Tag: listening

Do You Have A Frame of Reference Here?

“Instead of trusting in the experts and letting them inform the public, those with little to no experience are voicing their opinion on subject(s) that they don’t have any expertise or understanding of. Thus, this brings me to the critical question that rarely gets asked today: Do you have a frame of reference here?”

We live in a time where having an opinion on every single topic is often treated as more important than having an informed one or not having one when you haven’t fully researched the topic at hand. The influence of social media, 24-hour news cycles, and the pressure to ‘weigh in’ constantly have created a culture where silence is mistaken for ignorance and confidence is mistaken for competence in many different areas. Instead of trusting in the experts and letting them inform the public, those with little to no experience are voicing their opinion on subject(s) that they don’t have any expertise or understanding of. Thus, this brings me to the critical question that rarely gets asked today: Do you have a frame of reference here?

A ‘frame of reference’ is built through lived experience, actual study, or meaningful exposure to a subject, regardless of which one it is. Without it, opinions are often shallow, reactive, or based on incomplete information from often unreliable sources. Yet today, many people, especially political leaders, regularly comment on complex issues such as geopolitics, economics, public health, without the necessary context to understand them or any one of these complex topics. This kind of willful arrogance doesn’t just dilute meaningful discourse on the subject being discussed; it can actively mislead others who assume that their confidence equals real credibility.

What’s personally refreshing for me is when a public figure, especially a political leader, admits the limits of their knowledge. When a mayor of a major city recently acknowledged that they were not informed enough to comment on a geopolitical issue involving another country, it stood out to me positively not as a weakness, but as showing intellectual honesty. In a culture that rewards hot takes and instant reactions, restraint is increasingly rare but it’s also responsible and what we should expect more from our leaders.

Real wisdom comes from not needing to be a ‘master of all’ but rather to hone your knowledge base and your life experience on subjects you are confident enough to weigh in on and learn more about others where you have little or no experience with. Focusing on mastering one subject or a few subjects is difficult enough over a period of years or a lifetime, what’s impossible is trying to comment on every little subject you hear about or is making the news.

There’s value in recognizing when something is outside your lane and admitting that you don’t know enough about something to give an opinion on. Deferring to experts, asking questions instead of making declarations, or simply choosing not to comment are all signs of maturity, not ignorance. In fact, the ability to say “I don’t know enough about this” might be one of the most credible statements a person can make, especially those people in positions of power and influence.

Before speaking out loud, it’s worth pausing to ask: Do I understand this? Or am I just participating to hear myself talk? That distinction matters more than ever because not every conversation needs your opinion, and not every opinion needs to be voiced. In practice, this means getting comfortable with a little restraint especially with different audiences. You’re your coworkers, it might look like asking clarifying questions instead of jumping into debate, or saying, “I haven’t looked into that enough to have a strong view.” That doesn’t make you disengaged; it makes you credible. With your friends and family, where emotions tend to run higher, it helps to focus on understanding their viewpoint rather than winning the argument. You don’t need to ‘correct’ every take at the dinner table. Sometimes the better move is letting a moment pass or redirecting the conversation to something more constructive or worthwhile.

If a topic genuinely interests you and you really want to learn more about it to have an informed opinion, there’s nothing wrong with engaging with it further but do it the right way. Take the time to seek out legitimate sources, compare perspectives, and pressure-test what you’re reading to see if it’s credible information. That kind of effort means going beyond sensational headlines, avoiding echo chambers, and giving more weight to subject-matter experts than to loud personalities who bloviate without any substance. Real understanding of any subject takes serious effort, which you may not be able to devote time to. Here’s the part that most people skip: be willing to revise your opinion as you learn more about the topic. Changing your mind isn’t a loss but rather it’s evidence that you’re thinking deeply about it in a constructive way. When you finally do speak about it, do it from a place of informed perspective, not impulse. That kind of discipline doesn’t just make your voice more credible; it makes it worth listening to.

When things get heated with voicing your opinion, especially with strangers, the goal should shift from being right to keeping things from spiraling out of control. You’re not going to out-argue someone who isn’t interested in nuance or subtlety. What you can do instead is lower the temperature of the conversation: acknowledge their perspective without endorsing it outright (“I can see why you’d feel that way”), avoid absolute statements, and step back when the conversation turns into a one-way performance rather than a two-day dialogue. Walking away from that person or people, changing the subject, or simply not engaging further in the discussion isn’t weakness, it’s control of your environment. It’s true that not every verbal battle deserves either your energy or your effort.

