Unit 2 Study Smart, Not Hard

Lead-in

Ø Are you satisfied with the results you achieved at school?

Ø Do you think studying at a university is different from that at school?

Why?/Why not?

Ø What makes an effective learning? Work in groups of 3-4 and come up with your ideas (e.g., motivation, …, ….).

Reading

1. How many English words that correspond to the Russian word “ЦЕЛЬ” do you remember? Give as many equivalents as you can.

2. Read the text, find the other equivalents for the word “цель” and write them down.

3. Think of a proper title for the text. Explain your choice.

 

* * *

 

“Goals equal success”, says Paul Shearstone in his article on goal setting. Studies have shown, he argues, that “only three percent of the population are engaged in some form of goal setting and only one percent, on average, write them down. … No wonder that one percent that writes goals down are the richest people around the world.”

Goal setting is a powerful technique that can improve all areas of your life. By deciding on your goals and targets you will know what you want to achieve, what to concentrate on. In your studies it will help you to focus your efforts in search for professional skills and knowledge, and to organize your resources.

It’s good to have big goals – a vision of what you want to achieve – and smaller and measurable objectives with exact time frames. By measuring their achievement, you will be able to see what you have done and what you are capable of. It will help you to move step-by-step towards your goal (to work towards your aim), at the same time improving your self-confidence. But this is only possible if you follow a few simple rules in your planning process:

Express your goals positively. The more positive instructions you give yourself, the more positive results you will get.

Avoid setting general or unclear goals - put in dates, times and amounts.

Break big goals down into a number of small tasks.

Do not set goals too low or too high. It is important that you can achieve your goal without losing motivation.

When you have several goals, set priorities.

And most important of all: WRITE YOUR GOALS DOWN.

“The difference between a goal and a dream is the written word.” – Gene Donohue

(Adapted from: list of Internet sites used)

 

Discuss

Ø Does Paul Shearstone’s statistics sound surprising?

Ø Are the rules described in the text easy to follow? Why/why not?

Ø According to Gene Donohue what is a principal difference between a goal and a dream?

 

Focus on language

1. Look through the text and write down all the verbs that go with the word “goal” to complete the word web.

 

Study help: Mind maps 2 Mind maps may be a good solution if you have a problem remembering new items of vocabulary and word collocations. They are usually called word webs.

 

2. Draw a word web for the verb to improve. Use a dictionary if necessary.

 

3. Work in 5 teams. Each team completes word webs for the verbs achieve, set, organize, get and lose using its own colour marker. Mind maps are rotated every 1 minute, and then the results are checked in class. The team that works out the majority of combinations is the winner.

 

Writing

Rewrite the statement about learning English you have made in Unit 1 Lead-in task using the recommendations on goal setting.

 

Listening

 

1. What is the main challenge of a student life?

 

2. Comment on the saying by an English writer William

Hazlitt "The more we do, the more we can do; the more

busy we are, the more leisure we have.". Give the Russian equivalent to this saying.

 

3. Listen to Ann Cameron talking about time management and write down basic time management principles mentioned. Use the guide below:

Identify …

Use …

Study …

Make sure …

Make room for …

Have …

Try …

 

Discuss

Ø Do you have enough time during a day to do all the homework?

Ø What are your most productive time periods during a day?

Ø What are your top five time wasters?

Ø What are the strengths and weaknesses in your time management practices?

Ø Have you ever made daily, weekly or semester schedules?

Ø Have you ever checked where your time goes?

 

Get real

Carry out some self exploratory work. Take the time management test to see where your time goes and report results in class. Do the tasks on your own daily, weekly and semester schedules. Choose the one you find the most significant and present it in class.

Useful sites to search http://www.studygs.net/timman.htm http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/stdyhlp.html

 

Reading

1. Read former students’ advice on how to study effectively. Which recommendations do you agree with. Discuss them with a partner.