Many non-native students set out to learn English and after studying for a long time they feel frustrated for their progress does not match their effort. Here are some hints about how to boost your learning and satisfaction.
First thing you should look at is whether you really like English and  translation. Do you really have motivation? If your mind/heart interest is somewhere else, stop and change your course of studies. You have to have passion, to really fall in love with your course of studies if you want to learn. Remember that you are making and investment of time, money, your parent´s money and your future is at stake. If you are studying something that you don´t like you are likely to end up at war with yourself, with your classmates and your own instructors. You have to be serious about the decisions that you make. Remember that happiness is very important and that at the end of your studies you are not going to be happy doing something that you don´t like. Make the changes early in your career. Don´t wait until you are in the 6th or 8th semester to change your course of studies. Remember: you have to have passion for what you are studying, otherwise, you are going to end up being one of the crowd.

GENERAL STRATEGIES

• Schedule. You must have a schedule of your daily activities. On a piece of paper or your notebook, draw a schedule including all the days of the week and the semester. Write down all the activities: classes, work, homework, personal study, social activities, movie time, sports, etc. that you have everyday. You should include from  two to  four hours as a minimum for your English course everyday.  Post a copy of this schedule somewhere visible in your room and carry a copy with you. Look at everyday and swear to stick to it.
• Evaluate. Evaluate every day the amount of time that you have invested in learning English and make corrections on time.
• Your room. You must have a room with enough space. Make sure there is plenty of natural light. Studying in dark rooms will make you almost blind in a year or less, plus frequent visits to the eye doctor and overcost of glasses. Your eyes are the biggest treasure a human being can have. There should also be ventilation. Extreme temperatures can cause discomfort. Besides, a good seat is a must and make sure it is comfortable. Avoid having a TV in your room. It will distract you all the time.  Your room should be clean and well organized. Make your your bookcase is loaded with good books but your desk should be neat and clear.
• Diet. In general, you should eat nutritious food. Avoid junk food, too much coffee or smoking.. Before entering your classroom, eat well. If short of cash buy candy or cookies that you can carry in your pocket and eat in class if possible. A hungry stomach for two hours full of stress and work can give you an ulcer. With an ulcer in this competitive world you are in serious  trouble. An very important eat at regular hours. Do not change your eating time frequently or spend long periods of time with an empty stomach. If necessary walk out of class and get something to eat. Better grounded than an ulcer.
• Health. Mens sana in Corpore Sano says an old proverb. In fact if your body is frequently sick, your learning will decrease accordingly.  Do not do things that can make you sick, for example, drinking to excess. Try to walk to and from school. Walking is a safe way to exercise. Exercise should be allotted at least one hour everyday.
• Sleep. Sleeping well is a requisite of attention and learning. Avoid sleeping close to a  road with heavy traffic or music places.
• Attitude: You should always be positive. When you walk into the classroom, smile and leave all your problems and worries behind. A positive happy mental attitude really boosts your learning.

• Get yourself a good a large monolingual dictionary to use at home and another medium size to carry to class. You should two more. One large and one medium size bilingual dictionary. Having a dictionary in class is important because you will learn to use it faster as you look up increases. By looking up words in a dictionary, you are doing several positive things: first, you will be looking at other words and context. You will be looking at pronunciation, synonyms, spelling and several meanings for the same word. Finally, and most importantly, you will become a more independent learner. Using your own dictionary to solve difficult vocabulary is more intelligent than taking the easy way  asking your instructor. This method is not very useful because there is no effort and no processing. Your brain gets lazy and dependent on other people to solve problems. Do not forget to take your dictionary everyday to class. Not having a dictionary in class is like going to play a soccer game without a soccer ball.
• Do not miss any classes. Your instructor and your classmates will contribute with spontaneous  in situ grammatical, pronunciation, semantic, lexical, etc. points that are difficult to find in books. Besides, if you miss a class, you will for sure be at a loss in the next class, you become confused and loose interest. If this behavior accumulates then you are a demotivated student bound to fail the course and interest in your studies.
• Buy yourself a large notebook and take down as much information as you can but be selective. Don´t trust your memory. It vanishes quickly and  the next day about 40 percent or more of what you have  listened in class will have forgotten. Organize your information in the notebook: a grammar section, an idioms section, a homework section, a vocabulary section, a translation section, etc. If your notebook is organized and your handwriting clear, you will want to look at your class notes. A messy notebook is no motivation for studying.
• Carry a mini notebook or cards and write down in them important grammar, lexical, semantic and other aspects of the language. When you go home on the bus or metro you can take out your cards and study the material in the cards. Must times we waste this precious time  of the ride between home and the school.
• Carry a walkman with tapes in English. You can listen to recorded material for the class, music, homework, etc. Try to listen to your tapes as much as you can. This is a useful technology artifact that can help you with listening and pronunciation.
• Read a newspaper in English everyday. Becoming addicted to reading newspapers in English is a great advantage. Your information bank increases and the language abounds with new words; also, the vocabulary is varied and so are grammatical structures.
• Participation is class is very important. The more you speak, the more you learn the forms that you are learning.
• Good company. Try to join those students who are interested in learning English and that speak it frequently. Avoid working with students or classmates that speak Spanish all the time or that like to kill time chatting. They are no help and steal your precious time for your goal of learning the language. In the early periods of learning it is necessary to practice the foreign language as much as you can.
• A quiet place to study. When in  school, choose a quiet conformable place to study so that you can concentrate. Avoid cafeterias and isles where a lot of noise, food odorous and motion takes place. These distract you and steal your attention.
• Visit the library. Try to go to the library at least one time everyday. The sight of books and magazines and people studying will have a positive effect on your attitudes and likes. Avoid people chatting at the library.
• Videos. The laboratory has over 100 videotapes among movies, documentaries, programs, comedies, news, etc., from which you can choose.  Try watching at the beginning at least one hour a day. You should be watching at least 2 or  3 hours a day if you want to improve your listening and speaking skills. When watching the videos, do not get captured by the images. Try to concentrate on the content and language.
• Textbook and workbook If you like organization, can´t come to class very often then you might want to use a textbook. Study each lesson carefully and then do the exercises in the workbook. Do not forget to do the material in the audio tapes. Although the material in textbooks is in general not authentic, today they are closer the norm and can be used profitably. Sometimes the material in class provided by your instructor is so messy that you get disoriented and here is where you can look at the book for direction. Materials in books are, in general neatly organized and paced.
• Radio and TV. Try to listen to live radio and TV programs. They have variety and topic coverage and often include realistic and authentic English. Try listening to the news everyday.
• Computer programs. There are many sites on the Internet and computer programs with which you can learn English with more fun.
• Music. Listen to music and try to learn a few songs.
• Pen pals: In many important magazines and newspapers there ads of persons wanting to communicate with you about different topics.  Establishing a contact over the internet is very profitable because you get in contact with other cultures and physical spaces.
• Teach classes. Teaching private or public classes is generally very convenient in the process of learning a new language.
• Read a book.   Reading a book in English provides you with more vocabulary in context, grammar and stylistic aspects that are unlikely to be studied in class.
• Contact native speakers who live in the city or are passing as visitors.
• Thinking:  Try to think about everything you do or see in English.
• Songs Learn songs and sing them when at thome or in class when the opportunity arrives.
• Journal. Keep a journal where you record your daily important events. This helps you to improve your writing.