Hi, there. My name is
Emma, and in today's video, I am going to discuss something1 that is a problem for a lot of
advanced students. That problem is: "Help: I'm not improving2 my English anymore3." Okay? A lot of advanced students
believe that they are no longer
improving4. They've learned the present perfect, they've
learned the past tense, they know a lot of vocabulary, and they just feel like
they're no longer getting better5
in English; they feel like they are at
the same level6.
So, in this video, I am going to tell you three ways7 to stop you from feeling this way8, because it's not true. Okay? You probably are improving; you just don't realize it9.
So, the first thing I want to do is explain why10 these feelings11 are normal. I have here a graph. This means12 beginner13, this is advanced, and intermediate would be here. For a lot of students, they remember when they were a beginner. They learned a lot. You learn past tense, you learn all sorts of14 new vocabulary, you learn: "Hello", "Good-bye", "How are you?" There's a lot you learn as a beginner, and you actually15 learn quite quickly16. Okay? The first day you learn English, maybe17 you learn five words; the next day maybe you learn 10. You're learning very, very quickly.
As you get18 more and more advanced19, the learning20 actually starts to kind of trickle off21; it starts to almost plateau22. You're still learning, but you're not learning as much as23 you did when you were a beginner. You don't feel the same way as you did when you were... When you were a beginner. So, this is a very normal feeling.
How do you deal with24 this? Okay? How do you deal with this frustration? Well, first of all25, a lot of students, they don't realize26 how much they're actually learning, because they don't think about what they're learning. They go to school and then they come home, or they go to work and come home, and they just, you know, they don't think about it.
Well, so this is why27 I recommend making a self-reflection journal28. Okay? If every day you write what you have learned that day about your English vocabulary, maybe grammar, this will help you recognize29 that yes, you are learning. Okay? Yesterday, maybe, you know, you learned five new words. When you write these words down, then you have proof30, you have evidence of how much you actually are learning. And you can think about, and this will help you with that frustration.
So, what I would recommend doing is buy maybe a diary or a journal, and in that journal just write: "What did I learn today?" Did you learn some new idioms31? Did you learn a new expression? A new word? A new grammar point? Okay? So write down everything32 you've learned, and then it's good to think about: what do you want to learn tomorrow? If you think about what you want to learn, you're more likely33 to actually learn it, and this will really help you get over34 this plateau. Okay?
A second thing you can do, which will help you with this frustration, is in terms of goals35. Okay? A lot of students, when they make a goal, their goal is too big36; their goal is: "I want to learn English. This is my goal. This is what I want to do." The problem is this doesn't tell you how you're going to do it, and it's just too big; you can't measure37 it. It's very difficult to measure this goal, so I've put38 an "x" here.
Instead39, you should pick40 a smaller goal. Okay? So, for example: "Today I will learn five verbs." You could be even more specific41. "Today I will learn five verbs about swimming42." Maybe you want to practice pronunciation. "Today I will use 'I'll' instead of43 'I will' three times.", "Today I will use the present perfect two times44." So when you actually make a goal and you have very specific numbers, and times, and detail, this will really help you to get over this hump45 because you know that you are actually improving, you have evidence, you have this journal, you have these goals, and it's a lot easier46 to meet47 these goals.
Finally, a third thing you can do if you're feeling frustrated because of this is you can tape record48 yourself speaking. You can either49 buy a tape recorder, or49 use your phone or computer. Talk about something for one minute, and then listen to your mistakes50. Okay? Keep doing this51 every day. Measure it. Listen for specific mistakes, and see: are you improving? When you speak, do you say a lot of “Ohhh”, “Ahhh”, or is it very clear? Do you use organizers: first of all52, secondly, finally, or is your speech53 very, confused and without organization?
So, in this video, I am going to tell you three ways7 to stop you from feeling this way8, because it's not true. Okay? You probably are improving; you just don't realize it9.
So, the first thing I want to do is explain why10 these feelings11 are normal. I have here a graph. This means12 beginner13, this is advanced, and intermediate would be here. For a lot of students, they remember when they were a beginner. They learned a lot. You learn past tense, you learn all sorts of14 new vocabulary, you learn: "Hello", "Good-bye", "How are you?" There's a lot you learn as a beginner, and you actually15 learn quite quickly16. Okay? The first day you learn English, maybe17 you learn five words; the next day maybe you learn 10. You're learning very, very quickly.
As you get18 more and more advanced19, the learning20 actually starts to kind of trickle off21; it starts to almost plateau22. You're still learning, but you're not learning as much as23 you did when you were a beginner. You don't feel the same way as you did when you were... When you were a beginner. So, this is a very normal feeling.
How do you deal with24 this? Okay? How do you deal with this frustration? Well, first of all25, a lot of students, they don't realize26 how much they're actually learning, because they don't think about what they're learning. They go to school and then they come home, or they go to work and come home, and they just, you know, they don't think about it.
