Are you a winner? (part 1)

This training course is called English for Winners, and before you delve into it, we should find out together if it is for you.

Do you want to be a winner? Most English learners are unhappy with their English ability. If you ask the average English learner to assess his/her skills, you're very likely to get one of these answers:

• "I studied English at school for more than 5 years, but my English is not so good."
• "I speak a little English, but I think it's just 'school English'."
• "I understand it a little, but I can't speak it fluently."
• "My grammar is very bad. I've often tried to learn the grammar rules, but they're too complicated for me."
• "I had good school grades in English but I still can't speak it very well."

These are typical complaints, and they make it clear that very few learners are really happy with the quality of their English skills. Most of them realize that their efforts are not yielding the results they had hope for during the course of their studies. But, instead of changing their strategies and trying to find the right learning methods and techniques, they simply give up. They think that they "just don't have a talent for learning languages".

The winners, however, are those English learners who have taken control of their own programs. They know that acquiring English is an ongoing process. It is something that happens every day - day in and day out. They also understand that when it comes to learning English, any progress is success.

Dear Listener, since you have obtained this audio program, you have already shown that you belong to this rare category of winners. Of course, the title of the program is rather provocative and raises the question ‘how you would describe somebody who is not a winner?’ Is the opposite of a winner a loser? I would never use such a negative term because, after all, it is you who decides what you really are.

We'll soon take a closer look at how winners learn English, but right now let's find out what it takes to be a winner.