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What are your goals in English?
Take a moment and think of your goals now.
A lot of students will say, "I want to do business in English." Or, "I want to improve my test score." Some might say, "I want to get comfortable with speaking English while travelling." These goals are end-points, and they are based on results. I call these mountain-top goals.
However, mountain-top goals will not help you improve.
Set a path
Imagine hiking up a mountain while looking only at the summit. You would keep crashing into trees or even fall off a cliff! To reach a mountain-top goal, you have to set a path.
For most students, your path is your course—doing a textbook will help you move forward little by little in a clear direction. Some students do not like to use a textbook. To be honest, I am one of them. When I study Japanese, I don't enjoy using a textbook. But I recognize the importance of textbooks, so I balance my lesson time: half textbook and half telling stories about my life.
The danger of not sticking to a course is that you end up going in circles, the same as if you don't use a path up the mountain. If you just study any point that comes up, it will be rare to finish that point fully. You will end up half-finishing it, not practicing enough, and then circling back to do it all again.
Choose your steps
Next, you need to choose your steps. These are your specific actions. Where exactly is your next step? How do you know when that step is finished? What is your pace? If you are using a course, it's simple. Study what's on the page and don't move forward until you are very good at that skill.
Let me repeat that:
Do not move forward until you are very good at that skill.
For grammar or vocabulary books, that means a lot of original sentences. For pronunciation, that means a lot of practice.
How do I improve steadily?
In short, to reach something significant, you need three things:
- a mountaintop-goal;
- a clear path; and
- a series of steps.
All three are important all the time.
Apply your course to your end-point goal. If you are studying a grammar book with an aim to improve your G.B.C. score, then apply each grammar point to a G.B.C.-style question.
In practice, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Make sure one step is finished before you begin the next one.
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Don't just understand what's on the page of your textbook. Make sure it applies to your goal. Have confidence in your step before you move on to the next one.
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- Maintain your pace.
- Move forward one step at a time, steadily. Many students find it useful to take two lessons per week, review every morning, and write on weekends.
- Measure your progress in steps, not in mountain-tops.
- You can say, for instance, "Now I know how to use the present perfect smoothly. That means it's time to move onto the next point." That's how you know you've improved!
Good goals are complete with mountain-tops, a clear path and next steps.
As you study, keep checking in with your teacher. They can help keep you on course and move forward, step by step.