Lessons in Fruit Picking
09/09/18 Filed in: 勉強法
As I write this, it’s blueberry season, and many of our students have been off picking blueberries. Fruit picking can be a beautiful and delightful experience, filled with lots of fun and eating! In fact, there are several insights we can gain from it that apply to studying English.
Starting and planting
For farmers, the start of the planting season can be the most challenging. It requires lots of patience—turning the soil, sowing seeds and then seeing very little for weeks perhaps.
Yet, it is also this time that is the most important. That first step—to start, to try, to begin—makes all the difference.
Learning English is similar.
Patience and persistence: Make it grow!
Learning a language is like planting a seed. It takes time to grow, yet if you deligently work on it, you will see results in due time.
Many fields look barren during the early stages of a new growing season. Still, farmers must have faith that everything will eventually bear fruit. So they carefully tend their crop—providing fertilizer, water, tending the seedlings when necessary, and checking for pests.
Even if you think nothing is happening with your English skills, keep at it. Devote time to study and practice, and trust that all will go well.
Great things take time.
Consistency and commitment
Perhaps at one point, you considered giving up learning English, as it seemed too daunting, progress was too slow, or it seemed that you had come to a standstill.
The farmer doesn’t water the plants one day and then stop the next just because nothing is coming out of the ground. He is consistent and committed. He performs mundane tasks everyday, knowing well that his discipline will yield marvelous results.
Put in the hours and don’t get discouraged. Learning English is like raising crops—nothing will happen overnight. Constantly practice, practice, practice. Consistency and commitment are keys to a fruitful harvest.
Working hard and having fun at the same time
Most people remember fruit picking as a fun learning experience.
There are proper ways to pluck strawberries or blueberries off the plant without damaging them—and all these can be learned with fun and laughter.
Learning is greatly enhanced when it’s fun and playful. Study diligently, but don’t forget to relax. Lighten up, laugh and enjoy yourself as you navigate the workings of the English language. Connect with your classmates, and use these opportunities to build relationships that can last a lifetime.
Life is too short to be super-serious all the time—and this certainly applies to both fruit-picking and English.
So have a piece of cake, enjoy a chuckle or two, pick some fruit and have fun learning English.
Starting and planting
For farmers, the start of the planting season can be the most challenging. It requires lots of patience—turning the soil, sowing seeds and then seeing very little for weeks perhaps.
Yet, it is also this time that is the most important. That first step—to start, to try, to begin—makes all the difference.
Learning English is similar.
Patience and persistence: Make it grow!
Learning a language is like planting a seed. It takes time to grow, yet if you deligently work on it, you will see results in due time.
Many fields look barren during the early stages of a new growing season. Still, farmers must have faith that everything will eventually bear fruit. So they carefully tend their crop—providing fertilizer, water, tending the seedlings when necessary, and checking for pests.
Even if you think nothing is happening with your English skills, keep at it. Devote time to study and practice, and trust that all will go well.
Great things take time.
Consistency and commitment
Perhaps at one point, you considered giving up learning English, as it seemed too daunting, progress was too slow, or it seemed that you had come to a standstill.
The farmer doesn’t water the plants one day and then stop the next just because nothing is coming out of the ground. He is consistent and committed. He performs mundane tasks everyday, knowing well that his discipline will yield marvelous results.
Put in the hours and don’t get discouraged. Learning English is like raising crops—nothing will happen overnight. Constantly practice, practice, practice. Consistency and commitment are keys to a fruitful harvest.
Working hard and having fun at the same time
Most people remember fruit picking as a fun learning experience.
There are proper ways to pluck strawberries or blueberries off the plant without damaging them—and all these can be learned with fun and laughter.
Learning is greatly enhanced when it’s fun and playful. Study diligently, but don’t forget to relax. Lighten up, laugh and enjoy yourself as you navigate the workings of the English language. Connect with your classmates, and use these opportunities to build relationships that can last a lifetime.
Life is too short to be super-serious all the time—and this certainly applies to both fruit-picking and English.
So have a piece of cake, enjoy a chuckle or two, pick some fruit and have fun learning English.
Claire