You can spend hours studying English and still feel stuck when you take a practice test. Perhaps the vocabulary looks familiar, but you cannot recognise it in a recording. Perhaps you understand a grammar explanation, then choose the wrong answer under pressure.
Understanding how you learn is useful because it helps you spot these gaps. The aim is to discover which activities improve your performance—and which simply make you feel busy.
Do you have a fixed learning style?
You may prefer watching demonstrations, listening to explanations or writing notes. Those preferences can make studying more enjoyable. However, the popular idea that everyone has a fixed visual, auditory or kinaesthetic learning style, and learns best when teaching matches it, lacks convincing supporting evidence. A major review found insufficient evidence to justify that approach in education. Pashler and colleagues, Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence.
You do not need to abandon diagrams or audio lessons. You need to choose them for a purpose. A timeline might clarify a tense relationship; a recording lets you practise recognising that tense in speech.
Identify the problem behind the wrong answer
Consider this original practice sentence:
We have worked with this supplier ___ 2022.
A. for · B. since · C. during · D. by
The answer is B, since, because 2022 is a starting point. “For” introduces a duration, such as “for four years”.
If you chose “for”, ask why. Did you forget the rule? Misread the date? Rush? Each explanation suggests a different next step.
| What happened? | A useful next activity |
|---|---|
| You did not understand the grammar | Review a short explanation, then write two examples. |
| You understood it but could not recall it | Answer fresh questions without looking at your notes. |
| You missed the phrase in a recording | Listen, check the transcript, then listen again without it. |
| You answered correctly only without a timer | Add short timed sets after building accuracy. |
These are suggested practice activities, not a diagnostic classification system.
Test your memory and return to the material
Research reviewing common study techniques rated practice testing and distributed practice—spreading study over time—as particularly useful. This supports doing more than repeatedly reading the same notes. Dunlosky and colleagues, Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques.
A practical approach is to study a small topic, close the explanation and answer questions from memory. Return to it later with different examples. Getting the same memorised question right is less informative than applying the rule to something unfamiliar.
A short routine you can actually maintain
Try this twenty-minute session:
- Spend five minutes recalling yesterday’s vocabulary or grammar without notes.
- Spend eight minutes answering fresh questions on one priority skill.
- Spend five minutes explaining your errors and correcting them.
- Spend two minutes deciding what to revisit next time.
This is a suggested routine, not a scientifically prescribed timetable. Adapt it to your concentration and schedule.
For listening, include actual audio. For reading, practise extracting meaning from texts. For a writing or speaking goal, produce answers and obtain useful feedback. A preferred learning activity should support the skill you need to demonstrate.
Measure improvement with fresh questions
Keep a simple record: the question type, why you missed it and what happened when you tried a new example later. Look for improvements in both accuracy and timing.
Your study method is working when you can use English more reliably—not just recognise a page you have highlighted three times.
Start with a BeFluent mini test: TOEIC, Bright English, Linguaskill or IELTS General Training. Use it as a starting point for practice, rather than an official certification of your level.