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Setting Priorities
Setting Priorities
Learning English Effectively
Learning English Effectively
Prioritizing English Learning
Prioritizing English Learning
Knowing what is important in learning English and setting clear priorities can help learners maximize their time and energy spent learning the language. Time and effort is allocated to the most important areas for language acquisition such as grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary while secondary skills such as reading, writing and speaking may be reduced if necessary. Priority setting allows learners to reach their goals more effectively and efficiently.
Success Stories: From Priorities to Results
Success Stories: From Priorities to Results
Read these three stories of learners who identified their needs, set a clear plan, and achieved their goals.
1. The Confident Presenter
1. The Confident Presenter
The Situation: Carlos is a software engineer. He felt his main problem was his pronunciation during international meetings. He had a hard time explaining technical details and didn’t feel confident when colleagues asked unexpected questions.
The SMART Goal: "I will record myself practicing my weekly presentation every Monday and compare my rhythm to a model video until I can speak for 5 minutes with clear word stress."
The "Bang!": Carlos focused on his delivery. Within a month, he gave a project update and received praise from his manager for his clarity. He realized that targeted practice was the answer.
2. The Social Butterfly
2. The Social Butterfly
The Situation: Elena lives in London. She was quite happy with her reading, but speaking was another story. Her main aim was to make friends at her local community center, but she stayed quiet because she was afraid of making mistakes.
The SMART Goal: "I will attend one 'Language Exchange' meetup every Thursday and initiate at least three 5-minute conversations with new people."
The "Bang!": She found that regular exposure to casual conversation was a great help. After three weeks, she had two new friends to grab coffee with. Taking that first step was worth a try!
3. The Academic Achiever
3. The Academic Achiever
The Situation: Ji-min is preparing for university. He needed to work on his academic writing. While he benefited from reading articles, he struggled to organize his thoughts and knew he needed more practice in using linking words.
The SMART Goal: "I will write one 250-word essay every Saturday morning and use a checklist to ensure I use at least five different cohesive devices (like however or consequently) correctly."
The "Bang!": Investigating his common mistakes was worthwhile. By the end of the month, his tutor gave him an "A" on his latest assignment. His structured plan was the perfect solution.
Think about your language abilities and plans for learning English.
Complete expressions so they are true for you.
Talking about strong and weak points
I feel confident about ...
I don’t feel confident about ...I’m reasonably happy with my ..., but ... is another story.
My strong point is ...
My main problem is ...I have a hard time [verb + ing] ...
Talking about priorities
5. My main aim is to ...
My priority is to ...
6. An important area for me is ...
7. Personally, I need to [work on / focus on / concentrate on] ...
Discussing a plan
8. I’d find ... a great help / really useful.
9. I’d benefit from ...
10. ... might be the answer / solution.
11. I think the best way to do this is ...
12. ... would be worth investigating.
13. ... might be worthwhile / worth a try. 14. I’ve considered ...
15. I probably need more [practice in / exposure to] ...
A Match conversation beginnings 1–6 to endings a–f.
( ) 1 I think I should prioritise grammar and vocabulary
( ) 2 I’d benefit from
( ) 3 I haven’t considered
( ) 4 Getting my message across
( ) 5 Talking regularly in English
( ) 6 For me, speaking English takes priority
( ) a a language exchange once or twice a week.
( ) b living abroad, because it would not be a practical option.
( ) c if I want to pass my exams.
( ) d is of prime concern at the moment.
( ) e overwriting it.
( ) f would be a great help in improving my fluency.
B Transform the sentences in exercise A using the words in brackets.
1 Grammar and vocabulary ………………………………………... . [my priority]
2 A language exchange once ………………………………………... . [very beneficial]
3 Living abroad ………………………………………... . [out of the question]
4 Getting my message across ………………………………………... . [main aim]
5 Regular conversation ………………………………………... . [more fluent]
6 Writing English ………………………………………... . [an important issue]
C Are the sentences in exercise B true for you? Alter them if not.
D Finish these sentences in a way that expresses your opinion on something.
1 I strongly believe that ………………………………………
2 It’s practically impossible for me to ………………………… but ………………………………
3 It’s highly likely that I ………………………………………
4 I’m thoroughly tired of …………………………… because …………….………………………
5 I deeply regret ………………………………………
6 It’s generally believed that ………………………………………
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