1. Sometimes I get blocked because I don't remember a word. And I can't go on talking.

When practising for APTIS, some students get blocked when they can't remember a word and don't know how to go on. This is very unfortunate, but there's something we can try. Many of my students

have tried it and many have found it useful. I know this is hard to do, but the key is to be as relaxed as we possibly can, we need to take it easy, when answering and on ourselves. If this happens during the test, say something like: "Hold on, let me rephrase that", or "What I mean is..." And start again, choosing another structure and possibly something completely different to say. You decide on what you say. There's no ONE right answer. Whatever it is, if we worry too much, we get blocked. Try having fun when answering, don't take it too seriously. Another thing, it's always better not to tell the truth. 

That way, you will always be in control of what you're saying. You won't feel you need to say something in particular because it's the truth. Play with it. Imagine you're somebody else answering. Schwarzenegger, Lady Gaga, or any other curious or particularly distinctive celebrity. 👉 Read More

2. I don’t feel I learn as fast as I need to.

(Click HERE to see a Study Plan you can design on your own)

According to Lenneberg, Krasen, so many others, and my own personal modest experience: We are not machines. And we have better and not-so-good days. And our brain goes about creating language structure categories as it receives input. Input: everything we listen to, read, exercises we do, things coming in through our eyes or ears. As the input capacity level is reached, output starts. As a glass of water spilling out, over the brim. When there’s an output, we speak or write, making use of all the structures we learnt. That way, the learning or output can happen in chunks from time to time, after longer or shorter periods of input. So, you will see ups and downs in your learning experience curve, this is normal. Don’t measure your progress on a daily basis, measure it in weeks or fortnights. Otherwise, you risk getting frustrated, and Krashen goes on and on about how little we learn when we feel frustrated. And I think this is something we have all seen ourselves at some point. You can do it! All the best :) 👉  Read More

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