At the end of the day, discernment is a key skill for any adult to exercise, especially in our current era. Knowing when to speak, when to listen, and when to opt out entirely of making your opinion heard will earn you more respect than having a take on every single subject. In a world full of noise and bluster, the people who stand out are the ones who choose their words carefully and know when silence says enough.

The Lost Skill of Making People Feel Seen

“Most people aren’t lonely because they lack friends, they’re lonely because nobody truly sees them. In a world of constant interactions, at work, online, or in our daily routines, these moments are often shallow, rushed, and forgettable.”

Most people aren’t lonely because they lack friends, they’re lonely because nobody truly sees them. In a world of constant interactions, at work, online, or in our daily routines, these moments are often shallow, rushed, and forgettable.

One of the best books I’ve read recently on this subject is from New York Times writer and columnist, David Brooks, who authored the book, ‘How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen’ in October 2023. The core idea of his book was that you can divide people into two camps of ‘Illuminators vs. Diminishers’, with illuminators making people feel recognized, clearer, more important, and the diminishers who make interactions about themselves or forget about the other person (often not on purpose). If attention is now the primary currency in our lives, giving or receiving quality attention is the key difference in seeing others fully.

Let’s go into what ‘feeling seen’ means in 2025 and what it doesn’t because it can get confusing if you’re new to this concept. Feeling seen is not about just agreeing with someone, praising them effusively, being ‘nice’ or ‘kind’, fixing their problems for them, dumping your own problems or inadequacies on them to compensate in return for them sharing their issues. Rather, feeling seen is about being perceived accurately and without judgment often, having your inner logic understood and how you see the world, and feeling that your emotions are being recognized rather than just analyzed and interpreted.

An example of this in action could be a friend, a spouse, or a co-worker telling you, “I don’t necessarily agree with you here, but I understand why that matters to you and I see your perspective.” Being able to let that person know that you know where they are coming from in their views and why it matters to them makes a huge difference in your personal and professional life.

Technological and other daily distractions aside, there are various reasons why people don’t feel fully seen nowadays. Most people are not patient in waiting for their turn to talk, rehearse their response in advance while you’re still speaking, filtering everything through themselves and what they would do, or just not wanting to understand when they listen. If you are not seeing someone enough, start with listening to understand the other person rather than listening to reply or putting themselves in their shoes right away. You cannot see someone else while you’re playing their role in your own mental movies or thinking through what you would do, say, or behave in their shoes.

Like any social skill, there are ways to make someone feel more seen and to build up that skill like it’s a positive habit. The more you use, repeat, and solidify these response tactics, the more comfortable other people will feel around you. First, listen to the emotion that they are carrying with their words even if they don’t express it outright. Train yourself to hear the ‘fear, anxiety, pride, shame, sadness, frustration, hope, joy, etc. that they exude with their cadence and tone beyond the words they are saying. Being able to voice what emotions they may be expressing to you in their words is very powerful and will make someone feel very seen. For example, “You sound disappointed, not angry, about ____.” As David Brooks wrote about ‘illuminators’, seeing people’s emotions clearly even if they aren’t telling you with their words what exactly they are feeling is a very useful people skill.

Second, I think it’s key to asking expanding questions, rather than extractive or basic ones. Good questions open doors to a deeper and more fulfilling conversation while bad questions can feel like an interview or an interrogation. A good question could be, “What part of your work gives you the most fulfillment?”, which can expand the conversation and take that person through a positive memory or a feeling of contentedness sharing what they do for a living in a specific way. Rather than an extractive question that may not lead anywhere that we often hear a lot as “So, what do you do?” If the question helps them understand better or explains why someone does what they do, you’re doing it the right way.

