The "missing link" for language learners
Long time no speak! I have been spending time on tutor training and completing a business course. Because of that, content has not been a priority. But it’s time to get back on the horse!
I’ve frequently written about my Guaranteed Fluency program over the past couple of years.
In short, I would like more people who try to learn a language to reach their desired level of fluency. Most people never do. One of the reasons for it is that there aren’t many comprehensive solutions on the market.
What is a “comprehensive solution?”
Does it just mean that you learn all major language skills (i.e., reading, writing, speaking, and listening).
No. That’s not what it means.
I believe that, at a minimum, a comprehensive solution has accountability. Without it, language learners quit and do not stick with their studies.
Where people get accountability wrong.
Here’s definition of accountable on Google: “required or expected to justify actions or decisions.” In recent weeks, that has been the key to student progress at the Calgary Language Nerds. All I do is:
Agree with the student on the class frequency, quantity of self-study between lessons, and what self-study to do
Have students log their study time
At the beginning of each class, review the student study log. If they did something different from their initial plan, they are required to explain why they did something different.
There is no judgement.
If a student doesn’t follow through on their self-study, I don’t get angry. I don’t guilt or shame them. I simply ask them to explain what happened and we discuss it. We learn from what happened and then set new self-study expectations for the next week. It’s all very friendly and welcoming.
The result?
Students are more motivated and disciplined. No surprise there! For example:
One student who started classes 3 weeks ago has studied just under 28 hours. That’s over 1 hour a day…consistently.
Another student who started 2 weeks ago has done 12 hours of study. That is just under 1 hour a day…consistently.
Another students started 2.5 weeks ago has done 10 hours of study. That’s about 30 minutes a day…consistently.
Accountability = consistency = fluency.
I don’t think I understood how necessary accountability was until the past month or so. I mean, I knew it was important, but collectively at the Calgary Language Nerds we weren’t doing a good job of holding students accountable. In fact, I feel that has been our biggest weakness over the past 9 years. With a high degree of friendly accountability (what we’re doing more of now), students are consistently improving and studying.
Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for someone to keep you accountable to your language studies, contact me. Let’s create a clear plan to fluency and we’ll check in regularly to keep you on track.
First week for just $1 as an incentive 😊