Why does progression seem to slow down as an English learner moves from beginner to more advanced skills?
The journey of learning English
When presenting at ELT conferences, I often ask the audience – typically teachers and school administrators – “When you left home today, to start your journey here, did you know where you were going?” The audience invariably responds with a laugh and says yes, of course. I then ask, “Did you know roughly when you would arrive at your destination?” Again the answer is, of course, yes. “But what about your students on their English learning journey? Can they say the same?” At this point, the laughter stops.
All too often English learners find themselves without a clear picture of the journey they are embarking on and the steps they will need to take to achieve their goals. We all share a fundamental need for orientation, and in a world of mobile phone GPS we take it for granted. Questions such as: Where am I? Where am I going? When will I get there? are answered instantly at the touch of a screen. If you’re driving along a motorway, you get a mileage sign every three miles.
When they stop appearing regularly we soon feel uneasy. How often do English language learners see mileage signs counting down to their learning goal? Do they even have a specific goal?
Am I there yet?
The key thing about GPS is that it’s very precise. You can see your start point, where you are heading and tell, to the mile or kilometer, how long your journey will be. You can also get an estimated time of arrival to the minute. As Mike Mayor mentioned in his post about what it means to be fluent, the same can’t be said for understanding and measuring English proficiency. For several decades, the ELL industry got by with the terms ‘beginner’, ‘elementary’, ‘pre-intermediate’ and ‘advanced’ – even though there was no definition of what they meant, where they started and where they ended.
The CEFR has become widely accepted as a measure of English proficiency, bringing an element of shared understanding of what it means to be at a particular level in English. However, the wide bands that make up the CEFR can result in a situation where learners start a course of study as B1 and, when they end the course, they are still within the B1 band. That doesn’t necessarily mean that their English skills haven’t improved – they might have developed substantially – but it’s just that the measurement system isn’t granular enough to pick up these improvements in proficiency.
So here’s the first weakness in our English language GPS and one that’s well on the way to being remedied with the Global Scale of English (GSE). Because the GSE measures proficiency on a 10-90 scale across each of the four skills, students using assessment tools reporting on the GSE are able to see incremental progress in their skills even within a CEFR level. So we have the map for an English language GPS to be able to track location and plot the journey to the end goal.
‘The intermediate plateau’
When it comes to pinpointing how long it’s going to take to reach that goal, we need to factor in the fact that the amount of effort it takes to improve your English increases as you become more proficient. Although the bands in the CEFR are approximately the same width, the law of diminishing returns means that the better your English is to begin with, the harder it is to make further progress – and the harder it is to feel that progress is being made.
That’s why many an English language-learning journey gets abandoned on the intermediate plateau. With no sense of progression or a tangible, achievable goal on the horizon, the learner can become disoriented and demoralised.
To draw another travel analogy, when you climb 100 meters up a mountain at 5,000 meters above sea level the effort required is greater than when you climb 100 meters of gentle slope down in the foothills. It’s exactly the same 100 meter distance, it’s just that those hundred 100 meters require progressively more effort the higher up you are, and the steeper the slope. So, how do we keep learners motivated as they pass through the intermediate plateau?
Education, effort and motivation
We have a number of tools available to keep learners on track as they start to experience the law of diminishing returns. We can show every bit of progress they are making using tools that capture incremental improvements in ability. We can also provide new content that challenges the learner in a way that’s realistic.
Setting unrealistic expectations and promising outcomes that aren’t deliverable is hugely demotivating for the learner. It also has a negative impact on teachers – it’s hard to feel job satisfaction when your students are feeling increasingly frustrated by their apparent lack of progress.
Big data is providing a growing bank of information. In the long term this will deliver a much more precise estimate of effort required to reach higher levels of proficiency, even down to a recommendation of the hours required to go from A to B and how those hours are best invested. That way, learners and teachers alike would be able to see where they are now, where they want to be and a path to get there. It’s a fully functioning English language learning GPS system, if you like.
