What to Do When it Feels Like Your English Isn't Improving
Do you know the word "plateau"? It's a noun that means "an area of high and flat land." Basically, after going up for a little while, the land becomes flat and no longer rises. "Plateau" can also be used as a verb that means to stop moving after a period of improvement. Sound familiar?
Learning a new language can be challenging, but hard work results in lots of progress. That progress can motivate you to work even harder. But you may have reached a point where you don't feel like you're improving anymore. In other words, it feels like you've "plateaued."
If you're wondering what you can do to continue going higher, we have some useful suggestions to help you get back on the right track.
Change up your routine
One reason you may feel you aren’t improving is because you often talk about the same types of topics in similar situations. If that’s true, it’s time to get outside of your comfort zone. You may be surprised at how quickly your vocabulary reaches its limit!
New situations will naturally lead you to new topics that require new words, expressions and slang. Ask your tutor to pick a topic you’ve never discussed before, or try asking them about their interests and hobbies, which may be completely different than yours. Try watching an English-language film in a genre you don’t normally watch, then test yourself by summarizing it to a friend or tutor. If you’re in an area with other English speakers, visit a store you don’t usually shop in and ask the staff members questions about a product or service. There are lots of ways to spice up your learning experience!
Be willing to make mistakes
You probably have a clear memory of a specific time you made a mistake speaking English. Maybe you said the wrong word or used a casual expression at an inappropriate time. It might have been funny or even embarrassing. But chances are good that because of that experience, you've never forgotten the word or expression that gave you trouble before!
Many language students don't realize that they are slowing down their progress because they are afraid of making mistakes. They may take a long time to choose their words very carefully, or they may not speak much at all. But learning anything requires practice, and making mistakes is just part of the process of getting better. The important thing is to learn from them and keep moving forward.
Learn new vocabulary
Here's an interesting fact: only about 400 words are used in 75% of most spoken English. If you feel you aren't improving, it's possible it's because you've learned the majority of these important words. However, there are still many, many other that you are probably not familiar with at all! Spend some time looking through a dictionary and learn some new ones. Once you’ve memorized them, look for opportunities to use them naturally. In addition to expanding your vocabulary, you will be listening and thinking with more focus than usual as you search for chances to try out your new words!
This might result in some funny situations in which you try to force a word that doesn't really belong, but just remember our previous tip: mistakes are natural and can help you to remember!
Think positively
This is a simple but very effective tip. Feeling discouraged sometimes is OK, but remember to think back on all of the progress you made since you began. As long as you continue to work, you will improve, even if the improvements are small.
Instead of feeling sad because you don't speak like a native yet, keep yourself motivated by setting daily or weekly goals. These can be things like memorizing a specific number of new vocabulary words or reading a complete news article without using your dictionary. Small victories will help you see your improvement and encourage you to keep working toward your bigger goal. You can't jump directly to the top floor; you need to pass each individual level on the way there!
Conclusion
When you're working to reach any type of goal, don't forget that success takes time. If you feel like you're getting stuck, expand your vocabulary beyond the core words you use every day and challenge yourself to communicate in new environments and situations. It may seem like your progress is slower than before, but don't let that discourage you — you can always go higher!
