Great Learning Habits - 7 Stages Of Language Learning (part 1a)

Splash down – time for a swim

The great American writer Mark Twain wrote ”Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.” In the case of language learning you have developed one habit all your life – speaking your own language. What we need to do now is to decide to bring about new habits. You need to decide today to fully immerse yourself in English whenever possible.

· Buy a pocket sized dictionary or electronic translator
· Change the language in your mobile phone into English (you probably remember all the options just through use so translation won’t be a problem)
· Change your PC operating system into English as well
· Buy dual language books – Penguin do a great range of short stories in Spanish & English, Italian & English and there are versions like this in all major languages. They’re enjoyable and if you’re like me you’ll enjoy the fact that they aren’t too long!
· Download some spoken word materials from iTunes or maybe on a peer-to-peer (being careful with copyrights!) like bitlord, bittorrent or other download site and listen to them on the way to school or work (see the links section on our web site for tons of useful downloads) You can books, articles, and all sorts of interesting stuff. Some is even directed towards language learners.
· Whenever possible watch DVDs in English with subtitles your own language (or if you are able leave English language films with English subtitles).
· Talk to your pets in English too. I’m sure they won’t mind.
· Clean out the attic - Mental Rehearsal. If I could point to one method, more than any other, that helped me to learn other languages faster it would be this one. Use it constantly. It costs nothing and it works. Think about the names of things in English as you walk home. Try to translate whole sentences of what you are thinking in your own language into English. Try to mentally rehearse in English whenever you are conscious.

In our English courses in Dublin we sometimes need to remind students (of all ages) that we live in world of information moving and changing faster than most could imagine even ten years ago. Online tools and resources abound. Here are some Documentation Tools that will help you, especially with regards assessment as learning or self-assessment (see the heading “Look in the mirror” in Stage 7).

Forums – Visit Moodle.com, the largest online teaching & learning community
Goals – Visit 43Things.com for an excellent community of online goal setters to inspire you and cheer you on.
Journal – Search Blogger.com for personal experiences and case studies from other learners
Learning community – visit Google Reader
Activity Log – Visit Twitter
Keep yourself informed with new info - RSS Reader from Google
Intelligent Bookmarks from del.icio.us.com

Remember when you were 5?

As children you will notice that we all have innate abilities for learning. We have a desire and a curiosity that drives us to investigate. As one author puts it
"Rarely does one hear parents complain that their pre-schooler is 'unmotivated' " (James Raffini 1993).

That’s what we’re after. Just like crazy little pre-schoolers we know that having fun, laughing, and enjoying your time in the classroom or other learning environment is what makes you learn faster and helps you to want to keep coming back.

However, we believe it is appropriate, after you have a good idea of your own goals, to try and answer the following question;

Are you learning English because somebody else says you should or can you see why this is a genuinely beneficial thing to do?

Now remember, learning is never a waste. You will always find a use for either for the material itself or the process of learning it at some point in your life. But right now we want you to learn English faster and more successfully. To help us do that you need to find your own motivation and where it comes from.

We’ll discuss motivation in more detail in this booklet in Stage 5 – An Offer You Can’t Refuse, but for now try to remember the following logic….

i. Humans have innate natural curiosity - children are born with it.

i. Curiosity is the birthplace of all learning.

i. Therefore, we are all naturally inclined to learn.

i. CONCLUSION:

YOU WERE BORN TO LEARN NEW THINGS!

We try to remind all our students who Learn English in Dublin with ULearn to focus on their learning and also focus on staying focussed. So today try keep your motivation up through the use of diverse learning materials.

Join us in the next section of this series of articles as we move onto the next level of organization for language learners - recognizing your own language learning patterns and working with them, not against them!

By: ULearn

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ULearn English school Dublin can offer you a quality English course no matter what your level or age. Contact us today for a free level test and we will start you in an English class that suits you! ULearn has been helping students from around the world to learn English in Dublin for the last 25 years. We are offering some very special offers for students looking to learn English in 2011. You can now study for 15 hours per