STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL LANGUAGE LEARNING

How can we become successful English language learners?... Strategies for Success -Don’t mind if people laugh when you speak English.. Successful Language Learners Usually: -understan

Welcome to the seminar

on “Strategies for success

in learning English”

Give answer to the question below

How can we become successful

English language learners?

To become a better English learner, you

should:

- know what kind of learner you are

- discover what learning styles you prefer

- motivate yourself and set goals

- develop self-confidence

- learn to take risks

- know the influence of your native language

- know how to use learning strategies

1 What kind of learner are

you?

A studying? In pairs / How do you like B

groups or individually?

Not all language learners are the same

in their preferences, and therefore it’s important for each learner to know

himself or herself well

Do the questionnaire and tell your

friends what kind of learner you are

Strategies for Success

-Don’t mind if people laugh when

you speak English

-Study English outside class

-Get the general idea when you read

or listen to English

-Don’t get upset when you make mistakes

-Learn from your mistakes

-Work in pairs and groups when necessary

- Ask questions when necessary

- Take notes of important words, idioms, structures… in class

Complete the questionnaire and discover your learning style

2 Discovering your

learning styles

Questionnaire Score

30 or more = you are a reflective learner

You prefer doing things slowly

29 or less = You are an impulsive learner

You prefer doing things fast

Neither style is good or bad

You should balance the two styles, i.e to be not too fast, and not too slow

Successful Language Learners Usually:

-understand their own learning styles and

preferences

-know which styles help them and use

those styles

-know which styles might hurt them and

change or avoid those styles

Types of motivation

External motivation

Internal

motivation

External motivation coming from

others Internal motivation coming from

inside yourself

3 You do your homework because the

teacher tells you to do

4 You do your homework because you are interested in the topic

Discovering your motivation by completing the questionnaire

5-12 Low internal

motivation

Low motivation from others

Please remember:

When you are motivated by your own

wants and needs you are almost always successful

People who are motivated by outside

influences are usually not so successful

Strategies for Success

1 Think about your motives now ( Yes/No)

You care a lot about your grades

You have to pass the exams

You will do better in your job

You will have more fun talking with

English speakers

You will be able to use the Internet better You will enrich your knowledge

2 Set some specific goals for yourself to pursue in the next few weeks

3 Look at your goals frequently and

track your progress

4 As you complete goals, set new ones

What does learning a new language

involve?

4 Developing self-confidence

Learning a new language involves:

-Learning a whole new system of sounds

-Remembering thousands of new words

-Learning many rules of grammar and their exceptions

-Talking to people in different situations

-Listening to people in different situations -Writing to people in different situations

-Understanding a new culture

Answer the questions below

1 How confident are you when you speak

English?

2 How do you feel about reading English?

3 How do you feel about writing English?

4 How do you feel about listening to English?

5 How do you feel about your grammar

knowledge?

6 How do you feel about your vocabulary

knowledge?

Strateges For Success

Develop overall self-confidence

- Make a list of your strengths and

weaknesses

- Set goals to overcome your weaknesses

- Tell yourself that you are smart and you can do it

Think positively

- Don’t say “I can’t” or “I never get it.”

- Don’t let other classmates’ bad attitudes affect you

- Respect your teacher and your teacher will respect you

Ask for Help

-Ask your teacher questions when you need to

-Ask your classmates for help when

you need it

-Practice English as much as possible with your classmates

5 Learning to take risks

What does “taking risks in learning

English” mean?

Taking risks means you try to say things

in English even if you might make

mistakes It is one of the most important learning strategies you should use.

How do you feel when trying to speak

English? Complete the questionnaire

A score of 7 to 21 means that you may feel somewhat afraid to speak English

You like to be safe when speaking

English

You like to be certain that what you are saying is correct

You don’t dare to speak English

because you are afraid that other

people will think you are stupid

However, research has shown that the most successful language learners take risks

They make guesses

They try out new things

They talk with others freely

Strategies for success

-Listen to English as often as possible in

class and outside class

-Watch English TV, listen to English radio programs and English songs

-Make opportunities to speak English in

class and outside class

-Be willing to make mistakes: Mistakes are not signs of weakness or failure They are natural Everyone makes mistakes

-Make your mistakes work for you: Try to remember your mistakes when you make

- Ask your teacher and friends tell you

about your mistakes Make a list of

mistakes and practice for correction

-While you are practising English freely,

don’t forget to think a little bit about what you are going to say before you speak

-Use the Internet to get information in

English

-Write an email to someone in English

-Raise your hand in class to volunteer to speak

-Ask questions in class if you don’t

understand something

- Go to places where you can find

English speakers and talk with them

- Practise English with your classmates outside the classroom

- Buy and read an English language

newspaper

6 Knowing the influence of

your native language

Why do native speakers of English

sometimes not understand

What components of English are

different from those of Vietnamese?

Accents / Sounds / Stress / Intonation Grammatical Structures

Strategies for success: Regarding sounds

-Listen carefully to native English speakers

-Listen to radio or TV or cassette Focus on

specific sounds you need to practise

-Listen to yourself carefully Notice the sounds, stress and intonation that are difficult for you -Record your voice on a tape recorder and then listen to yourself

-Speak English without worrying about what

you sound like Don’t worry too much about

your pronunciation mistakes

Strategies for success: Regarding

grammar

-Don’t do a lot of translating to or from

your native language Try to understand in English

-Use your mistakes as learning

opportunities

-Make mistakes work for you Notice the grammar mistakes Repeat the correct

forms to yourself Try to self correct while you are still talking

-Be more childlike Children like to move directly to a foreign language They don’t think about their native language They

don’t translate things as they are listening

or speaking

Discover what learning styles the people in the pictures use

7 Knowing how to use

learning strategies

Do the questionnaire to discover how often you use your learning

strategies

1 Use individual learning strategies

Study on your own

-Watch television, movies, plays ….in

English

-Listen to radio, cassette, conversations

-Listen to specific sounds in English when people speak to you

-Listen to specific grammar points such as tenses, articles, prepositions

-Practise conversations by yourself

-Speak English to foreigners whenever

possible

-Repeat language from an audiotape

-Practise pronunciation of specific sounds -Read a passage aloud

-Skim for the overall topic and message

before reading

-Scan a passage quickly to find specific information

-Figure out the meaning of an unclear passage

-Guess meanings of words from the

context

-Use dictionary when necessary

-Freewrite on your own ( diary, journal, email…)

-Write drafts of a short essay

-Proofread your written work

2 Use group learning strategies

In class, work with your classmates to

discuss problems or make conversations

In an English club, be confident to share ideas with many members

Learning a new language doesn’t

mean just looking at and thinking about it but practising the four

macroskills and different subskills

Wish you great success with your

study!

Thank you very much

lv.tuyen@hutech.edu.vn