Today in my tennis class, I got bored of practicing the same stroke again and
again that I started asking my coach when could I move on to the next level. He
told me that I needed to practice it for at least a couple of months before I could
move on and it might even take a couple of years to start playing the game. For
a few moments, I felt it was too long a time and if I would be able to sustain
my interest in the game for so long. As I was brooding over, suddenly I realized
the importance of practice.
In a language class at inlingua, there is so much practice that
happens, that by the end of the class the learners would have mastered the
structure so well that as soon as they step out of the class, without their conscious
knowledge, they start using the language items they have newly learnt. In the
class, the presentation stage lasts only for a few minutes and the rest of the time
is spent in controlled practice and free practice. There are times when the
learners keep practicing a single structure for the entire duration of the
class without ever getting bored and use the same structure to produce infinite
number of sentences. The same structures are also used in a fair number of situations
while conversing. This method of learning languages is time tested and proven
successful all over the world. I’ve personally seen how beautifully this method
works and how it transforms people in just 48 hours. Suddenly, the importance of
PRACTICE dawned on me and it struck me like lightning!
With a new euphoria I now started playing. I practiced
and practiced and loved the way that the ball could be placed at different
spots with every strike, just like the way infinite number of sentences could
be weaved with the help of finite number of structures in any language. I could
see the change in myself and the way I was playing changed and of course, it
did not go unnoticed by the coaches, who by now were ready to give me more tips
to move on. Practice indeed makes a man perfect!!
- Savitha Reddy
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