Many learners hit a plateau because improvements become less obvious as skills grow. At higher levels, progress often comes in smaller steps that are harder to notice without intentional goals and measurement tools.
Yes. Even highly proficient speakers continue to encounter new vocabulary, idioms, and styles. Mastery often involves refining existing skills rather than learning entirely new ones and that can feel slow.
Look for progress in specific areas, like understanding fast speech, using complex grammar correctly, or reading detailed texts without extra support. Tracking performance in real contexts (e.g., meetings, essays) helps more than just casual feedback.
Learners often struggle with rare vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, subtle grammatical distinctions, and real-world pacing, for example, fluent-level speaking speed or dense written texts.
Setting measurable milestones, engaging with content you enjoy, and periodically reviewing older skills to see improvement can help maintain confidence and drive.
Learning a new language does not have to happen only at home or in a classroom. In fact, sometimes we spend too much time sitting at our computers or staying inside. Taking a break and going outside can help your mind feel fresh and more open to learning. A change of environment can improve focus and make learning feel more enjoyable.
Going outside can also make language practice more fun, natural and memorable. When you use a language in real-life situations, you often remember words better and feel more confident speaking.
Here are five simple and enjoyable outdoor activities to help you practice your new language.
1. Try a role-play adventure walk
Turn a simple walk into a creative language challenge. Imagine you are a tourist, a guide or even a storyteller exploring a new place. As you walk, speak aloud in your target language as if you were describing the place to someone else.
What you can do:
Pretend to give a tour: “On the left, we see a beautiful park.”
Create a short story about what is happening around you
Ask and answer your own questions
Why it helps: This method encourages you to speak more and use your imagination. It can help you feel more comfortable forming sentences and speaking for longer periods.
Tip: Record yourself on your phone and listen later to notice mistakes and progress.
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Why reputation matters in student recruitment
Parents and students do not just look for speed and convenience, but also look for efficiency, reliability and integrity. When you recommend a test that universities recognize, you strengthen your own position as a trusted advisor. Furthermore, Pearson assessments are renowned for their quality and transparency: values that resonate with both your customers and your university partners.
The Pearson advantage: Global recognition and trust
Pearson is known throughout the education sector for its excellence. With decades of experience in learning and assessments, Pearson has built a reputation that institutions around the world rely on. PTE Express reflects this heritage, offering a secure, reliable English proficiency test designed with admissions in mind.
When you recommend PTE Express, you are not just offering speed to your students but also offering a test backed by credibility, innovation and a well-trusted brand.
How PTE Express enhances your brand
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Building long-term relationships through trust
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Lead with value in every interaction
When discussing PTE Express with students or institutions, emphasize the benefits of what matters the most:
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Secure testing environment that is also flexible for the student
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The challenge: Creating meaningful learning in short-term programs
In recent years, Big Ben Education Group faced a challenge: how to deliver meaningful learning within short-term programs. Although teachers were passionate and students motivated, their short-term courses lacked a clear academic structure, making learning feel rushed and less impactful. At the same time, they relied heavily on a single market and sought to attract a more diverse, global student mix.
This raised a critical question: How do you design a short-term program that is both academically meaningful and appealing to a global student audience? That question led to the launch of their first Winter Camp in 2024.
The turning point: From camp to structured learning experience
The Winter Camp marked a major shift. For the first time, students from across China, Korea, Japan, Central Asia and the Middle East were brought together. Managing this level of cultural and linguistic diversity required more than enthusiasm; it required structure.
The school introduced Big English as a core academic framework, giving teachers clarity on learning objectives and ensuring consistency across levels, even within a condensed timeframe.
But the transformation didn’t stop in the classroom. Excursions were redesigned with clear learning goals, turning them into opportunities for real-world language application. This shift from activities to outcomes required careful planning and strong collaboration between academic and operations teams. What emerged was something new – a structured, student-centered learning experience that balanced academic rigor with real-world engagement.
