My ‘get up and go’ got up and went!

“Get up and go” is an idiom or slang for motivation. And we all know that motivation to learn anything comes and goes! Life is busy – sometimes we have other priorities, we don’t know where to start, or we procrastinate as we just don’t feel like pushing ourselves. These ups and downs are part of a natural cycle, but they can become a problem if we stay unmotivated for too long as they get in the way of achieving our goals.  How motivated are you at the moment? (more…)

How can I guess new vocabulary from context?

There are more words in English than we can ever use or remember. Even in our own language, when we read, we often meet words we don’t know. Look back at a text you have read recently.

• Quickly underline two words you don’t know then stop.
• How could you discover the meaning of those new words?

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How can I improve my speaking?

For me, the key to improving this skill is to focus on meaning first and accuracy second. Communication is a two-way process. Make sure your message is clear to your listener, and this includes meaning and pronunciation. People will generally forgive you for (more…)

How can I become a more independent learner?

Learning anything is a process and generally, the more effort you put into it, the faster you make progress.  Sometimes when we study, we are so focussed on our future goals that we forget to take time to reflect (or look back) on what we’ve learnt and to see how far we’ve come. (more…)