#212 How to manage your time to learn English? Part #2

Hi, everybody! I am Georgiana, your English teacher and founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you speak English fluently.

Today, I am going to continue talking about how to manage your time to learn English. 

Next, you are going to practice fluency with a mini-story. Mia is determined to learn English, and she starts to motivate herself by taking something. 

But before we start, please visit my website, SpeakEnglishPodcast.com/podcast to get the transcript of this episode. It's completely free.

Ok. Let’s start!

#1 Treat yourself! 

What better way to motivate yourself than to treat yourself! Yes, you deserve it. Well, only when you achieve the goal, of course. Maybe after getting to 5 hours of listening in a week, you can afford something special like watching a movie, going out to eat at your favorite restaurant, etc.

The treat doesn't have to be something fancy or expensive. It can be of minor importance, but it helps to stay motivated. 

By the way, I recommend that you don't do it the other way around. First, the treat to motivate yourself, and then the study. I've tried it the other way around:) So no donuts before you start!

 

#2 Create a routine. 

As human beings, we like routines. That is, we like to do the same things repeatedly because what the brain does is automate many of our behaviors.

Suppose you make yourself a cup of coffee every day. You can take the opportunity to put on your headphones and listen to a few minutes of an English lesson. Soon, you will associate making coffee with listening to English. It sounds silly, but it works.

They say that to establish a routine; you need about 21 days. That is about three weeks. Although the exact number of days is not important, we can draw the following conclusion: to create a routine; you need little time. So, you can consider creating a specific routine to listen to at certain times of the day.

#3 Keeping track of the time you are listening.

Although everyone is different, many people like to keep track of the number of hours they listen when learning English.

This gives you a sense of progress in your learning and informs you when you are not doing well. 

So, you could write down the time you spend listening. And add it up by weeks and also months. This way, you can project how much time you will spend listening in a year, make averages, etc. 

And you don't have to be precise. It doesn't matter if you listen for 55 minutes or a little over an hour. Just write down an hour, and that's it. 

Oh, and... Why don't you share this with someone else who is learning English? Imagine going for coffee and talking about how your week went. How many hours you listened, if it was difficult, etc. This way, you can motivate each other and set common goals.

Well, I hope I have helped you with these new reflections.

By the way, if you want to know how to speak English using the right techniques, visit SpeakEnglishPodcast.com and subscribe to my mailing list. I will send you my 5-day video course, so you can learn how to speak English fluently. And it’s completely free.