Additionally, some other ways to make others feel seen is to avoid pivoting to yourself right away. You should want to reflect on the conversation rather than redirect it to be about yourself or what you would do. For example, you could say “What I’m hearing from you is ____”, allowing that person to know that you were paying attention but also that you heard them correctly in terms of their viewpoint. Remember to ask questions that open the conversation, not trap it. Name specific strengths you notice. These small moves make someone feel truly seen. A friend once told me they felt burnt out by their job. In this case, just nodding back wasn’t enough, but I reflected on their frustrations with their work environment, and it completely shifted the conversation

Naming the strength(s) and good qualities of a person is also an excellent way to make them feel seen. Instead of calling someone you respect ‘smart, clever, hard-working’, go deeper than that by taking why you think they are that way and what it is specifically that led you to come to that conclusion about them. At a meeting once, instead of saying “Good point. I said, ‘I see why that approach would make sense given the constraints you’re dealing with.”

Lastly, people are unfinished characters meaning that they are complex, deep, and contradictory at times. Mr. Brooks’s book emphasizes the need to have a ‘moral imagination’ about someone to get beyond who you think they are just because you know their politics, childhood, job, worst moment(s). Assume in good faith that there is a lot more going on in a person’s life than you currently understand and try to hold judgment about them based just on the information that you have available about them.

Being seen by another person deeply is a great feeling and is increasingly rare these days. Seeing others requires courage, dedication, and attention, which is in short supply. The ability to see and be seen demands humility, slowing ourselves down, removing our ego armor, and being present with them fully. It is also worth noting that the people who feel most unseen by others end up being the worst at seeing others in response as it becomes a negative cycle. If you’re not seen at all or at least a little bit, why would you want to do the same for others rather than breaking the cycle?

Making others feel seen changes you for the better as a person. When you see others well, your relationships deepen, you become a better leader, your conflicts soften or end, and your own sense of personal meaning grows as a result. As Brooks writes in ‘How to Know a Person’, “To know other person well is one of the highest forms of love.” I think this is a great lesson worth imparting on us all to try to illuminate other people as often as people and to do so in a consistent manner. I’ve seen it personally in my classrooms, work meetings, or even casual coffee chats as people light up when someone hears them and not just nods along.

Try this once today: make someone feel truly understood. Watch what happens. Whether it’s a comment, a reflection, a thoughtful question, a moment of real attention without distraction, you can make a positive difference in that person’s life, especially if they are going through a tough time. You don’t need grand gestures, just presence, attention, and care. In a world obsessed with being seen, the rarest superpower is knowing how to see.

Being An Active Listener

“I would like to highlight the significance of having active listening skills in contemporary society, its myriad of benefits, its role in fostering respect and empathy for other people, and the pitfalls of distraction in the digital age.”

With the frenzied pace of modern life, where everyone seems to be talking but few are truly listening, the act of active listening has become increasingly crucial to partake in. In a society inundated with seemingly unlimited information and plagued by short attention spans, the ability to listen intently and engage with others through attentive body language has emerged as a rare and invaluable skill, both personally and professionally. I would like to highlight the significance of having active listening skills in contemporary society, its myriad of benefits, its role in fostering respect and empathy for other people, and the pitfalls of distraction in the digital age.

Active listening is more than just hearing words come out of the other person’s mouth; it is about comprehending fully the message being conveyed, acknowledging the speaker’s perspective, and responding thoughtfully when they are done. In a world where communication often takes place through digital screens and abbreviated text messages, genuine human connection can easily be lost, especially when it’s not done face-to-face. However, active listening provides a counterbalance to this growing trend, allowing people to connect on a deeper level and work on building more meaningful relationships.

One of the primary benefits of active listening is the ability to facilitate effective and thorough communication. By listening attentively without interrupting, one can better understand the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of the other person behind the words spoken. This type of listening comprehension lays the foundation for productive dialogue, enabling participants to exchange ideas, resolve conflicts, and collaborate more effectively. Whether in personal relationships, professional settings, or in the public discourse, the ability to listen actively fosters mutual understanding and helps to facilitate constructive communication.

Moreover, being an active listener is a sign of respect and shows that you have real empathy towards other people. When we give someone our undivided attention, we convey that their words and experiences are truly valued. This kind of validation not only strengthens interpersonal bonds but also nurtures a sense of belonging and significance. In a society where people often feel isolated and unheard from, the simple act of listening actively can make a profound difference in someone’s life or even just their day. By demonstrating empathy and understanding, active listeners create a supportive and caring environment where individuals feel safe to express themselves authentically.

