When you feel like your English isn’t good, try this!

3 great ways to motivate yourself when you feel bad about your English level.

My English isn’t good. What should I do?

When we feel like this we need to find our ‘P.M.A.’ This means ‘Positive Mental Attitude‘.

A few minutes ago I was reminded of how difficult it is to keep a P.M.A. I spent an hour trying to publish a test blog post on my new website. And I almost quit a few times.

Learning a language is similar. We have moments when it feels like a massive waste of time. We get disappointed by the speed of our progress or frustrated with the basic mistakes that we repeat.

At these moments, it’s essential that we acknowledge the feeling of sadness and the thought or belief that produced that negative feeling. This is usually a story we told ourselves such as “I always make that mistake” or “I’m so bad at speaking English“. But it’s only a story which means we can rewrite it.

So the next time you feel like your English sucks, try these 3 things to get your P.M.A back instantly.

REFRAME

Analyse that negative thought you had and try to modify it so it sounds more positive. For example ‘I always make that mistake‘ becomes ‘now I know I make that mistake, I’m going to be ready next time.‘ Then focus your attention on the correct form and practise saying it aloud a few times.

REMEMBER

Think about your first English lessons. Remember how little you knew and how difficult it was to say simple things. Now, compare your communication skills from back then with the skills you have now. Don’t you feel better already? You’ve made huge progress since those days when you could only say ‘yes‘, ‘no‘ or ‘I no spik English’.

TAKE ACTION 

Start thinking in English. If you can’t translate sentences from your own language, just try to translate some words. If you ‘Flex your mental muscles’ for a couple of minutes, you’ll immediately feel better. This is because you know that every word you think or say in English, brings you closer to your goal.

BONUS TIP

Choose materials to study that have a positive impact on your mood. Optimistic ideas and thoughts will generate optimistic feelings that help us move towards our goals in a calm and happy state. Here’s an example of the kind of material you can use to motivate yourself when you give it your attention.