If your goal is to learn or further your learning of another language, it can be easy to lose heart.
Learning a second language is never easy. But the rewards for simply just trying are well worth the effort. Record your goals and results to motivate you in the dull days when you feel all is beyond you. That way you can see how far you have improved. It is easy to lose sight of past progress when you feel you have been stuck at a certain stage forever.
Many people give up because they find it impossible to learn without a teacher. Others find it impossible to understand their teacher. Sometimes it is difficult to find a teacher locally.
But these are all excuses we make to ourselves to explain why we are giving up. If you really want to gain even just a smattering of language to help you enjoy a holiday more. you will find all the teaching and advice you need - and more - on the net. And the benefits and the variety of teaching available on the Internet are unsurpassed.
Let us consider the usual arguments against weblearning again.
" I need someone to do it for." Yes, you do. And the best person to do it for is you. Take charge of your own learning, your own learning goals and your learning will be far more enduring and successful than if you were simply learning through fear of retribution from some charismatic teacher.
Step 1: Self assessment
Make four headings - Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening Under each heading grade yourself anything from 0 - can't do it all - to 10, native speaker.
How you define the abilities for each number in the scale is up to you. I might decide the following rough definitions for my own speaking goals.
0 - no knowledge at all 1 - basic vocabulary for greetings and introductions 2 - vocabulary and phrases for asking for things, for directions, for shopping 3 - using basic grammar for talking about everyday situations - present tense 4 - using basic grammar for making requests - asking questions,command forms 5 - survival vocabulary and phrases to cope with most everyday situations including expressing opinions 6 - talking about past events 7 - talking about future events
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