Learn English with David Sweetnam & Engage s.r.o.

One of the things I’ve noticed while teaching in Prague is that quite a few students enrol in various courses but don’t seem to know deep-down why they are learning English. It seems simple, but in some ways it isn’t.

Before you enrol in a course for summer or from September, I strongly recommend that that you spend some quiet moments reflecting on why you want to learn English.

Motivation is cited by Lewis as one of the three most important ingredients a student must have in order to learn a language (the other two are practice and exposure to the language). So without having a clear idea of the reason for your learning, you may not get the best out of your course.

Generally, I’ve also found that the learners who make the best progress are those who are intrinsically motivated. By this, I mean that their motivation comes from within. When someone says “I’m learning English for me,” I know I am going to look forward to teaching a truly motivated student who wants to make great progress – and they usually do!

Students who are focussed more on outside motivators can find that they reach a wall at some point. Extrinsically motivated individuals who say they need English for an exam or for a promotion at work develop a results orientated approach, focussing on outcomes and losing focus on what really matters: their growth and progress in English.

Finally, here are some questions you may ask yourself. There’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers here, I just hope you will find this useful:

• Do you enjoy learning English?
• Are you motivated by a higher salary?
• Do you feel you have higher status from speaking a foreign language?
• Do you want to study or live abroad?
• Do you need English because you are married to an English speaker?
• Do you want to widen your social circle with English?
• Do you just want to pass an exam, perhaps because your company has requested it?
• Are you doing this for your personal development? If so, in what way(s)?
• Do you feel this is a duty, something you feel you should do?
• Does learning English make you feel better about yourself? How?

Make yourself a cup of tea, then sit down and write your answers to these questions on a separate sheet of paper. You might be surprised by what you see!

If you have any other ideas or comments on this topic, please write them below.

To your learning,

David Sweetnam

English Teacher and Trainer
Engage sro
IČO 28400852
DIČ CZ28400852
david(at)engage (dot)cz

First published on www.engage.cz (2010)

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