New Year's Resolutions – Free-Talk Activity of the Month
A brand new year means it's time to set New Year's resolutions! So during free-talk lessons this month, why not help students set some language learning resolutions? To make this activity more effective, you can introduce them to the "SMART" goals framework, which makes sure their goals are:
1. Specific
A lot of students like to set goals like, "I want to be fluent." The problem is that fluency includes anything from ordering food at a restaurant to negotiating multi-million dollar contracts in English! So first, help your students brainstorm specific things they want to do with English.
For example, if your student's goal is to pass job interviews in English, they should learn to explain why they're perfect for a role, answer common interview questions, and maybe even write messages to hiring managers over LinkedIn.
If their goal is to make friends from around the world, they'll want to learn how to introduce themselves in English, start conversations with strangers, and understand different accents.
And if their goal is to communicate in English when traveling abroad, they'll probably want to get comfortable exchanging money, checking in at a hotel, or asking for help at a tourist info center in English.
2. Measurable
It's motivating to know how close we are to achieving our goals. For example, are we 25%, 50% or 99% there? But how can we measure progress in a language?
One way is to use turn all the goals the student set during the previous step into a list of "I can" statements. The student can check off each item on the list after they've mastered it.
Goal: Make friends from around the world
✔️ I can introduce myself with ease.
🔲 I can talk a bit about the latest news.
🔲 I can start conversations with strangers.
🔲 I can ask simple follow-up questions.
🔲 I can understand different accents.
Some learners find it helpful to indirectly measure their progress through coursework. For example, a student who wants to improve their business English can make it their goal to take a 2-3 Business lessons each week. After a month of lessons (i.e. repeated practice using phrases that are relevant to their goal), they'll notice they're closer to mastering the skills they need.
Finally, some students rely on standardized tests of English. A lot of our students improve their scores on exams like the TOEIC after taking lessons with us and that always gives them a feeling of real progress.
3. Achievable
Needless to say, it's important to help our students set goals they can actually achieve. For example, many of them will say they want to speak English like a native speaker, but this isn't a realistic goal.
So you can encourage them to think more deeply about these goals with questions like, "Why do you want to speak like a native speaker?"
Based on their answers, you can encourage them to focus on aspects of their goal that are actually achievable. For example, maybe they just need to practice more conversation, learn about English humor, or understand more of their favorite English TV shows.
4. Regularly Reviewed
Goals need to be regularly reviewed. "Review” can literally mean “re-viewing” their goals: seeing them over and over again. For example:
- Students can write their goals on a piece of paper and stick it on their fridge. This way, they'll be reminded of their goals every day.
- Students can keep an English book next to their bed so they remember to read a few pages every night before sleeping.
Students should also review their goals in the sense of regularly checking their progress. Here are some methods you can suggest:
- Find a study partner who can keep them accountable for their goals.
- Every 1-2 weeks, they can have a "reflection" session with a tutor where they can talk about what they feel they've learned, what they feel they could do better, etc.
- Regularly test their mastery of new material. For example, every few weeks, students can challenge themselves to making a story with the new words they learned.
5. Set on a Timeframe
Finally, advise your students to give their goals some sort of timeframe. For example:
- In 3 months, I want to be able to have a 25-minute conversation with a tutor without needing to look up a word in a dictionary.
- By next summer, I want to be able to handle most travel situations comfortably in English.
Encourage your students to keep their deadlines in the near future. When a deadline is years away, it’s easy to put things off (“I’ll start tomorrow!”).
If the student does need to set longer-term goals ("e.g. I want to get a 7 on IELTS speaking in two years"), help them break them down into actionable steps for each week or month.
👋 That’s It For Now!
We hope this has given you lots of ideas for free-talk lessons this month. If you want more New Year's-related conversation topics, check out these Daily News lessons:
