As the holiday season approaches, learners often struggle to stay motivated and focused on their studies amidst the festive cheer and distractions. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of the holidays, but maintaining consistency in language learning is crucial for making progress. To help you stay on track during this joyful yet potentially distracting time, here are some effective strategies and tips to keep things going.
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(like SMART ones - specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) can significantly improve motivation and performance. This principle can be applied to language learning, helping students stay focused and committed, even during distractions such as holiday preparations and celebrations.
Get students to regularly set small but realistic goals to keep them motivated; a lot of students aren't really thinking of after the holidays or the new year so make sure they're achievable in the time before they break up for the holidays.
Cognitive psychology has shown that spaced repetition is an effective method for retaining information in memory. shows that information is forgotten most rapidly shortly after learning it and that the rate of forgetting decreases over time. In other words, the greatest amount of forgetting occurs right after learning something new, and the rate of forgetting slows down as time passes.
and platforms that use spaced repetition algorithms, such as , can help with long-term language learning by reinforcing vocabulary and grammar at optimal intervals. This technique is handy during the holiday season when study patterns may be irregular.So, make sure to keep picking up the same topics to help retain knowledge. You may want to do quickfire quizzes to help learners recall what they've learned.
Rewards play a crucial role in . By implementing a system where students reward themselves for achieving language learning milestones, we can reinforce positive learning behaviors based on (where reinforcing positive behaviors encourages that behavior to happen more frequently). The festive season provides an excellent opportunity for students to reward themselves with holiday-themed incentives, which can boost their motivation to learn.
Depending on their age, you might want to reward them with something like stickers (for younger students) or allow them to have a short break to watch a video. Incorporating what you know your class likes as rewards is important to incentivize positive behavior.
To learn a language effectively, it's important to practice regularly. Studies show that the brain can adapt and grow with consistent practice. It's best to break your study sessions into short, manageable chunks to help students remember what they've learned. Even if it's busy during the holiday lead-up, regularly encourage and offer opportunities to stay on track with language practice. This will help strengthen learners' brain pathways and make it easier to acquire new language skills in the long run.
Keep lessons and tasks short and varied. Students' attention spans are much more likely to dwindle during the festive season, and there isn't much you can do about that. So, by having these short and sweet tasks it'll be a lot easier for students to pick up and engage with, as opposed to a long continuous task.
The festive season can be stressful just as much as it is exciting, so it's important for mindfulness to be included in your daily teaching itinerary. Mindfulness has a positive impact on focus and cognitive function, particularly in. Encourage students to practice mindfulness techniques to manage holiday stress, enhancing their ability to concentrate on language learning amidst festivities.
Make some time in your teaching schedule for meditation activities or quick breaks. You can read more about mindfulness in the classroom here. Don't forget as a teacher, to be mindful about your own wellbeing as well.
Learning often declines during holidays, but it doesn't have to be that way. Before the holidays start, you can encourage families to get involved by suggesting language learning activities that students can do at home. You can reinforce learning outside the classroom by sharing resources or ideas with parents.
Learning outside of the classroom can keep students engaged when inside the classroom as they're already familiar with the day's teachings and/or are eager to learn more to take back to their families and show off their ability. It also breaks down the mental strain or pressure to learn something, if they have more than just opportunities in the classroom to learn, it can make learning a lot less intimidating or frustrating.
During the holiday season, it is important to remember that this time is about celebrating and spreading joy. When trying to teach something like a new language, use this festive period as an opportunity to learn in a fun and engaging way. You don't have to make it feel like a chore; embrace the opportunities the season brings. You will continue to see your language students progress by staying motivated and consistent and setting a positive tone for the upcoming year.
Check out our blog post on mindfulness for teachersduring the holidays, or if you're looking to upskill, our professional development opportunities.
English is one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world, but how much do you know about the language? Here are 11 facts about Englishthat you might not know.
