The "secret" to learning English

I think I'm a lot like you.

Only I had to learn Spanish, while you have to learn English.

In the beginning, learning languages was fun. I loved finding out about new words and phrases. I enjoyed going to class. I
looked forward to the day when I could speak fluently with native speakers and surprise them with my grasp of the language.

But after a while I started to feel frustrated as it took longer to learn new words, grammar got more complicated, and I just
didn't feel like I was learning as fast as I should.

I faced the problem that all language learners face eventually...

Frustration... and boredom.

That's when I discovered the real "secret" to language learning...

And it wasn't mastering grammar... or remembering thousands of words...

or even improving pronunciation.

The big "secret" was staying motivated. To be able to keep learning day after day, month after month... year after year!

When I realised this I went straight back to work. I told myself that if I kept studying I would get better. I just had to keep
studying...

Stay motivated... Stay motivated! STAY MOTIVATED!!!

But I couldn't... Much as I wanted to speak perfectly, I couldn't keep motivated while studying.

Wondering what to do next, I had an idea... it seemed simple... but would it actually work? I decided to find out.

So the next day I didn't study... I watched TV.

But I didn't watch just any TV show. I got DVDs of "Friends", my favourite show, that I had watched over and over in
English. Then I changed the language and subtitles to Spanish.

I was now watching TV completely in a foreign language. I already knew the program, I knew the story line, so all I had to do
was try to understand as much as possible. Pretty soon I was even able to turn off the subtitles and just listen.

I had made learning fun and easy by doing something that I enjoyed. Studying was no longer hard work... it was just a matter
of watching TV. It actually motivated me to go to the dictionary and look up words I didn't understand... and even practice
some grammar... if I felt like it.

I took all the pressure off studying hard and just surrounded myself with the language in a friendly way.

And that is the real "secret" to learning a language:

Make it fun and easy!

So think about ways you could learn English that you actually enjoy. Is it watching TV? Listening to music? Reading your
favourite book? Talking to people?

Find something you enjoy doing and you'll learn English faster... and have more fun while doing it.

Here's to enjoying learning English!