Cultivating your English #18(of 20): The quality of your questions
❤️“The quality of your life is a direct reflection of the quality of the questions you are asking yourself”❤️― Anthony Robbins
This quote is really more about life in general because Tony Robbins is a life coach. Therefore I am stealing his train of thought and adapting it to the context of learning English….
❤️“The quality of your relationship with learning English is a direct reflection of the quality of the questions you are asking yourself about how you learn”❤️― Jodie Carnegie Fowler (inspired by Anthony Robbins)
So…. here are a few questions for you:
Which parts of English do you enjoy the most? (Is it reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar work, building your vocabulary etc etc?) Do you enjoy playing games, speaking with people, watching series/documentaries/films? Do you enjoy helping people with their English? Are you competitive? Do you enjoy debating taboo or delicate subjects? Do you enjoy meeting new people? Do you enjoy meeting people from other cultures? Do you enjoy using your English to teach/coach people, share knowledge or help them understand something?
Answering these questions and any other similar ones are so so so so valuable if you want to find your "English way". Can you think of any other valuable questions?
If the answer to any of the questions is "I don't know" then you need to experiment more and try new strategies. Don’t be afraid to get creative: trial and error!
If the answer is yes then you should think about how to develop this aspect of your English practice in order to enjoy the contact you have with English even more.
If the answer is no then you could ask yourself why. Maybe your negative experiences in the past are causing you to limit yourself. For example, maybe you answered that you don't like reading. You probably weren't born with this preference/opinion!! At some point you arrived at this reality because of your experiences. Maybe you had to read a book at school or in English class which was very difficult to understand or just boring. Maybe you bought a really interesting book and you were super excited to read it but then you found it too difficult to understand and you ended up abandoning it after a few pages or a chapter.
Therefore, it might be worth revisiting the idea of reading with a different strategy and an open mind.
(Image from https://www.myenglishpages.com/blog/input-and-output-in-second-language-acquisition/ )
Everything with a language is interconnected. If you do lots of listening practice it will also help your speaking skills and pronunciation. If you do lots of writing it will also help your grammar. Etc etc etc.
I do recommend that you try to have a balance in your contact with English though. Try to do a bit of everything if possible- and every day of course, even if it’s just a few minutes.
Why don't you come along to one of my online exchange sessions sometime? You could invite your language buddy too if you want.
This is an initiative I started at the beginning of the first covid lockdown. I invite people to attend weekly online coaching/speaking sessions and if they find it useful then I ask people to "pay" for the session by making a donation to a charity or doing a https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/kindness-ideas Here is the video I made inviting my students to participate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PCIIQBaEco&t=1s
It seems so long ago now! 🤯
Thanks for reading and see you in #19🙏😊 (only 2 more to go!)