Chapter 1 Study Skills PDF

Chapter 1: Studying in English English as Your Language of Instruction Motivation Concentration Distractions Your Place of Study Your time of study English is now, or may soon become, the language of your instruction. Because it is not your native language, studyi...

Chapter 1: Studying in English English as Your Language of Instruction Motivation Concentration Distractions Your Place of Study Your time of study English is now, or may soon become, the language of your instruction. Because it is not your native language, studying English may be difficult initially. Your success in your studies will depend upon your ability to understand, speak, read, and write English. This textbook is not intended to teach English-you already know that well enough to be wing this book. Its purpose is to teach you how to use English effectively as a language of instruction. Motivation Your success in your studies will also depend upon your motivation. This need or desire to achieve a certain goal can make the difference between success and failure. Motivation can come from two sources: from inside of you or from outside of you. In the first case, motivation comes from your hopes and expectations, from your desire to do something or to be someone. Study purposes that result from personal, inner desires are individual and various. If you have not already done so, you should think carefully about what you hope to gain from your studies, and why. You should set a goal and direct all your study efforts toward reaching it. A goal of this kind is important because it will determine the direction and degree of your motivation for study. Not everyone is highly motivated from within, and no one is continuously motivated from within. Fortunately, there is another source of motivation: from outside. In education, the most obvious kind of outside motivation is grades. For many students, course grades are an immediate, short- range motivation for study. This is one of the reasons for examinations and grades, but they must not become a goal in themselves. Grades help to motivate you from day to day, but they are only small, artificial steps to your ultimate goal. It would be wrong to set grades as your only ambition. A textbook like this cannot motivate you; that must come from yourself, But as an encouragement, It 11 useful to know that good study habits depend upon good motivation. Good study habits are important because they help you finish more quickly. It is not a matter of how much you study; how well you study is more valuable. Concentration To concentrate means to focus your attention clearly and completely on a purpose. This is very easy to do when you are interested in what you are doing; it is difficult to, do it when you are not especially interested. your education you may have to study some subjects that do not interest you or that do not seem to have any value, Nevertheless, they are subjects that must be studied and passed. It is helpful to realize that any subject u of interest and value. Many people have found it interesting and have even made a career in the subject. It is you who has no interest. How can you develop interest? First, think of how and why the subject is important to your general education. Physics may not seem interesting ·to you, but if you want to understand space exploration, a little physics will be helpful. Biology may not seem interesting to you, but if you are curious about the anatomy and function of your body, a little biology will be useful. The extent and variety of your interests help you to understand the modem world and to measure your growth as an educated, well-rounded person. Second, think of how the subject is related to other subjects or to other times, places, problems, and purposes. Although your study schedule is broken into separate and individual courses, you are not learning isolated information or ideas. Ancient history has some relationship to current events; physics and philosophy are closely connected in many ways; mathematics is useful in economics; psychology and sociology are reflected in literature. A subject that does not seem interesting in itself may be very interesting about other subjects. Third, interest depends upon understanding. If you do not understand the rules of baseball or cricket, you cannot have much interest in watching the game. But if you take time and trouble to learn the rules, you may find it an exciting sport. When you begin to study 11 new subjects, try to keep an open mind. Do not start by thinking the subject is boring or difficult. Most of all, do not fall behind in your preparation, reading. classwork, and homework. When you fail to learn one point of information, all of the following information that depends on you will not be dear to you. Bec11u1e you do not understand, you will lose whatever interest you may have started well. To maintain l11ttwe1t and < whid1 you do not understand Distractions Even though you are interested in a subject, you may find that your concentration is interrupted by various distractions. A distraction is something, such as a sudden noise, or someone, such as an unexpected visitor, that takes your attention away from what you are doing. You have no control over some distractions, but you can control others. You can eliminate some distractions by ch001lng your place and time of study carefully. You can eliminate other distractions by keeping in good health. A tired feeling that results from a poor diet or from staying up too late makes it difficult to concentrate. If your eyes tire easily, or if you have headaches after concentrated reading, it may mean that you should have your eyes