Intro
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| Becky: Welcome to a special Inner Circle Audio Lesson! I'm Becky and I'll be your host. My co-host today is the founder of InnovativeLanguage.com... Peter Galante! |
| Peter: Hi everyone! Peter here. |
| Becky: In this Inner Circle, we’re talking about The Embarrassingly Simple Secret |
| Peter: ...to Crushing Your Monthly Goal. |
| Becky: You’ll learn... |
| Peter: ...One, the simple, embarrassing technique for speaking more of your target language... |
| Becky: Two, how Peter applied it this month…. |
| Peter: ...and Three, how you can apply it with Premium or Premium PLUS. |
| Becky: ...All so you can master your target language and finally reach your goals! |
| Body |
| Peter: Listeners, welcome back. |
| Becky: Last time, you learned how to reach your language goals by taking a step back. |
| Peter: So last time we covered how to start over after failing... |
| Becky: ..how to set yourself up for success with more manageable goals... |
| Peter: ...and how to take advantage of the new Learning Paths feature... |
| Becky: ...to get the language lessons and courses that are right for you. |
| Peter: Check out the Learning Paths if you haven’t already. You’ll find it in the Browse Lessons drop down menu on the site. |
| Becky: Alright, Peter, let's get into this month. July’s about to end. How’d you do? |
| Peter: I promised... 5 minutes right? |
| Becky: Yes, that was your language goal for the month. |
| Peter: Becky, I crushed this month’s goal. |
| Becky: 5 minutes of German conversation? |
| Peter: Actually... 8. |
| Becky: So from 3 to 8? Wow, how’d you do that? |
| Peter: Well, there’s an old, tried, and tested technique. But it’s pretty embarrassing. |
| Becky: Okay, you have my attention. What is it? |
| Peter: Let’s get into today’s Inner Circle lesson. |
| Becky: The Embarrassingly Simple Secret to Crushing Your Monthly Goal. |
| Peter: And listeners, you’ll learn: |
| Becky: ...One: The Simple, Embarrassing Technique to Speaking More of Your Target Language |
| Peter: Two: How I Applied it This Month |
| Becky: ...and Three: How You Can Apply it Too with Premium or Premium PLUS. |
| Peter: Okay, we’re going to quickly jump into the first part. Listeners, this is not a new method. You might be shocked at how simple it is. And actually, I don’t know why I didn’t use it earlier... it’s like adding rocket fuel in terms of boosting your language progress. |
| Becky: What is it? |
| Peter: Ready? It’s simply... talking out loud to yourself in your target language. |
| Becky: Oh... is that it? Yeah, that’s pretty... unusual and embarrassing. |
| Peter: That’s it, Becky. But I used it in the past to learn Japanese. |
| Becky: Where’d you get this idea from? |
| Peter: So, Becky, I used to teach English in Japan and I had one very high level student. Most high level speakers, probably 9 out of 10, have spent some time overseas, or at least in my experience. |
| Becky: And that’s where they picked up English? |
| Peter: Exactly. But this student had never left Japan. And I asked him, “How’d you get so good?” He told me his secret. Basically, he spoke to the TV and to himself. With the TV, he would listen to what the actors are saying and answer them. He responded to them as if he was having conversations with them. And when he was talking to himself, he’d describe everything that he was doing that day in English. |
| Becky: Oh, wow, I see. |
| Peter: And... because it worked for him, I tried it myself with Japanese. |
| Becky: So how did it work for you? You spoke to yourself? |
| Peter: Picture this, Becky. I woke up in the morning and got out of bed. As I was getting out of bed, I’d would say what I’m doing. As if, “Okay, I woke up, getting out of bed, standing up, stretching and so on.” |
| Becky: Oh, then what’d you do next? |
| Peter: Then, I’d have a conversation with myself about what I would do that day. “Hmm, Peter, what should I do today?” So... |
| Becky: Okay, yes, that sounds awkward and embarrassing. |
| Peter: Yes, I think if my room was bugged, I’d probably be in a facility to help with uh, how can I say that, Becky... |
| Becky: ...mental... |
| Peter: Yes! Along those lines! But, Becky, it works. I works so well. That’s the surprising part. This is the technique. You walk yourself through the day and you do a play by play of everything you’re going to do, are doing and will do. |
| Becky: So... like “I woke up. I will eat breakfast.” |
| Peter: Exactly Let me give you a breakdown. First, you say what you will do. Kind of like the future tense in English. |
| Becky: For example, I WILL brush my teeth. |
| Peter: Exactly. Then, while you’re doing it, you use, in English, the present progressive tense. |
| Becky: Well, it would be would be difficult but I would like to say, “I’m brushing my teeth.” |
| Peter: Exactly. And then right after you finish, you say the past tense. |
| Becky: I brushed my teeth. |
| Peter: Exactly. You can see how it’s kind of tedious. |
| Becky: Yes, but I can see how it’s helpful and embarrassing! Especially when I’m brushing my teeth and talking and toothpaste is flying. |
