We have recently written about private lessons as a competition for language schools. Today we will reflect on self-learning, or learning on your own. This method is quite often used by people learning foreign languages. More and more people opt to acquire linguistic skills without support of teachers. Does it make sense? Such method has advantages (e.g. savings), but also serious disadvantages. It turns out that very few people can learn without a proper backup of a qualified staff – we have problems with motivation and persistence. But if you want to try self-learning, first get to know the method in more detail and check if you are up to the challenge.
You paddle your own canoe
When you opt for learning on your own, you are the one to decide:
- what you want to learn;
- when you want to learn;
- what learning aids you will use;
- how you will check your progress.
Already those four basic principles will be a huge challenge for you. Let’s analyse the details.
What do you want to learn?
Set for yourself the main goal and intermediate goals. This is paramount in the case of self-learning. First, define the supreme goal, for example: “I want to learn English”, and then set the milestones that will bring your closer and closer to its attainment, for example: “I will learn 1000 words”. When you learn on your own it is good to breakdown the milestones into even smaller challenges that can be met within a short period, for example: “this week I will learn 100 names of objects”. Setting such goals improves motivation and helps verify the acquired knowledge and learning progress.
A disadvantage of self-learning is the issue of choosing the main goal and intermediate goals. If you’re not a teacher, how can you assess on your own what is a real challenge you are able to meet, and what is excessive ambition that will lead to your breakdown?
Learning time
Lessons in school last 45 minutes and they are held from 8:00 am to 12:30 pm; classes at university studies last 90 minutes and are held each Wednesday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm etc. Such predefined framework on the one hand brings some order to reality, but on the other many people do not feel comfortable with strictly defined dates, times and durations of classes. We think that it will be easier for us to acquire knowledge in flexibly defined time, on the basis of current plans updated every day. Self-learning meets such conditions. Only in the case of this method you can define when you will be learning. You can select the day and week times that work most effectively for you. Each of us has an internal clock that tells us at what times of the day the brain assimilates knowledge the fastest and can use this possibility owing to self-learning at home.
Unfortunately choosing learning time on our own requires huge self-discipline which most of us lack! Adjustment of learning time to our own capacities is not easy for several reasons. First, most people tend to postpone everything until later. Second, in daily life everyone has many other responsibilities besides learning, so learning often has to give way to occupational work, care for children or house works, so self-learning becomes highly ineffective.
Learning aids
The third important feature of self-learning is the possibility to choose textbooks matching our individual needs, skills and knowledge. Today’s publishing market is very wide, so everyone will certainly find a book enabling effective learning to them. Besides hard copy textbooks, there are also many electronic format learning aids, such as audiobooks, e-books, language courses in the form of interactive computer programmes etc. Such a broad range of learning aids gives the feeling of enormous possibilities of self-learning.
But on the other hand, among thousands of learning aids intended to assist us in acquiring knowledge, there are many items of poor value. They frequently contain errors we will be unable to identify without external help. An additional disadvantage of choosing textbooks on our own is their price. Sometimes you have to pay a lot for good language learning textbooks. The likelihood that you will be satisfied with the first book you buy is pretty slim. In the case of learning at school, studies or private language schools, the problem of choosing the learning materials is borne by the teachers, so you can be sure they selected the best items available.
Self-learning gives the learner a lot of possibilities but it is also highly demanding. People with strong motivations and capable of self-disciplining themselves to learn have some successes using this method, but they are a small minority in our society. Most of us feel much better under the supervision of a teacher or course instructor who manages the learning process. But self-learning will work perfectly as an additional option supplementing the course arranged by a school.