The SMART Method: Learn English Effectively

Have you ever felt that English is like the vastness of space and you are a tiny speck of dust drifting through it? Have you been put off by the number of complicated grammar rules and words you have to master? Or do you compare how freely you speak with American entrepreneurs and coaches and see the gap between you? There are plenty of other discouraging and untrue beliefs that can stop you from improving your English. While you are held hostage by them, motivation is hard to find, you feel you need more time, and you come up with countless reasons not to study. Stop that self-destructive spiral!

You can learn the rules of English and how to speak it quickly, systematically and steadily with a few simple principles, which I'll walk you through here. Even if the examples above don't describe your situation exactly, read on. You have already achieved a lot in life by finding the right methods and sticking to them. The method in this article can shorten the road to your next promotion, career step and boost in confidence. So stop looking for excuses and get ready for a revolution in how you learn English.

Why do you need goals when learning a language?

Think about why you are learning English. If you believe learning is a goal in itself and simply knowing the language counts as success, you'll soon find that your early excitement fades and you need a real goal. As with anything you do, a goal matters because you need a good reason to keep working, moving forward and growing.

If someone asks about your goal, "I want to speak good English" isn't enough. That isn't a goal, it's a means to an end. It has no deadline, the reason is vague, and it won't keep you motivated for long. You could answer the same question like this instead: "I want to be able to travel to the USA on my own, talk to people there freely, and get there within six months." Now you have a specific, reasonable goal that you will definitely reach.

Learn English with the SMART method

How can you stop worrying about problems that don't exist and start succeeding in English the way you succeed elsewhere? Use a method that gives you fresh energy, lifts your motivation and helps you organise what you learn. Use the SMART method.

What is SMART and how can it help? SMART is an acronym of five words: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. You can also think of it simply as a way of setting smart goals, which you reach through small but meaningful steps. Don't worry about your current level. Think about what you want to achieve. Without a goal in sight, it is very hard to stay motivated. Think of it like a holiday: you wouldn't set off without knowing where you were going. Your language goal may need adjusting along the way, but you should be able to plan your learning journey from wherever you are now to wherever you want to be. Travelling with a map you have drawn yourself helps you build your skills, stay focused and find support along the way.

With all that in mind, your English goal should be:

“ S for specific: simple and concrete “

There's no point arguing with the facts: learning English comes with many challenges. You have to watch your pronunciation, learn a huge number of words and even more grammar, and use it all at the same time. Aware of this, you throw yourself at every possible method and devour piles of textbooks and dictionaries. But a sudden burst like that usually lasts until the first setback. Your voice shakes on a video call or a word escapes you, and suddenly you can't keep learning everything at once or giving it so much time. Discouragement comes quickly. What went wrong? You didn't set a simple, specific goal.

Do you want to start communicating in English, well enough to understand basic messages, answer questions and say what you need in simple terms? Then make your task learning the 3,000 most common English words. It's a simple, specific goal that you can break into smaller stages. Say you learn just five words a day. Yes, five new words a day is enough, and you can certainly manage that. In 30 days you'll know 150! The bar is low enough to make you want to start, and you can do it almost anywhere: in a waiting room, on the bus, on your way to work or in a spare moment at home. Set a simple, specific goal and sticking to it stops being a problem.

“ M for measurable “

Did you know that one of the biggest reasons New Year's resolutions fail is that people can't measure their progress? Are you making the same mistake with English? A language contains a vast number of words. You won't need them all, but you will need several thousand to communicate. For most people that's a huge challenge, and some feel it's impossible. The truth is that learning lots of new words isn't that hard. It just takes time and regularity, and small steps add up fast.

So how will you know you're on track to learn those 3,000 words as planned? Find a way to measure each small step. That makes the goal clearer and easier to reach. Set objective standards for checking your progress. Don't settle for "you've improved", because that isn't evidence. Evidence is doing an exercise about your future plans correctly, or understanding a text that used to be too difficult. To measure your progress, use ready-made tools such as Quizlet or other flashcard apps that test the words you've learned. Use them twice a day and they'll do their job.

“ A for achievable “

Resolutions often fail because they aren't realistic. "This year I'll speak as fluently as a native American" isn't a realistic goal if you have just started learning. Reaching native-like fluency takes years, if not decades. Instead, set an achievable goal that matches what you can do, such as "I'll study to pass the Cambridge First exam by the end of this year" or "I'll read one book in English a month". The more realistic your goals, the better your chances of reaching them. Ask yourself whether your ambitions are achievable, considering:

• •time
• •effort
• •cost
• •personal and professional commitments

Then decide. If the goal is achievable, commit to it fully. Don't plan three hours of English a day, because you'll soon find plenty of other things that can't wait. Give it 10 to 15 minutes a day instead. Can you find a quarter of an hour in 24 to learn a few words? Of course you can! This doesn't mean you can't take on something that seems hard or even impossible. The secret is smart planning and following the plan consistently. If you want to go from A2 to C1 in six months, I'll gladly help you draw up a plan, but expect a lot of work.