examined. Your physical health is important to good study habits. Your Place of Study In order to study' efficiently, you need to have a place that is always, and only, used for studying. Ideally, this should be your desk in your private room. If you share a room with someone else, you will have to try even harder than usual not to be distracted. Your desk should be neat and cleared of anything that distracts your attention, such as photographs, personal letters, magazines, and especially a radio. All the materials that you need for study should be within easy reach: textbooks, notebooks, a dictionary, a slide rule, pens, and pencils. On the left of your desk ( or on your right if you are left-handed) should be a good lamp that lights your work without shadows. Because your desk is your private place of study, it should not he used for any other purpose. Even for reading the daily newspaper or a long awaited letter, go elsewhere. When you come to your desk, it should suggest nothing but academic work. Unfortunately, your place of study, at home or in a dormitory, may sometimes noisy. Also there is the occasional need to be hospitable to friends who visit. Many students, therefore, prefer to study in the library. This too has its disturbances and distractions. They are fewer, however, than if you try to study while sitting on a campus bench, walking along the road, or passing the time with friends in the cafeteria. Your Time of Study The most difficult rules of studying is to set a definite schedule and then follow it. This is difficult to do because, besides the usual distractions anti temptations, there are often unexpected interruptions. Nevertheless, if you are really interested in studying well, try to follow the rule: Plan your work and work your plan. There are enough hours in the day for fun and relaxation as well as for studying, but you may not get it all done unless you plan your time. If you do not have a time-table to keep you on · schedule, you may waste your time. This means that your homework assignments will accumulate. The longer you wait, the more homework there will be. The more homework there is, the less you feel like starting it. The longer you take to start, the more homework there will be. Clearly it is not sensible to allow your homework to accumulate. Plan a study schedule. The kind of study schedule you plan will depend upon your class schedule, your school and social activities, and the tune that you eat and sleep. The exact distribution of time is not important. What is important is that you make a schedule that is realistic, one that takes into consideration your other activities, and your own needs for each subject. Of even more important,, of course, is that you follow your schedule regularly. Before you plan a time-table for studying, analyze your weekly class schedule. Count the number of class hours for each subject, and the number of hours that will be necessary to complete the outside assignments. Here are some important points to keep in mind: 1. Be realistic. Schedule for leisure time those times that you usually use for leisure. 2. For courses which depend largely on recitation (such u languages), plan a study period just before class. For example, in the evening before your English class, read the assignment, check your comprehension, and record any vocabulary you do not know. Then plan time just before class to review the reading and vocabulary. If the assignment is a composition, write it as soon as possible, then review and possibly revise it just before class. This kind of thorough preparation will give you confidence in class and increase your interest In the material. 3. For courses that depend largely on lectures, plan a study period immediately after the class. However, if there is an outside reading assignment, do the reading before the lecture. This will make the material more meaningful, and, because it will be familiar, you will be able to make better notes. Then immediately after the lecture, plan to revise your notes while the material is still fresh in your mind. This kind of review will also help when examination time comes. 4. Many courses use both a lecture and recitation method of instruction. You have to plan or revise your schedule accordingly. 5. Distribute your study hours rather than mass them all together, Experiments have shown that leaning Is more effective, if you space your practice. For example, three separate one-hour study periods are better than three solid hours of uninterrupted study, It is also better not to study a single subject for more than several hours at a time. You begin to tire and it becomes difficult to concentrate, Plan a short break during each hour, and change the subject you are studying. 6. Do not expect to learn material during the last few days before an examination by cramming. Somewhere in your schedule allow time for a weekly review. During short, regularly spaced periods of review, you can refresh your memory and bring yourself up to date. More important, you will see the subject as a larger unit of related information instead of a single hour of isolated material. 7. Plan to spend at least two hours on outside preparation for each hour in class. This is a minimum requirement, and it assumes that you reaci English as well as a native speaker. You probably read much more slowly; therefore, your assignments are likely to require more time than this minimum. 8. Most important of all: "Trade time, don't steal it." Naturally there will be unexpected events which will interrupt the time you planned for study. When this happens, rearrange your schedule so that the time is substituted elsewhere and not completely lost.