1 . You may study differently from your friends, but your study habits are not wrong!

Kelly and Maria are best friends with a lot in common. They love doing things together, such as going to movies and concerts, shopping, or just sitting at a small cafe. Since they take a lot of the same school subjects, they would love to study together, but they find this impossible. Their working styles are so completely different that they can’t be in the same room when they are studying!

Kelly would like to study in a clean, open space, when Maria works best with books, papers and other things around her. Kelly prefers to study in a totally tranquil room, but Maria loves to play music or even have the TV on. Kelly can sit for hours without moving, and often gets all her homework done in one sitting. Maria, however, is always getting up, and says that she thinks best when she’s on the move.

You might be asking yourself: which way of studying gets better results? Many people think that a silent, tidy environment is the way to go, ________. Some study has even shown that outside noise and untidiness help some people focus (聚焦) their attention, because it makes them form a “wall” in their mind around what they are doing and improves their focus.

So, if you’re used to studying at a busy shopping center, don’t worry about it. If you work in total silence, that’s OK, too. According to Kelly’s and Maria’s study habits, we can know that the best way to study is the way that works for you. In their very different ways, both of them do well in school, and both finish their work within the required time as well.

3 . We did a survey about study in our school. 73% of the students prefer hands-on (动手的) projects while the rest think tests are better for learning. Here are four students’ ideas.

Everyone is born with the ability to learn. But whether or not you can do this well depends on your learning habits.     1    

Create an interest in what they learn.

Studies show that if you are interested in something, your brain is more active.

    2     Good learners often connect what they need to learn with something they are interested in. For example, if they need to learn English and they like music or sports, they can listen to English songs or watch sports programmes in English. This way they will not get bored.

    3    

Good learners think about what they are good at and what they need to practise more. Remember, “use it or lose it”! Even if you learn something well, you will forget it unless you use it. Good learners are also not afraid of making mistakes. Alexander Graham Bell did not invent the telephone overnight. He succeeded by trying many times and learning from his mistakes.

Develop their study skills.

It is not enough to just study hard. You have to know how to study.     4     For example, they may take notes by writing down key words or by drawing mind maps. Good learners also look for ways to review what they have learned.

Ask questions.

Good learners often ask questions during or after class.     5     Knowledge comes from questioning.

6 . Most students feel it difficult to remember new words when they begin to study English. Now I will give you some advice.

First, do not waste time in learning a list of English words. It is the hardest way to remember English words. How do you learn to speak Chinese? You did it by listening carefully to the people talking to each other. You can find radio programs, TV programs and records, and listen to them carefully. The best way to learn all new words is through ear. As you listen to more and more dialogues, you will learn how English is pronounced in phrases and sentences. Of course, it is not enough to learn new words. You must learn how words are put together, and why some in English are emphasized.

Second, some people have found that they can learn the names of everything such as box, bottle, cup, desk and so on, in the following way. They write the names of objects on paper and put the paper on them. They say the words. Try this and see if this way works for you. If it does not, then go on to practice your dialogue.

7 . 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 successfully 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.