“ R for relevant “

If learning English is just a whim, it will be hard to reach a high level. It's different when you're already imagining wowing your boss with a brilliant presentation for an English-speaking client, confidently making the case for your idea. The chance of reaching a goal that really matters to you rises enormously. Does your goal matter to you? Why do you want to learn the 3,000 most common words? You probably know that's roughly what you need to communicate comfortably. Build a strong need into your plan from the start. The more being able to communicate in English matters to you, the more likely you are to keep developing it. These questions help give your goal weight:

• •Why do I want to reach this goal? (I'm hoping for a promotion, I want to travel the world, I plan to study abroad)
• •What will reaching it give me?
• •Will reaching it really help me get there?

If you need outside motivation, share your plan with someone. Telling people about your goals can make you more likely to reach them, because you feel extra responsibility. The people who know your plan expect you to follow through and cheer you on.

“ T for time-bound “

Who do you think works more efficiently: freelancers who know exactly when their work is due, or people who work nine to five and get paid either way? It's human nature: deadlines push us into productive mode. Use that and set a date for each stage of your vocabulary plan. Commit to just five words a day and after a month you'll know 150. It's easy to work out that you'll learn all 3,000 in a little over a year and a half. Does that sound good? Does it feel like something likely to succeed?

A clear timeframe gives you a sense of control and gets you moving, because the goal becomes real. If five words a day turns out to be too slow, speed up and you'll get there sooner. Learning a language never really ends, so set your tasks and treat them as milestones along the way. Giving each step a timeframe reduces the risk that learning drags on forever without progress. Motivation to learn English can only come from you, and the SMART method helps you deal with the usual problems that come with any new plan.

Putting SMART into practice

Setting your language goal takes less than ten minutes, but in the long run it gives you much stronger motivation and more regular, productive work. Take some time to go through each of the five SMART factors. These questions will help:

• •Specific: WHAT do you want to be able to do? What do you want to achieve by learning the 3,000 most common English words? This is your ambition and the core of your effort.
• •Measurable: WHICH concrete criteria will show whether you're making progress? You should be able to tell if you're ahead of plan or behind. You can measure the number of words learned (for example 150 a month) or the number of lessons completed in a course.
• •Achievable: HOW will you put your plan into action? What will your learning be based on? This is where you choose your method and materials: one-to-one lessons, an online course, textbooks, conversation or specialist software.
• •Relevant: DOES learning the language really matter to you? Is it worth the time and effort? Once you've set the other criteria, ask whether your plan can work under those conditions.
• •Time-bound: WHEN is the deadline? Find the balance: not too short and not too long. If the project is very complex and would take too long, split it into smaller tasks.

Consistency is your success

For most learners, consistency is probably the hardest part. Your life is already busy, but if you want to succeed you have to stick to your plan. Don't hide behind tiredness or a lack of time. Find a way to fit English into your daily routine. If you commute, why not listen to a podcast in English on the way? Instead of watching two episodes of a series back to back, why not rewatch one in English with English subtitles? Make your learning enjoyable and you won't give it up. Consistency is the one thing that guarantees your success.

Now that you know how the SMART method works for learning English, use it to improve your chances. You'll soon see that you're making progress and your main goal isn't as far away as it seemed. If you'd like support and extra motivation, I can help. In one-to-one coaching I'll help you reach your destination, whether you want to change jobs, learn to negotiate or get promoted. Set smart, big goals. A big target is easier to hit!

Bibliography

• •Locke, E. A., Shaw, K. N., Saari, L. M., and Latham, G. P. (1981). Goal setting and task performance: 1969-1980. Psychological Bulletin, 90(1), 125-152.
• •Moeller, A. J., Theiler, J. M., Wu, C. (2011). Goal Setting and Student Achievement: A Longitudinal Study. The Modern Language Journal.
• •Bursali, N., Oz, H. (2018). The role of goal setting in metacognitive awareness as a self-regulatory behavior in foreign language learning. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching, 5(3), 662-671.
• •Bloom, M. Self-regulated learning: Goal setting and self-monitoring. The Language Teacher, Readers' Forum.
• •Rubin, J. (2015). Using Goal Setting and Task Analysis to Enhance Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching. Southern Conference on Language Teaching, pp. 70-82.
• •Tremblay, P. F., Gardner, R. C. (1995). Expanding the Motivation Construct in Language Learning. The Modern Language Journal.
• •All sources accessed on 10 September 2022.