ABA Journal The digital English academy
What’s up ABA friends!
If you’re a workaholic or frequent business traveller who find that you don’t have a lot of time to fit any studying in, then today’s blog post is for you. We are going to look at different methods that you can adopt to ensure that you never miss a day of studying, whether you’re at the office or on your way to a meeting in Singapore.
In the car
If you have a long drive ahead of you because you need to go to another city in a different state for a business meeting then make good use of your time.
This is the ideal situation to play English music and grammar podcasts on the radio in the car. In terms of making good use of your time, this is one of the best that you could possibly make. Not only does it give you a long uninterrupted opportunity to just listen to English to improve your understanding, but it’s also a two birds with one stone scenario because you are also on your way to your business meeting.
On a plane
If your boss advises you that you need to fly to another country to close a business deal for the company, it’s only natural that you will be preparing yourself for the meeting on the plane making sure that you know what you are going to say in order to get the deal but you can also study. We are not advising studying for the whole flight but we do recommend studying for at least one hour during your 8 hour flight from Minneapolis to London. If you have a laptop with you then this is perfect as most international air carriers now offer wifi services on long-haul international flights meaning that you can practise literally whenever you want and wherever you are.
Waiting for a colleague to arrive
If you find yourself early for a meeting or a lunch meeting and you are waiting for your customer to arrive then why not make great use of that time! Nowadays, anyone with a smartphone has access to a wealth of information at their fingertips. At ABA English we have free grammar podcasts available and each one usually only lasts around 3 minutes which is ideal for a quick grammar reminder on the go.
Before bed
Although you may be exhausted from jetlag after a long flight or several hours of gruelling meetings, even if you make just 5 or 10 minutes before going to sleep to read in English will make a difference. In fact some people think 5 minutes here or there won’t make a difference but in actual fact a build up of 5 or 10 minutes every day or every few days will be much better for you than trying to study for 2 hours once a week. This is due to the fact that you are reviewing more often which in turn makes it easier to retain the information as it is seen on a more regular basis.
Read the Financial Times
If you are away on an important trip to secure a good deal for your company, it’s still a good idea to keep up to date with current affairs. Here at ABA we suggest reading the news in English on your way to that important meeting. In particular if you are a businessperson then you may be interested in the financial markets so the newspaper the Financial Times would be a great broadsheet for you to read in the morning but do be aware that the vocabulary can be difficult.
So, will you make sure you find the time to study?
Having all these ideas are good are great but they are only worth something if you actually make an effort to put them into practice. Improving your level will come with the work you put into it but if you are willing to find the time then rest assured that your level will improve.
If you’d like to continue learning English, sign up to our course! It’s completely free and you will be able to access all our grammar video classes and the first complete unit of every level from the very beginning.
