designed around you, too many courses designed for large classes will teach you things you may never use, for instance standard dialogues used in buying train tickets or shopping, when you may be much more interested in other things.
It’s MUCH better if the subject matter matches YOUR interests and widens your knowledge from a different point of view. For example
Information on the English premier league for football fans,
Churchill and the Atlantic Charter, for those interested in History and international politics,
Art and how it changed in the Agrarian and Industrial revolution, for those interested in Art, History and even the evolution of management culture,
Anglo-American Annual reports and what they say about companies, for those wanting to understand the very different international business world and perhaps specific business sectors like Telecoms,
The process of buying houses abroad for those looking for an escape,
If you do want to know how to buy train tickets then that’s fine, perhaps you’re also interested in the Tourist trail and where to go, what to see and why!
For more on this see Vertical Learning.
4. Use the materials available to you
If you possible, see the Original Version of films, even with subtitles rather than dubbed, as a different approach you might also watch the dubbed version then see it undubbed, so you get a full understanding the first time, then pick up the English language the second time.
Reading is a good thing to do, of course. I particularly enjoyed reading “Three men in a boat” in Italian, having enjoyed the English original 20 years before. I recently read about Caporetto and Vittorio Veneto in Italian where the battles are much better covered than by English authors.
5. Do your Homework.
It is astonishing how useful homework can be. Well designed homework helps
Reinforce what was learned in class
Provides an opportunity for feedback from your teacher so
You gain confidence and
You KNOW you’re doing it right.
It also saves you money. However there has to be teacher feedback, otherwise you are just walking in the dark with your eyes closed.
6. Get a girlfriend/boyfriend
A girlfriend or boyfriend, native in your target language is a REAL help, firstly there’s the incentive to communicate, the constant use of the language, then there’s the travel etc.
However, be careful, my wife is less happy when I tell her I want to improve my French…
7. Be realistic
Recognise that to get the most from this you’ll have to dedicate quality time to it, your life style and personal commitments may make it difficult to achieve success, especially if you are a beginner. If you’re at an advanced level dipping in and out is easier.
If you can follow these tips there is every reason to believe you’ll enjoy your learning and be successful at it.
David
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