In this post I’ll discuss different phases that I’ve noticed English learners go through when they start speaking English. They are based on my personal experience and observation. So, if you are learning English, but feel stuck and shy away from speaking with native speakers, this read is for you. Understanding where you are in […]
The four stages of learning
Today I’m going to talk about the hierarchy of competence, which is often visualized as a pyramid with four stages of learning. The goal of the learner is to complete each stage and move to the next without skipping anything in the previous stage. And the ultimate goal, of course, is to climb up to […]
How soon should you start speaking in English?
Fear of speaking English and how to deal with it
Four stages of learning
Recently I was doing some research about learning and came across a term that I hadn’t heard before – the hierarchy of competence. It piqued my curiosity and I kept reading. The hierarchy of competence is often visualized as a pyramid with four stages of learning and the goal of the learner is to climb […]
Learning English with comprehensible input
New Year’s resolutions
As the New Year approaches, this is the time when many people make their New Year’s resolutions. But do resolutions really work? According to the article Reasons Why We Don’t Achieve New Year’s Resolutions published in Forbes, 80% of people give up on their New Year’s resolutions by mid-February. The reasons are picking non-realistic goals, […]
Enjoy the experience, don’t dwell on the goal
How to speak up – even in “imperfect” English
My last flight from Europe back to the US went so smoothly that I was almost suspicious. “Could anything still go wrong?” I asked myself when the plane landed at the San Francisco airport. My husband and I spent the last five weeks in Europe, splitting our time between our two respective native countries Poland […]