I want to invite you to reflect on something. What do you think is keeping you from becoming
the English speaker that you have always dreamed of being? what is it? Is it a vocabulary problem?
Do you feel you can't remember words quickly and easily? Is it a grammar problem? You feel
insecure that you often make grammar mistakes and you're never sure that what you're saying
is correct? Is it your pronunciation or your lack of speaking opportunities?
Whatever it is there's a solution to all of these problems and I'm here to tell you about it so
that you can finally achieve fluency that you are proud of. So in this lesson we'll talk about your
mindset and how it determines whether you're ready for success or crippled by your fear of failure.
Mastering the English language is an adventure that contains many challenges along the way.
In this lesson we're going to talk about your mindset in the face of these challenges that you
encounter on your journey to lifelong English fluency. Mindset is your general attitude and
the way which you think about things and make decisions. Your mindset will determine whether
you succeed or fail in anything you do. Trust me I know how you feel learning a foreign language. I'm
a language learner myself. Not only have I learned about this topic but I've taught it in schools and
the effects are incredible. The growth and fixed mindset concept was pioneered by Carol Dweck
a Stanford professor and author of Mindset The New Psychology of Success. She distinguishes two
types of mindset that we can cultivate. One that embraces problems as opportunities to learn and
one that avoids them often out of fear to fail. Those who see problems as interesting challenges
have a growth mindset but those who avoid these kinds of problems have a fixed mindset. In fact we
make lessons just like this one every week so that you can understand native English, be understood
by anyone and connect to the world. Just like Moumita who says that our channels disparate to
any other because not only do we teach you English but we help you to increase your skills and keep
you motivated. So if these are some of your goals join our community by clicking the subscribe
button and the bell down below so that you don't miss any of our new lessons! So now let's
explore the dangers of a fixed mindset a little further and the power of the growth mindset.
First of all what does fixed mean? This is an adjective that we use to describe something
that's firmly fastened to a particular position. It does not move we also use this word to describe
a disapproving way ideas or opinions. If an idea or opinion is fixed it doesn't change. In a fixed
mindset a person believes that their abilities intelligence and talents are fixed traits and
cannot change. When we think through the filter of a fixed mindset we tend to be rigid in our ideas
and we seek perfection and avoid failure. How does a fixed mindset affect you as an English learner?
In extreme cases it may cause someone to give up very early in their learning journey.
They'll say something like I'm not good at English, so why even try? But in your case a fixed
mindset may cause you to avoid taking advantage of opportunities because you're afraid of failure.
You might say I can't join this conversation, they're so much more fluent than me. I don't want
to make a fool of myself. Or when you see another learner communicating effortlessly in English
a fixed mindset may cause you to think that they are obviously good learners
of languages or have a talent or of course he went on an exchange program.
While going abroad is definitely a great advantage it's not the only way to fluency. Learners with a
fixed mindset tend to see failure as limiting and a reflection of personal shortcomings.
Growth is a noun that has a very positive meaning. When we talk about personal growth
we mean the activities that a person engages in to become a better version of themselves.
People with a growth mindset believe that talent comes through effort. They believe that anyone can
be good at anything, that their abilities can be developed through determination and perseverance
and the right strategy. They believe in the power of yet. They'll say I'm not there yet which means
I have not achieved a certain level at something but one day I will. I know this because I'll work
hard for it. An English learner will say I can do it if I try hard enough and how can I learn
from my mistakes. A learner with a growth mindset usually views failure as a learning opportunity.
A challenge as a chance to grow and feedback as a constructive way to improve. When you see things
through the lenses of growth you see effort as an essential ingredient on the path to mastery. When
you see others do great things with their English you find inspiration in them and you think about
what lessons you could take from their success. This is something we often see in our Fluency
Circle which is an online community of language learners from all around the world just like you.
With the support of our team they take part in weekly challenges and connect with each other
through their common language English. When joining our Real Life Native Immersion
Course you also become part of this incredible community so you never feel alone when learning.