Well, so this is why27 I recommend making a self-reflection journal28. Okay? If every day you write what you have learned that day about your English vocabulary, maybe grammar, this will help you recognize29 that yes, you are learning. Okay? Yesterday, maybe, you know, you learned five new words. When you write these words down, then you have proof30, you have evidence of how much you actually are learning. And you can think about, and this will help you with that frustration.
So, what I would recommend doing is buy maybe a diary or a journal, and in that journal just write: "What did I learn today?" Did you learn some new idioms31? Did you learn a new expression? A new word? A new grammar point? Okay? So write down everything32 you've learned, and then it's good to think about: what do you want to learn tomorrow? If you think about what you want to learn, you're more likely33 to actually learn it, and this will really help you get over34 this plateau. Okay?
A second thing you can do, which will help you with this frustration, is in terms of goals35. Okay? A lot of students, when they make a goal, their goal is too big36; their goal is: "I want to learn English. This is my goal. This is what I want to do." The problem is this doesn't tell you how you're going to do it, and it's just too big; you can't measure37 it. It's very difficult to measure this goal, so I've put38 an "x" here.
Instead39, you should pick40 a smaller goal. Okay? So, for example: "Today I will learn five verbs." You could be even more specific41. "Today I will learn five verbs about swimming42." Maybe you want to practice pronunciation. "Today I will use 'I'll' instead of43 'I will' three times.", "Today I will use the present perfect two times44." So when you actually make a goal and you have very specific numbers, and times, and detail, this will really help you to get over this hump45 because you know that you are actually improving, you have evidence, you have this journal, you have these goals, and it's a lot easier46 to meet47 these goals.
Finally, a third thing you can do if you're feeling frustrated because of this is you can tape record48 yourself speaking. You can either49 buy a tape recorder, or49 use your phone or computer. Talk about something for one minute, and then listen to your mistakes50. Okay? Keep doing this51 every day. Measure it. Listen for specific mistakes, and see: are you improving? When you speak, do you say a lot of “Ohhh”, “Ahhh”, or is it very clear? Do you use organizers: first of all52, secondly, finally, or is your speech53 very, confused and without organization?
So, by tape recording
yourself, you have evidence. You can listen to yourself , you know, in the
past, ok this is how I sounded54
five months ago, this is how I sound now. I have improved, OK? So, the main reason why55
students feel frustrated is because they have no evidence of how much they are
learning and how much they are improving. By following these three things,
creating a journal, setting small
goals56 and taping yourself speak, this is a way to really
deal with your frustration and to have evidence of your improvement57 ok?
So I invite you to
visit our website www.engvid.com. There you can find a
lot of different resources58
on vocabulary, grammar, speaking, pronounciation, and you can practice those
words and write about that in a self-reflection journal. You can also subscribe59 to my
youtube channel which has a lot of similar60
resources. So, I invite you to come visit us, thank you for watching this
video, I hope you’re not feeling like
this61, feeling frustrated, and I hope you realize you are
improving. Until next time, take
care!62
Vocabulary
1.
something = algo
2.
improving = melhorando
3.
anymore = mais
4. they are no longer improving = eles não estão
mais melhorando
5. getting bet = ficando
melhores
6.
at the same level = no mesmo nível
7.
ways = formas, maneiras
8.
stop you from feeling this way = impedir voce de
se sentir desta forma
9.
just don't realize it = simplesmente não percebe
10.
explain why = explicar por que
11.
feelings = sentimentos
12.
means = significa
13.
beginner
= iniciante
14. all sorts of = todos os tipos de
15. actually = realmente,
na verdade
16. quite quick = muito
rapidamente
17. maybe = talvez
18. As you get = à medida em que você fica
19. more and more advanced
= cada vez mais avançado
20. learning = aprendizado
21. kind of trickle off = como
que estabilizar-se
22. almost plateau = quase
plano
23. as much as = tanto
quanto
24. deal with = lidar com
25. first of all = Em primeiro lugar
26. realize = percebem
27. this is why = é porisso
que
28. self-reflection journal = diário de auto-reflexão
29. recognize = reconhecer
30. proof = prova
31. idioms = expressões
idiomáticas
32. write down everything =
anote tudo
33. more likely = mais
provável
34. get over = superar
35. in terms of goals = em
termos de objetivos
36. too big = grande demais
37. measure = avaliar
38. I've put = eu coloquei
39. Instead = ao invés
disso
40. should pick = deveria
escolher
41. could be even more
specific = poderia ser ainda mais específico
42. swimming = natação
43. instead of = ao invés
de
44. two times = duas vezes
45. hump = obstáculo
46. a lot easier = muito mais fácil
47. meet = alcançar
48. tape record = gravar em
fita
49. either…or = ou…ou
50. mistakes = erros
51.
Keep doing this = continue fazendo isso
52.
first of all = em primeiro lugar
53.
speech = fala
54.
sounded = parecia
55.
main reason why = principal razão pela qual
56. setting small goals = estabelecer pequenos
objetivos
57. improvement = melhora
58. resources = recursos
59. subscribe =
inscrever-se
60. similar = semelhante
61. like this = desta forma
62. Until next time, take
care! = até a próxima! Cuide-se!