Thursday, April 27, 2017

How to be an effective ESL student


ESL students, it’s not easy learning a new language, culture, and in some cases living in a new country. First thing you want to do is to take a deep breath, and remind yourself why you are learning English. Remembering your purpose in learning English will help you cope through the process.

Keep an open mind
Try not to have too many expectations. Instead, keep an open mind. Being “open-minded,” allows someone to not expect anything and to go with the flow. You will not know how your teacher will be or your classmates. You won’t know if you will like your class. You don’t know if you will understand all the lessons. In the beginning, all you know is you are a new student in an English language class. If you keep an open mind, you will be more open to the learning process.

Be prepared and ask questions
Always be prepared before class. Bring a notebook and pen or pencil to class. If you have a textbook, bring that to class as well. You will be taking notes in class whether you are writing down what the teacher is saying, or what he/she writes on the board. Taking notes helps you to remember what you are learning. It’s also a good way to help you study for an exam. Always ask questions. Asking questions is a great way to reinforce what you’re learning, and it helps you to improve your communication skills.

Study
For most students, studying is something that’s unfavorable. In other words, they don’t like to do it. Even when I was in school, I didn’t like to study. However, studying is very important. The only way to really remember several English skills, such as, grammar, you have to study. Your notes will help you in studying. If you don’t like studying alone, creating a study group can be effective. You and some of your classmates can meet at a library or a local café to study together. Studying over coffee can be a fun experience.

Students tend to be shy when their teacher practices a conversation with them
Being relatable
In general, I believe people like to feel they can relate to others. This applies to both teachers and students. You will be communicating with your teacher and other students. Even if you are a shy person, you will be talking to people. The best way to handle the shyness is to be relatable. This is true for even the most outgoing person (like me). Being relatable means to be able to understand other people’s opinions, feelings, and attitudes. It also means to be okay to admit, and understand your and other people’s mistakes. You will not always be right and mistakes will happen. It’s apart of learning. If you can be okay with making a mistake, you can relate to someone who does the same. As students, this helps make everyone feel comfortable.

Take your time
Every student learns differently and at a different pace. You want to take your time with yourself. You don’t want to be too hard on yourself for not understanding everything at once. Remind yourself that you are LEARNING and are not expected to KNOW EVERYTHING in a day. Pace yourself and continue to try your best.

For more tips and advice, check out my latest video from my ESL video series here.


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