Study Skills
In this class we will look at the skills you need to study in English, and some of the
language and knowledge you need to participate in class and to make as much progress as
possible.
1) Learning psychology
The human brain is rather like a computer. It has two main types of memory- the short-term
memory (RAM) and the long-term memory (the hard drive).
a) Short-term memory
Whenever you are awake, and to some extent even when you are asleep, your eyes, ears,
nose, touch and tongue, together with your brain, report millions of events. All of your senses
are working all of the time and constantly send messages to your brain.
Your brain has a temporary folder (like a computer) where all of this information is stored
before it is processed.
The brain is looking for threats and opportunities: threats are things that can hurt you. The
brain has memories of things that have hurt you in the past and searches for anything that
may threaten your life or well-being.
For example, if you were bitten or scared by a dog in the past, when you hear an aggressive
dog barking, your brain will go on full alert to protect you from the dog.
In contrast, your brain is also looking out for things you like. These are opportunities.
Maybe you see someone you find attractive, or smell something nice, or hear some music you
like. These are connected to positive associations.
Every moment of every day, you experience these senses, good and bad, but your brain
cannot, and doesn’t need to, keep all of this information.
Your brain compares these experiences with existing memories, and if what you sense fits in
with what you have experienced already, it ignores and ‘deletes’ this information.
However, if your brain detects something that is new, or doesn’t fit with your existing
knowledge or experiences, it holds this information until you can understand it better.
This prompts your brain to search for more information about the new situation, so you might
think about it, analyse it, or observe whatever you have sensed to gain more information.
Consequently, your brain is constantly processing millions of pieces of information most of
which it doesn’t need to keep.
When you sleep and dream, your short-term memory is processed and the information that
you don’t need to keep is ‘deleted’.
b) Long-term memory
Your brain cannot possibly store everything you experience, so it has a process which is
selective. Things that your brain already understands, has experience of, and can recognise
are not stored. They are merely compared with existing knowledge and are then thrown away
to clear space for more useful things. Consequently, the brain has to decide what information
to keep and what information should be thrown away.
The process of memory storage depends on the number of times your brain is exposed to a
new sense or new knowledge after it has determined whether that information is of any use.
For information to be stored in your long-term memory, your brain has to experience it at
least six times. Anything you experience a fewer number of times is rejected or stored in a
temporary file waiting for more exposures.
When the information is in a temporary file, it is more difficult to find or retrieve whereas
things that have been experienced many times are kept in a place where it is easy to retrieverather like when you put a link or shortcut on your desktop so you can access it easily.
How does this work for language learning?
I will demonstrate this by teaching you a few words of Dutch which you may never have
heard before. If I say a sentence in Dutch, it will probably mean nothing to you and you will
not remember it.
I will ask you a question:
‘Waar kom je vandaan?’
When you hear it for the first time, you are unlikely to be able to separate the sounds into
words as you have never heard the words before. Your brain compares it with words you
already know but cannot find any.
It may find words that sound similar, and it may apply what grammatical knowledge you
have in other languages to try to work out what it means.
If I then told you that ‘Waar’ is the Dutch word for ‘where’, the sentence may then begin to
make more sense.
If I then told you that ‘kom’ is the Dutch word for ‘come’, and that ‘je’ is the Dutch word for
‘you’, by comparing your new knowledge with your knowledge of English, you might expect
that the question means: ‘Where do you come from?’
If I then write the words down so that you could separate them, and then asked you to say the
words by listening to them and then repeating them, your understanding would grow.
If I then asked you to ask a few more people the question, or do some exercises online using
the words, or by watching a video where people are asking and answering the question, you
would not only understand what it means, but you would also know what it sounds like, how
to spell it, and you would also be able to say it yourself.
After you have used the question a few times and practised your new vocabulary in real
situations, and then perhaps included it in an assignment, revised it before an exam, and used
it in a test, you are likely to remember it for a while. However, if you don’t ever use it again,
the memory will be forgotten or shifted into a part of the brain that is used for storage rather
than for use.
When you come to a class, you may hear or say words and sentences a few times. Sometimes
they will be new words and phrases, or new grammatical structures. If you go home after
class and follow the links, watch videos, listen to dialogues, do exercises and also use your
new skills in class, in assignments, in conversations and in tests, the knowledge will be stored
in a place that is easy to find.
You will be able to understand it, remember it and use it.
This is what we call ‘automaticity’. The target language can be used automatically without
much effort and without reference to your first language.
However, I will also present the opposite scenario.
Here is how to make sure that you do not commit new knowledge to your long term memory:
1) If you are late for class and miss important information and orientation
2) If you don’t pay attention in class
3) If you constantly use your telephone or dictionary to translate new knowledge into your first
language.
