Setting Goals & Studying
by Jill Nagrodsky
Setting goals and studying go hand in hand.
Students need to have goals that are short and long term. Students want to think about and need to discuss what they are going to do. They may be learning English to improve job skills for work in their home country. Others are going to get a college degree in an English-speaking country. To reach any of their goals, students need good study skills. Here are a few tips to share with students.
1. Have a good place to study.
Is this place away from distractions?
Do you have a positive attitude about your study area?
Are you feeling glad you are there?
Do you have all the materials you need to complete your assignments?
Is there enough light so you do not tire your eyes?
2. Take a break away from studying.
Pay attention from the very beginning of the study period and plan when you will take a break.
Be sure you turned off your phone at the beginning of the study period so you can enjoy using it on your break.
Move away from your study area to take your break.
Set a time limit for your break and stick to this limit.
3. After your study break:
Review what you accomplished before your break.
Try to summarize what you learned or did in a few sentences.
See what you are going to do in the next part of your study period and set a goal for what you want to accomplish next.
Write some study questions after you preview the work you are going to do.
This information works well with Now We’re Talking, Book 1, Unit 8, Goals & Dreams.
Tags: Study skills; Goal setting
Study Skills and Concentration
We can have the best content in the world to teach our students but sometimes it is still not enough for them to learn everything in a limited amount of time.
We need to work with them on study skills and concentration to go along with our content. A set of questions like this used on a daily or weekly basis may help.
- Do you have a place to do your work away from distractions?
- Are you taking notes in class and reviewing them a few minutes a day?
- Can you make a check mark on paper every time your mind wanders?
- Do you try making a concept map or word cloud to study?
- Are you using a free tutor at the tutoring center?
- Are you taking short breaks to keep your energy up?
- Do you set a goal of how long it will take to complete an assignment?
- Do you use a calendar that shows when tests and assignments are due?