Teaching English as a second language can be challenging when the student is expecting to be taught rather than trying to learn. A student was rather shaken when I told him that he did not like to study and therefore it would take longer to achieve the desired level of English. Some people think that a teacher is a magical answer to learning a language. Unfortunately, this is not the case. If I could wrap English into a box and put a nice bow on it and give it out as a gift to my students, I would. But, language learning is not that easy. It takes time and the will to learn and use it in an efficient way.

The learning process is known. Like a bell curve, you start out enthusiastically on an upward climb where you reach a certain height quite quickly and easily. Then the realization that the climb is not over and the enthusiasm has waned, it suddenly becomes a turning point where you either continue the challenge or you quit. The knowledge that your capabilities are lower than you expected, which in most cases is more of a personal mental block than the reality of the situation, becomes a higher wall to knock down. Some make the wall too high to conquer, and therefore quit. Others tackle the obstacle with consistency and honest effort, which enables them to reach the next plateau in the learning process.

Whatever you do, before taking on learning a second language, make sure you are in it for the long term, then start to practice EVERY day even if only for 5 minutes: Learn a new word, read a paragraph from a newspaper, learn a song, listen to the radio, speak to your neighbour in the target language. Mix it up and make it fun!