Additionally, active listening enhances our capacity for empathy and compassion. When we truly listen to others, we gain insight into their emotions, perspectives, and lived experiences. This expanded awareness cultivates empathy, allowing us to relate to others on a deeper level and appreciate the diversity of our individual experiences. Through active listening, we transcend our own preconceptions and biases and open ourselves up to new ideas and perspectives. In doing so, we foster a more inclusive and empathetic society where differences are accepted and acknowledged rather than feared and ignored.

Furthermore, active listening promotes personal growth and self-awareness. By paying attention to the thoughts and feelings that arise within us as we listen to others, we gain valuable insights into our own beliefs, values, and biases. This self-reflection enables us to identify areas for our own personal growth and development, fostering greater self-awareness and more emotional intelligence. Also, by engaging in active listening, we cultivate a habit of mindfulness and presence, allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in the present moment and appreciate the richness of undisturbed human interaction.

In today’s digital age, the temptation to multitask and divide our attention is constant. With smartphones constantly buzzing with notifications and social media feeds demanding our immediate attention, it can be challenging to stay fully present during conversations. However, the consequences of being distracted can be profound, leading to misunderstandings, missed opportunities, and damaged relationships and friendships. When we allow ourselves to be distracted by our phones, laptops, tablets, or other devices while interacting with others, we signal that they are not worthy of our full attention. This lack of full presence undermines the quality of the communication involved and diminishes the level of trust and respect between two or more individuals.

While active listening holds immense value, there are certain pitfalls to avoid ensuring its full effectiveness. One common mistake is the tendency to mentally prepare responses while the other person is speaking, rather than fully absorbing their message. This kind of anticipation without thinking can lead to misunderstandings and missed opportunities for genuine connection. Additionally, interrupting or interjecting with personal anecdotes can derail the conversation and detract from the speaker’s unique experience. To mitigate these kinds of challenges, it is essential to cultivate mindfulness and self-awareness during interactions, even if you really have something urgent to add to the conversation.

To avoid this kind of pitfall, you should be actively monitoring your thoughts and impulses, resisting the urge to jump to conclusions or offer unsolicited advice without being asked for it. Instead, you can practice patience and humility, allowing the speaker to express themselves fully before formulating your response. By maintaining open body language and making eye contact, we can signal our engagement and receptivity, encouraging the speaker to continue sharing their uninterrupted thoughts and feelings. When we are being mindful of these potential pitfalls and committing to being an active listener with sincerity and respect, we can foster deeper connections and enrich our friendships and relationships with other people.

Therefore, it is essential to prioritize presence and mindfulness in all your interactions with others. By consciously setting aside any distractions and giving our full attention to the person speaking to us, we demonstrate full respect and consideration for their thoughts and feelings. In addition, by resisting the urge to check our phones or engage in other activities while listening to that person, we create a real space for authentic connection and meaningful dialogue. By doing this, we honor the inherent dignity and worth of every individual, fostering a culture of respect and empathy that they will be able to return in kind if they follow your good example.

Active listening is a key cornerstone of effective communication, respect, and empathy in today’s world. Listening attentively without interrupting, showing engaged body language, thinking up a response until after they’ve finished talking, and giving our full attention to the speaker helps create a foundation for meaningful dialogue and authentic connection, which is becoming increasingly rare. In our society marked by digital distractions and fleeting, shallow interactions, the ability to listen actively is more important than ever to cultivate day-in and day-out. When we embrace the art of active listening, we can foster deeper relationships, cultivate greater empathy and understanding, and create a more compassionate and inclusive world for everyone.

Be Interested and Be Interesting

“How might you ask can you take a typical ‘small talk’ and make it interesting? Well, you should be able to show some humility by being interested in who they are by asking them some questions.”

Making small talk can be a necessary yet tedious part of daily life. It sometimes may not come naturally to you, and it can be forced at times. However, it is a courteous and polite way to get to know people who are complete strangers to you and to show that you are not oblivious to their presence around you. While ‘small talk’ often revolves around the weather, a simple ‘hello, how are you?’ or just mentioning something about the time of day, the commute to work or school, or maybe a small compliment to brighten their day, it can sometimes lead to a good conversation and even a new friend.

How might you ask can you take a typical ‘small talk’ and make it interesting? Well, you should be able to show some humility by being interested in who they are by asking them some questions. You can take a general comment on the weather to ask if they are used to that kind of weather or if it is new for them. That can lead to a talk about their hometown or where they currently live or if they are just visiting on travel. You would be surprised how a seemingly small question can lead to a wide-ranging and deeper conversation. A comment about the traffic or commute to your work can lead to a discussion on what could be improved about the roads, the transportation options, or if remote work would make things easier for you and the other person.