The best part is you can try this course for free with our Three Mini Lessons!
just click up here or down in the description box below to learn more and sign up now.
According to Carol Dweck an important factor for determining the development of either
a fixed or a growth mindset happens during childhood. How did your parents talk to you?
Did they say things like you're doing it wrong or you need to practice more
or you need to try harder. Praise is important in developing a growth mindset but only if you say
it the right way. Dweck did an experiment where a group of students were praised for their ability
and another group was praised for their effort. One group was told great work you're so smart!
The other group was told great work you must have worked really hard. Later the
group that was praised for their ability started to adopt a fixed mindset and in
subsequent tests they started to reject new challenges fearing it would expose their flaws
on the other hand the group that was praised for their efforts saw no limits in their abilities
as they knew that effort and hard work was always going to be something they would have control over
when working in schools. One of the first workshops we did as a class was on this topic
I taught children the differences between the two mindsets by doing activities based on them,
such as creating a classroom display, showcasing the different language for a growth mindset and
a fixed mindset. The results were incredible. This display in the class was a tool to use in
those challenging moments and a reminder of what the students were capable of. It was so effective
that they created displays and posted them around the school and taught the younger students how to
have more of a growth mindset and it became part of the school's culture what mindset do you have.
Well it's not like you are 100 fixed or growth oriented.
These mindsets exist in a continuum. Although we'd like to always have a growth mindset
there are always going to be traits of a fixed mindset that you have to recognize and overcome.
It might also vary depending on what you're focusing on. For example when I'm practicing my
spanish working out or trying something new those fixed mindset thoughts start to pop up in my head!
This is too hard I can't do it! I'll never be good enough! The key is to recognize these thoughts and
change your way of thinking. So instead I'll say you're getting stronger! you can do this!
I'm challenging myself and this is a great opportunity to grow.
Carol Dweck offers a four-step process to change your mindset. This can be immensely useful to
learn to identify in what areas of your life or of your English learning process a fixed mindset is
keeping you from achieving your true potential. As I walk you through the four steps I'm going to use
examples of the struggles that an English learner is likely to encounter. First you need to learn
to hear your fixed mindset voice. Think about a time when you passed on an opportunity to learn or
practice your English because you feared failure all of us have self-sabotaging tendencies at times
when we self-sabotage we do something that prevents us from achieving our goals.
If your goal is to achieve fluency in English you might sabotage that goal by deciding not to
speak because of your fear of making mistakes. So step two is to recognize that you have a choice,
although you might be tempted to avoid the situation that you're shying away from
recognize that you can combat that desire to not do what you know you should do.
Here you need to talk back to it with a growth mindset voice this is step three when your fixed
mindset says you can't do it your growth mindset responds I might not have the talent now but I
think I can learn from the time and effort. Step four is finally taking the growth mindset action.
This means taking on a new challenge persisting in the face of adversity
learning from setbacks and feedback. This is how you go from I won't do it or I can't do it
to I can do it and I will do it to finally yes I did it! If you're enjoying this lesson then
I highly recommend you check out this lesson we made on why motivation isn't important for
learning English. Just click up here or down in the description below to watch it next!
Let's do a fun activity now. I'm going to list a few tendencies one for a fixed mindset and one
for the growth mindset. You have to choose the option that corresponds to the growth mindset.
I hope you've enjoyed this lesson and are excited for the new possibilities
available to you by adopting a growth mindset. Remember just recognizing your fixed limited
thoughts is the first steps. Can you think of a positive growth mindset statement that
you will start saying today? Please share it in the comments I'd love to read them!
And now with that in mind it's time to go beyond the classroom and live your English! Aww yeah!
This means that learning new words to describe your English is a good idea don't you think?
So rather than just using the usual words like good,
bad ,beginner, intermediate and advanced today we're going to learn some more
colorful language and vocabulary that's going to help you to describe your English