Why study planning? To plan your studies!

I am a maniac of planners and planning. I have planners that help me organise other planners, and I even plan my time off, which really makes sense in my scheme of things! Seriously, if you need someone to plan your life for you, be it professional or not – I’m the person you’re looking for!

I mentioned that I still make short lesson plans for my classes, even though I’ve been working as an EFL teacher for 17 years already. I also encourage my students to make their own learning plans, but it’s quite difficult for them, which is quite understandable – after all, not everyone has to be a planner maniac.

My Study Planner

One of my favourite places on the net are Ania Barbarska’s Teacher’s Corner and Icebreaker, as I love using storytelling games in teaching, and you can get some really nice tools there. However, some time ago Ania shared a study plan she designed and as I’m still trying to return to my Spanish lessons (I’m hopeless, I need a teacher with no compassion), I decided to get one.

Bad news: I still haven’t started my Spanish lessons.
Good news: this study plan is so good that I want to share it with you.

Content and organisation

They say, simplicity is key – and it is definitely the case of this study planner. It’s a simple e-book divided into twelve months, from September to August. Each month starts with short tips on how to make study planning more effective (from goal setting, self-rewarding and – which is really interesting – reflection).

There you will find a motivational quote and some space to define your goal for the month, a to-do list, a proper calendar to help you monitor your progress and a self-assessment sheet (things I’ve mastered, achieved and areas to work on). And then you move on to the next month with quite a similar schedule.

How can I use the planner?

Obviously, you can use it for your own professional development – it’s always a good idea to track it. It doesn’t have to be a language course, it maybe any other classes you’re taking (think about using it for the short online courses I share every month).

What is more, you can also use it with your students – and I believe that’s something that may motivate them to study more regularly. They probably don’t monitor their own progress, and introducing this planner could help you support their autonomy. They could use it to observe their pattern of studying, and as a result become more conscientious learners.

This planner could make a pretty useful tool as a class assessment. You could introduce it in your classroom and check your students’ answers at the end of each month – that could also help you get a more in-depth knowledge about your students, their learning habits, difficulties and achievements.

Recommendations

I don’t think I need to recommend this planner if you’re already a planner fan, but even if you’re not into it, I think you can give it a go – it may prove a really developing tool, either for you or for your students. To help you introduce study planning in your classroom, next week I’ll share a simple lesson plan that helped me show my student how to manage their studies.

And now, well, I think I’ll dust off my Spanish coursebooks and get back to studying!

Disclaimer: this is not a sponsored post, I did not receive this product for review.