Hi teacher, I'm Xiao Nan, an internet operation specialist. I usually get off work after 9 PM, and can't spare long blocks of time to study. I want to stick to speaking English every day but I can never keep it up, what should I do?
I got this message from student Xiao Nan last week, and this is actually the question I get asked the most. People always think you need to set aside one or two full hours to learn English, prepare all materials and take notes, you can only learn well when you have full sense of ritual. But for most working adults, it's hard to even get 30 minutes of undistracted time, let alone stick to it every day.
01First: Common Misconceptions of Practicing Oral English in Fragmented Time
Many people think fragmented time can only be used for memorizing words and brushing up on short sentences, but that's underestimating what you can do with fragmented time. I've seen so many students spend months memorizing words on their commute, but still can't open their mouth when they meet foreigners, all because they fell for these mistakes:
- Use all fragmented time for input, no arrangement for speaking practice at all
- Force yourself to study, then reward yourself with half an hour of phone scrolling after 10 minutes of learning, super low efficiency
- Always wait until you have a full hour to book a tutor class, end up not booking a single class for half a month
Frankly speaking, the core advantage of fragmented time is "high frequency", not "learning a lot". We once tested 3 common paths of learning English in fragmented time for working adults, the only plans that people can stick to are the ones that don't require willpower, that you can do whenever you have time.
02Practical Plan to Stick to Speaking English Daily With Fragmented Time
Many people ask me how to practice spoken English in the most time-saving way, there are actually two core points: high frequency, open your mouth. We tracked over 100 Campus Top students who stuck to learning for 6 months, summed up this fragmented time plan fit for all working adults, you don't need to make complicated plans, just follow it:
- 5 minutes preview: On your commute, or while waiting for your coffee, open the app to go over the core vocabulary and topics for the day's class, you don't need to memorize them, just get a general idea
- 25-minute high-frequency short lesson: Find a relatively quiet place (your office booth, milk tea shop during lunch break, even on a business trip high-speed train) to take the one-on-one foreign teacher class, speak the whole time, the teacher will correct your pronunciation and expression anytime
- 3 minutes review: Before bed, go through the class recording and notes given by the teacher, write down the practical expressions you learned that day in your phone memo, flip through it when you have time
To put it simply, the best part of this plan is you don't need to find teaching materials or set progress by yourself. Our courses customized with Karen Method fit exactly the 25-minute time span where most people have the highest concentration, you won't get too tired, and you won't have unfinished content. I personally recommend you fix your class time at the same slot every day, like 12:30 after lunch, once you form the habit you don't need willpower to force yourself to learn at all.
The essence of learning spoken English is not to save up enough knowledge before you speak, but to speak enough times, then you will naturally get good at it.
Xiao Lin, who works in foreign trade, used this plan, took classes every noon during lunch break, and after 3 months he can already hold 1-hour coordination meetings with overseas clients independently. He said he always thought he had to memorize all business English vocabulary first before he dared to speak, but after taking classes he realized learning while speaking is way more efficient than memorizing by yourself. All our tutors are full-time teachers based in our Manila physical campus, they understand the pronunciation difficulties of Chinese students, and will adjust topics according to your industry, no useless small talk in class.
03How to Ensure the Effect of One-on-One Spoken English Classes
Many students worry that taking classes in fragmented time is too scattered, and the learning effect won't be good. Actually you just need to do these two things: First, try to fix your tutor. You can check the introduction of our full-time tutor team in advance, choose a teacher who fits your industry background and you feel comfortable talking to, you don't need to introduce yourself every time, and the teacher will remember your weak points clearly, adjust content accordingly. Second, don't be afraid of making mistakes. The 25-minute class is for you to try and make mistakes, the teacher will correct you when you say something wrong, you will get it right next time, it's way better than not daring to open your mouth at all.
We have been doing adult spoken English teaching for 10 years, we know your pain point very well: It's not that you don't want to learn, it's that you really don't have that many long blocks of time. To stick to speaking English every day never means you have to study for two hours every day, it means using the fragmented time you would have wasted anyway, speak English for 25 minutes every day, you will see obvious changes after 3 months.
If you are not sure if this model fits you, you can book a free trial class, feel the rhythm of the 25-minute short lesson, it costs nothing, just try it and you will know if it works for you.
