by Domnall Óg
Home >> The Golden Rules of Good Study
The first thing you need to do is plan. We will send you a Study Plan but you may need to adapt it. The course ends in December. Between now and then there will be times when it is easy to study and times when it will be difficult to study. Holidays, children, busy work periods and possible illness will all eat into your time. Expect the unexpected. If you will have no time at Easter or summer, then study more now. Can you study before you leave home in the morning? Or at lunchtime? Or when the kids are in bed? Plan now when you are going to study. Don’t improvise.
Reserve a place for your studies. A quiet corner at home or maybe the boss will lend you his or her office at lunchtime. Try to find a place with as few distractions as possible.
When you are studying, tell people. If you can’t be available for your family for two hours, explain it to them. Tell them when you will be available. They are your family. They love you. They will want to help. At work, if you study at lunchtime, tell your colleagues. Tell them that you can’t have lunch with them, or answer their phone or sit around chatting. Explain to them that this is important to you.
Switch off your mobile telephone when you study.
You are not alone when you study. You have a Tutor. Your tutor is an experienced English teacher who understands the special difficulties and challenges that learning with a computer (‘e-learning’) can bring. Your tutor does not assume that you are a computer expert.
But your tutor is not telepathic. You must tell your tutor if you have any difficulties. If your problem is technical and your tutor cannot help, s/he can point you in the right direction.
Golden Rule No1 : Speak to your tutor.
The Lingua method of language learning blends various components together. The common element is the program ‘Tell Me More’. Follow the order of the exercises from left to right unless your Tutor gives you another instruction. There is a well-researched learning path in Tell Me More and if you follow it, you will learn. Just because you study on a computer, does not mean that you can be undisciplined. If you’re not sure, follow the second golden rule.
Golden Rule No2 : Speak to your tutor.
You will also receive supplementary exercises. We call these ‘SiACCOs’, after the program we designed to create them. SiACCOs are an integral part of your course and you should always do them as soon as you can. You can ask for more SiACCOs too. If there is a grammar point you want to practise, then ask your tutor for more exercises. You will receive the results of your work immediately after sending it. SiACCOs are covered by the third golden rule.
Golden Rule No3 : Speak to your tutor.
Some students will have virtual classes. We call these ‘Centras’ after the program we use to establish the classes. These are real-time classes where you, your tutor and three or four other students will be simultaneously connected. These classes are a perfect opportunity to ask questions and practise your English communication skills. They are also a lot of fun! Never miss a Centra. They’re important.
Another part of your course may be telephone chats. These are twenty minutes conversations about a given theme. You can visit our Phone Chat Website by clicking THEMES. You can suggest themes for the chats too. It is quite possible that your chat will go off at a tangent. You may start talking about fast-food and end up talking about philosophy. That depends on you. These phone calls are not examinations. They are twenty minutes where you have a tutor’s 100% attention. Try to have the phone calls in a quiet place where you will not be interrupted.
Golden Rule No4 : Speak to your tutor.
Every week we publish a Weekly Letter. This is a chance to read an article and comment about it on our webpage. You can register for free at www.weeklyletter.com and read online, download the article or listen to a podcast. This is a great opportunity to interact with tutors and other students. Studying while you’re working is not the easiest thing in the world. You will have times when you are tired and frustrated. Don’t worry. You’re not alone. All of our tutors have been students and all of our tutors have learned a language. They understand the highs and lows.
Golden Rule No5 : Speak to your tutor.
You have said ‘Yes’ This year you are going to learn English. You are joining a club with more than 979,956,000 members. You will be able to travel all over the globe and book into hotels, rent cars, find your way around and understand what’s happening. As you progress you will have access to some of the finest literature in the world. What you do this year will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Congratulations!
Ps: Don’t forget to speak to your tutor! -—-
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Posted on http://www.weeklyletter.com at 2006-02-23 09:14:00 +0100
Copyright (C) ITT (http://www.itt.es) and Planet Lingua (http://www.lingua.es)
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Let me write the last rule: speak to your tutor.
When you are doing the exercises you say ‘How difficult is that!’ and remember your tutor and the easy past course.
It’s a joke I agree with you, the article offer good ideas to learn English.
Gloria López
Thanks Gloria.
That rule is tremendously important.
Your tutor wants to you to contact him/her. We feel happy when we get a message from a student. We aren’t telepathic. If you have a difficulty and you don’t tell us, how can we help???