Students all over the globe learn English for many reasons. Some of these motivations may come from the students themselves – perhaps they are learning because they are travelling to an English-speaking area, or they want to be able to converse with English-speaking friends and colleagues. Other reasons for learning could include meeting school requirements, studying abroad, or progressing their careers.
As well as different reasons to learn English, there are also different goals. Many students are still focused on becoming fluent in English, and we are seeing an increase in people who want to learn the language for specific reasons. For example, immersing themselves in a particular culture or simply being able to order from a menu while travelling abroad.
Teachers are focusing on these personal needs to help students achieve their actual goals. It’s likely you’ve already spoken to your students about why they want to learn English. Understanding this is important as different motivations can influence a student’s attitude towards learning the language – and it may be necessary for you to adapt your teaching strategies for different groups of learners.
Let’s meet some different groups of students, learn a little more about their motivations and explore whether different motivations alter how students learn English. You may recognise some of these learners in your classes.
These students are learning English for pleasure or personal reasons. It might be because of travel, social or family reasons or perhaps because a better grasp of English might assist them with their careers. There are also adult learners who could be learning English as an immigration requirement.
For example, 23-year-old Alice decided to learn English so she could meet people and have more meaningful interactions with her English-speaking neighbours. She says: “I was very shy and not very confident in speaking to people, but learning English helped me connect with others and meet new people. I have changed a lot.”
A motivation like Alice’s requires strong teacher support and peer motivation woven into structured learning. Alice can set her goals and with the GSE Learning Objectives map out what she needs to do to achieve them. Teacher encouragement and personal support – and easy access to digital coursework, a social community of others all learning English, and small classes that emphasise conversation – keep people like Alice engaged and motivated to achieve her language goals. “I cannot do it without them”, she says.
These learners are typically in a more formal type of English programme and are learning the language to achieve specific career milestones, such as a promotion. Their employer might even be paying for their learning or they might be reimbursed for the cost of their lessons.
Vincenzo is 33 and works as a Product Manager in Milan for an international organization with offices around the world. He says: “I asked to take English classes as part of my professional development. My company chose an English provider and gave me a choice of group or one-to-one classes. I chose one-to-one classes as I’m easily distracted.”
Professional learners like Vincenzo succeed using a blended learning model of learning in class and at home that they can tailor around their lives. They have a strong motivation to succeed – that’s why learning at home works for them – but step-by-step progress provided by the GSE Learning Objectives is also important to keep this motivation alive. “I met with my teacher once a week where we would work on mistakes I would make while speaking English. He would also give me extra practice materials, like interesting games and videos to listen to in my own time, to help me really get a better understanding of the language,” Vincenzo says.
Learning English is a requirement for many school programmes and students will continue this at college or university. Many of these students will be learning English with a formal course that offers practice tests for high-stakes exams.
Seventeen-year-old Subra is from Malaysia and learns English at school. Some of her family live in Australia and she is considering studying abroad to attend a University that specializes in health care. When she was young, she learned in a traditional classroom backed with tests that helped her see how she was progressing. Now she uses technology, such as her Android Huawei phone to practise her English but still needs the validation of regular testing to know she is on track.
Subrasays: “I am used to studying for tests as I prepared hard for exams to get into middle school and senior school, which was totally determined by test results.”
Academic learners like Subra need to see demonstrable results to help them stay motivated and guide them to the level of English they need to achieve to get the required score on high-stakes tests. With the clear GSE Learning Objectives and a placement test, academic learners can map out where they are right now and where they need to be in order to reach their academic goals. These learners need encouragement and validation of their progress from their teachers to help keep them on track.
Understanding student motivations will help you teach to their specific needs, thus helping them to stay focused and motivated in achieving their goals.
Kirsty Murray taught English for a year at a collège (the French equivalent of a secondary school) in Villers-Cotterêts: a town in the north of France known for being the birthplace of Alexandre Dumas. She taught mixed-ability groups of 11- to 16-year-olds, with classes ranging in size from 10 to 35 students. Here, she shares the five lessons she learned from the experience.
