STEP 1 - How to Improve Your English by Setting Objectives

This is part 1 of a 3-part series, which gives you step-by-step instructions on how to plan your English learning so that you will succeed. Taken from our short Book:

IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH AND SPEAK FLUENTLY.

This guide gives you step-by-step instructions on how to create your personal English improvement plan.

You can download it free HERE.

STEP 1 - SET OBJECTIVES

You are probably reading this because:
● You have been learning English for years but you cannot speak
confidently
● You feel overwhelmed and don't know how to improve
● You don't have much free time but you really need to improve your
English
● You need to speak English in work
● Learning English is hard for you
● When you speak English you feel shy and embarrassed.

Fear not! This guide will help to take the FIRST STEP to achieving your

objective of improving your English.

I have been teaching English for more than 10 years and students
normally have the same problems when trying to improve their English
and speak fluently and without embarrassment.

On the other hand I have noticed that students who include English in
their lives in other ways besides class alone learn much faster in
comparison to students who only attend class and do homework tasks.

By investigating how my most successful students improved their English quickly, I have noticed that they all have several things in common:
● They are immersing themselves more in English and making
English part of their lives.
● They enjoy learning English.
● They don't allow fear or embarrassment to stop them from
practicing, even if they make mistakes.

And before you say that you don't have time, don´t worry, there are ways to immerse yourself in English without moving to an English-speaking country or studying 5 hours per day.

Let´s get started!

Why it has been very difficult for you to improve and become fluent.

Usually people are taught languages by studying the grammar structures and the vocabulary, which can be boring and difficult. These are useful and necessary methods of learning, but they are only PART of the process.

You also need 3 other ingredients:

1. to PRACTICE - you have to speak, read, and listen to what you
are learning.

2. to ENJOY the process - if learning English isn´t fun and
interesting for you, then it is much more difficult to improve.

3. And to have a GOAL - if you don´t know WHY you are
learning, or if your objectives are not clear enough, then you
will always be trying to get there but you will never arrive at
your destination.

Therefore, to improve and become more fluent, the first step is to think carefully about your objective.

Let´s do that now.

Answer the following 2 questions:

1. Why are you learning English?

Think about your WHY. This is a very important motivational factor.

If you need some inspiration, here are more specific ideas (you can add to the list if your specific objective is not there):

Areas I want to improve:

SPEAKING & LISTENING

Be able to:
● Ask for clarification,
● Make fewer mistakes
● Speak fluently without stopping to think
● Explain ideas & processes
● Understand people
● Maintain a conversation
● Give instructions & reports
● Ask & answer questions
● Agree & disagree & give your argument
● Participate in, and lead meetings

READING & WRITING

Be able to:
● Read more quickly
● Understand written English
● Write emails in English
● Write in English without mistakes
● Write reports and texts in English

GRAMMAR & VOCABULARY

Be able to:
● Speak with very few mistakes
● Improve & expand my grammar
● Improve my vocabulary
● Learn vocabulary about [TOPIC]
● Use grammar structures fluently

2. Do you have a timeframe or a deadline?

If you do, write it down.

If you don´t, set one now.

Having a deadline motivates you to reach your goal and is necessary for this learning method.
Deadlines are important because they give you structure, something to
aim for, and motivate you to finish.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

It may help to know what level you are now, and what level you need to be to achieve your goals.
- You may find this chart useful to check your level, and know which
level you need to be to achieve your goals (this is the common
European Framework of Reference for Languages. You can find out
more information here). You can also take an online level test but
these do not usually assess all aspects of your English.

Alternatively, you can contact us to check your level at [email protected].

You also need to consider how many hours it takes to improve from
one level to the next. For motivated adult learners, they typically
need between 100 and 200 hours of guided learning to get from
one CEFR level to the next. As you go up the levels, you need more
hours to get to the next one. Be realistic with your deadline.

You can find out more information on this topic here.

To calculate how many hours of English you need to do per week
(approximately), use this formula:

Number of hours needed ÷ no. weeks til deadline = Hours per week

NOTE: These amounts are approximate and depend on how you study,
what type of learner you are, your age, your natural ability for
languages….many factors. However, they will give you an idea in order to plan how many hours you need to do to achieve your goal.

SAMPLE ANSWERS TO THE THREE QUESTIONS I ASKED ABOVE:

1. Why are you learning English?
Because I am looking for a job and they always ask me if I can
speak English.

2. Do you have a timeframe or a deadline? If you do, write it here. If
you don´t, set one now.
I need to learn as quickly as possible so I can improve my career. I
am currently a level B2 but I need to reach C1 level to reach my goal
of making less mistakes and understanding well.
I want to do this in 6 months. Therefore I need 7-8 hours per week
of English to reach my goal.
(6 months= 26 weeks.
Improving by one level is approx 200 hours.
200 hours ÷ 26 weeks = 7.5 hours per week.)

CONCLUSIONS

Now you are clear on WHAT your goal is and WHEN you need to
achieve it.
The next step is HOW.
We will look at this in the next blog post.

If you want to know more now, go to STEP 2 - How to Improve Your English - CHOOSING THE RIGHT ACTIVITIES

You will find part 3 of this process here: STEP 3 - CREATE YOUR PERSONAL ENGLISH PROGRAMME.

Or download the short book here to do all the steps together:

Improve Your English & Speak Fluently.

Good luck!

What we do:

Here at Inglés Con Killian, we run speaking classes with a maximum 4 students - first class is free to try:

GROUP CLASSES.

We also organise government funding for Spanish companies:

COMPANY CLASSES.

Our online membership provides courses and conversation practice for those who need more flexibility:

MEMBERSHIP PROGRAMME

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Categories: Improve Your English