This term is coming to an end. Do you have a good time at school? Do you have any regrets? Do you want to do differently and better next term? Here is some     1     for you to prepare yourself better for the next school year.

Go to class every day. When you miss a day, or even a class, it’s easy to fall behind. The best way to stay with the development of the class is to be there! If you have to miss a class,     2     sure you meet with your teacher to find out what you missed. Also, listen carefully and take notes in class. Don’t write down     3    , just the main points.

Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Believe it or not, most teachers want you to learn and they are always there to help you. If you are not brave enough to ask questions in front of the class, go to talk to the teacher     4     class.

Take your homework seriously. Like it or not, homework is an     5     part of school. There’s not much you can do to get around it. Make it a habit to do your homework at the same time every day. If p    6    , you can find a study partner and do homework with him or her.

Try new things and make new friends. Try a new sport, something you think you will be good at. If you don’t want to play it alone, choose a sports club     7    . Just keep in touch with your old friends, and make some new ones, too. Making friends with someone is easier when you join a club.

Remember, it’s up to you to decide h    8     you are going to spend your next school year. Make full use of it while you can!

2 . This is just an example of Li Hua’s English self-study schedule (自学时间表) for one week. It is very important for you to practice listening, speaking, reading and writing.

4 . A good way to pass an exam is to work hard every day in a year. You may fail in an exam if you are lazy for most of the year and then work hard only a few days before the exam. If you want to be good at English, you have to read stories in English, and to speak English as much as possible. A few days before the exam you should go to bed early. Do not go to bed late at night studying. Before you start answering in the exam, and try to understand the meaning of each question. When you have finished your exam, read over your answers. Correct the mistakes if there are any and be sure that you don’t miss anything out.

9 . Did you know that vocabulary is more important than grammar? If you have good vocabulary, you can communicate successfully, even if the grammar is not completely perfect.

However, one common problem is learning new words and then forgetting them. So when you want to use a new word in a conversation, you can’t remember it at that moment. Does this often happen to you? The reason for this difficulty is that most students try to learn vocabulary by studying lists and dictionaries and remembering the words. But it may not work if you don’t have a very good memory.

The best way to learn vocabulary and remember the words well, is to learn new words and use them at once.

You can do this with a very simple exercise. Every time you learn a new word, for example, from an English lesson or an article, write it down in your vocabulary notebook. Writing is more active than just reading a definition. You should write the word, the definition in English or translation, one example sentence from the article or dictionary and one example sentence that you create.

Imagine you just learn the word “generous”, write in your vocabulary notebook: generous (adjective), definition—giving or willing to give freely. Example one, from the article: Thanks for paying for my dinner, you’re very generous. Example two, my example: My brother is generous because he volunteers at the animal shelter on weekends. It’s best if your example sentences are true to your life, because this creates a personal connection with the new word. The next day, read your vocabulary notebook again and try to add one more example sentence using the new word. It’s helpful for you to remember it. These two simple steps—writing the word and using it at once—help you remember and use new words.

Do you have a vocabulary notebook? If not, start now.

Meimei is a girl from a village far away. It has been some months _____ she moved to the city. The government sent her to the local junior high school. The students there are warm and friendly, but she still has difficulties at school, especially in English learning. She sat in _____ at the English class. She refused to do group work, only watching others without a word. Soon the teacher found this and asked her the reasons. Meimei is such an _____ girl and she told the teacher what she thought. She haven’t learned _____ language before. She _____ not speak English because she is afraid of making mistakes. English seems far _____ her ability. Besides, she will not have chance to go to other countries. The teacher _____ why we Chinese should learn English well. For instance, English is a good tool to know the outside world. The teacher also gave her some advice on _____ to learn English well, like previewing before class or singing English songs. She has studied hard from then on. Now Meimei can pronounce the words _____. The teacher _____ her change. She hopes that Meimei can make great progress.