4) If you skip class
5) If you do not participate or concentrate in class
6) If you do not practice your skills in class and instead gossip about other people, make plans
for your social life or speak in your own language when you are supposed to be practicing
dialogues
7) If you don’t do a first draft of your assignments
8) If you don’t ask questions when you don’t understand something
9) If you don’t examine the feedback on your assignments
10) If you don’t practice the skills at home or online
11) If you don’t use the resources that are available
12) If you don’t do your online study, or you don’t do it properly
13) If you don’t practice your skills with your friends outside class
14) If you think you can get through exams without doing much preparation
15) If you do not process the new knowledge a sufficient number of times to remember it
16) If you don’t practice regularly in any environment.
In short, if you do not practice your skills enough, you will not be able to demonstrate
these skills. If by the end of this course you cannot demonstrate the target abilities, you
will not pass the course because it means you are not ready to study all of your subjects
in English.
What do I need to do to pass the course?
1) The main learning objectives are in the course description.
2) The course materials present you with explanations and opportunities to practice your
skills and also opportunities to present your skills.
3) Online resources are an additional opportunity for you to process the target language
by reading, listening to podcasts, watching videos, and by doing online exercises.
http://www.dpu.ac.th/dpuic/page.php?id=219
4) Online study is available with the English Discoveries and other programs and is part
of your study. A weekly report that shows how much online study you have done is
given to me every week by the computer centre.
Please note: there is a strong correlation between people who don’t do their online study
and people who fail the course.
5) I am available during my office hours to help you with any problems you have with
English. This includes assignments you have for other classes.
6) You should always plan your homework and assignments so that you have time to
give me a first draft so that you can learn from your mistakes
7) You should always set aside one or two evenings every week to do your assignments
and to practice your skills. Make a study plan and stick to it e.g. stay at home and
study every Tuesday and Thursday evening. Tell your friends that you are not
available for anything other than study on those days (or whichever days suit you).
8) Always remember that English is the key to success in your study of every subject,
your future career, your income and your future life and opportunities. Once you have
mastered English, everything is possible. If you do not master English, everything
will be more difficult and your chance of success will be reduced.
25
20
15
10
Series 1
Series 2
5
0
A graph showing your improvement in English over the length of your studies
The blue line shows what you can achieve by following the advice I have given to you.
A score of 20 on the vertical axis represents the level of ability in English with which you can
graduate from this university with good grades, study abroad for a higher degree,
communicate with people for business and pleasure all around the world, get a good job and a
high salary, and have a good chance of being successful in life.
The red line shows what you can achieve by not following the advice.
This level of ability (10) can be reached by being late, absent, or lazy, by not paying attention
or participating in class, and by not doing your online study or first drafts of your
assignments. Your level of English will not be good enough to do many of the things
mentioned above. Employers might ask why you cannot use English very well after studying
in English for 4 years. They might also not offer you a job at all, or discard your CV before
speaking to you.
You may graduate with a bad grade, slowly, or not at all, and you will only have half of
the English skill that you could have had if you had tried a bit harder.
Vocabulary
You might be surprised to hear that 95% of the spoken English that you need at any time of
your life and for any purpose is covered by only 2000 words.
These 2000 words also give you 80% coverage for anything you will ever need to write too.
The word list can be downloaded from our website.
Download the list and highlight the words that you know.
Make an effort to learn the others. You can do this by:
1) ‘Googling’ the words for definitions
2) Listening to the pronunciation of new words
www.forvo.com
3) Writing them down
4) Translating new words
5) Making sentences using new words
6) Using new words in assignments, class or conversations
7) Testing yourself every day until you can remember the new words. (Try to remember
3 new words every day)
8) Reading books, websites, magazines and newspaper articles in English. If you look at
our online resources, you will find links to reading resources online.
Useful classroom language
Try to learn these sentences and phrases. It may be a good idea to write a note about each one
to remind you of what it means.
Requests and other useful sentences
Excuse me, can I ask a question?
Could you speak a little slower please?
Could you repeat that please?
Could you explain that again please?
Can we hear the recording again please?
Can we watch the video again please?
May I be excused for a minute?
How do you say.................. in English?
How do you pronounce this word, please?
How do you spell...................?
How do you say this word?
What does.....................mean?
You can be student A, and I will be student B, ok?
What do you think the answer is to question 1?
I think it’s..........
How about you? What do you think?
I’m not sure.
I’m sorry. I don’t know.
What is the answer to question 3?
Why do you think so?
I think it is ............... because........
Do you understand what I mean?
I’m sorry. I don’t understand.
I’m afraid I can’t come to the class on Thursday because I have to...