Life @ Kaplan: Resolution Dos and Dont's!
At the beginning of the January, we looked at how to talk about New Year’s Resolutions in English.
As well as making resolutions at the beginning of January, it is also well known that lots of people break them at the end of the month.
Here at Kaplan, lots of us have already have broken ours, however, according to our Facebook poll, 75% of you have kept your resolutions so far!
While we can’t help you to stay away from junk food or make you go to the gym, when it comes to our favorite topics; learning and traveling, we have a few resolutions dos and don'ts that could help you for the year ahead!
Learn a new language
As our research has shown, learning a new language improves health, careers, travel opportunities and even your love life! It is always a popular resolution and definitely one we can help with!
Do try setting some short term goals and be realistic - you won't be able to write essays or speak fluently in a matter of weeks, but you will be able to steadily improve by taking small steps. For example, "In four weeks I would like to know how to know the how to use the past tense in a sentence", "I would like to count up to 100 by the end of the week".
Do follow this up by setting aside a few hours a week to focus on one particular lesson.
Do listen to the language as it helps to improve the understanding of it, as well as the speaking element. Find films you enjoy and set a target to watch one or two films a month with subtitles, so you can learn as you watch. Music is also great as you can listen on your way to work or school, or have it in the background while you're at home!
Don't learn all on your own. Speak to others learning the language. If you want to start learning English as a second language, and would like to speak to fellow English language learners, we would recommend The English Second Language Community on Google Plus.
Travel to a new place
There is a famous saying: "Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer" and this is something that most of our students, teachers, staff and fans definitely agree with! There are so many benefits to travelling, including meeting new people, discovering new cultures and even language learning.
If this is the year that you want to explore the world, then here are some of our best tips:
Do make a list of all the things you would like to see (history, nightlife, arts). Research the places that fit those categories and find a place that suits your hobbies. For example if you're really into night life and socialising, somewhere like Sydney or New York would be perfect ,where as if you like historic cultural places, somewhere like Cambridge or Bath would be better suited to you!
Do try be realistic as possible. As with English learning, make realistic goals. Traveling can take a while to save for, even if you're traveling on a budget. Set aside a plan to save a certain amount each month and research how much certain places/attractions cost.
Do read travel blogs to great tips from people who've already been there. We'd recommend checking out the travel blogger Nomadic Matt!
Don't be afraid to try something new. You will come across different foods and languages that might seem a bit intimidating at first! Be cautious, but embrace your surroundings and immerse yourself in the cultures of everywhere you go!
Have you kept to your resolutions this year? If so, what plans have you made to sticking to them? We'd love to hear your stories. You can share them with us here on the blog and also on our Facebook and Twitter pages.