Have you traveled abroad and wanted to be able to speak the native language effectively?
Have you ever tried to create a study plan to get yourself prepared?
Have you thought through the things that would help you to be able to communicate effectively?
We’re going to look at what a good study plan could include.
We’re going to take Lindsay’s example of preparing for a trip to France–the things that she is doing to prepare may very well be the types of things that you could use too.
Consider Your Goals First
In this situation our goal is to help Lindsay get a study plan for herself.
Find yourself in today’s lesson, because there is so much that you can relate to and use in your own life.
Create your own study plans in English, as this will help you tremendously.
Use this example for Lindsay as a spring board into what you can do for yourself to build your own vocabulary and language skills.
If you are recommitting yourself to English, then you have to stop and think about what your goals are.
Think about where you want to be a month from now.
Be realistic about your goals, and also consider your time frame so that you can work towards that.
Make sure you understand every word you hear on All Ears English.
Bring your English to the advanced level with new vocabulary and natural expressions.
Get the transcripts from today’s episode.
Learn to speak naturally with the American accent.
Click here to subscribe to the transcripts and save 50%
A Great Working Example You Can Relate To
You are bound to have your own goals in mind before you travel to another part of the world.
The goals that are listed below are real life examples that Lindsay is working towards.
These can help you to master a certain part of the language or at least build up your vocabulary.
The goals that Lindsay has in mind to work on before her trip include the following.
- Make sure that you can be the one to be the directions person: Don’t have to rely upon Google maps, but rather be able to make conversation. This is a great way to engage and to make a connection.
- Be able to walk into any restaurant and lead with French to order food: Though you may very well be able to order in your own language, try using the local one. It can help you to keep sharp with your skills, but also allows you to interact with people in their own culture.
So How Do You Accomplish These Goals?
Having the goals is part of the equation, and it’s the starting point.
There are certain tactics that you can use to help you in reaching these goals.
If you want to begin to master a language or build up your vocabulary, here are a few things that may be quite helpful to you in achieving that goal.
- Find a 5 minute language podcast: This can help you to start your day engaging in the language you want to start using. This can be part of your goal and it’s achievable because it’s in small manageable bursts of time.
- Challenge yourself to watch a movie in that language: Try to watch an entire movie each weekend in that language. In this case it would be to watch a movie in French, and maybe even consider using subtitles. This can help to reiterate the language to you so that you can make connections between the spoken word and the written word. Subtitles can certainly be a learning tool here.
- Get a magazine, an article, a recipe, or a restaurant review in that language: This helps you to keep sharp with your vocabulary and it’s easy to relate to. This helps you to reach your goals around food, but also helps you to sharpen your skills with something that is used everyday. This embeds you into that local culture as well.
- Build a “brain box”: Talk to yourself in that language, get a map, get a lay of the land so to speak. You are then going to practice giving yourself directions in French for this example. You want to almost role play and add to your knowledge and experience by practicing this on your own. Study this and work at making yourself feel more comfortable in this situation. Consider what you expect to hear in this type of conversation too. Also think through what situations you need to be ready for to exist within this culture. Go here to read more.
- Get lessons with a beginner French teacher on italki: This is a basic and fundamental skill and way of mastering the language. This is a great way to brush up on basic conversation and phrases. It should be part of every study plan to really begin to master the language you wish to learn. Go here to sign up.
What is included in your individual study plan will vary.
The point is that you think of what you want to accomplish while you are at this location, and then plan for it in the ways you will prepare.
Takeaway
Using Lindsay’s study plan and highlighting her goals is a great starting point.
You can use this information to create your own study plan.
Be sure that you put thought into the goals that you set because this matters greatly.
The goals that you set will help you to be able to make conversation in the language you are going to be a part of.
Practice before you go and then using this language won’t be so difficult when you arrive at your destination.
If you have any questions, please leave them below in the comments section.
We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
