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 can be exciting. It can also be challenging. Many language learners feel pressure to study every day, learn quickly and reach fluency as soon as possible.
This pressure can lead to burnout: a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. When you are burned out, studying becomes difficult, stressful and less enjoyable. The good news is that setting healthy boundaries can help you continue learning while protecting your wellbeing.
What are boundaries?
Boundaries are limits that help you take care of yourself. They help you decide how much time, energy and attention you can give to something.
For example, a boundary might be:
Studying for only 20 minutes at a time
Taking breaks when you feel overwhelmed
Saying no to extra language activities when you are tired
Not comparing your progress to other learners
Boundaries are not signs of weakness. They are tools that help you learn in a sustainable way.
Understand your energy levels
Many people experience changes in energy and focus throughout the day. Some days you may feel highly motivated. On other days, even a simple lesson may feel difficult.
Instead of forcing yourself to follow the same schedule every day, try paying attention to your energy levels.
Ask yourself:
When do I focus best?
How long can I study before I feel tired?
What activities give me energy?
What activities drain my energy?
You may discover that listening to a podcast feels easy, while studying grammar for an hour feels exhausting. This information can help you create a learning routine that works for you.
Every year, events like Children's Book Week, World Book Day and others offer excellent opportunities to celebrate reading, imagination and learning. Books enable children to explore new ideas, expand their vocabulary and develop a love for language. For teachers and educators, they offer an opportunity to make reading both fun and memorable.
Whether you teach young learners, English language learners or multilingual students, you can bring your classroom together through stories. Here are some simple activities to try.
1. Story reading circle
Choose a children's book that matches your students' language level. Read the story aloud and encourage students to listen carefully. Use pictures to support understanding and ask simple questions during the reading.
For example:
What do you think will happen next?
Who is your favorite character?
How is the character feeling?
This activity helps students practice listening skills and learn new vocabulary in context.
2. Character drawing and description
After reading a story, ask students to draw their favorite character. Then have them write a few sentences describing the character.
Younger learners can use sentence starters such as:
My character is...
They have...
They like...
This activity combines creativity with reading and writing practice.
3. Create a new ending
Invite students to imagine a different ending for the story. They can write a short paragraph, create a comic strip or discuss their ideas in pairs.
This promotes creative thinking and allows students to meaningfully engage with language.
4. Book-themed vocabulary hunt
Choose 10 to 15 key words from the book and create a vocabulary hunt. Students can search for the words in the story and match them with pictures, definitions or translations.
You can also ask students to use the new words in their own sentences.
Vocabulary activities help learners remember language more effectively by connecting words to a story they have enjoyed.
5. Storytelling with pictures
Select several pictures from the book and display them in a random order. Students work individually or in groups to put the pictures in the correct sequence and retell the story.
This activity develops speaking skills, sequencing skills and confidence in using language.
6. Dress as a book character
If possible, organize a simple book character day. Students can dress as their favorite character or create a paper mask.
Ask each student to introduce their character to the class by answering questions such as:
Who are you?
What do you do in the story?
Why are you important?
This is a fun way to practice speaking and presentation skills.
7. Create a classroom book
Work together to create a class story. Each student contributes one page with a sentence and an illustration. When all the pages are finished, combine them into a classroom book.
Students are often proud to see their work become part of a real book. It also helps them understand how stories are created.
8. Book recommendations wall
Encourage students to share books they enjoy. They can write a short recommendation and add it to a classroom display.
Here's a simple template with questions for pupils to complete:
What's the book title?
Who's your favorite character?
Why do you recommend this book?
This activity promotes reading while giving students a purpose for writing.
Celebrate the joy of reading
Book-related events go beyond just celebrating books. They are a means of curiosity, creativity and language learning. Simple activities can motivate students to read more, discover new ideas and gain confidence in their language skills. By nurturing positive reading experiences, teachers help students develop lifelong habits that support their learning journey. Regardless of learners' age or language proficiency, a good story can unlock a world of opportunities.
The conversation around generative AI in education has moved quickly.
For English language teachers, though, the reality in classrooms has often felt more complicated than the headlines suggest.
AI tools are already being used by students. Teachers are trying to understand where these tools help, where they create challenges and what this means for learning moving forward.
One thing educators continue to raise is the need for practical support. Not just discussions about AI itself, but guidance that connects to real classroom experiences and day-to-day teaching.
That is part of the reason behind the ELT Edition of Assessment Evolved: Formative Assessment in a Generative AI Era.
