Sometimes we as students of a language set some goal and it seems like this goal is not getting accomplished somehow. We suppose that the problem is in the effort and time we’re putting in. We try to put much more effort and time into it, we try to push ourselves harder, but still, the outcome doesn’t meet our expectations. It feels like we’re not getting any further at all, it feels like we’re stuck in the same place. But what if the problem is not really in our discipline and the amount of work we’re investing in? What if we’re just lacking patience and our expectations are too high?
Are we practical enough in assessing how much time does it require to accomplish this goal? I guess most of the time we’re not really down-to-earth when it comes to setting the right expectation of how long will it really take to achieve something. Oftentimes we anticipate something to happen for a much much shorter period of time than it actually takes for it to happen.
But let’s bring it back to earth. If we’re talking about some really ambitious goals, like mastering your Listening to the point where you can listen to BBC podcasts almost without subtitles, then of course, this can’t be achieved faster than in a 2-3 years depending on what level you’re at now, how effective the approaches and techniques you’re using are, the types of the podcasts, etc.. So, those are some of the nuances that should be taken into account when you’re assessing how long it’s going to take to accomplish the goal you have set for yourself.
How about mastering your Speaking skill to the point where you can talk quite fluently on a wide variety of different social and everyday life topics and your pronunciation so good that hardly anybody can tell what your native language is. How long do you anticipate it to be accomplished? I mean this goal is a huge project and can’t happen in just one year or even two even if you practice hard every day.
Another thing is we tend to expect big leaps forward like at some point there’s going to be a great leap, but it’s never the case. Progress tends to feel very gradual when you just notice very small improvements day after day (when you’re practising every day) practice after practice. And a great success takes place when those wee successes build up. And again it manifests very gradually. It feels like movements of a snail, not leaps of a frog.
Another thing is our imagination. It always exaggerates things. In our mind we picture so beautiful and powerful images in which we have our goal accomplished, we imagine how things will look like at the end of our journey or at different points of it, or how the progress is going to manifest. And that’s all exaggeration to one extent or another. Our mind is deluding ourselves. So let’s not let our imagination trick us. Let’s be down-to-earth and patient. It’s useful to always bring things back to earth, to ground yourself so that you’re aware of how really much time and effort this is actually going to take and how really success is going to manifest.
What we always tend to do is we tend to ignore small improvements and crave for big immediate success. And this makes us miserable and discouraged and sometimes quit the activity. And what I would like to suggest is the opposite. Let’s just try to be happy with small successes. Every tiny betterment counts. You have listened to 5-minutes ted talk, break it down, listen again and now understand what is being said? That’s great! Count that as a small milestone. You have spoken with a friend in English and managed to use new phrases and construction? That’s wonderful! So let’s try to notice these baby steps forward and be content with them. Those will build up day after day and eventually a big success will gradually start coming into play. And this applies to any other goal-directed activity, by the by.