I recently received a message from Ash, who works in cross-border operations. She said she signed up for classes hoping to practice English every day, but after just 10 days, a busy work week made her take a two-week break. She felt too intimidated to pick it back up, and asked if there was any way to do this without forcing herself.

01I checked 3 months of student check-in records, and found 80% of dropouts aren't caused by laziness

All the persistent students I work with share one common trait: they never beat themselves up for missing 2 days of practice, they just treat that day as an accident and move on.

A lot of people feel like missing one day means all their previous effort was wasted, but that's totally unnecessary. You wouldn't quit your diet just because you ate hot pot for one meal, right? It's the same with learning English. Missing a day or two won't ruin your overall progress. Our foreign teachers based at our physical Manila campus often say that the biggest mistake adult English learners make is perfectionism. Even if you're only in the mood to say 3 words that day, that's way better than giving up entirely.

02The core of sticking to daily English practice is lowering the barrier as much as possible

The advice I give to all students who are struggling to keep going is super simple:

  • If you don't have the energy for a full class that day, just read 3 sample sentences from your teacher out loud for 10 seconds, that counts as completing your practice
  • Book your classes in advance for fixed times, like during your commute or when you usually scroll on your phone before bed, so you don't have to plan it every time
  • Allow yourself 3 "easy practice" passes a month, no guilt required

For example, Xiao Zhou, who works in admin, books her classes for the 25 minutes she spends wearing a face mask after washing her face every night. Since she can't move her face much anyway, it's the perfect time to practice speaking English, and she's kept this up for 8 months without even noticing. If you're not sure how to structure your practice time, follow these 3 tested steps from long-time students, no need to figure it out on your own. Many students say the effect of one-on-one speaking classes is way better than practicing on their own, because you have a teacher keeping you engaged—even if you're not feeling motivated, they'll pull you into the conversation so you don't drop off entirely. Our courses are designed with the Callan Method, which fits this fast, low-pressure learning rhythm perfectly, so you don't get extra burden.

03You don't have to treat learning English as a mandatory KPI

Honestly, I don't agree with the idea that "you have to study at least an hour a day or you're wasting your money". Adults have so many random things going on, being able to squeeze in 25 minutes is already great. Spoken English practice is a slow process. Even if you only take 3 classes a week, that's way better than cramming for a week and then stopping for 6 months. You're learning English to use it, not to post check-ins on social media for other people to see, so don't put so much pressure on yourself.

If you're also stuck struggling to stick to daily English practice, feel free to book a free trial class to feel the rhythm for yourself—you won't know if it works for you until you try.