Subtitles section Play video
-
What percent chance do you think you have
-
of accomplishing your English language learning goals this year?
-
10%?
-
50%?
-
100%?
-
How likely is it that you're going to succeed?
-
Well, if you're like most people, you're probably going to fail.
-
According to a recent article in Forbes magazine,
-
only 8% of people who set goals at the beginning of the year
-
actually achieve those goals.
-
That's less than 1 out of 10 people.
-
So what are all these people doing that causes them to fail?
-
And what can you do to make sure that you are part of that 8%
-
when achieving your English language learning goals?
-
In this video, I'm going to talk about some ways that you can make sure
-
you are more successful at achieving your language learning goals.
-
Now the first thing you neefd to do is have the right mindset.
-
You know, I get students coming to me all the time
-
and they say things like, "Aaron, I'm no good at speaking English,"
-
or, "Aaron, I have no confidence when speaking English."
-
And my response is, "Of course. Of course you don't.
-
That's what you believe and that's what you keep saying to yourself."
-
So that's not a really good mindset to have
-
because it closes you off from opportunities
-
and to move forward towards achieving your goal.
-
So what you need to do is examine your mindset
-
and change it to a more positive one because with a positive mindset,
-
you can really believe in your potential to succeed.
-
Everybody's got a potential to succeed
-
and you need to change that mindset to something more positive and more open.
-
So after you have the right kind of mindset,
-
then you need to learn how to set the right kind of goals.
-
So many people set goals in the wrong way
-
and they set themselves up for failure.
-
So what can you do to make sure you're setting the right kind of goals?
-
Well, the first thing you can do is set language learning goals that are realistic.
-
Think about it.
-
Some people say things like, "Oh, I want to become fluent in English in 6 months."
-
Well, for a lot of people 6 months is difficult to achieve fluency.
-
It might take longer than that.
-
Think about where you are and what your ability level is.
-
What is realistic for you?
-
Maybe a more realistic approach would be to say something like,
-
"My goal in the next 6 months is to increase the amount of time
-
I spend studying English and practicing English everyday."
-
Or, "I'm going to increase my ability to meet people and speak with them in English
-
and increase my confidence."
-
Those are more achievable. They're more doable
-
than becoming completely fluent in such a short time.
-
So the goal has to be realistic.
-
Also, goals need to be specific.
-
General goals are no good.
-
For example, some people say,
-
"Oh, in the next 6 months I'm just going to study English more.
-
I need to study English more."
-
And that's really, really general.
-
That's not a good kind of goal.
-
The best goal is something that is time-bound and measurable.
-
For example, "In the next 6 months, I'm going to make sure that I study English
-
for one hour a day, everyday, 7 days a week."
-
Okay, now that's much more specific.
-
We're talking about time and it's something that you can measure.
-
So think about specific goals.
-
And finally, not only should your goals be realistic and specific,
-
but they should also be meaningful.
-
These should be the kind of goals that are meaningful to your growth,
-
your development, your health and your happiness,
-
and especially to those around you.
-
For example, if you like video games and you set a goal
-
that you want to get the highest score in a video game,
-
well, that only benefits you and it's really not that meaningful.
-
But imagine if you achieved English fluency over time.
-
Wow, the benefits are amazing!
-
It opens up so many opportunities
-
and you can communicate with people all over the world.
-
That brings good things to you and it also shares that with other people.
-
So that's meaningful.
-
Now, once you have your goal set you need to write it down.
-
This is very important.
-
And I'm not talking about writing it on your computer.
-
I'm talking about taking an actual pen and a piece of paper.
-
You know what those are, right?
-
We don't use them as much these days but for this exercise it's very important.
-
Write it down in bold ink.
-
And this process of writing it down helps you to take your idea
-
from the mental and bring it into the physical world,
-
and that's important.
-
And that process of doing it helps you focus.
-
It makes your goal clear, concise, and concrete.
-
And then you need to take that goal and you need to put it somewhere visible,
-
somewhere that you see frequently everyday.
-
It could be the refrigerator or near the toilet or near your computer
-
or in all three places.
-
You need to keep seeing it, that physical manifestation of your goal.
-
And finally, you need to take action,
-
immediate action towards reaching that goal.
-
As soon as you write it down, what can you do right away
-
to start moving towards that goal?
-
You see, the process is very important.
-
And one way to help focus on the process is to make daily goals.
-
For example, if your long term goal is to achieve greater fluency in English,
-
then what you can do is make sure that today you start.
-
Today you set a goal to do some listening or some active speaking
-
or something that's going to move you in that direction.
-
So with all of these together,
-
having the right mindset,
-
setting the right kind of goals,
-
writing down those goals,
-
and taking immediate action,
-
you are going to be one of those 8% of people
-
that actually achieve the goals that they set for their English language learning.