Ask Teacher Joe

Question: Dear Teacher Joe, here is my question. When is the best time to learn English? I want to know if I should study in the morning, in the afternoon, or in the evening. Thank you so much for your answer. From Liu Tao in Beijing Normal University.

Answer: Hello Miss Liu. This is a very interesting question. The first thing you should think about is your own preference. Are you a "morning person" who is very active the first thing in the morning? If so, then maybe you should study English early in the morning, as soon as you get up. On the other hand, you might be a "night owl" who comes to life after the sun goes down. If that is true, then maybe it would be better to study in the evening.

Whenever you decide to study, it's always better to study at least a little bit every day. Some students try to study very intensively one or two days per week, but that is not such a good plan. For example some students will study for three hours on Monday and then again for three hours on Friday, for a total of six hours. Unfortunately, they usually forget what they learned on the other days. It would be better to study only 30 minutes a day, but to do it every day of the week, which would be a total of four and a half hours. Even though it's less time, you will remember more because it is fresh in your mind every day.

Some of my more successful students have a unique idea. They think it's best to study twice a day. They study late at night, before going to bed. If they do it every night, they start to dream in English. They think it helps the English to sink into their brains more deeply. They also like to study English the first thing in the morning. This helps them get started "on the right foot", and they can learn even more during the day.