Are you like a dog in front of a computer trying to learn something foreign to you?

Do you feel like a dog in front of a computer? You’re trying to learn something new but it’s foreign to you? It’s frustrating!

Be not afraid. You can learn with a little practice. Okay, so a dog will  never be able to learn from a computer screen but dogs learn with commands. If I command my dog to go to bed, she puts her head down and slowly patters off to bed. Like all dogs, at first she did not know what the command was. I would take her to the laundry where she sleeps, put her on her bed and say: ‘go to bed, good girl’ and pat her head.

Every night I would do the same thing and give her praise for any good behaviour such as walking towards the laundry. Slowly she learnt to understand my command. Now she goes to bed as soon as I say ‘go to bed’. She isn’t always happy to go to bed but she listens every time. She learnt because I praised her for her good behaviour. Dogs like praise in the form of a kind voice and pats on the head (oh and tummy rubs!). It’s not surprise that we humans like praise too.

So how can you learn and feel good about it? Here are my ideas in 5 steps:

Step 1: Get help from someone who can teach you the ‘commands’ of what you want to learn. Be taught by a teacher/tutor, the internet, the library, a book or ask a friend for help. Don’t try to learn on your own if you just don’t understand.

Step 2: Listen. Listen carefully to the commands (I guess that means listen to your teachers!). Even if you are only reading about a new idea/concept/language, you have to ‘listen with your mind’. Try to listen to what the writer is telling you to do or is saying. When you are reading and you don’t understand, get help. There are many teachers/tutors out there waiting to help you.

Step 3: Take action on what you are learning. Just as my dog goes to bed when I give her the command, you must take action when you are taught something new. Do the work (that means do your homework!) and be responsible for your own learning. You might not like it but you will feel good once you have taken action!

Step 4: Be rewarded for your good behaviour. If you have learnt one new foreign word today, feel good and be happy! It will reinforce your learning for the next time you want to learn a new word. Your brain will remember how happy you felt to learn a new word so it will want to feel happy again. The brain always wants pleasure! Praise yourself for your own good behaviour. If you can, find a learning system that rewards you and makes you want to learn more and more.

Step 5: Sleep like a dog because you’re a good person for doing what you needed to do to get ahead in your own learning.

Did you like this blog? Let me know what you think. Write a comment or Tweet me @ClickEnglish (www.twitter.com).

See you next time!

Woof!