| Peter: Actually, while you’re doing it, it’s not that embarrassing. It gets embarrassing when you record yourself. |
| Becky: Oh, don’t tell me you recorded yourself. |
| Peter: I recorded everything I said just so I could have a native speaker review it later. Because, when you’re doing it yourself, you don’t know what mistakes you’re making, right? |
| Becky: I think that’s one reason I’ve never done this before. I didn’t know if what I was saying would be correct. |
| Peter: And that’s just the problem I was having when I was doing this. And again, this was maybe ,15 years ago? So, it wasn’t easy to upload an audio file to the internet. So, I was actually using a tape recorder. |
| Becky: Woah, the one with the film that you could pull out.. And you know, And get everywhere? |
| Peter: Some of the younger users might actually have to google that term. Is it a cassette player? Is that the technical term for it? |
| Becky: I think it’s a cassette player. 8 track? |
| Peter: Record...? And.. so that was the problem. |
| Becky: But you had someone check eventually. |
| Peter: After much bribing, I had a friend review it. And this is the fourth and most critical step of the technique. In order to get much better, because you’re not aware of the mistakes you’re making when you talk to yourself and record yourself, you need to get feedback if you want to improve drastically. |
| Becky: So, that’s the technique in a nutshell, listeners. Speak to yourself, or have a conversation with the TV. So to recap... Did I get it? |
| Peter: You kind of make it sound.. Yeah, like uh, “I’m sure you can get a friend, but if you cannot...” |
| Becky: My friend is the TV, Peter. |
| Peter: Kind of, yeah, hearing it loud, but yes! Okay, let’s recap, because it’s very effective, this technique! One- Speak out loud. Two- Talk about the action – before, during, after. |
| Becky: Three- Record it. |
| Peter: Four- Get feedback on it. So, again listeners, some tricks. When I did this 15 years ago. Oh boy, or was it longer? But internet wasn’t so readily available where I was so I kind of had to use a book. But now, it’s much easier. You can use Google Translate to get the words you need or... |
| Becky: ...you can also get our Audiobook, 400 Actions and Activities, from which you learn over 400 phrases for daily routines. |
| Peter: And actually Becky, in order to do this, let’s give the book away for free. |
| Becky: OK! Yes! Listeners, e-mail us for a free copy of the Audiobook. You’ll get our e-mail address at the end of this Inner Circle lesson. |
| Peter: And this will help you get the routines for the day to help you through this. You can use Google Translate and some of these other tools on the internet, our lessons, and this book we’re giving away for free, to write down the actions for your day. So you can practice them. So, throughout the day, you speak out loud, talk about what you’re doing, before, during and after, next record yourself... |
| Becky: And the fourth, get feedback and corrections from a native speaker. |
| Peter: Exactly. |
| Becky: So, you used this technique in the past to learn Japanese. |
| Peter: Right, but again, the main problem I had, is friendless a problem? Again. If you make mistakes and you’re recording it, there’s no way to know if you’re making mistakes. |
| Becky: Yeah... you need someone to correct you and give feedback. So how did this help you reach 8 minutes? And how did you correct your mistakes? I’m very curious. |
| Peter: So, let’s get into the second part. |
| Becky: Part two, How Peter Applied it This Month |
| Peter: So, I have a Premium PLUS subscription with GermanPod101... which is the language I’m currently studying. |
| Becky: ...so you have a teacher that gives you feedback. |
| Peter: Exactly. That’s the beauty of Premium PLUS. You don’t need friends. |
| Becky: You heard it here, listeners. You don’t need friends. |
| Peter: I’ll explain what I mean a little bit later. Because, even if you do have a friend, you can lose them fast by making them listen to yourself recordings that are borderline, as we said... So! That’s the beauty of Premium PLUS. I can write out a conversation, say for example, starting with “How are you?” The teacher will respond. |
| Becky ...And If you make a mistake, the teacher will correct you. |
| Peter: And listeners, please pay attention, because you can use the voice recording function on Premium PLUS and send recordings of yourself to your teacher. So, what I did was, I recorded several messages a day. And, what I would do is... I’d summarize my day. |
| Becky: So like, what you ate, or that you went to work? |
| Peter: Exactly. So, and when I first started, the first kind of iteration of what I was recording was very basic. “I wake up. I brush my teeth. I go to work.” I’d record that one short message. You could see, it’s so simple. Very simple language. Kind of the skeleton of what I was doing during my day. And then I’d send it off to my teacher. |
| Becky: Okay. So that message. So that’s one message. That’s about 10 seconds long? |
| Peter: Exactly. Far away from 8 minutes, right? |
| Becky: Yeah. |
| Peter: And in the afternoon, it’d be something like “I ate a sandwich.” And then I’d send that off. Evenings would be about what I had for dinner and watched on TV. Then I’d send that. |