Even just asking for the time of the day can lead you to asking about their watch (if they have one), if their day is going well or not, and perhaps a comment on if the day is going fast or slow for them since we can tend to perceive time’s passing differently from one another. Key to taking ‘small talk’ to what could be considered ‘medium talk’, or a genuine conversation is to listen intently, wait until they are finished speaking, and follow up with a question or a comment relevant to what they told you.

If you are in a rush, are having a bad day, or are just not in the mood to continue the conversation, you can let it end after the ‘small talk’ or pleasant greeting or two. However, if you feel like you would like to get to know the other person or group of people better, make sure to listen, let them finish, and ask a question about them (within reason), or like the general comment(s) you made, and keep the conversation going for a while longer.

You should not have to do all the work in the conversation and if it is running its course, politely excuse yourself and say goodbye and that it was nice to meet them. Conversations naturally start and end but if you would like to be more social, make a new friend, or just put yourself out there in the world more, you must ‘be interested’ in those around you. You should do your best to refrain from making the conversation all about you at first and what you’re up to. Naturally, that should make its way into the conversation but if you started talking to this person, you would like to get to know them more, then, I believe you should be interested in who they are, find out more about them, and get to know them beyond just the time of the day, the weather forecast, or how their day is generally going.

Even if you feel like you don’t know much about their work, school, hobbies, interests, or where they are from, it shouldn’t prevent the conversation from continuing as you can show curiosity about their background and try to learn more about them from themselves. If there is anything I have learned about my own social life, people like to talk about themselves and will be happy to answer questions about themselves if done in a polite and respectful manner. It’s important to know someone’s boundaries especially if they are still somewhat of a stranger to you but usually, they’ll be willing to share a lot about who they are, where they are from, what they like to do in their free time, and what gets them excited about life in general.

If you feel like your social life could use a boost, I recommend being more interested in others and you should start to feel like you’re making progress in your conversations. Now, it should not be so one sided that they know nothing about you as that would be a bit odd as they’ll likely want to ask you the same questions in response. The conversation should not feel like a one-sided interrogation or a job interview. There should be a natural give and take where you both are interested in each other and you are letting each other answer questions, talk about possible mutual interests, and even discussing if your personal backgrounds overlap at all.

The 2nd part of a successful beginning of any kind of positive first impression is to ‘be interesting’, which I know is a broad statement to make but you should have things to talk about to that person. You should know a little bit about where you’re from, talk about what excites you about life whether that’s a particular hobby, interest, or activity you like to do. Your life will often involve work or school or both at the same time, but I would recommend making yourself interesting beyond what you do to make a living. If you like traveling, let the person ask you about where you’ve been. If you enjoy learning languages, discuss which ones. If you like to build bird houses or molding ceramic pottery, discuss the process(es) involved in getting either activity done.

While you should be interested in other people to get to know them and have interesting conversations, don’t be shy to discuss who you are in return. You should have a life that is beyond work or school even if it is a large part of our lives. If you don’t have many hobbies or interests, perhaps pivot to what goal(s) you have for the future. It is easier when you have a lot on going on in terms of your outside interests, activities, or hobbies, so that is where the ’be interesting’ comes into play.

You don’t have to be doing something cool, exciting, or fascinating every day, but I find it is easier to build a friendship or relationship when you can share something that you are passionate about and can even include them in on. Whether it is traveling together, going on a hike, building something out of wood or metal, or maybe playing a sport, you can show you are an interesting individual. You can also show that you are inclusive too by allowing yourself to show that hobby or interest to the other person and see if they would enjoy doing that with you as a result. They can also let you join in on what they enjoy doing as well giving you a new hobby or interest that you can learn more about, partake in, and build upon with that other person as well.

Being social may not come naturally or easily to some of us but I think a good way to make it easier is to ‘be interested’ in who they are, what they do, and how they came to be who they are today. Once you do that, you can show that you can ‘be interesting’ with what you enjoy doing in life and that you would like them to be involved or help them learn about it and see if it is something they want to try. I think these are two good ways to be better socially and can lead you to building stronger friendships and relationships as a result.

