How do I become an ACTIVE learner?

As an educator I ask a lot of questions in order to understand what my students are learning and how my students learn. I also spend a lot of time trying to get students to become active learners.

A question I ask a lot is How do you study? I usually hear,

• "I look over my notes." This could mean something different to each person but often it means, you opened your notebook, you read the vocabulary words and their definitions, you think you remember most of them. You look through more of your notes and say, yeah I remember we talked about that in class, I remember what this means and then after 20 minutes you close your notebook and say, I think I am ready for my quiz tomorrow.

• "I watch TV in English a lot."

• "I didn't have time to do anything."

The next question I usually ask is How do you think you're doing with your learning?

• The answer I hear a lot is "It is really hard. I always think I know more than I do."

• "I studied but when I did my test, I forgot everything or saw stuff on my test that we never really talked about in class."

• "I got so nervous when I had to speak, I forgot everything. I decided not to go there anymore."

• "It is hard understanding people. They talk too fast. They don't always understand me either."

These types of answers show me that learners are very passive with their learning. They take information in, but they do very little with that information. If I had to describe it, it is a lot like putting a lot of cool toys in a box and then never taking the toys out of the box to play with them. To learn, you need to DO SOMETHING with the information you put in your box. This is how you become an active learner. You need to practice learning by doing. Let's talk about a few ways to be an active learner.

Tip #1 - ANNOTATE YOUR READING

Annotate your reading means, if you can write in your book, DO IT. Highlight important words, underline main ideas, circle things you don't understand, write questions in the margins, put hearts by something you loved to read or a star next to something that gave you an idea, number your paragraphs so you can find stuff easier later. Annotating means making notes directly on whatever it is you are reading. This is the first step in becoming an active learner and getting your brain involved in your learning so you not only remember what you read but you know how to find information and do something with it later.

Tip #2 - DO SOMETHING WITH NEW INFORMATION

When we learn things, the key to really getting it to stick in our brains is to do someting with that information. In short we need to use it. It doesn't matter what information you are trying to learn, you want to do something with the new information. So, for ESL, if you learned a new word, or how to pronounce the "TH" sound, or all about greetings, don't just listen in class. Write stuff down. In class you can take notes. At home you want to make flash cards. You can rewrite your notes so key vocabulary is highlighted, write a small paragraph summarizing what you learned today, speak the new words or grammar out loud and record yourself so you know how you sound. These are all ways to do something with new information you learn.

"The best way to be an active learner is to learn by doing."

Tip #3 - PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

Practice for an hour everyday. You can break up your practice into 4 sections: Reading, Writing, Listening & Speaking. Spend 15 minutes every day reading one chapter of your book. Write down the words you don't know and a summary about what you read. Get an audio book version of the book you are reading. Listen to them read the chapter or play one sentence and see if you can write down what you think you heard them say. Then, read the chapter again but this time, read it out loud and practice your pronunciation. Highlight the words you had a hard time saying.

Tip #4 - MIX IT UP

You can practice with games, movies, books, audio books, songs, role plays, tongue twisters or even with friends. You can join a book club or meet up with friends to practice the stuff you learned together. It doesn't have to be boring. Learning is about finding what works best for you and then do it that way a lot.

Tip #5 - REFLECT ON YOUR LEARNING

You should always take time and think about your learning. When we reflect on our learning, we think about our learning and then ask ourselves questions about what we learned. The things you had a hard time with are things you need more practice with. The things that were easy are things you already know. The best way for you to learn is to understand how you learn best. Here are some good questions to ask yourself and think about.

• What did you learn about today?

• What was the hardest thing you learned? Why was it hard?

• What was the easiest thing you learned? Why was it easy?

• What questions do you still have about what you learned?

• Do you need more practice?

• What did you have the most fun doing when you practiced your learning?

• What is the best way for you to remember what you learned?

Practice Makes Proficient

I don't want to say practice makes perfect, because learning any language is a lifetime commitment. If you don't use the language you will lose it. Proficient means you can do it well enough. You can perform at an "average" level. For me, this means you can understand most people, most people can understand you, you can ask questions, you know where to look for answers, and you can do this with reading, writing, listening, and speaking. You become proficient when you actively practice, practice, practice. Let's start building new habits and make practice a priority. You got this!