Article by Teresa Bolen

How far have you come in your study of a foreign language? Wheredid you start? What abilities did you have the first day? Whatabilities in the foreign language did you have in the firstweek? What abilities do you have in the foreign language do youhave now?

Many learners of foreign languages neglect to note theirprogress in the foreign language. They trip themselves up intheir futile quest for perfection by comparing their currentlevel of fluency to a level of perfection unattainable evenamong native speakers of that language, rather than comparingthemselves to where they started and how much progress they’vemade in the language. This mistake can sabotage your success ina foreign language!

If you want to master a foreign language and become a brilliantspeaker of that language, it is essential that you note theprogress that you have made in order to support your futureprogress for these three reasons:

1. If you don’t note the progress that you are making as you aremaking it, it is easy to belittle your accomplishments andforget that you’ve done anything special or extraordinary. Ifyou don’t realize how much your fruit your efforts are bearing,you might stop watering the tree.

2. If you know where you were when you started, and you knowwhere you are now, you can feel good about what you haveaccomplished. If you feel good about something you are morelikely to continue doing it. This is a major factor in keepingyourself motivated to do the things you know you need to do inorder to reach your goals in a foreign language, especially atthose times when you might prefer to do something else.

3. When you examine the path you have taken to get where youare, you can notice what techniques and approaches are workingwell for you and giving you the great results that you want, andyou can notice the techniques or strategies that are giving youless than fabulous results, and you can adjust to continuouslyrefine your ability to master a new language.

Having a goal of wanting to be the very best you can in aforeign language is great and I applaud you for your commitment.In order to reach your goal, be sure that you take note of andcelebrate your progress over the vast distance you’ve come.

Here’s to Your Success!

Copyright 2006 by Teresa Bolen. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Teresa Bolen is a teacher at Todaiji Academy, one of the top 5schools in Japan, and the author of Master Plan to Master Exams:How to Discover Your Hidden Abilities to Create the Success YouDesire. You can get her ‘Academic Excellence Report’ athttp://www.MasterPlanToMasterExams.com

‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the lifeyou have imagined.’– Henry David Thoreau –

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