English Corner – Using Worksheets to Succeed

If you are learning a language such as English, it can be tough to justify doing homework and worksheets and additional activities. However, here’s a secret for you, dear reader: you have to do it as part of the learning process. In order to retain the knowledge, you have learned either through online courses, private lessons, or group classes, you need to have worksheets or activities in order to be able to remember what the concepts were that you have to put into practice. While worksheets alone will not make you an English master, the practice you can gain from them is invaluable.

From my experiences as an English as a Second Language teacher and as a business owner now, I can tell you that any kind of lectures or instructional materials whether they are by video, audio, or in-person should come with some kind of assessment in order to make sure that the student has absorbed the content and can make good use of it. Now, that does not mean repetition or intensive memorization but rather in the worksheets themselves, can they utilize this lecture material to write a paper, interpret a passage, form questions, give some answers, or even create a video or audio of their own.

It is a fallacy that worksheets have to be boring especially with languages. You can use them for many different purposes for English including grammar and vocabulary of course to be general but also for speaking, writing, reading, and listening. A true measure of a student is how they are able to discuss their reactions to a music video or answer questions about a movie scene or as well as ask questions of their classmates and write down the answers.

If you are a student and don’t have access to a private tutor or a regular English teacher, try to go online to different ESL websites to see if there are free resources to use including worksheets. Many sites offer free worksheets categorized by topics and themes, which you can then use to self-study English on your own. A good habit to pick up is to bookmark those websites that offer these free worksheets and use them each day depending upon which topic within English you would like to learn. You do not have to spend any money in order to get access to worksheets and they should cover a wide range of activities from speaking to writing to reading.

Also, paid worksheets that come with course videos or private lesson instruction come with the added benefit of the professor or teacher reviewing your work and correcting your mistakes. Having a private tutor can also help you realize where you went wrong, what you are doing well, and what you still have to improve upon. A course without any activities or worksheets is not much of an English course at all so it is very important to try to be able to evaluate yourself after going through some course material with either a worksheet, activity, or assignment to be graded.

We all know how having Homework especially as a teenager or an adult is no fun at all but for language learning, it is key to use worksheets that are due on a certain date and require grading to be used both in the virtual classroom and in the real classroom. Doing worksheets is not only for learning but for practice and to retain your knowledge. You can also be sure that by saving these worksheets for the future, you will be giving yourself a chance to go back, look at your mistakes, see where you are now as having improved and hopefully gotten better.

This is especially the case with vocabulary worksheets to help make sure you remember many verbs, adjectives, and nouns you may have forgot and to study them in order to improve your memory. Who knows? Perhaps you may have a family member or friend who wants to learn English who you can pass your worksheets on to so they can learn these concepts and skills too. Similar to a downloaded video, a downloaded worksheet can last for a while so you can always go back to it a few days, weeks, months, or even years later in case your English language skills start to get rusty again.

As I have mentioned, practice makes perfect and there are few better ways to make that happen than by working on and then completing worksheets. Whether you self-study and do them on your own, work with a friend or classmates, or even work through them together with a private tutor, English worksheets are a key part of boosting your knowledge of this language regardless of which part you are focusing on. You can do a worksheet on any part of the English language and I would recommend getting started with a base of vocabulary and grammar sheets before tackling the more advanced speaking, reading, writing, and listening worksheets.

Do not forget to take your time, check your work, read out loud the answers, or even seek the advice of a friend but make sure you do the worksheets, get feedback, and then save them for the future. You never know when you just might need them next and they are an amazing resource to have as an English as a Second Language student. Lastly, don’t forget to highlight your answers in yellow or cross them out with red ink. Using black or blue ink all of the time could get confusing for you.

English Corner – Utilization, Not Memorization

Many English language learners and students are taught from a young age to memorize, repeat, and regurgitate what they have been assigned by their teachers. When it comes to the main focus of English as a Second Language, there is a tendency for educators in this field to focus on having memorization be the main focal point of an English student’s language base when it should not be this way. Instead of memorization and repetition, we should instead focus on helping English language learners with utilization, which means putting the English grammar and vocabulary they have acquired for actual use.

