So, we’re in outono and have (re-)started our learning journeys. For some, this is a welcome and much anticipated time. For others, it’s really daunting and we’re not feeling so motivated or great about ourselves.
I’ve had a few panicked emails from students, expressing their regret at not sticking to study plans over the summer, telling me they feel under-prepared and anxious about the upcoming lessons. I’ve got back to them, to hopefully reassure them that they are going to be ok, that they are not alone in feeling this way, and most of all, not to doubt their own abilities. And I have been having a good think about this, and come to the conclusion that:
I believe success is a mindset we can foster and create conditions for.
What do I mean?
By having the right mindset, and giving ourselves the best conditions, we can almost guarantee success.
What is a mindset for language learning?
Think about this if you can - What we learn and study does not ‘go away’. It’s there in our brains, but maybe it’s been filed in an awkward place, it’s hard to find and access. If we are convinced it is gone, we will not look for it, but if we are confident we have that information and allow our minds to find it, that information - word, phrase etc - will be found. Maybe we will need to remind ourselves, but we don’t (usually) need to re-learn or take steps back. Having a confident approach to learning, and having people around you who are confident of your ability (your teacher!) and are telling you you CAN do this, often tips the balance in favour of successful learning.
And the conditions?
We can consider conditions in relation to both more abstract things like our time and energy , or physical things like a room to study in and books.
The abstract:
I often ask students to make the comparison between students at school and themselves as adults in terms of the time they have available to them to study and the amount of headspace they can devote to language learning. As adults in the real world, we usually have things filling our heads and time like work, family, finances, plus things to deal with - the car, the garden, a wedding… etc etc, and our language learning is a small part of our life. BUT we can mistakenly put our slower progress down to the fact that we are older. That is not the case. The fact is, we simply don’t have the time or the energy available to us that we did as carefree youngsters due to other constraints on our time. I am not staying this to tell you to change anything necessarily,. However, be aware of this. Don’t give yourself a hard time, or tell yourself you should be putting in more hours or making faster progress. Let’s try to ensure that our expectations meet the reality of our situations. Meeting expectations leads to success and that motivates you to continue.
And so the ‘things’ that can help.
Are you a pen and paper person? Or do you prefer to have everything on the computer?
If you like the papers (most of us…) get the worksheets printed out, organised and filed nicely in good time for when you need them. Nothing less inspiring than a pile of papers to seive through to get to the lessons’s worksheet or a scrabble to find things at the last minute. To some of us, this is second nature, to others this is a real chore. Believe me though, it is worth the pain. And have a pen that works, sharpened pencil, nice notepaper and books, (maybe even take a trip to that lovely papelaria and splash out on some inspiring beautiful things)
If you are more into using the screen, and not having bits of paper all over the place, this can be organised too. Create files, save the sheets there and give your documents names and put them in places you can find.
Basically, make your life easier for yourself. So sitting down to study is easy and hopefully enjoyable.
And your study place, if possible, make this somewhere dedicated to studying, so you are in the right frame of mind when you go there. Obviously, there are times we need to study on the fly, and this is a good thing that modern life and technology enable us to do. However, just because we can attend a class on the train, or study at the kitchen table while having lunch doesn’t mean that we should make this a regular habit if possible, as to really learn and absorb the information, being able to focus, get into the zone without distractions is the best practice.
So, I really hope that reading this has been a good use of your time and helps you to feel more positive and excited about the next step you are taking in your Portuguese learning journey.
If you are not joining us this time for classes, but would like to, DO get in touch.
Até ja!