Are you a good language learner?

Try a quiz to find out how good you are

1.  Do you like working

a.  with other learners in pairs or groups? 

b.  on your own/alone?                

   

2.  During the lesson, are you usually  

a.  relaxed and comfortable?

b.  anxious and uncomfortable?            

3.  While speaking English, are you

a.  confident and relaxed?   

b.  inhibited & shy?             

4.Do you

a.  look for opportunities to use English in and out of class? or

b.  forget all about English when you leave school?     

 5. Do you

a.  prefer not to worry about grammar rules? or

b.  worry about grammar so much that you can’t speak?      

 6. Do you

a.  Keep a well-organised notebook from which you can revise easily? or

b.  often have to ask your friends for their notes?    

7.  Are you

a.  Aware of your own mistakes? or

b.  Unaware of your mistakes ?      

8.  Are you

a.  Able to notice others’ mistakes? or

b.  unable to spot them?              

9. Do you feel

a.  relaxed about making mistakes? or

b.  worried about making mistakes?    

10. Do you

a.  recognise similarities and differences in language or

b.  is this difficult  for you?         

11. Do you learn better 

a.   by seeing words and pictures or by listening to the language or

b.  is this a mystery to you?                                       

12. How do you feel about learning English?

a.  You enjoy it  

b.  You hate  it

13.   Do you 

a.  enjoy participating in classroom activities or

b.  do you prefer to just watch and listen?        

14.   Do you prefer

a.  challenging activities or

b.  easier activities?      

15.   Do you prefer to

a.  experiment with language or

b.  repeat only sentences you were taught?         

16.   Are you 

a.  prepared to take risks or

b.  do you avoid  risks and prefer to be safe?       

17.   Are you 

a.  prepared to be playful and not serious or

b.  are you afraid of appearing foolish?            

18.   To understand a message do you feel

a.  Comfortable if you don’t know all the words or

b.  Uncomfortable unless you know all the words

19.    Do you attempt to communicate orally

a.  even if you don’t know every single word, or

b.  only when know all the words  

20.   Do you 

a.  feel comfortable in your new class or

b.  miss your previous teacher and fellow students?         

21.Are your feelings towards native English speakers

a.  positive?

b.  negative?

22.    Are you

a.  an adolescent/adult or

b.  a younger or very young learner?     

23.   Do you know if you are

 a. an analytical learner or 

 b. not sure of what type of learner you are?         

24.   Are you better at

a. listening or
b. reading? 

Your Score 

Quite obviously, the more a answers you have managed to collect, the closer you tend to be to the ideal profile of the Good Language Learner. Most Good Language Learners average a score of about 70%.  If you have scored more than 90%, well then, you are a rare creature indeed!

If you did not score high

If your score is less than the Good Learner average, identify the areas of difficulty and plan a course of action for yourself.

For instance, if you answered B for Question 24, make it a point of training yourself to be a better listener by listening to more tapes, switching regularly to watching English speaking TV  channels, You Tube videos and films, listening to TED talks on topics of interest.

 Good Language Learner Characteristics

Good Language Learners …

• Can work well with others in the class/group/team
• Will not feel pressure or anxious about learning a foreign language
• Never feel  shy or inhibited about using L2
• Look for every available opportunity to use the target language in and out of class
• Make a point of listening to, understanding and responding to spoken English without worrying too much about grammar or unknown vocabulary
• Are keen on using study techniques such as word trees/networks, mind maps, etc which are likely to involve attention to form
• Will usually be adolescents or adults rather than children
• Are analytical enough to notice, categorise and store features of language and its regularities
• Are usually aware of their own and others’ mistakes
• Are motivated towards foreign language learning
• Are motivated through tasks which are involving and challenging
• Are prepared to experiment by taking risks
• Are not afraid of appearing foolish
• Have a high degree of tolerance for ambiguity, unknown words, etc
• Can easily adapt to new/different learning conditions and environments
• Are usually  very good listeners and can acquire through listening
• Are also (usually) high achievers in other fields of education

Quiz
This quiz is copied directly from Marisa Constantinides' TEFL Matters blog . All thanks are due to her for compiling the quiz questions.