While learning different types of English vocabulary and understanding English grammar rules are very important parts for a beginner student to master, instead of focusing on fill-in-the-blank, matching, and multiple choice questions, teachers should instead focus on putting the English student in situations where they need to use this vocabulary or remember these grammar rules so they’ll better be able to retain the knowledge they have gained. Relying too heavily upon vocabulary sheets or grammar rules sheets for too long will disengage the students from enjoying the process of mastering a foreign language.

A good lesson should encompass grammar and vocabulary together, but for which leads to a chance for the students in the class to be put in activities or lessons where they need to use what they have learned right away so they retain it better. There are numerous examples out there on how to achieve this kind of lesson plan but a good one would involve speaking and writing parts, so students not only engage with the material alone but also with each other or in small groups. English does not have to be boring but a strict curriculum with the same activities over and over again will not help students to improve their retention of the language.

Students have the responsibility to study the grammar and vocabulary that the teacher has assigned in class, but it is the teacher’s responsibility to mix the subject matter up enough so that the students will have enough chances to let the material sink in over time so that they can absorb it better. In addition to speaking and writing exercises, utilizing listening and reading activities are crucial too. To break up the monotony of continuous vocabulary and grammar exercises, a good English teacher will mix it up in different ways to make the class more fun and interactive.

In my experiences as an English as a Second Language teacher, I have noticed a deficit in some cases where the students are able to do well on grammar and vocabulary assignments but struggle greatly when it comes to utilizing these lessons to improve their speaking and writing capabilities. By incorporating related speaking and writing activities to supplement the new material, students will better able to progress in these areas as well. Going through the textbook, doing the same kind of activities over and over again is no recipe for a proficient English learner.

When it comes to speaking, if you are doing a unit on types of food and drinks, it’s good to do an activity where students ask each other questions and get answers from their classmates. They could ask, “what is your favorite food?”, “what do you like to eat for breakfast / lunch / dinner?”, “What supermarket do you go to?”, “Do you like to cook? why or why not?” These question and answer activities are extremely effective in keeping the students engaged and allow them to put their grammar and vocabulary knowledge to good use by actually applying it in a real-life situation.

For grammar retention, writing sentences and even essays are a key aspect to utilizing the grammar lessons that they have learned in the past and applying them in the present. For example, if you introduce an essay topic or question such as “Where do you see yourself in ten years?, what will you be doing with your life, and what would you like to do?”, this essay assignment is a great way to jog the student’s memory so that they remember how to use verb tenses such as the ‘simple future tense’ or the ‘future progressive tense.’ Letting students use the future tense to describe their future selves is a great way in engaging them honestly and utilizing their understanding of English grammar by putting it into the written form.

Your English students will also be more engaged when they can utilize their base grammar and vocabulary knowledge to both read and listen. Having high levels of comprehension in these two areas is crucial in becoming a proficient learner of this language. For Reading, it’s important to incorporate different forms of reading for your class such as poetry, short stories, interesting magazine articles, and relevant newspaper articles.

For example, if your class is learning about how to describe weather in English, it would be good to share the newspaper section, which covers the weather specifically, and have the students describe the weather in different cities and towns from reading the descriptions in the newspaper. Having the students read newspaper articles about current events and other news will help satisfy their curiosity about English-speaking cultures and countries. There are numerous speaking and reading activities that can be done together to utilize what the student has learned to be put to good use.

Lastly, being able to utilize listening to music, audiobook passages, or news reports will do a great job in allowing the students to hear the grammar and vocabulary necessary to further their comprehension. You can get very creative with listening lessons and add on speaking and writing components to give your students more chances to utilize their English language skills in different ways. Testing the students without multiple choice, matching, or fill-in-the-blank activities can be done by assessing their comprehension of listening passages. Listening and repetition is also another way to help students retain their vocabulary and grammar knowledge.

A huge reason why English as a Second Language students struggle with retaining their knowledge of the language is that they are simply not utilizing it enough. Teachers should be aware that endless vocabulary and grammar lessons that are based around memorization and repetition are not helping their students but hurting them instead. In addition, focusing only on teaching to the test is a recipe for disaster and students will not enjoy actually learning the language if the teacher is not utilizing creative lesson planning, fun activities, and group cooperation when it comes to improving their students’ English skills.

In order for students to keep their English skills going into the future, teachers should focus on speaking, writing, listening, and reading lessons so that students will not only utilize the language in various ways but to also remember and use it years into the future long after they finish working with that teacher.