| Becky: Okay, so 3 messages a day, for the morning, afternoon and evening. |
| Peter: Yes. About 45 seconds of me speaking German. And of course, it was full of mistakes and wasn’t perfect at all. |
| Becky: Okay, so, you send it off. Then, the next day, your teacher replies with corrections? |
| Peter: Exactly. She tells me what I did wrong and how to improve on what I said. So, instead of just saying “I had breakfast, I went to work...” it’d become more detailed and expressive. |
| Becky: Okay, then on the second day... |
| Peter: I would apply her corrections and suggestions. So, I sent her an audio messages for the day. For example, I woke up at 7 o’clock. So, the sentences would start to get longer and longer. |
| Becky: Ah wow. So with every submission and round of feedback, your German gets a lot better... |
| Peter: ...and I can express myself in greater detail. Remember, my first day’s recordings were 45 seconds in total. |
| Becky: Yeah. |
| Peter: Becky, I’m now at 8 minutes in terms of talking about my day. |
| Becky: And all because you spoke out loud, recorded yourself... |
| Peter: ...and then got feedback from my teacher on a daily basis. |
| Becky: So that’s what you mean about marrying the technique to the technology. |
| Peter: That’s right. The technique, speaking out loud, is not new. |
| Becky: Right. |
| Peter: But when you combine it with technology like Premium PLUS... and have access to your own teacher.... |
| Becky: ...it becomes much more effective. |
| Peter: Now, listeners, you might think that 45 seconds to 8 minutes is a massive jump.... |
| Becky: ...to be honest, it does sound too good to be true, Peter. |
| Peter: But we’re not talking about politics or splitting the atom, Becky. I was simply talking about my daily routine, getting daily feedback... |
| Becky: ...and applying it the next day. |
| Peter: Again, just as an example, day one was “I wake up. I brush my teeth. I go to work.” |
| Becky: And by the end? |
| Peter: “This morning I woke up, I brushed my teeth and ate breakfast. I didn’t like breakfast but I ate it. I had juice. I talked to my kids. I talked to my wife about our plans for dinner. I left the house at 9 o'clock in the morning.” |
| Becky: Wow, yeah, that’s an impressive jump. And it seems very realistic too! |
| Peter: So, when I did my skype lesson with my German teacher... |
| Becky: ...and she asked you “What’s going on” or “What’s new”... |
| Peter: ...I had A LOT to say, Becky. And that’s how I hit the 8 minute mark this month. |
| Becky: Okay, so how can our listeners apply this? |
| Peter: Let’s get to the third part. |
| Becky: Three- How You Can Apply This with Premium or Premium PLUS. |
| Peter: The first step, listeners, is that you must let go of your pride. |
| Becky: That’s the first step? |
| Peter: It’s embarrassing, Becky. Especially with a family. I mean, my wife understands but my kids were kind of getting onto me. “Dad, why are you talking to yourself? What are you doing on the phone? Why do you keep repeating things?” |
| Becky: And if you do it outside... people give you looks. |
| Peter: That is so true, Becky. So, listeners, if you’re a Premium PLUS user, follow my process. |
| Becky: 1) Open up My Teacher on the site or on the Innovative Language 101 App. |
| Peter: 2) Start talking out loud. Record a summary of your morning, afternoon and evening. That’s 3 messages. Start simple. |
| Becky: 3) Send these messages to your teacher. |
| Peter: You’ll be improving on a daily basis, guaranteed. Your teacher will correct all of your mistakes... |
| Becky: ...and they’ll offer advice on how to improve and speak with greater detail. |
| Peter: That’s right. Listeners, ask your teacher for more phrases to use. Ask them how to sound more natural. Remember, a closed mouth doesn’t get fed. Ask them questions and be proactive. |
| Becky: Great tips. Alright. What about Premium users? |
| Peter: If you’re a Premium member, you can upgrade to Premium PLUS. If not, record yourself with your mobile device. There should be a voice recording app on most devices. |
| Becky: Just like you were doing when you were learning Japanese, right? |
| Peter: Right! Just make sure someone checks it to fix your mistakes. |
| Becky: Sounds great! Alright, let’s talk goals. What’s the next one? |
| Peter: Alright, I’m at 8 minutes now. So, let’s shoot for 10 minutes of German conversation. |
| Becky: Deadline? |
| Peter: August 31st, 2016. |
| Becky: Got it. And listeners, do you speak out loud and talk to yourself... |
| Peter: ...when you’re learning a language? |
| Becky: Email us and tell us all the stories... no, email us and tell us at inner dot circle at innovativelanguage dot com. |
| Peter: Ah, and don’t forget to email us to get your free copy of the 400 Actions and Activities audiobook! |
| Becky: And stay tuned for the next Inner Circle. |
Outro
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| Becky: Well, that’s going to do it for this special Inner Circle lesson! |
| Peter: Bye everyone! |
| Becky: Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. |
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