And we want to help!
All of the tutors on this course have learned a second language and we all know the frustrations and confusions. Let us guide you. We know the map!
Dónal,. thanks for the advice.
For me it is also useful to comment on some of the exercises with one of my colleagues that is taking this same course.
I think that when we discuss an exercise or a reading we tend to understand better the discussed subject. In order for us to explain something, we have to understand it first!
Best regards,
Cristina
Thank you Cristina,
You’re absolutely right!
Talking about course materials with someone who is doing the same course is an excellent strategy. In English we have the saying, “Two heads are better than one” and that is certainly true in learning a language.
While your tutor is always available, you can find a ‘Study Mate’ a very useful help too.
Dear Cristina,
I agree with Dónal. Yours is an excellent idea. And all the better if you and your colleague talk about the Weekly Letter in English!
Paola
For me, the most difficult thing is the grammar, time of use of the verbs, thanks to the patience of my tutor, I can understand something.
I think the most valued resource is your tutor. And for me is most important to write each exercise, each thing I learn because I can read every time.
And is important to review.
Hello!
For me the most difficult part of studying a language is to find the moment to sit before the pc and connect to a+.
The golden rule for me to study is to have a timetable, to choose a day an and hour and study. I always try to study on weekend mornings but sometimes it is impossible or I don’t have energy and I pass in front of the pc and say I have to do but …. I don’t want.
But when I sit and start doing the lesson I feel good and proud.
The most valuable English learning resource for me is conversation and I learn English to improve my level and understand more things each day (news, songs, ...) and travel each part of the globe without any problem.
Yes, Mariano, you’re right!
Just because you are using a computer does not mean you can forget about old fashioned discipline.
And Angela you make a good point about writing things. Although most communication is not written, we can make very good use of a low-tech pencil and paper when we are studying.
Thank you for your weekly letter Dónal, as briliant as you used to be. I’ve only a question, doubt, remark,.. I dont’t know which is the appropriate name. When you’re speaking about conversation classes (by phone, 20 minutes) you recommend to speak in a quiet place without interferences,...But, in fact, in life in general terms, it’s very difficult to hold a conversation in such ideal circumstances, isn’t it? So my question is: Do you think is not a good idea to hold the conversation while you’re, for instance, walking by the street. That’s true there’re a lot of interferences: people, cars,.. But is it bad for improving our English? Is quite better to sit on a chair attending with your 5 senses to the conversation?
Buena tarde
MarÃa Jesús
Thank you for your comments Maria Jesus. Both intelligent and challenging, as always.
This year we are establishing a website for our phone conversations and so, from a practical point of view, it may be better to be near a computer during the chat.
However, you can look at the phone chats from a number of angles and each student will have their own way.
You may look at your phone chat as a simulation and so walking in the street, sitting in a noisy office or calling your tutor from the bus stop would all add a degree of ‘realism’ to the experience. But remember this – most native speakers would also have problems in those situations.
You may look at your phone chat as an opportunity to speak about a wide range of subjects. My colleague Eamonn (who maintains our Phone Chat Website) is preparing material on every subject you can imagine. This is a great way to learn and use new vocabulary.
You may look at your phone chat like a weekly gym session – a chance to keep your English in good shape. From this point of view the subject is not as important as the communication itself.
These are all things that you should talk about with your Phone Chat Tutor. You may prefer a mixture of approaches.
Actors rehearse in empty theatres.
As we say in English “It’s better to learn to walk before you try to run”.
Ã?ngeles, thanks a million for considering us tutors the most valuable resource when learning a language. There are students who seem to forget that we exist!
About speaking while running around downtown Madrid, I don’t mind it, per se, if a student’s English is so good that they don’t have to think about it and absolute concentration isn’t necessary. This is not most people’s case. Worse than that, though, are hands free sets in cars…
“Just a second; I’m going through a tunnel…”
“Oh, we got cut off; there must not be coverage here…”
“Wait a moment; I see the Guardia Civil ahead…”
“What?”
“What?
“Sorry?”
“What?”
...
Hello Donald ! I have liked your article.
I agree with you that is important to have a rutine, more when return back from work, the children wait for you in house!
Particularly I am glad to have begun although it are late, the decision to study English was pondered by me, I like the rule !! speak with your tutor” is guessed right.
To have will ! Illusion and to dedicate little time, begin a constant , sooner or later we will speak english.
see you soon . Reyes.