Setting goals

Have you set your language learning goals yet? If not, here are a few tips on how to make them more effective (based on Goal-Setting Theory by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham).

1. Your goal needs to be specific. Example: ‘I want to improve my English’ is too vague. ‘I want to be able to have a job interview in English’ or ‘I want to be able to read scientific journals in English’ is much better.

2. ‘Small’ goals are more effective than ‘large’ ones. They are more achievable, less scary, and they make it easier to stay motivated. Example: break up a large and scary goal, such as ‘7.5 in IELTS’ into smaller and less scary blocks, such as 'achieve natural speaking fluency', 'learn how to plan an essay', 'learn to scan texts for specific information', etc.

3. Goals with numbers are easier to achieve, and they are more satisfying. Example: instead of saying ‘I will read more’, set yourself a mini weekly goal, for example: ‘I will read 3 news articles’ / ‘5 pages of the book’ or ‘I will read for 30 minutes before bed’. When there’s a number, it easy to tick it off when it’s done It helps when you make your goals public.

4. Tell someone about your goals – your friends, family, social media followers. Making them public will help you stay committed.

Individual study plan that you get as a Virtual E School student will help you set effective goals and add structure to your practice.

How do you keep yourself motivated?