In an Internet forum people asked what they could do as a student if they wanted to improve at school. In particular, we always asked how to learn the easier, in most cases, how to make the least effort, and still get good grades in school. In most cases it is about the language subjects. The following answers are always found:
- Follow the lessons attentively, participate actively in them
- do homework properly and regularly
- study vocabulary regularly; 10 – 15 minutes every day
- practice grammar regularly; 10 – 15 minutes every day
- In addition, you should also deal with the subject matter privately, in your free time, e.g.
- read English / French books
- read books on the current subject matter to get background knowledge and to deepen what you have learned
- apply what you have learned in practice (experiments, laws of nature, etc.)
- watch reports and documentaries
- etc.
If you take all this to heart, you don’t have to be afraid even of unannounced tests and you don’t have to cram for hours before class tests. Studying regularly in small portions – quality instead of quantity – is more beneficial than working late into the night for hours before a test. After 1 hour at the latest, the brain box shuts down. In addition, the next morning you go to school and to the class work unrested.
- Work on your general education:
- read sophisticated literature
- read demanding newspapers
- watch high quality TV shows and movies
- go to the theater and opera
- attend readings
- visiting museums
- reading books, newspapers and magazines in English (and other foreign languages)
- Watching/listening to movies, television, news in English (and other foreign languages)
- playing learning and knowledge games
- solving quizzes, puzzles, crosswords, sodokus
- go on learning, educational and language trips
- making excursions
- Learning by doing! and not by passive sprinkling!
Many of these things are more fun in a group than alone, so get your friends and classmates on board and form learning groups in which you help and support each other; sometimes also ‘interdisciplinary’, so that e.g. ‘math aces’ help ‘English aces’ in math and vice versa.
After studying every day, you can reward yourself with an ice cream, a good book or movie, going swimming, or whatever else you like. This will motivate you even more.
If your learning goes well, maybe your parents can be persuaded to take a special vacation or a language vacation (vacation camp, host family, student exchange), a small extra gift, the fulfillment of a very special wish, etc.