Defining Your True English Goals
Episode #1 of the course Speak English fluently: How to create your successful English study plan by Sabrina Rose
First of all, congratulations for enrolling in this email course. And if you are able to read this email in English, you can congratulate yourself for doing A LOT of hard work to get to this point already. I’ve learned a couple foreign languages as an adult, so I know how difficult it can be. So remind yourself how much you already know, and let’s take your spoken English to the next level with the next 10 days of email lessons.
Let’s get started by looking at the most important thing to remember when creating your efficient and effective English study plan. The most important thing is to remember WHY you need to speak English. This lesson will help you find out why you need and want to speak English fluently.
Why are you studying English? Why do you need English? Why do you need to speak English fluently? If you can answer these questions deeply, the rest of your study plan will be super simple to create.
Don’t skip this first email lesson just because it might seem too easy or boring. Knowing your true English goal(s) will help you know exactly what to study, how to practice, and with whom.
Steps to take today:
Step 1: Write down one of your current English speaking goals
Get out some paper or your English notebook. Write down your current goal for speaking English. Make sure you do this exercise on a piece of paper and really write down all your answers. Writing can help us get ideas out of our heads and understand them better.
Example goal: I need to speak English for work.
Step 2: Ask yourself why it’s important for you to reach your goal from Step 1
Take your statement from Step 1 and turn it into a “Why?” question.
Example question: Why is it important to speak English for my work?
Example answer: Because if I could speak better English, I could go to more conferences and maybe even speak at that conference in New York next fall.
Step 3: Ask yourself AGAIN why it’s important to reach your goal from Step 2
Take your answer from Step 2 and ask yourself another “Why?” question.
Example question: Why is it important to go to/speak at this conference in New York?
Example answer: Because if I were to speak at that conference, I could meet other professionals, further my career, and maybe get an opportunity to write in a professional journal.
Step 4: Ask yourself AGAIN why it’s important to reach your goal from Step 3
Take your answer from Step 3 and ask yourself another, deeper “Why?” question.
Example question: Why is it important to further my career and write in a professional journal?
Example answer: Because I want to be an example of how, through hard work, you can give back to the world, and I want to show my children that I can do it.
Step 5: Re-phrase your answer from Step 4
Take your answer from Step 4 and combine it with your original goal from Step 1. Add some of the deeper aspects of your goal together with your general goal from Step 1.
Example answer: I want to speak English at work to give back to the world. I want to do this to be a positive example for my children.
Wow! With just a few little questions, you can see what your TRUE goal is and WHY it is important. Repeat THIS goal to yourself every day, and refer back to this goal as we go through the rest of these email lessons.
Oh, and I truly hope your goal makes you feel like this!
You might have to ask yourself the “Why?” questions more than three or four times to get to this really deep and happy place with your true reasons for learning English. Ask yourself six or seven times if you want!
The other nine lessons in this email course will look at how you can study effectively and start speaking more fluently. We will keep referring back to why you want to be fluent, so take the time to really do this work today and you will get more out of this whole course.
See you tomorrow!
Sabrina
Recommended book:
“English: How to Speak English Fluently: Tips and Tricks for English Learners” by Janet Gerber
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