So it’s that time again when we all decide to start over, make a fresh start and turn over a new leaf. On your list of New Year’s Resolutions amongst the gym membership, giving up drinking and spending more quality time with your kids, is learning or improving your English. 
We all know that you will probably succeed in some of these ventures for a short time but after three months (if you’re lucky) you’ll be back on the evening wine, working late and will have forgotten of which gym you are a member.
Jak se naučit anglicky v roce 2019?
Well, with my help, at least you have the opportunity to keep your eye on the ball when it comes to improving your English. This is the time of year I get the most emails from people asking me for help, so let’s jump on that enthusiasm for self improvement and get down to it.
Click here for this week’s free cheatsheet – Your English Habit Blueprint
This Year Will Be Different
What usually happens, and I’m sure you are no exception, is that January 1st rolls around and you think “Right!, this is the year I finally crack English.” You start out with some loose plan to study for half an hour a day but by the end of the first week you are exhausted, unmotivated, have already fallen off the wagon and missed the last three days. So, what’s the answer Richard? What is the solution? Read on …
Priorities, Time and Accountability
Your effort seems noble enough and it’s only half an hour so why couldn’t you stick to it? You have to be honest with yourself and decide where English sits in your priority list? Is it the most important thing on your list or does it rank below regular exercise, nights out with friends or some other thing? Then you have to decide realistically how much time you can devote to your learning. Don’t think it all has to be sitting down, seriously studying books though. You are far more likely to maintain enthusiasm and commitment to English if you mix up your learning. For a list of ways to learn English get this free PDF sheet here. While half an hour a day might not seem much to some people, to others it’s a huge amount of time. So, how should you split up your time and how much can you guarantee for English?
Click here for this week’s free cheat sheet – Your English Habit Blueprint
Frequency
Remember that frequency is the key. Better 5 minutes per day than 35 minutes once a week. There is science behind how your English mobile phone applications work. New words and phrases are repeated at specific intervals to decrease how quickly you forget new information. eg. Day 1 – learn 10 new words, Day 2 – learn 10 more, Day 3 – Try to recall from memory your day 1 words. This is a simplified example but the process of trying to remember will help your brain to commit these words to your long term memory. Yes, it’s more difficult than simply re-reading your notes and repeating them aloud but it’s the way to make that new vocabulary stick. Then, as long as you continue to refresh those words by recalling them at increasingly longer intervals (and best of all using them in your writing and speech) they should become part of your embedded ‘go to’ vernacular. This method is called spaced repetition and it’s the idea on which I based my Better Your English Now video course. More about spaced repetion here.
Right, off you go, and remember, be honest about how much time you can spend and the frequency. I have made you a free cheat sheet to help you determine your strategy. Click here to get this week’s freebie Your English Habit Blueprint.
Today’s idioms and their meanings:
start over – to start something again.
make a fresh start – to start something again
turn over a new leaf – start to act or behave in a better or more responsible way.
keep on the ball – To keep oneself very focused on something.
fall off the wagon – to return to any discontinued behavior, usually one that is detrimental in some way.
get round to it – to do something that you have intended to do for a long time
roll around – Occur / happen
